Zoey Boey

Tales from the Spider-Verse: Spidroin [redux]

Clara Cabello and Alejandra Jonas

September 9th

---

AJ looked up at Clara. Now, normally, that wouldn't be an unusual thing thing to write. Afterall, Clara is taller than AJ and in order to make eye contact with Clara, the smaller woman would have too, if only slightly, look up. However, in this particular instance, further clarification is required. When AJ looked up Clara, she really was craning her neck, gaping up at the upside down girl posing triumphantly in a gravity defying maneuver that would make Isaac Newton roll in his grave.

Currently, the two of them were gathered in an abandoned warehouse within Hell's Kitchen. The red-headed latina was upside down about thirty feet up, her ponytail dangling down and swaying in the wind.

"Okay, okay, it's time for you to get down now, Clara." AJ said nervously, her brain conjuring image after image of Clara shattered on the concrete floor infront of her.

"Why? I can't fall. I already told you yesterday. You saw me stick on the wall." She said, gesturing at the floor. No, the ceiling- she was standing on. It was odd to talk to someone upside down- the gestures she made were all wrong relative to AJ.

"It's one thing to show me five feet up on an alley wall. It's another to show me thirty feet up, upside down and oh my God!" AJ said, cupping her face with her hands as Clara started doing cartwheels on the ceiling.

"Wheee-hee-heee!" Clara childishly announced her excitement with a giddy shriek-laugh. As long as she kept at least one limb attatched to the ceiling she should be fine. Normally it would be kind of hard to such feats of gymnastics, but Clara was finding she was stronger, nimbler, more flexible, and more agile than ever. By a lot. She wasn't even breaking a sweat. What a rush! After a few cartwheels she paused, breathing heavily- not from exhaustion, but from joy. Clara hadn't felt this good in a long time. No, Clara hadn't felt this good, ever. Her mind was dazzled, boiling over with possibilities she was barely even beginning to comprehend. Only now, after about two days of this power, had her thoughts returned to her job. What kind of crazy shit could she pull off with being able to climb anywhere? Holding onto the celing with the tips of her fingers, casually kicking her legs, she looked at her younger friend beneath her.

"Clara! Clara stop doing crazy shit and just come down!" AJ called out, holding the edge of her shirt with her balled up fists.

"Hey, sorry, but no way. I'm havin' way too much. You're just gonna have to get used to seeing me do this stuff, because I'm gonna do it until I die." Clara responded, her voice echoey and distant.

"Could you not phrase it like that? That could be thirty seconds from now for all I know!"

Clara suddenly swung her legs forward, going a considerable distance. Her feet touched the ceiling and she sat down, staring in disbelief at the spot she was just at mere moments ago. The concrete chunk she was holding onto plummeted thirty feet to the ground and shattered, AJ leaping back and shrieking.

"Woah!" Clara exclaimed. "That was close."

AJ responded with an incomphrensible series of desperate cries and shouts, alternating between extreme concern and volatile fury. Clara furrowed her brow and glanced down- up? at AJ.

"Hey, sorry, AJ. I'm alright. See? No problem." She began to do a slow windmill breakdance, moving slowly and deliberately while keeping at least one part of her body on the ceiling. Almost hyperventilating, and embarassed that she was so outwardly concerned for her dumbass older sister's safety, AJ pouted and calmed herself, crossing her arms.

"That's enough! I'm not gonna stand around here and watch you splat," AJ called up defiantly.

"I won't splat," Clara denied, almost numbly, as if she was coming to some kind of realization.

"You don't know that! I can't handle this! Come back when you're not being-"

"Hey, shut up a minute, would you?" Clara said, staring blankly at the floor beneath-above her. How did she know that concrete was going to fall? How did she have the reaction and speed to avoid it, even if she did know? There was more. Something in her was telling her to...let go.

AJ began to get angry again, but it faded out as the odd tone in Clara's voice registered. "Clara?" She asked, staring up.

"Just..." She trailed off. She stood to her feet. Extending her arms upwards, fingers splayed out.

"Clara." AJ said seriously. Clara didn't respond. Instead, her feet came loose from the ceiling.

"CLARA!" AJ cried out in despair and fear as she watched her only real family in the world come crashing head first to the concrete. Instead of a splat, there was nothing. Hardly any noise at all. Clara's hands caught her, and she rolled forward, coming to a stop after a few feet. As if she just did some a parkour stunt, diving headfirst over a railing onto to catch herself and dispering her momentum. Only it was a death drop, and she had almost no forward momentum. Trembling, Clara stood to her feet and turned around, an almost maniacal grin on her face. She held her hands out infront of her, staring. They were fine. It was like she hadn't fallen far at all. All she had to do was...catch herself. There was no issue. Somehow she knew she wouldn't be hurt. AJ, on the other hand, looked faint.

