[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XV1PIyT.jpg?2[/img][/center]

[color=8493ca][b]"You will not hold me!"[/b][/color] Aleksi Sytsevich rages as he bangs against the bars of the Stryker's Island prison cell he is now assigned to. His orange prison suit, the largest size the prison had in its selection, was struggling against the sheer mass of the prisoner. His muscular forearms are already ripping the sleeves like sausage stuffed into too much casing. His massive fist strike the door, rattling the metal. It may have broken if he was allowed to keep at it. [color=8493ca][b]"No prison can hold me!"[/b][/color]

[color=007236][b]"Shut up you giant bastard,"[/b][/color] Mac Gargan grumbles from the top bunk of the cell, flipping through a well worn copy of War of the Worlds. He has been cursing his luck ever since he was assigned the giant Russian as a cellmate. Prison is never going to be comfortable, but sharing a cell with a seven-foot-tall, three-hundred-pund man made of pure muscle sure doesn't help the situation. [color=007236][b]"If you're gonna fill up my space the least you can do is shut the hell up and let me read in peace."[/b][/color]

[color=8493ca][b]"Heh,"[/b][/color] the giant grunts. [color=8493ca][b]"Reading. Meanwhile we rot in here."[/b][/color]

[color=007236][b]"Just because you can't read doesn't mean the rest of us don't enjoy it,"[/b][/color] Gargan smiles over the book, revealing the chipped tooth in the front of his mouth. 

Sytsevich roars and shakes the bunk, [color=8493ca][b]"You're always insulting me! I can read! You think you're so smart! But all you did against Spider-Woman vas get captured!"[/b][/color]

[color=007236][b]"Yea well the rest of you didn't do jack shit either!"[/b][/color] Gargan growls back. 

This is how it's been between the Enforcers since their capture by Spider-Woman and the police. The four of them had never been stopped before now, and the taste of failure seems to sit bitter in their mouths. The infighting, now prevalent, had never happened while they were a well oiled machine. But then they had never had to deal with someone like Spider-Woman before, either.

[color=0072bc][b]"Quiet, the two of you,"[/b][/color] Digger Harkness hisses from the next cell over, trying to keep the peace. He knows they won't be in here long. The Tarantula won't allow it. What he doesn't know is what he'll do when he gets out. The world is changing, and he has no idea if he even has a place in it anymore. Maybe it's time to cash out and walk away. Maybe head back home and disappear into the Outback. That wouldn't be so bad. [color=0072bc][b]"We'll be outta here in no time. Then you can take out all your aggression."[/b][/color]

One thing he has heard in the joint is that Silvio Manfredi had failed himself, felled by the hand of a man known only as "the Punisher" on the streets. That meant Black Tarantula may be without the Enforcers, but also without their biggest roadblock up until this point. At least there is a bright side.

[color=007236][b]"I'm certainly gonna show Spider-Woman what it's like to be beat down and embarrassed,"[/b][/color] Gargan seethes. While the man is a good tactician, Digger always thought the ex-military man was too quick for a fight, allowing bloodlust to mar otherwise good tactics. [color=007236][b]"She's gonna pay."[/b][/color]

[color=8493ca][b]"Yes,"[/b][/color] Aleksi nods. [color=8493ca][b]"We vill make her pay."[/b][/color]

[color=0072bc][b]"Oh yea?"[/b][/color] Digger laughs mockingly. [color=0072bc][b]"And how are you gonna do that? You're two dumb bastards with no powers. She's a goddamn superhero. Best just leave her alone, gents."[/b][/color]

[color=007236][b]"Whatsamatter, Harkness?"[/b][/color] Gargan sat up in bed. [color=007236][b]"You losing your mojo? Can't get it up anymore?"[/b][/color]

[color=8493ca][b]"Heh."[/b][/color]

[color=0072bc][b]"Maybe I just don't wanna get my teeth kicked in by some super powered kid again,"[/b][/color] Harkness mumbles. [color=0072bc][b]"Maybe it's time to realize this life is short term anyway. Maybe with all these freaks showin' up is a sign for us to move on. Cash out."[/b][/color]

