Spider-Man struggles fiercely, but Emma Frost has him firmly trapped between her powerful thighs. Her gaze is cold and piercing as she leans closer, her voice low and threatening.
Emma: How the hell did you get in here while the others are busy fighting outside? And more importantly what's your plan?
Spider-Man grits his teeth, barely able to breathe.
Spider-Man: I never talk.
The door creaks open. Sophie Cuckoo steps in, holding a slim silver needle filled with a glowing pink serum.
Emma: Thank you, darling.
Emma smoothly snatches it from Sophie's hand and swiftly injects Spider-Man in the neck.
Almost immediately, Spider-Man's eyes glaze over as the serum takes hold. His defenses crumble and he begins to speak, his voice slurred as if drunk, caught in a flood of memories.
Spider-Man (narrating, in a slow, stumbling tone): Well… see, that's complicated… When I first found out Wally was missing and he was in a bad place, I was approached by this S.H.I.E.L.D. agent named Jimmy Woo… and I was like, damn, homie… he really got captured?
And Jimmy said, "Yeah, I know… I thought I was gonna be with her forever… but now I'm all alone."
And I was like, "Damn, homie. You know what?"
And Jimmy Woo said, "You gotta chin up, because you'll find a new partner… but you know what? I'm Spidey."
And Jimmy said, "You know what? I'm Jimmy Woo, and we gonna save the world!"
Suddenly, Emma flicks Spider-Man sharply on the forehead, interrupting his rambling flashback.
Emma: Okay, hold on, hold on. I like a good story as much as the next person… but what in the hell does this have to do with your plan?
Spider-Man blinks, trying to regain focus.
Spider-Man: I'm getting there, I'm getting there!
Emma crosses her arms skeptically.
Emma: How?
Spider-Man's eyes glaze again as he slips into another flashback.
Spider-Man (reliving the scene): So there we were, all in this meeting with the others… Wolverine hands me my depress black suit, and I'm like, "Where did you get this?"
And Logan just snorts, "In your apartment."
Emma raises an eyebrow sharply.
Emma: Plan! Focus!
Spider-Man snaps back to the present for a moment.
Spider-Man: Right, right, right…
Then he drifts off again.
Spider-Man (muttering): But then there's this other thing JJJ's yelling about me again on the Daily Bugle, calling me a menace and I'm like, what did I ever do besides stop crime and occasionally swing into a wedding uninvited?
Emma sighs heavily, clearly exasperated.
Emma: This is hopeless.
Spider-Man continues mumbling behind her, now narrating an off-topic flashback involving a subway chase, Aunt May's banana bread, and a squirrel on fire.
Spider-Man (still going):And then the squirrel looks me dead in the eye and says get this "You're not ready for what's coming." And I believed him.
Emma closes her eyes, silently re-evaluating every choice that led her to this moment.
Emma (dryly): Next time... I'm letting the clones handle this.