Summary:Spidey flees and gets medical help as the Hunt continues. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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The general filled both glasses, and said, "God makes some men poets. Some He makes kings, some beggars.
Me He made a hunter. My hand was made for the trigger, my father said. He was a very rich man with a
quarter of a million acres in the Crimea, and he was an ardent sportsman. When I was only five years old he
gave me a little gun, specially made in Moscow for me, to shoot sparrows with. When I shot some of his
prize turkeys with it, he did not punish me; he complimented me on my marksmanship. I killed my first bear
in the Caucasus when I was ten. My whole life has been one prolonged hunt. I went into the army - it was
expected of noblemen's sons - and for a time commanded a division of Cossack cavalry, but my real interest
was always the hunt. I have hunted every kind of game in every land. It would be impossible for me to tell
you how many animals I have killed."
-Richard Connell, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
It is painful to breathe. ALICE was assessing the damage and the list kept getting longer. <Spider-Man, you need medical attention. IMMEDIATELY.>
Spider-Man groans as he slumps forward on Brightwind's back. "No…apples for you…today, Brighty…" he slurs.
It's not a coherent response, but ALICE chooses to interpret it freely. She goes through the contacts, then finds the one "she" wants.
It is painful to watch.
The news story is hot on the late-night news - a bloodbath at a drug warehouse. Thirty-five dead in ways that made grown men, veterans of the police force, buckle and retch. There has been CCTV footage as well. Pictures of the man who had tossed Venom out to sea, threw people around like toys.
And then the phone rings as the clip of Spider-Man being slammed comes on the TV. The phone shows the smiling icon of Spider-Man…
Thea doesn't watch the news, but this story had caught her attention. She'd turned up the volume, and just as she's closing her book at the sight of Peter on the news. The ringing phone makes her jump, staring at it a moment.
She grabs for it, hitting the accept button. "Hello?" Her voice is a little rough, catching in her throat as she stares at the TV.
Meanwhile, Dani holds Peter steady on Brightwind, looking worried as she keeps flying… well, away, as she says, "Um, please tell me there's someplace we can take you, because I don't know if I can really get you into the Asgardian Embassy that easy." Though, she is rapidly running out of other options… of course, there's always the Mansion, but that's another whole barrel of monkeys that she doesn't want to really deal with. But, well, Peter's in bad enough shape that she needs to do something.
A female voice comes up, one that both Thea and Dani can hear. It is soft, husky, but urgent. "Angel, this is ALICE. I believe we have met. Spider-Man needs urgent medical attention. We nee to meet you somewhere that is relatively sterile. Are you anywhere near parking garage south of Central Park? We need someplace we can sanitize on arrival." A pause. "Morlun apparently tracks by scent."
There's a long pause, as Thea sucks in a slow breath, eyes darting around her apartment. What does she have on hand, what can she pack quickly, how much has she eaten today. These little calculations are done in the moment of a heartbeat. She's already on her feet, reaching for sneakers versus some of her usual footwear.
"I can get there, fairly quickly. Can't you bring him here? I don't know who Morlun is, but I can protect him here." Gods help anyone who came for Thea's brother of the heart where she could get to them.
Dani says to ALICE, "Look, we need to get him someplace safe. If that works, that works, but Brightwind can get just about anywhere." She looks a bit wry, "If there's a rooftop I can land on, anyway." She just focuses on keeping Peter steady for now, as she really doesn't want to get him to Valhalla just yet.
ALICE does not even pause. "If Morlun thinks you are in his way, he will kill you. At best, we can keep you on the edge, maybe out of harm's way. He only wants Spider-Man."
"He can /try/." Cool, calm Thea lets that heat lash through her words. "If he wants him, he has to come through me first. He's my brother in everything but blood. The older sister is supposed to protect the younger brother." The words are almost growled, and she can feel the adrenaline prepping to release before she squashes it. "I have more supplies here than what I can bring with me. If you're going to refuse, then tell me where to go. He needs my help."
ALICE sets a waypoint on Thea's phone. To Dani, she says. "Fly 189 degrees south-southwest. It is 5.4 miles away."
Dani nods, urging Brightwind forward, as it won't take long at all for Brightwind to cover that distance. "Alright, hopefully we have enough time for this… I'm suspicious that it isn't a 'scent' thing this jerk is using." Because, well, living in Asgard for a while, you believe in magic and this feels pretty darn weird just like that.