Unaware of the extreme emotional turmoil she had just put her best friend through, Clara sauntered up to AJ and slapped her on the shoulder. "Well? Whatcha think? Pretty cool, huh?"

AJ returned the favor by attempting to slap Clara across the face, but the red-head casually dodged it without even blinking. AJ looked offended and frustrated and whirled around, turning to leave. Rubbing the place where she would have been hit, Clara called out after AJ with a confused look on her face. "Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to dodge it. You can try again if you want!" Clara offered, not exactly helping. While she meant only to keep pace with AJ, Clara found herself infront of her younger sister. Turning around she placed her hands on each shoulder and tried to think of something to say.

"Hey," she began. Blinking in surprise at the tears streaming down Alejandra's face, she said nothing for a moment. Wiping away her face with the end of her sleeve AJ sniffed and glared up at Clara. Clara wasn't sure what to say, so she said nothing.

"You're a real asshole, Clara," AJ said after a moment of silence. Clara had a tick where she apologized often, but it wasn't a real apology. It was a fake one, a mocking one, as if the idea of Clara Cabello saying sorry was a joke in and of itself. Clara rarely truly admitted a mistake. Maybe she would, this time. But it didn't come; instead, Clara's face broke out into an irritating smile and she shook AJ lightly by the shoulders.

"You should lighten up, AJ, for real. This is great! I just, well, I knew I wouldn't die. I have superpowers," Clara was still riding her high of exhilaration.

"Yeah, I know. You have superpowers." Alejandra responded plainly, shrugging Clara's hands off her shoulders and rubbing her temples.

"Like in those comics I get for you." Clara said.

"Yeah. Except usually, the person in those comics become a superhero. Or a supervillain. They aren't just...some random asshole."

Clara grinned. "Well, this is real life. And in real life, apparently random assholes like me are the one's gettin' powers."

AJ put her face into her hands. "I can't believe the universe gave Clara fucking Cabello superpowers. Of all the fucking people." Her voice was muffled and exasperated. When she pulled her face out of her hands, she had a small smile on her face. It was pretty exciting. There was a lot to take in. But this was just Clara trying to distract AJ from the fact that she had scared her half to death without warning. So why was AJ playing along? It was too late, though. She had smiled and made banter with her older sister, so that means that Clara was forgiven, even though Clara hadn't apologized. At least, that's how she must have seen it, as her grin grew bigger and more irritating. Clara glanced around. No one was around in the morning, in this part of town, with it's poor quality streets and dusty warehouses.

"Think of all the cool shit I can do. Nothing can stop us now. Payin' off that debt? Only the beginning. You an' me, AJ. We're gonna kick some serious ass." She knuckled AJ on the shoulder again, and AJ smirked.

"We are going to have to thoroughly test your capabilities. No more jumping off roofs, okay?" AJ asked, her voice turning serious again. Clara's smile left her eyes for a moment, but then she shrugged.

"Okay, whatever. For you, I guess. Come on, let's get back to the tent," She turned and began walking, AJ following behind, wiping her eyes a little when Clara wasn't looking. Clara put her right hand into her pocket, her left arm swinging forward and backward. A moment passed in silence. Clara knew the way back, and AJ followed, getting out her phone and beginning to swipe and tap with expedience and practiced skill. The early morning sun painted the two of them in a red-orange light that casted long shadows behind them. AJ had her eyes downcast, but Clara squinted against the light.

"Hey, AJ, got my sunglasses with you still?" She asked, breaking the quiet.

"Sure," AJ replied, reaching into the inside of green heavy coat and withdrawing them, handing them to Clara without looking. Clara placed the orange tinted, black-rimmed sunglasses on her nose and her eyes relaxed, no longer being assaulted by the sun.

"Okay, so," Clara began, "Where do you think I got these powers from?" AJ scrolled through the news. There was going to be a memorial service in an hour, in order to remember those lost in the attack.

"Well, probably from the gas attack. You recovered faster than most people, and really it's the only thing I can think of."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Musta put some crazy shit in that gas. Wonder why only I got powers?" Clara wondered.

"If you got powers, it stands to reason that others did aswell. Unless, you really one one in 8 billion and are the only person on the world with superpowers. In which case, God help us all."

Clara nodded. "That makes sense. Still, lotta people died, and not a lotta people who survived got powers, I guess. So I think we're in the clear for now. Wow. I got superpowers. That's crazy. For a little, I thought I was dreamin'."

"More like a nightmare."

"But, no, it's real. Really, real. I can do all sorts of crazy shit. Stickin to anythin? Falling thirty feet onto hard concrete without a scratch? Head first? We're gonna be rakin' in the cash, AJ. I can steal from anybody. And I'm discoverin' new powers all the time, who knows what else I got." Clara rambled on, clearly excited.

