[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oQJAsoY.png?1[/img][/center]

"Can you believe what we've come to, loyal listeners?" J Jonah Jameson rages in my ears. "The Times Square New Years Eve Party! One of New York, nay, America's greatest holiday traditions attacked by some video game obsessed nerd with some fancy toys! Not to mention that ever present menace, Spider-Woman! These two freaks teamed up to spoil our party! Sure, some will claim that Spider-Woman was merely saving the people trapped by this so-called 'Arcade', but I know better! If there's one thing ol' Triple J knows, it's media! These two costumed creeps set the whole thing up to make money off their YouTube clips! We've all see it! We all know it! Why am I the only one saying it!?"

"Man, Jonah," I say to myself as I perch above the location a drug bust is about to go down, across the street from the warehouse, "I wish I could say I was making money on this gig. Web fluid is expensive, ya know?"

I got this location from Dad's phone. He thinks I'm staying in tonight and doing homework, but I couldn't do that knowing he was going into a raid. He doesn't know I know that, of course. Probably thinks I would have come to help him. Which I did, but that's beside the point. I'm not letting my old man go in without some super-powered backup. I'll only go in if they need me, thought. Otherwise I can let him do his thing.

Plus, it would be nice to get back to stopping some good old normal crime for once. No more force fields and real life arcade games for a little bit.

Now all that's left to do is wait.

Which means more J Jonah Jameson.

I have a problem, don't I?

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

"You ready for this?" Jean DeWolff asks George Stacy as he straps his kevlar vest on.

"Yea, why wouldn't I be?" he responds, acting like the question is out of the blue. In reality, he knows she's talking about. It's been a long time since he went on a raid like this. He had been the one to do the work. He hit the streets with the officers of VICE and undercover officers to find this drug shipment. It has been a long time since he did anything like that. But ever since he was kicked off the metahuman squad, he's been going crazy. Now, he has the opportunity to stop the tsunami of drugs coming into his city. He isn't going to stay on the sidelines for that.

Deep down, he struggles with the feeling that maybe he's doing this to overcompensate for Gwen's...nightly activities. She's the hero now, and maybe him trying to regain past glory isn't going to do anything but make trouble for her.

But he can't think about that now. He's got a job to do, and he's gonna get it done no matter what.

"George," Jean looks at him from the side of her eye, "you know you can talk to me if you need to, right? We were partners for a long, long time. If anything is bothering you..."

He shakes his head in an attempt to ward her off before she got any further, "I'm good. The only thing bothering me is the fact that this city is losing its fight against addiction. If this bust is going to help stop this 'Ink' infestation, then that's going to make me feel a lot better."

"Okay," DeWolff shrugs, realizing that she's not going to get what she really wants out of this conversation. George could really be a stubborn bastard when he wanted to. Now is one of those times. Maybe she could try to get some real emotion out of him next time. "I'll tell the SWAT lead that we're ready when they area."

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

From my perch above the warehouse, I can see the police getting into position. I can't pick Dad out, but I'm sure he's there. In the alleyway behind the building is the truck where the drugs are. Seems like a bit of an obvious drop off point, but maybe that's the runners' plan. Better to do something almost completely out in the open. make it seem like you're not really doing anything at all. I don't know if they're clever or dumb.

The truck backs up to the warehouse as if it was unloading some cargo during normal operation. The driver gets out and starts talking to his contact in the back. Not sure what gang is getting this delivery, but it doesn't matter. They way things have been going, it'll end up in the hands of the Octopus if the police don't get their hands on it first.

Of course, that's when I notice someone on the rooftop above them. The way the form slinks towards the location of the truck tells me all I need to know. It's the Cat. The one that is working for the Octopus. Which means she's gonna steal the truck.

Not on my watch.

I swing down and land next to her on the roof, "Hi! Isn't it weird that you always see the people you least want to see out and about? Annoying, right?"

"Move along, Spider," she stands and drops into a stance. Now I can see it. I can see Dragon's training in her style. Good. That means I'm definitely going to beat her this time. "You're outnumbered."

"Okay, so, I can count, and that is definitely not true," I mock her.

"Maybe," she smiles wickedly, "but you also need to know all the variables."

From below, I hear the cops breach the warehouse doors and start their assault. But what I hear in response isn't gunfire. No, it's like the whirring of the wind on a dry, hot day. I look through a skylight to see Flint Marko, the Sandman, form out of seemingly nothing in front of the officers. They fire their weapons at him, to no avail of course. Even the criminals who thought they were receiving the shipment join in, but he swats them away with a huge, sandy fist.

If I don't get down there, the cops are going to die.

"Better get moving, Spider," the Cat still has the Cheshire grin on her face as she moves towards the edge of the building. "We all know which one you're going to choose here."

With that, she jumps onto the hood of the truck, and I jump through the skylight.