driftfleet | 'cause it's better than nothing

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'cause it's better than nothing

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(last updated: 1/25/19)

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You show up in someone's head, and you wanna check out a dark closet. Dude.

[Though it's starting to register to him just what's in there, and once it does, he's not taking any chances. Potentially throwing down with Tim's postponed for the time being, instead he jumps to the wall over his desk, and from there to the closet door.

Which he immediately slams shut. And then webs shut. Before rounding on Tim again, and jabbing a finger out toward him to make it very clear this isn't something he's going to be cracking jokes about.]

Alright, I don't know how you got here, I don't know why any of this is happening, I don't even care what you've been poking around in-

[Actually, he did care, he cared a lot, but there was nothing to be done about it right now.]

-but new rule: You do not go anywhere NEAR that door! I don't know if what's in there can follow you back out, but I do know neither of us wants to deal with what'll happen if it does. We clear?

[Tim nods slowly giving Spidey a wary look]

I'm not going into your closet. It's alright.

Although you have to be fair if I show up anywhere and something gives me a dark ominous feeling I'm going to go check it out. It's kind of part of the job. Find the bad thing, fix it in whatever way you can.

[Tim goes and sits down on Spidey's bed] So what ended up happening with Kraven?

Not always the best policy. Especially if you're dealing with sentient alien ooze with a penchant for mind control. More trouble than it's worth, and it doesn't take rejection well. Plus it's got a bad habit of leaving some lousy parting gifts if you do get rid of it.

[He'd been fortunate on that front- the only lingering side effects he'd noticed were mild compared to what Eddie and Colonel Jameson had to deal with. Both of them were still confined to padded rooms for observation. He just got a massive blind spot.

But with Tim staying calm and compliant, Pete's at least continuing to relax. Even the suit's starting to vanish, though for now it's just the mask that's fading away. He's also decided it's safe enough to take his eyes off him, and heads over to the desk to start looking over everything that had been laid out. If only so he knows what he's dealing with- sure he recognizes everyone in them, but he's not used to his pictures moving. Or, well, sparking, in Electro's case. It's only once he touches one that he understands just why Robin even knows the name.

Once he realizes Tim never dropped the photo in question, he decides he might as well just show him. Not like there was a point in keeping it a secret any longer.]

The crazy furball's still loose, and probably still planning to put my head on a wall. So, there's that to look forward to, if any of us ever make it home. But considering I don't know how much you saw, probably best to just let you finish whatever it was you started. Give it here.

[There's a part of Tim that just gets more curious about what he'll see going into the closet now but he's not going to pursue that now.]

And you keep those parting gifts in your closet?

I'm pretty sure I saw your first meeting and perhaps second meeting with him. You were initially in a museum and received a phone call from Liz about Flash.

[Tim holds out the photograph for Pete to take]

Apparently. But I'm still trying to figure out what any of this is. I mean, I know this is all in my head, I feel...something poking around in it, but at the same time it's like we're not. Look, it's...really hard to explain.

[Or one of those things you just had to experience for yourself, but he's not about to play around with that idea. Instead he'll just take the photo from Tim- just touching it is enough to tell him where that particular memory had left off, and he'll hand it back a moment later.]

[As soon as he takes it back, Tim would find himself back in Spidey's shoes. Face-down in the snow again, with Kraven's growling and snarling tipping him off to where the next attack's coming from. The hunter must be feeling confident if he's planning on rushing him from dead ahead. But he's got every reason to be- he's got just about every physical advantage he could have, and definitely way more training for a hand-to-hand brawl. But it remains to be seen if he's got the edge in brains.

