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I leapt out of the vents, landing with a soft thud in the middle of the dark building. I slowly stood up as I looked around, scanning my surroundings. My eyes landed upon a painting resting on the wall, depicting a large, bald man sitting on a throne looking out towards the New York skyline.
"You know, at least mobsters back in the day used to have taste. But trust Fisk to break conventional mob boss norms, I guess." I sighed as I focused back on what I came here to do.
I slowly made my way over to the security room, avoiding cameras as they swept the floor looking for any possible intrusions. I reached the large metal door at the end of the hall and crouched next to it. As I did, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a small vial and a gas mask.
"Night-night time, assholes." I whispered as I opened the vial and and put on my mask. The new and improved formula meant I had 15 seconds before they went to sleep, so I let a few drops flow under the security door before loudly knocking on it.
"Hey! Shift change time!" I yelled, backing away from the door as I started counting down.
A rough voice carried through the door in response.
"Shift change? We're the only ones on duty tonight. The hell?"
The door opened and a guard walked out, clutching his gun, clearly not buying the whole shift change excuse. Not that it mattered though, because 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
Huh. He didn't fall over and collapse. I stared at him with wide eyes as he finally turned over and looked at me.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing here!?" He yelled.
"...Pizza delivery?" I squeaked out in response.
"Yeah? Well I'm gonna be delivering you to your maker..." His voice cut out as he crumpled to the floor in a thud. Okay. More like 25 seconds. Good to know. Fuck chemistry.
I walked past his sleeping figure, which I may or may not have kicked. I then peeked into the security room, finding his two buddies asleep in there as well. Aww, aren't they just the cutest little angels when they're sleeping?
I walked into the room, shoving one of the guards off his chair and taking a seat.
"Disable all the motion sensors on the upper floors, delete all security footage from tonight and turn off the camera... oh you've got to be fucking with me." I stared at the security camera with disbelief, as it showed a woman in a black and white costume with a spider emblem on her back, sneaking through the building on a lower floor.
I turned off the cameras and ran out the room, heading towards the stairwell, but not before grabbing the sleeping guard's ID card.
"Goddamn spider heroes and their goddamn sixth sense for trouble. How the hell did she even know I was here?! I didn't trip any alarms!" I grumbled to myself as I sprinted up the flights of stairs.
I finally reached the top floor, using the ID scanner to let me in. The entire floor was dedicated to being Wilson Fisk's office. Dark oak wood and golden touches graced every surface. It looked like a cheap imitation of a Bond villain's lair. But in the end, it just looked like a tacky businessman's office. Unfortunately for Fisky boy, I had come here with insider information. Turns out his private receptionist sings like a bird when he's being dangled off the side of a building.
I walked over to the backside of the office, behind his desk. I felt around on the wall, hand gliding over the smooth surface, till I felt it. The slightest bump that indicated a protrusion.
"Jackpot."
I pulled my backpack off and began to rifle through it. I pulled out a thermite charge and placed it against the wall where I had found the bump. I set a timer for 10 seconds and retreated back to the other side of the office. I then covered my ears and waited. This was gonna be loud. The thermite began to spark and crack, melting away the wood and revealing a titanium safe underneath.
The thermite continued to work, melting away at the metal as I watched. It gave me a little bit of time to think. Fucking with the biggest crime lord in the city was probably not a great idea. On the other hand, he already had a hate-boner for me after I stole an arms shipment from his lackeys a month ago. So honestly? How much worse could it get?
And it's not like I do this because I like it. Okay, sure, maybe I do get a thrill out of it. But I needed the money! Growing up as an orphan ain't easy. I've got bills to pay, and a job as a newspaper boy wasn't gonna cut it. Whatever's behind Willy's safe, however, might.
As I snapped out of my thoughts, the thermite fizzled out and died. I walked over to the safe, it's locks seemingly melted.
"Please don't be hot, please don't be hot" i whispered as I touched the safe door, before yanking it open with some effort.
"C'mon show me the... money?" My voice trailed off as I looked into the safe. No money. Nada. None. Just a canister with the text 'Specimen 3' scrawled on it.
"GODDAMN IT FISK! YOU CAN'T JUST KEEP MONEY AND DRUGS IN YOUR SAFE LIKE EVERY OTHER NEW YORK BUSINESSMAN???" I yelled.
I just sighed at my luck, mentally kicking myself for thinking Fisk would be normal in any way, shape or form. I pulled out the cylindrical canister and examined it. It was roughly the size of my forearm, and completely white, save for the orange text on it.
"The hell even is this? Some sorta high tech fleshli-" I exclaimed before being rudely interrupted by the stairwell door being kicked down.
I slowly turned to face the music, by which I mean a pissed off girl in black and white spandex.
"Hey there! Long time no see?" I sheepishly said, scanning my environment for an escape plan.
"Long time? I kicked your ass a week ago when I caught you breaking into a museum." Her voice replied, a mixture of amusement and annoyance.
"You know, Spider Woman-"
"It's Ghost Spider."
"Can you turn invisible?"
"...No?"
"Then shut up. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me." I said, slowly slipping the cannister into my backpack and walking around the desk.
"Oh really? How do you figure?" She asked, matching my pace as we now walked in circles.
"Well, for one, you show up every time I rob some rich assholes." I said with a smirk.
"That's called being a hero, dumbass. Kind of my job?" She replied, tone laced with sarcasm.
"Sure but like, I don't think you show up on the Shocker's heists nearly as much as you do mine."
"That's because Spider-Man handles him. You're all mine." She snickered.
"What, so I'm not good enough for the original?" I chuckled and fastened a belt on my backpack's straps as I waited for a response.
She just kind of stayed quiet.
"...Oh my god, he thinks I'm not good enough for him."
"No, no! Its just that you're kinda my villain and not his, so you're my responsibility!" She quickly let out, pretending she was trying not to hurt my feelings but clearly enjoying this situation.
"Do I need to bomb a hospital or something to get his attention?" I said, exasperation evident in my tone.
Ghost Spider's eyes just shrunk as she stared at me.
"You wouldn't."
"Yeah, you're right. I do have to thank you, though."
"For what?" She asked.
"For walking in a circle with me. Made my job a lot easier." Ghost-Spider's eyes widened as she realized I now had my back against the window. I turned and ran through the glass, plummeting towards the street below from a 30 story fall.
"HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHI-"
I screamed as I fell through the air, before reaching back and pulling a cord on my backpack. A parachute deployed as I slowed my descent.
I steered the parachute to the closest rooftop and cut the harnesses, causing me to land on the rooftop and roll across the ground, only coming to stop when I rolled into the ledge on the other side of the rooftop.
I groaned as I stared at the sky. "Never again."
I slowly stood up, everything aching as I finally came to my senses. I took in my surroundings as I walked over to the edge of the roof, spotting a fire escape I could climb down. Before I could enact my plan, however, I heard a thwip behind me, causing me to groan as I turned around.
"So you're just dead set on doing this, huh?"
"Damn right I am." Ghost Spider replied, perched on the ledge across from me.
I slowly raised my arms up and squared my shoulders.
"Let's get it on, then."
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