"And once we get the cash, AJ, I'm gonna buy you all sorts of cool shit."

AJ was still looking down at her phone. "Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah! Who knows what you could do with real money. What we had before? Pocket change. Nothin'. I mean, shit, look at this." With that, she crouched, gathered her strength, and pushed off the ground with all her might. Much to her surprise, she leapt fifty feet into the air, screaming. AJ startled and stared up at her older sister who was now a distant shape, flailing her limbs wildly in the air. Clara fell down to the ground and did a nimble roll, coming to a stop, her legs far apart, one hand spread on the ground and the other high in the air. Standing, she cracked her back and turned to face AJ, eyes wide, smile huge.

"Holy, shit. Didn't expect that. Hey, sorry if you got scared again." She said breathlessly.

AJ blinked. "Uh, no. I'm now totally numb to the idea of human suffering. Thanks, Clara."

"Aw, no problem." Clara patted her on the shoulder. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

AJ shook her head. She had read in a science fiction book, once, that humans were the most adaptable creatures in the galaxy. They could take in information and plan new strategies in accordance to that new information at a rapid, almost instantaneous rate. It's what compelled humans to explore new lands. It's why in horror movies, it takes the person only a matter of minutes to readjust their reality in accordance to the fact that there is a real life ghost chasing after them. And in that novel, it's why the humans adapted so quickly to the alien invaders, and turned the invaders own weapons against them. It was our greatest trait, according to that book. Well, AJ thought, she guessed that was what she was going through now. Super powers were real, and her dumbass best friend had them. That was her new reality. She didn't just pass out or die of a heart attack, and she hadn't committed herself to an insane asylum. Because, by all accounts, her friends powers made no sense. Not according to modern science. But hey, fuck it, what else was she gonna do? Proof's in the pudding. Anyone who says superpowers aren't real haven't seen Clara Cabello jump 50 feet into the air and land without a scratch on her.

"Anyway, they're holding a memorial service to the victims of the attack later today. Wanna go?"

"Nah," Clara responded simply, shrugging her shoulders. Feeling AJ's laser eyes dig into the back of her head, she turned. "What? Why would I want to go there?"

"Because you almost died in that attack? And it would be the decent thing to do?"

"It's just gonna be some corporate fatcat talkin' fake shit about justice and friendly shit or whatever. Last thing I need is some soulless Osborn shithead tellin' me how to feel while people like you an' me don't even know if they gonna have dinner tonight." She said, once again shrugging her shoulders.

AJ rolled her eyes. "Okay, sure, I don't like Osborn any more than you do. But that is such a simple and unnecessarily cynical way of looking at it. We wouldn't be going there for Osborn, we'd be going there to support the families who lost people. People like me. If I hadn't been so lucky." AJ said.

Clara turned over her shoulder once again. "Okay, fine, I guess." She said, throwing her hair to the side with a rolling of her neck.

"You shouldn't pick pocket from anyone there, either."

Clara looked offended. "Like I would ever steal from grieving families!"

AJ smirked. "Sure, sure. It's like you said, we're going to be making a lot of money. We can take a break from stealing for an hour or two, can't we?"

"Sure, I guess, for you." Clara compressed her lips. "We still have a few hours. I can get my pick pocketin' quota done for the day early to make up for the memorial. How's that sound?"

"Sounds fine. If you can crawl up walls I have a hard time imagining how people are going to catch you."

"Right? For real, no one can catch me."

"Try not to sexually assault anyone today."

"That- was a fluke. And an accident." Clara said, the words catching in her throat. "Now, I can control what's stick and what's not."

"Gross." AJ made a face.

Clara's face turned redder than her hair. AJ laughed. "Wow! You're really embarrassed about that, aren't you?"

"I never shoulda told you that story," Clara lamented.

"I thought you said shame was for pussies, or something like that?" AJ pushed on, sensing her opportunity.

"Well-"

"I guess you're usually pretty good with guys, huh? Not your smoothest moment, I imagine."

"Man, AJ-"

"Probably doesn't help that he was hot, huh?"

"I never said-"

"If he was ugly, you would have told me and laughed about it. You know, 'cause you're a scumbag like that."

Clara gritted her teeth. She had her there. "He was just some rich asshole! Who fuckin' cares?" She defended herself.

"You do, apparently." AJ teased. It wasn't that long of a walk home. Later that day, the two women would turn up at the memorial service, AJ dragging Clara there. Of course Clara wanted to spend the entire day exploring the limits of her new powers- even the rush of pick pocketing and thievery wasn't comparing to her new jump height. But work, and apparently memorial services, came first today.