[color=007236][b]"Yea, you go do that,"[/b][/color] Gargan rolls his eyes. [color=007236][b]"More loot for me."[/b][/color]

[center]**********[/center]

[color=0054a6]"So I take it you like her?"[/color] Peter interjects, slightly bored, after I've been going on about Doctor Kafka and the Institute for a good twenty minutes as I swing through the city on patrol. He's at Oscorp, taking his data on the lizard rats Doctor Octavius and Doctor Connors have been working on. He seems about as enthused about that as he does in my gushing over my new boss. Peter may be a genius, but it'd be a lie to say he doesn't know he's a genius. He wants to be challenged. Wants more to do on the project. He'll get there. I tell him to be patient, but it doesn't help much.

[color=ec008c][b]"Sorry,"[/b][/color] I respond sheepishly. [color=ec008c][b]"But yea. I think this is really what I should do with my life."[/b][/color]

[color=0054a6]"Other than your extracurriculars?"[/color] he interjects slyly.

[color=ec008c][b]"Yea, obviously that doesn't end."[/b][/color] As I back-flip-swing over a group of kids below, they go nuts, and I give them an excited wave, which only increases their excitement. [color=ec008c][b][b]"But I need to make money somehow. And the two could end up helping one another."[/b][/b][/color]

[color=0054a6]"Like with the Fireflies?"[/color]

[color=ec008c][b]"Yea,"[/b][/color] my voice drops. Ever since the night of the fires, they've been quiet. The way they, or he or she, was talking, the fires would be coming fast and furious. Instead, we've got nothing. Not even more random YouTube videos of their weirdo manifestos. I definitely expected more of that. [color=ec008c][b]"I asked her about that. She thinks it's just someone with delusions. The manifesto is meaningless."[/b][/color]

[color=003471]"You don't agree,"[/color] he can hear the trepidation in my voice. It's not a question. It's a statement.

I hate that he can see right through me. Well, not so much hate as love.

[color=ec008c][b]"No. The fire was too hot. Too powerful to be some random crazy guy with some gas and a match. He's been outfitted."[/b][/color]

[color=0054a6]"I considered that as well,"[/color] Peter agreed. [color=0054a6]"Which means we have to find where he got...whatever he used."[/color]

[color=ec008c][b]"Well, we need to find him first."[/b][/color]

[center]**********[/center]

[color=82ca9d]"Mister Parker,"[/color] Otto Octavius announces his presence in the lab, causing Peter to jump in his chair slightly. Being a Friday in the summer, most of the normal staff is already home or on their way to a vacation. [color=82ca9d]"You should be at home. With Gwen. No reason for you to still be here. Go enjoy your youth. Live your life, young man. Plenty of time for science later."[/color]

[color=0054a6]"They've been acting weird,"[/color] Peter motions towards the rats in their enclosures. [color=0054a6]"Plus Gwen started at Ravencroft today, so she's busy."[/color]

[color=82ca9d]"Ah, I will have to contact Ashley to see how they got along,"[/color] Otto smiles down at the boy before turning his attention to the rats. [color=82ca9d]"Doctor Connors had mentioned they were acting odd the past few days, but I've had other matters to deal with recently. What have we been seeing?"[/color]

The rats, spliced with the healing genes of a lizard, are the first in the line of true tests of Connors and Octavius's belief that gene therapy like this could one day cure cancer, paralysis, and maybe even the loss of limbs, should it work as they theorize. The idea, if it works, could be the the thing that revolutionizes the medical field, saving millions upon millions of lives. Pete is honored to work on the project, even if he thinks he can be doing more.

[color=0054a6]"The injuries we've seen are healing rapidly,"[/color] Pete gives his report. [color=0054a6]"The genes don't seem to have a obvious negative effect. At first. We've been seeing increased aggression between the rats when they're in the communal space, recently. The increased aggression leads to fights, which leads to increased healing. The healing then seems to lead to even more aggression. I think we're looking at a feedback loop. Something, whether it's adrenaline or what, is causing the lizard genes to take over. We haven't seen any physical transformations, but at this point I'm not ruling it out."[/color]

Peter looks up at Doctor Octavius, and can see the wheels turning in the genius's head. Parker still cannot believe how lucky he is to work with one of the greatest minds in the world. Octavius has pushed forward robotics, genetics, and computing in his many stops. He's worked for entities like STAR Labs and Stark Industries before coming to Oscorp. Hell, people think that he'll get the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physics at some point.