Getting back up to his feet, he'd reach down to to thumb the button of the Spider Signal on the belt he wore just under the upper half of his suit. A long-since abandoned vanity project meant to announce his arrival and intimidate the bad guys- something that didn't exactly work out that way- but it was still plenty bright. Bright enough to momentarily blind, say, an overzealous sport hunter trying to tear him apart. He keeps the beam pointed at the ground by hunching over, hiding the action as best he can by acting like his injuries are worse than they really are. And thankfully, it works: Kraven's already pouncing for him when he stands up straight again and flashes the beam right in his face, making it much easier to counter. Kraven's kicked off him the moment they hit the ground, and everything starts coming together.

The hunter's tunnel-visioned now, he doesn't notice that the webs being shot his way aren't being shot at him. Or that his quarry's decision to stick close and maneuver around him within snapping distance isn't because he's still on the defensive and just scrambling to react. Before long, both fighters are confined in a webbed up cage suspended between the trees, and Tim would feel the sense of panic that had been building earlier was quickly being replaced by confidence. Even yanking Kraven's feet out from under him and kicking him into a side of the "cage" wasn't enough to tip him off. But it did add a nice bunch of webbing to his person as he tore himself free- and it was sticking to that new coat of fur just as tenaciously as it did that ridiculous getup of his.

He's able to send him flying into another just as easily. Something that was clearly making Kraven's little tunnel-vision even worse, since he had yet to notice he was slowing down. Not by much, but...enough. The webbing clinging to his fur and his clothing was making it just a little more difficult to move with each fresh application. And he was so eager to claim his kill that he leapt into a third coat all by himself, trying to reach Tim as he clung to the web that made up the ceiling of their little cell. Avoiding that was easy, as was covering him with even more webbing on the way down.]

Yeeeah, the werewolf look was passé, but the mummy thing? Pure. Gold.

[There's no more fear or panic for Tim to feel at this point, just the welcome adrenaline rush and an overflowing amount of confidence that he'd come out on top. Now, it almost felt like a game. Even as the lion man was snapping and clawing at him just inches away, there wasn't so much as a flinch. Just a careful observation of what webbing remained to keep him suspended off the ground, and how long until it snapped. Once it did, he was ready, and delivered his first solid hit of the evening- stepping back before lunging forward to deliver a right-handed haymaker straight to Kraven's jaw as he finally broke free. Not even remotely safe to attempt under any other circumstances, but against someone who couldn't possibly move out of the way or defend in time? It was enough to send the hunter flying into a tree.

From there, the basic premise of the strategy repeats itself. Keep Kraven mad. Keep coating Kraven in as much webbing as possible. But leave the cell before he has a chance to figure out what's going on. The easiest way to do it is to run away- and spray up as many webs between himself and Kraven as possible as he's pursued into the trees. The retreat only stops when the web cartridges run dry, and a still very overconfident Kraven claws his way through the last batch of webs and stalks forward, still tangled with what remains due to the sheer amount of webbing still clinging to his fur.]

"Now you're mine, Prey..."

[Plan successful, the dope had officially been roped. Tim would feel an entirely deserved smirk under that mask.]

Uh, sorry, who's the prey?

[There's nothing Kraven can do to react in time, and a flurry of blows is enough to not just knock him free of the webbing, but off the branch completely to land in a slyly prepared web just above the ground. The hunter's out cold before he even makes contact with it, buuuuut that's not going to be enough to get in the way of some well-deserved gloating as he crawled down to inspect his handiwork. At this point, Tim'd feel entirely too proud of himself to stop even if he could affect the memory.]

Take that, Pussycat! A lesson in humility, courtesy of the original and still Number One genetic misfit- Me!

[The memory would end there, and when Tim found himself back in Pete's room, he'd see a fully civvies-clad Peter Parker busy inspecting everything else in the room. Thumbing through books, checking drawers, trying to find any clue as to what's happening. But he does stop as he senses Tim's return.]

Yeah, the guy's definitely still a threat, but still not so good at dealing with dirty tricks. Pretty sure I'd be a goner in a clean fight, but I like to think I've got a right to a little trickery.

[Tim will hold the photo up for Pete to take again]

I really would like to study that web fluid you use. There could be so many possible applications for it.