The Marauders (2018)

Yasaliah Josk: Pilot

Josk waved off the Captain's reliances, sure Tango could never, ever, do anything right. Unfortunately a few minutes passed and her hangover had completely vanished, the Satasi feeling right as rain. Well, shit. Guess he was right after all. If the robot cared about it's relationship with Yasaliah it would be disappointed to know that it always being correct and trustworthy somehow made the pink and purple pilot resent the ship's AI even more. The tune of the Council chimed throughout the ship and Josk rolled her eyes, sitting back in her chair. Only a few moments later did she grip the sides of the pilots seat and sit up straight.

"Code Velvet?" She said over the comms after the Council had left them all in peace. "That's just perfect." Sighing, she glanced down at her semi-nude body. Getting dressed? So early in the morning? Whatever. "Fine. Be there in a fewmumbmghugrm..." Her words tumbled over themselves as if completing a sentence was too much effort. She was exhausted. Way too tired for a Code Velvet. Fucking Council. Didn't Andy like, just die? How are they going to expect them to keep going after such a tragic loss? Well, maybe it wasn't too tragic for Josk specifically, but other people sure cared about the guy. Plus, they weren't even operating at full effeciency now that they had lost a crew member.

Standing from her chair, her bare feet padded down the hallway as she found her way to her crew quarters. Her room was small, but bursting with as much color as the Satasi could cram in. Posters of beautiful, mostly naked people of both genders and a variety of species were crumpled and taped against the walls. Pop stars, actors, actresses, what have you. Didn't matter too much. There was a semi-clean rug that had a genuinely tasteful pattern of reds, purples, and pinks on it that covered most of the floor. Her bed contrasted with most of the room by being a vibrant blue, with it's aqua pillows and sheets tossed this way and that, undone. There was a desk against the far wall with a rolling, spinny chair. Ontop of the desk was a simple computer, painted black and boring. There was a wardrobe full of different types of clothes. Sure enough, her crop top and short jeans weren't there from last night. Who the fuck knows where they ended up. Eh, she could always just buy more. Indeed, the wardrobe was full to burst with tops, bottoms, boots, and shoes, and one could assemble a single modest outfit between all of them. Taking a step back, she considered what she saw. Smiling, she selected the outfit she desired.

Eventually she emerged from her room. Skin-tight low-rise black leggings tucked into black boots. Josk had also picked out a single-shoulder shirt, tied where her ribs stopped, the extra red fabric trailing down her right side. Since, apparently, this was a Code Velvet, Josk had also decided to bring her pistol with her. The handgun was tucked into the back of her leggings, held coldly against her skin by pressure alone.

Tying her long and frazzled purple hair into a high ponytail as she walked, eventually she made her way into the Briefing Room, the last one to arrive. "So, Captain, who's ass are we kickin' today?" She asked confidently, taking a bite out of a piece of bread she had acquired from somewhere. Glancing around the room at the other members gathered here, her piercing blue gaze lingering on the kid, Rendyl, for a moment longer than the others, she refocused back on Raymond.

Star Wars: Empire of Glass

N E D

---

NED stepped carefully out of the shuttle. Sparing a passing, eyeless glance towards the first casuality of the battle, he raised the barrel of his weapon toward the ceiling. He was wielding a DLT-19 light machinegun in his two steel hands. A bandolier of extra ammo was slung over his shoulder and he had a belt with satchels and holsters attatched to it for extra storage. Stomping out into a clearing, he raised one hand.

"I am going to the Station's bridge. Nine of you will join me." He barely acknowledged the shortlived firefight that involved unprepared troopers getting gunned down in their unpreparedness. The droid was singularly focused on his objective. With newly acquired knowledge of the station's layout stored in his memory, he would make an effective leader navigating up to the bridge.

After gathering his squad, the droid began to make his way first down the hallway, leading the soldiers from the front. "Everyone stick together. Beware of opening doors, and the two at the back keep a watchful eye on our six." He reminded his soldiers. He walked at a fast and steady pace, holding his machine gun level and low infront of him. They turned a corner and there was a locked portal infront of them. He had brought explosives with him, but that would make a lot of noise. Announcing their presence to the Imperials was not something he wanted to do.

"I'd like to get through this door without making too much noise, Scarlet Moons. Does anyone have any suggestions?" He turned to face the squad following him. One of them, a light-blue skinned Twi-lek, raised her hand.

"Yes, Private Dasiv?" NED looked toward her patiently.

"Uh, I'm an okay splicer." She shrugged.

"Excellent," Keeping his gaze on her, he pounded his fist on a nearby control panel, popping the thing open. Then, he stepped aside. "If you would, Private Dasiv," He said, gesturing to the now exposed control panel. Dasiv approached and began to work on it, occasionally glancing over at NED.