Peter only hopes he can be as great as Octavius one day.

[color=82ca9d]"Well, we should keep up the tests,"[/color] Otto rubs his chin. [color=82ca9d]"We want to know the worst that could possibly happen. On Monday we'll take a blood sample of the aggressive animals and see what we can find. For now, go home, Parker. Enjoy your weekend. School starts soon. Not much freedom left."[/color]

[color=0054a6]"Sure thing, Dr. Octavius,"[/color] Pete hops off the stool and heads towards the exit of the lab. [color=0054a6]"Have a nice weekend."[/color]

[color=82ca9d]"Oh I will, Peter,"[/color] Otto smiles broadly. [color=82ca9d]"You do the same."[/color]

As the boy leaves, Otto turns back to the rats, his friendly smile melting into a malicious grin. He opens the doors to the communal area of the rats, allowing the supposedly-aggressive rats into the shared space. The scientist watches eagerly as the two rats entered, and immediately began tearing into one another. As their teeth and claws tear into their bretheren, the gashes and scrapes they leave heal almost instantly. As the fight continues, it becomes more and more ferocious, with neither rat able to gain an upper hand.

As the struggle continues, Otto notices that not only are the animals' aggressive tendencies increasing, their strength does as well. And while most animals would have been tired by the struggle by now, the two rats are not losing steam in the slightest.

[color=82ca9d]"Well, well,"[/color] Otto separates the rats and puts one back into its enclose. He holds the other, wriggling creature, snapping unsuccessfully at the scientist's hand. Otto can see green scales begin to form under the creature's fur as it continues to struggle. Otto picks up a syringe and takes a blood sample before putting the test subject back in its pen. As its anger subsides, Octavius can see the scales fade, and flake off.

[color=82ca9d]"Time to start the next round of trials,"[/color] Octavius muses as the red blood int the syringe glints in his eyes.

[center]**********[/center]

Obi-Wan had it wrong. Mos Eisley is not the most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the universe. A seedy bar town on the edge of the galaxy where bounty hunters and criminals hang out probably isn't the greatest neighborhood, but I mean, I've been to the Bronx. Nope. That isn't half as bad as Reddit and 4chan. Those would make a Jedi Master's beard whiten faster than a decade or two in the desert sun. 

Which makes them the perfect place to try and find out where the Fireflies came from. The YouTube video from the other night shows whoever is leading them is ready and desperate to broadcast th"eir nutball message. They didn't start broadcasting that message after their first attack. There's a trail somewhere out there.

[color=0054a6]"Jesus sex robots need to be a thing yesterday,"[/color] Peter grumbles from the bed as he surfs the sites as well. [color=0054a6]"You'd think guys who can't get laid would be in nirvana now. 10 years ago you had to pay for porn. I assume."[/color]

[color=ec008c]"You've never been laid, sweetheart,"[/color] I stick my tongue out at him.

[color=0054a6]"Yea, but I don't act like that's some grave injustice against me. You find anything?"[/color]

[color=ec008c]"Too much, to be honest,"[/color] I shake my head. [color=ec008c]"There's plenty of threats against superheroes. A lot of chatter about rising up against them. A lot of mentions of Jameson. Thanks Triple J."[/color]

[color=0054a6]"Lot's of keyboard warriors,"[/color] Peter responds idly. [color=0054a6]"Wait.."[/color]

[color=ec008c]"What?"[/color]

[color=0054a6]"Some similar rhetoric here. Talking about humanity being forsaken. Cleansing fire. Similar stuff in posts from the user over the past 6-ish months. It all fits."[/color]

Standing, I check my backpack to make sure my costume is inside, [color=ec008c]"Can you find the user?"[/color]

[color=0054a6]"Sure, it might take me a while,"[/color] he nods. [color=0054a6]"I'll let you know when I get a ping."[/color]

[color=ec008c]"Thanks, babe,"[/color] I give him a kiss as I go to leave. [color=ec008c]"I'll be swinging, so I'll be ready."[/color]