Thea looks at her phone, a soft sigh. "I'll be there." She will shove things in her messenger bag, not bothering to find a jacket as she flies out the door. She doesn't even bother to think to lock the door, Taking the stairs versus waiting on the elevator, she bursts through the lobby of her building and past the doorman to the street. She looks like a hundred other brunette women, running through the city, desperate to get somewhere.
The parking garage is next to an office building, where many of the businesses there keep banker's hours. So by the time Thea gets there around midnight, the place is practically empty.
Well, except for a winged horse, a dusky-skinned Valkyrie, and Spider-Man, lying on the dry pavement, his body shifting just enough to reveal his is alive.
Thea's biokinetic senses tell her he has no business being alive. Kidney damage, multiple muscle shears, a thousand blown capillaries making the skin and muscle black and yellow and purple…a lacerated large intestine, and at least one cracked vertebra.
He should be dead.
The Valkyrie glances up at Thea, and nods a bit, "Guessing you're the healer." For an Asgardian, she's sounding rather like she's from around the Midwest, with a distinct lack of faux Shakespearean accents in her voice. Then she continues, "I'll keep an eye out, while you work." She glances around, looking a bit rattled as she makes sure there's not some insane spider-hunter lurking in the shadows.
He maybe should be dead, but he's not. And now Thea will not let him slip in that direction. Blue eyes glance at the woman, assessing her quickly. "Biokinetic." She doesn't know why she says it, it doesn't matter. Peter matters now, as she kneels next to him.
She yanks her hair back in a sloppy ponytail, bag next to her. "Thanks. Means I can focus." She reaches for him hand touching him. "Come on.." She mutters. She takes a deep breath, eyes closing. "Jesus. So much damage." She will start pouring her power into him, and think maybe it's better he's not with it in the here and now. Her power at this intensity isn't warm, it's burning and tingling like hell.
Spider-Man moans behind the mask, but it is a loud, pained moan. There is energy in it, unlike the tired moan of those ready to die and have it be over. His own healing mingles with hers, closing the internal perforations, moving the septic fluids out of his body. Fifteen minutes. That long, at most, and he'll be healed enough to make it off the roof of this garage.
Dani nods slightly, "I'm from Colorado, I only work in Asgard." She would normally smile at that, but the situation isn't a smiling one at the present. "Before you ask, I have no idea what manner of Niflheim-spawned demon that kicked our asses was. Just said his name was Morlun and he was going to hunt Spidey down and kill him." She pauses, "I think he wants to eat him. Like, his soul, life essence, whatever you want to call it." Her hand grips the hilt of her sheathed sword tightly as she says that.
The pained moan makes her shoulders sag a little bit. It's a good sign, but he's still so hurt. The vertebrae is her focus once the perforations are dealt with, and though her cheeks are pale there is a glistening along her forehead. "Doesn't matter what he is, or he wants. He can't have him. I'll kill him."
Spider-Man's eye-lenses go wide at the audible CLACK as the vertebra moves back into place. The veins of his neck are almost visible under the fabric…and then he slumps back, breathing shallowly. "Oh…oh, God, help me, he…" He stops, and looks to Thea as if seeing him for the first time. "Angel?"
Dani comes back over and crouches down on the other side of Spidey, "Yeah, you're not punching your ticket for Valhalla just yet, Spidey." She glances over at Thea, "And yeah, I share that sentiment, but after facing him in a fight… I've never seen anyone shrug off everything I could do like that." Her eyes narrow, as she starts trying to think of other angles that might work on this Morlun.
Thea still isn't looking up. She won't stop until Peter is in fully healed condition. "I don't know what it is, but if it has a heart, it dies." Her voice is harsh, slightly strained. Her eyes will open, a glance at Peter. "I'm not God, but I'm here." She teases, though it is a little flat.
Spidey looks at Thea, then whispers, "I don't know what he has in him…but I…am pretty sure…he has no heart." He coughs, the bright red of his mask where the mouth is darkens in a different shade of red. "When he hit me…I thought a grenade had gone off. NO ONE'S ever hit me that hard."