"Don't mind me, Private Dasiv. You are the expert here," He said after the third glance. The droid was focused on a life scanner device infront of him, scanning a few feet on the other side of the door for approaching Imperials. Standing front in center at the door, if anyone opened it the first thing they would see was NED. Most of the other troops were leaned up against a wall or behind some of the supporting pillars that emerged from the walls of the station.

She smiled nervously. "I'm no expert-"

"Eyes on the control panel, Private Dasiv," He reminded her.

Nodding, she worked her fingers across some of the wires. Just at that moment, NED detected movement just a few feet infront of him. "Pay attention everyone. There are Imperials on the other side of this door."

Dasiv gulped. "Okay, I got it."

"Open it." NED commanded.

The doors slid open. On the other side was an imperial officer, fiddling with a keypad on the other side of the door, accompanied by a few storm troopers.

"Bad luck," NED commented sympathetically to the surprised Imperials, raising his machinegun with one hand and firing. There was a hail of lazfire and the imperial troopers fell with smoking holes in their bodies. The droid stepped over them and continued his march to his current destination- an elevator. It would take far too long to walk to the bridge. If they were to be united with the squads approaching the bridge from other angles, they would have to be quick.

"Well done, Scarlet Moons." He flatly praised his squad, rounding another corner. Finally, they had found the elevator.

"Okay, Private Dasiv. Splice this elevator so we may stop in when we please. I have no plans on our elevator doors opening to a squad of Imperials lying in wait. We are going to stop the elevator just short of the floor we desire. I'll use a maintenance panel to climb onto the roof of the elevator, apply a breaching charge to the elevator doors, climb back down into the elevator while keeping the maintenance panel open. The breaching charge will detonate, creating a sizeable smoke screen. Then, I will throw a thermal detonator through the open hole of the maintenance panel, bouncing it so it will explode anyone waiting for us on the otherside. Then, you will ascend the elevator, open the doors slightly, and we can engage the foe from there."

Private Dasiv and the other squad members blinked. "Uh-" she began.

"Stop the elevator when I say, rise the elevator when I say. Trust me, Private Dasiv," He reassured her. Dasiv nodded. The elevator doors opened to an enemy, featureless room save for the command panel. Popping that sucker open, Dasiv quickly acquired manual control of the elevator. NED pointed to square imprint on the ceiling in the back corner of the elevator. That is the maintenance panel he knew had to be there. Jumping up, he pounded his fist against the panel and broke it open. Then, he jumped higher, rising through the newly created hole. With a shuddering thud he landed ontop of the elevator. He looked to the staggering height of the Crown's elevator shaft above him.

"To the bridge, Private Dasiv." He said, his voice echoing far above. With that, the elevator began to rise, the droid standing on top. Unorthodox breaching plan in his mind, the droid had little to think about except the battle ahead. Hopefully, their mission would succeed. This would be an excellent victory for the Scarlet Moons. Taking out the Crown and liberating Ord Thorden. His homeworld. It was a long time coming. Failure on this day would be unfortunate. Ord Thorden would be free one day, but NED would prefer he would be lucky enough to be involved in it's final liberation. He and his squad rose to the challenge. It would not be long before they reached the same floor as the bridge. They would be one of the few Scarlet Moon squadrons attacking the Crown's bridge. Success was necessary.

🌠 Once Upon A Time 🌠(Concluded)

Annabelle Lafeyette

Annie nodded, "That's good to hear. Doug sure seems happy to hear it," she remarked, as the dog wagged it's tail and looked eager for infinite pats. Dogs were funny that way, it felt like they could do one thing that felt good until the end of the universe. Meanwhile, us silly humans get bored of something fun just because we've done it a few times. If only we were nearly as smart as dogs, Annie thought, smiling. The boy turned to wave at someone and Annabelle turned to see who it was.

"That a friend of yours?" One of them was clearly an adult though. Either way, she was heading that way. Too bad she never found out the kids name. Probably too late to find out now.

"Okay, well, see you around. Doug wants to keep going on his walk, I think." The schnauzer was turning in a slow circle. Careful not to get wound up, she began walking towards the kid and the woman who Annie didn't know was Pandora. As she approached and was looking to walk past them around the block she gave a little wave.

"Howdy," she called out, giving a friendly smile and a little too pleased with herself about her slightly unconventional greeting. The pair had actually gone to to the same school, and Anie squinted as she got closer, trying to remember where she recognized the woman from. Pandora was one year older than Annabelle, and Annie only knew about Pandora by reputation at best.

Bogeys! - Air Combat Drama [OPEN]

Jamie Teale

---

Teale leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. What the hell were these guys? Could they turn invisible? She turned on her comms to talk with Scott who she was flying in formation with.

Teale: "I dunno if we're gonnaAAAAGH! Fuck's sake!"

