Chapter Nine: Communication
Central Bayville
Sabertooth stared at his opponent with a crooked smirk. "Who beat you with the ugly stick? They'd sure did a number... Hehe, anything I do is only gonna improve that ugly mug of yours."
The scarred man's eyes widened at the insult and what appeared to be fire flared inside them at Creed's statement. The man stood at six foot four inches tall, with long brown hair that was slightly curly and was cut unevenly at the shoulders. His form was almost outrageously muscular, but what stood out the most was the man's face. His eyes literally glowed as if they were on fire, his jawline was grizzled and unshaven and he had a scar that ran down from his forehead across his nose and ended after it split his top lip. His appearance almost seemed unholy, as if he was a beast of nightmares.
Lashing out at the marginally larger mutant the scarred man barred his teeth in rage. Sabertooth narrowly avoided the first angry blow which shattered the wall behind him. While he expected the man to be fierce in battle, he hadn't expected the powerful blows that followed behind each attack he barely managed to dodge.
'This ugly guy is strong if nothing else' Creed thought internally.
"You gotta do better than that with me, ugly." Creed taunted as he grabbed ahold of his opponent's arm after one of his failed attacks, throwing him into the opposite wall creating a huge impression and sending debris everywhere. To his surprise, when the clouds of debris cleared, the scarred man had landed on the wall appearing completely unfazed. Then he lunged at Sabertooth and tackled him squarely to the ground. Slamming a palm to Creed's face he held with force, screaming Creed's face began to burn at Kaine's acid touch.
After marking him and before he completely let go he whispered to his defeated enemy. "My deformity is caused by a monster... Much like yourself. He will pay for the pain of my existence! And you will now share that pain! Bare the Mark of KAINE!"
Sabertooth gathered his strength and kicked Kaine off of him in a single spasm of agonized unfiltered fury. Sabertooth then escaped into the night half-blinded by the scar he knew would eventually heal, but the memory of this night would live on inside his mind. His only thought, beyond his own agony, was that 'Whoever Kaine was, he was clearly NOT this Scarlet Spider'. Leaving him alone would be a very good idea. No, not just a good idea... A necessity!
Lookout Position Three.
"So um... You promise not to say anything about the warehouse right?" Kitty asked nervously. Kitty's biggest concern about finding the Scarlett Spider was that he would give out their secret. It would just be the worst.
"Right," Ben assured them. He did not know what was going on between these girls and their teammates but it wasn't his place to get involved. He wasn't going to judge their motives for their nighttime activities any more than he wanted anyone to discuss his own reasons for what he did. So he promised.
Rogue nodded and hit her com-link. "This is Rogue. We got the Spider here. If y'all wanna chat then drop on by."
"So..." Tabby grinned while they waited for the rest of the team. "You got a Spider-Girlfriend around or is there an opening?" Ben's eyes widened behind his mask as Rogue blushed and Kitty listened intently.
"What was that Rogue?" Scott's voice came back over the still open com line."We didn't get that last message."
"Ah... never mind Scott. Just come on over." She said as she hurriedly shut off the com-link.
"So, you got an answer there sweet cheeks?" Tabby said making the other three feel much more embarrassed.
Peter Parker: New York.
"I hope this won't be too long MJ but I can't say for sure. I've told Aunt May I'll be back as soon as I can but..." He sighed. Peter hated having to put everything on hold in his life when a preserved threat was nearby. It had cost him many relationships and made his social life much more complicated.
"Don't worry Tiger. I promise I'll check in on her." She said grabbing his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Thanks, MJ. You're the best!" Peter squeezed her hand back not knowing what he would do without her in his life.
"You know it, Tiger." Mary Jane smiled brighter. "Now go take care of whatever you have to take care of." She knew too well the game he liked to play. He would tell everyone that everything was 'okay', then when he leaves he would have the hardest battles he has ever had to face before. If she didn't already fiercely love him for it, she probably wouldn't be able to stand the knowledge of what he planned.
Peter Parker nodded as he considered how lucky he really was. He wasn't going to let anyone take that away from him... Not for the second time. The memory of Gwen's death still haunted his nightmares.
Bayville
As the other members of the X-men converged on the rooftop, Ben Reilly took a deep breath. He was exposing himself heavily here, and he wasn't entirely certain why. He remembered how Peter Parker had tried to join the Fantastic Four shortly after he had become Spider-man, only to be rebuffed. That had marked the beginning of his rivalry - 'friendship' with Johnny Storm. Sometimes it had been hard not to be jealous of the flashy and rather mouthy human torch. He wasn't hounded by the press and nor would he ever have to worry about paying a mortgage. He could walk into a room and people would fawn all over him.
Ben Parker had taught his nephew that life wasn't about being fair. It was about making the best of what you had. Ben Reilly had come to see that for all the things that the hot-headed Storm had, he would NEVER have an Uncle Ben or an Aunt May. As for girls... Well, Peter had MJ.
Ben no longer had the identity of Peter Parker. He could always have solace as Peter because he had those supportive pillars who kept Spider-Man standing at the end of a harsh battle. Who did Ben have... what would make the Scarlett Spider stand back up after being knocked down... Currently no one. Who knew what just might be in his future if he didn't have those similar pillars.
But the point was that for whatever reason, Ben was here and now the X-men were here, he wasn't sure if he would join a team but it would be nice to find some like-minded individuals.
Finally, a helicopter landed close by and escorted by a scowling and rugged-looking man was their apparent leader... In a wheelchair? Though apparently confined to a wheelchair, the man's considerable presence was not lessened by that fact.
"Greetings Scarlet Spider. I am Professor Charles Xavier and I have been looking forward to meeting you."