Dani frowns, "One thing I noticed, Spidey… I… well, this is going to sound weird, but I don't think you're the first Spider-Man he's hunted." She pauses, then looks over at Thea, "One of my powers, I can make someone face their worst fears. His was seeing all his… previous victims. He shook it off far too quickly, but I saw his reaction. Not sure if that helps at all."
"The only reason you didn't see me, is because he hasn't met me yet." Dani will never believe Peter if he tells her that Thea has her stuff together. Thea is beyond enraged, fury almost like heat pouring off of her. She will glance down at Peter, a mock glare. "You try not to speak until I'm done. Sit there and suffer in silence."
Spider-Man shudders for a moment, then relaxes. "Something he said. How he described what will happen. Like he'd done it before. He said, 'The longest was a week.' He…"
He suddenly froze. "SILK. Another Spider. She had FREAKED when I and someone else opened her vault. She said she was afraid of MORLUN. Like she KNEW him." He looked to Dani. "…How many other victims did you see, Dani? Don't gild the lily, please."
Dani pauses, then sighs, "I didn't count them all, but… well, hundreds." She then looks at Spidey, "Not just Silk, either. He did… something, to Spider-Girl. I don't know what, but it was like he, fed on her somehow. Can you track Silk down? If she knows something of what this is… we need all the information we can get."
"If you don't hush up, I will make you." Thea mock threatens Peter, and then gives Dani a glare of warning. "We can all talk about this later, when you're healed and I order us food and we can all sit down and relax."
Someone else would fixate on the numbers, the hopelessness of it.
But Peter is concentrating on something else.
"Hundreds…okay. There can't be hundreds of us in the world. There would be some sign of Morlun. He doesn't exactly lay low. Okay….something else, something else, he…wait…wait. Suppose it's…quantum. Other realities. Other universes. He…moves between them, somehow. So…he's not from this world. maybe he moves between them, looking for…instances of Spider-People. If they all looked like various people, that might make sense. If they were all versions of me…is that it? He's hopping between universes?'
Dani snaps a look to Thea, "We don't have the luxury of time. And he does his best when he's focusing on the problem." Then she sighs, "Sorry, bit stressed since our asses just got kicked by some sort of demonic spider-hunter bastard."
Then, well, she looks down at Peter, "And… well, yes, that makes sense, actually. Other realities aren't exactly my expertise. I barely keep the Ten Realms straight sometimes."
Thea will look at Dani, and it's murderous, though her voice is cool and crisp in tone. "He should be dead. You can and will give him some time to recover from that." And it is clear if Dani does not, Thea will have something to say or do about it.
"You." She says to Peter. "I just fixed part of your spine. Can you hush for a couple more minutes, to make it easier on me? We will then feed you, because you'll need the protein to heal up and keep your body from crashing."
Spider-Man nods. "Sorry…thinking out loud." He lays back, taking a deep breath. "ALICE, where's the closest all-night pizza joint?"
ALICE pauses. "Spider-Man…Angel…Dani…"
Spider-Man feels his blood turn cold. "…What, ALICE?"
"Morlun was seen entering the Chase-Madison building in the Upper East Side ten minutes ago. During a bank heist."
Spidey's head SNAPS up to Dani. "Dani…that's near CAPTAIN STACY'S PRECINCT. He'll be THERE!"
Dani blinks, then looks at Spidey, "You, stay here and heal." She looks at Thea, "I don't know why you hate my guts, but honestly I don't care. Keep him here and keep him healing. I'll rally who I can and get over there." She pauses, then gives Spidey a wink, "See you soon." She has to radiate confidence, because well… someone has to. And with that, she gets onto Brightwind, urging the steed into the air as she arrows towards the 19th Precinct with haste.
Once she's in the air, she says on her comlink, "Hey, Young Avengers! We got a situation here…" While she says that, she pulls out a burner phone, typing out a quick text.
"Robin, need some help!"
"You'll have to explain to her later that I don't hate her. Not even close. I'm grateful she got you somewhere I could get to you, take care of you." Thea says to Peter. "But she didn't seem to understand how close to dead you were. That I need you to rest and heal. That I need that time to work on you, and for your body to absorb what I am giving you." Thea's voice is soft, and her hand touches his shoulder. "Don't you dare scare me like that again."
Spider-Man…Peter…looks at her, and his face is filled with sorrow.
"I'll…try not to. But I can't promise you that…"
He lay back and looked out at the city.
The urban jungle.