The woman cursed and jumped in her seat in surprise as a meat pinata exploded across her windscreen. Throwing up one arm in exasperation, she fruitlessly tried to wipe it away with her hands despite the fact it was on the other side of the window. Of course that wouldn't work, but it was better than doing nothing, right? She was powerless to get rid of this stupid bird corpse? Her face was turning red under her mask as she realised the entirety of Angel squad just heard her shout out in terror over a bird. Clearing her throat she stubbornly pounded the comms button with her finger and reported in.

Teale: "Angel Squad, this is Angel-2. A bird went splat on my window. Limited visibility for me, over."

Now she couldn't even tell what happened with those so-called Voyeurs. Most likely they got away as Angel-4 next to her wasn't looking to get into a dogfight. Fortunately as she was flying just underneath the speed of sound the bird was getting blown away by the wind. But it wasn't going away any time soon. Gross. So, so gross. Frowning, she glanced over at Valentine's plane in real life to try and see if he could see the bullshit that just happened. Upon making eye contact she gestured incredulously at the crimson smear on her windscreen. Sighing, she turned and flew back to the main fray. After a moment she started to make sense of what was happening. Both Felix and Lancer had gotten into one one duels with the other enemy pilots. Same issue as before- when two exceptionally skilled fighters got locked into combat it became difficult to interfere. Still, she scanned both fights for an opportunity. Her eyes widened and she clenched her jaw as she saw Lancer literally jousting with the Vlhakian imp he was engaged with. "Jesus Christ!" She exclaimed to herself, her comms off. Other than watch on, she wasn't sure what to do. More than anything she wanted to double team these fuckers but that might just make things worse. Any more of this and she would jump in, but for now she was hesitating.

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Dareen Kahina

outskirts of the village

Dareen hadn't thought about that. As evidence by her bold entrance into the tavern where she had met Xandar not too long ago, she had never disguised herself or bothered to hide her presence whereever she went. Let them gawk, yet? Usually, though, she was just one merc in a crowd of many. Perhaps it was a bad habit. But...dolled up? The wording might hurt a more fragile ego's feelings. Passing as wealthy? She laughed outloud and pinced the bridge of her nose. "Oh, man. That's funny," she shook her head. After a moment she flattened her palms and shrugged.

"I think you overestimate my ability to blend in, Faeril. But I suppose I could give it a shot," Dareen wasn't proud. Still, there was something richly ironic and pretending to be the type of person she had spent her entire life trying to avoid being. The doting wife of some Warlord Prince, all done up and dainty. How much makeup would she have to put on just to cover up her tattoos? What kind of clothes would she have to wear? When was the last time she even put on makeup, period?

Jean and Dareen had been introduced to each other over the course of the carriage ride over here, of course. He and Fatima were close, she could tell, though the details of their relationship she couldn't quite discern. Either way, if everyone else paired off that would just leave Mikhail and Dareen, which would probably be one of the most suspicious couples in the universe.

"What do you think, Jean? Would I make a good noble?" She asked, turning to the man with a wry smirk on her face. She put one leg behind the other and lifted the sides of loose fabric and gave a little mocking bow. Clearly the kind of bow she had only seen whenever she saw someone else doing it, but that was part of her joke. Especially since she was dressed as a lightly armored nomadic warrior, all straps, tough fabric, and earth tones. The closet thing she'd ever worn to a dress was the long part of her tunic that came a few inches down her legs at most. Straightening herself she rolled her shoulder joints, as if such a pose, even done in satire, put strain on her body. Joking was all well and good, but she was wondering if she could actually pull something like this off. She was smirking but there were undertones of embarassment and nervousness in her body posture and voice. Though her good humor was genuine the apprehensiveness made itself apparent as she stared into the middle distance for a moment before glancing back between Jean and Faeril. Crossing her arms she took a few steps back and leaned against the carriage, subconsciously making it harder for any would be attackers to sneak up on her.

The Marauders (2018)

awesome. ya love to see it. ill be getting a post up soon!

The Marauders (2018)

chillin

The Promised Children : Eat, or Be Eaten

Emily, or #2

Fort Hood, Texas, January 23rd.

Number Two's smiled faded from her face, the creature jumping in surprise as an ear-numbing roar blasted through the early morning sky. Eyes wide she stared toward the house as she fumbled for the back seat door of the car. Glancing over at her handler she scrambled inside, slamming the door shut and forgoing her seatbelt in her panic.

"What the fuck was that!?" She asked as their vehicle roared to life. Was Akasha right? Did they just summon a demon or something? Or was it just a noise? Maybe the bomb sounded like that? An explosion was something she could handle, but that did not sound right. The car sped away and Two's back was thrown against the cushion behind her. Not being able to help herself, her eyes were drawn to the back window and she watched the house as it grew smaller in the distance. Suddenly, several disgusting abominations crashed violently through the walls of the house. Two's eyes went wide as saucers and she laughed hysterically. "Oh, great!" Exasperated she sunk back into her chair, still shaking. Trembling, she buckled her seat belt and let herself fall deeper into the carseat until her chin touched the very top of her chest.