I also think you would get along with my older brother. Both of you are chatters when you fight. He just leans more towards puns half the time.

Edited 2019-01-25 09:28 (UTC)

No point in hiding 'em from you now, but there's not as many as you think. Once it's out of the packs, the stuff lasts a couple hours, tops. It's meant to break down completely once it's exposed to the air, otherwise I'd have the whole city looking like one giant haunted house within a week.

[He'd stop his rummaging long enough to take the photo back, and after trying to see if he could just will it out of existence went nowhere, he tossed it across the room to rejoin the others at his desk.]

Your brother, huh? Well, it'd certainly be a refreshing change of pace. You can guess why I'm kinda hoping I don't ever meet the guy anytime soon though, right?

Kraven? yes, I understand. He is relentless and to do such extensive modifications to himself after just one meeting with you.

Do you know who experimented on him?

[Tim gets up from the bed and approaches the photos again. Just looking for the moment]

What? No, no I meant your brother. I mean, I've been stuck out here a year already. Some of us even longer! And, sure I miss...well, everyone. But as great as it'd be to see 'em again, I wouldn't want any of them to be stuck out here too.

I just want us all to be able to go home, not take more people from it.

Oh right, sorry I may have gotten a bit fixated on wondering what makes a person choose to become part animal...

You seem to have a lot of animal-themed villains.

[Tim taps the photo of Rhino]

If I had an answer to that, my life'd be a whole lot easier.

Between Doc Ock, the Rhino, Kraven, and Vulture, New York's turning into one giant Zoo for the Criminally Insane! Heck, even Electro's got a lab accident with genetically altered electric eels to thank for his glowing personality! I even thought Hammerhead was in on the act, but turns out his name's less shark-related and way more literal.

[Not that...Tim would have much context for, well, any of that...]

[This time around, things go a little differently when Tim touches the photo. Maybe just due to the nature of the memory, maybe just due to how he interacted with the trigger, but this time around certain parts of the memory are more detailed than the others.

One of the first things to come into sharper focus is a well-defined sense of anxiety- this wasn't just an accident, this bruiser was deliberately produced and set loose in the city exclusively because of everything he'd been up to as Spider-Man. To keep him busy. On top of that, Sandman hadn't been a walk in the park to deal with either, but at least he could be hurt- even if it was overall kind of a pointless endeavor to do so. This guy though, this guy feels like he's literally trying to pick a fight with an actual building. Even whacking him on the neck with a fire extinguisher didn't even seem to register!

There's also a gut reaction and panic once the Plan B to deal with Rhino falls through. Hoping that luring him into a headfirst charge right into the reinforced corner of the Bugle building would be enough to stop him- or at least, stun him- just led to Rhino barreling right through and out into the open air...22 stories up. And seemingly invulnerable bruiser or not, that can't be good. He's fine with winning the fight, but terrified at the prospect of winning the fight because he caused the other guy to fall to his death. And after an effort to catch him with the webshooters fails, all Tim can do is watch in horror as his fall continues uninterrupted. Sure, the's a brief moment of relief at seeing he's completely unharmed, but...also genuine concern that he fell 22 stories to the ground and is completely unharmed. To say nothing of just what sort of destruction the guy's apparently capable of, this is a fight that cannot be allowed to happen anywhere near people.

So it's down to the business of luring him away, slinging out a few webs to catch a thrown patrol car as he dives down to street level. All it takes to get the Rhino's attention again is a quick bit of mockery, as well as inflicting the indignity of using that horn on his head like like a lateral bar. Of course, now there's the problem of where to take the fight. It's New York City, and he's going to find someplace deserted and away from people how, exactly?]

[Memory pauses / stops at 1:28]

Edited 2019-01-27 20:50 (UTC)

[Tim takes his hand away from the memory and looks back to see if Peter has noticed he's seen another or not]

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'cause it's better than nothing

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