"Give the boys and girls in the lab my regards, Antoine. They really out fucking did themselves this time. I can't wait to have nightmares about that." She palmed her forehead, closing her eyes. Could that have been her? Did those...things...somehow come out of the canister? Or were those the people living in that house? And what the HELL was this little girl's deal!? So many things she couldn't even begin to understand. Either way her back was starting to hurt. Straightening herself in her seat, she pulled her shirt back over her shorts and ran her fingers through her hair. She was not getting paid enough for this. Oh, that's right, she wasn't getting paid anything. Those things were right on their ass! They only missed getting eaten by those B-movie horrors by less than a minute. Bombs weren't good enough, huh? Couldn't just shoot them in the back of the head in dark alley? Couldn't poison their tea with arsenic? No! That shit was too easy! We have to make sure they turn into demons from hell, the kind that brave knights kill and that visit children who don't brush their teeth.

Her heart was still beating a million miles a minute. They weren't even done yet. Maybe those monsters followed them, or maybe the army were coming after them for revenge. Perhaps that was the point of the monsters- to provide a distraction while the trio in the car made their getaway. Well, it would probably work. Who cares about a random car fleeing the scene when it was Attack of the Living Roadkill over there? Good, God above! Trying to collect herself, she pressed her palm against the window and squished her nose against the glass, looking to spot if anyone was following them.

Tales from the Spider-Verse: Spidroin [redux]

Clara Cabello and Alejandra Jonas

September 7th

---

Crime doesn't pay.

"You know," Clara postulated, counting a stack of bills between her fingers,"I think some gangster a long time ago came up with that. That way it would scare kids so they wouldn't become gangster too, you know?"

AJ nodded, transferring stolen data onto her computer. "Sure, I can see that. Like how the vikings named the icey land Greenland, and the green land Iceland."

Clara smiled. "You know, I wish more countries were named like that. Like...Russia could be Hotland. England could be Dryland. Nevada could be Wetland, and Hawaii could be Bigland."

"Nevada and Hawaii are states, not countries."

"Well, hey, sorry I don't know the weather of all countries in the world, AJ."

"It's spelt W-E-A-T-H-E-R, not W-H-E-T-H-ER, Clara."

"Well- you-, what?" Clara shoved AJ back onto her sleeping bag and the younger girl giggled. "Smartass. That shit doesn't even make any sense." She shook her head, placing the catch in a purse. "That's 200 right there. A damn good haul, damn good haul. I knew all I needed to do was be a bit more, I dunno, risky. We got the talent, if we just push ourselves. Don't forget that, AJ."

AJ nodded, rolling her eyes. "Thank you, sensei."

Clara shrugged, "I'm just sayin'! You dump on yourself too much."

"Okay, sure. But, speaking of pushing ourselves, how did things go? You kind of brushed off my question when I asked earlier."
"Hey, sorry, but that's because nothin' happened."

"Nothin', huh?" AJ asked flatly, propping her self up on her right elbow.

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"Well-"

"Here it comes."

Clara threw up her arms and fruitlessly shoved AJ's knee, laughing. "Don't be like that! It's just...hard to explain."

AJ sat up, furrowing her brow. "Okay, well...Try."

Earlier that day.

Clara Cabello was on a roll. Perhaps it was because any shred of worry or doubt she normally had when pick pocketing had been replaced. Whether it be by fear, confidence, or perhaps stupidity, Clara was aggressively picking pockets and swiping cash. A sizeable expertly folded wad of cash was growing in her back pockets. The excitement was palpable. But she had to contain herself, otherwise she would look suspicious. Peoples eyes were drawn to grinning idiots, right?

But as a handsome rich business man made his way down the street, his phone just pratically HANGING out of his back pocket, Clara couldn't resist. She grinned and dexterously swiped his phone and stowed it away.

Atleast, she tried too. What happened instead was what was currently stumbling future Clara's words. Her finger stuck to the guys ass, to put it crudely. A more accurate statement would be to say that yeah, her spider powers were activating, and this was just an embarassing and potentially dangerous coincidence. But Clara didn't know that. From her perspective, her fingers stuck to the bottom of his rich guys pants.

Clara tried walking away and the man stopped in his tracks. The two of them halted their momentum, and both turned around in surprise to look at the other. Clara looked with wide-eyed shock, and the man turned with righteous indignation. Gasping, he slapped her across the face, causing her sunglasses to fall off onto the concrete. Her mouth a small "o", Clara brought her fingers to her stinging cheecks. The man was flabber gasted that the woman assaulting him had yet to remove her fingers from his back. He tried to turn around but couldn't, somehow this woman was strong enough to prevent him from turning.

"Get off of me! What are you doing!?"

"I'm...I'm grabbin' your ass, dude." She said numbly, explaining the situation outloud to both herself and the stranger. At this point, several people stopped to look. How did this happen? Wasn't she supposed to be good at this? The man coughed in confusion, choking on his own words.

"Let go!" He palmed her face and started to push, but nothing happened.

"Uh...no." She mumbled into his palm, trying to let go. Her fingers were not caught on his belt loop. She wasn't grabbing him. The very tips of her fingers were pulling the fabric of the pants toward her. Okay. Time to get violent. Something was wrong. She raised her foot and planted against his leg, pushing as hard as she could. Too hard. Harder than she could have imagined she could ever push in her life. Fortunately, the fabric gave way before the man's leg did, and her fingers had three different patches of pants on each one. Clara and the man went flying backwards several feet.

"What the fuck!?" He cried out, scrambling away and clutching the back of his now bruised head.

"Hey, sorry," She managed to shout out, dashing into a nearby alleyway. Her elbows were a little scraped. Like she had touched some wet bread in the sink, she frantically wiped away her fingers tips in an attempt to remove the fabric form her fingers. She succeeded after a bit and sprinted away, eventually assured she lost the trail. Breathing heavily, her cheeks red with embarassment, (so much for not having shame), she pressed her back against an alley wall and burst into genuine laughter. What the hell was that? Curious, she tried to glance down at her hands. Only to find that she couldn't remove them from the alley wall.

"Aw, sick, dude. Nice." She articulated her internal feelings outwardly as she tried to push away. Okay, okay. What was going on? This is just too weird. First the guys pants, now this wall. Was eveything she touched super sticky now? She sagged against the wall, exasperated. After a moment of this, her hands came free. Prancing away from the wall as if she had suddenly discovered a roach on the wall, she wiped her hands off on her hoodie. They didn't feel sticky. Her hoodie wasn't sticky. So, what's the fucking deal?

There was a discarded syrofoam cup on the ground. Gingerly, she kneeled down and extended her index finger towards it. It bounced off, rolling a few inches. Giggling, she did the same thing again. This time, it stuck. Wonderously, she brought the cheap cup up to her face and exanimed the fact that the tip of her finger was lifting this cup all by itself. I want. To let go. She thought. Let go of the crappy cup. Her eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. Let...go. No this wasn't working. She sighed, and the cup fell lightly to the ground. She felt it, then. A conscious effort. A relaxation of some invisible new muscle she didn't know the exact location of.

Curiously, she approached a nearby wall. Clench. Somewhere in her mind, the command word rang true. Her hand stuck to the wall. Release. And her fingers came away. Glancing around, she saw the sidewalk on her left. Receding further into the abandoned alleyway so no one could see her, she placed her hand on the wall. Pulling herself up- woah, pulling herself up was impossibly easy. Did she weigh nothing? She was a few inches of the ground. Instinctively she kicked out her feet, and lo and behold they two stuck to the wall. Right through her shoes. Laughing, she raised her left hand higher. Clench. Right hand and left foot up. Release. Left hand and right foot up. Release. She was two feet off the ground, now. Holding onto nothing. Tears came to her eyes and she held her forehead with her left hand, she laughed.

"What the fuck!?" She cried out in disbelief. Her heart began to soar. This was incredible. Was she dreaming? Had that man slapped her so hard she was sent off to la la land? One hand infront of the other, she ascended up the wall, a bug in an alley. Eventually she summited onto the roof and she rolled onto it, staring up at the sky and breathing heavily. She yelled victoriously, wiping her eyes and sitting up. What the hell, man? Why can she climb up walls? Was there no explanation? How was this possible? Her mind and heart were going a million miles a minute. Handstand! She thought. Easy. So easy, she could do a handstand. Her hands clung to the floor and she walked around. Was she stronger? More agile. Her hoodie fell upwards, revealing her abdomen. After a few seconds Clara fell to the ground and began to reset her hoodie when she thought of something. Her fingers brushed against her abs. Furrowing her brow she lifted up her hoodie and looked herself over. Damn! Was that a six pack? How had she not noticed before? Letting her hoodie fall down she examined her arms. Ripped! She was fucking shredded, dude! Since when?

Grinning, she jumped up to her feet. Time to get home. Question is...how does she get down?

Easy. Fucking easy. Climb. Thinking that confident thought, she pointed her head towards the ground below her and, adrenaline pumping through her veins, began climbing down the side of the wall, staring at the concrete as it approached. Daringly, she reached the ground and detached her feet. Bending her heels over her head she front flipped off the wall and landed on her feet, throwing her arms up in the air like she saw the olympians do.

"Ta-da!"