r/AvengersTowerNY

One night, in his Manhattan apartment, Ben Reilly, better known as the Scarlet Spider, was listening to his police scanner. Most of the night had been calm, or dealt with, unlike his day.

“Journal. Sunday, July 5th.

Today multiple people confused me with Parker. Insulted my hair. Wouldn't listen when I told them that I wasn't Parker until it was already a scene.”

[Police Scanner]: ‘There has been a reported shooting in the Harlem area.’

“I wish people wouldn't assume I'm Parker. Five years ago I found out I was a clone of Parker. I did some things I'm not proud of. I ran away, took the name Ben Reilly—along with a few others. I never thought I'd end up back in New York.”

[Police Scanner]: ‘Requesting backup immediately! The suspect appears to be armed with advanced weaponry!’

Ben pulls on the faded red suit beneath the blue hoodie, tugging the mask over his face. A face. The face he stole. Parker's face.

“Most of my life has been spent trying to prove I'm someone else. I came back a few years ago and made some friends. The first real friends I've ever had. The New Warriors. That's where I met Angel. She was the first person who looked at me and saw... me. Not Peter. Not a clone. Just Ben. Then I did what I always do. I ran. While I was gone, she got cancer. She needed people around her. I wasn't one of them.”

Ben climbs onto the fire escape and launches into the night, a web-line catching the side of a nearby building before carrying him over the traffic below.

[Police Scanner]: ‘Units responding, be advised: multiple civilians remain inside the building. Suspect is firing indiscriminately. Exercise extreme caution.’

The city blurs beneath him. Rooftops become stepping stones. Neon signs streak past. Sirens grow louder with every swing.

“I went to Vegas, and it was hell. I battled demons, lived through hallucinations, died more times than I care to count. It was my own personal Sin City. I met Abigail Mercury there. Kid had Crooks' Disease. Brave enough to smile through it, even when everyone else had given up. I promised I'd find a way to help her. I didn't. I couldn’t.”

A burst of gunfire echoes several blocks ahead. Ben changes direction before his feet even touch the next rooftop.

[Police Scanner]: ‘Officer down! Officer down! Any available units, respond immediately!’

“That's the thing about guilt. It doesn't get lighter. You just get stronger carrying it.”

Another web-line shoots from his wrist, carrying him across the avenue.

“I'm done running. I'm staying in New York. I'm going to help whoever I can. And that means I don't let anyone get too close. Because…”

He spots the flashing lights below. Civilians scatter into the street as rounds tear through shattered windows. Ben tucks into a dive.

“Because every single time I do, they get hurt.”

The Scarlet Spider lands in a crouch as another volley of gunfire erupts overhead. Without a word, he runs toward it.

(OOC: If you would like to interact, it’s open to do so.)

But you can call me hawkeye. Wait, you've never heard of me? No, that is kate. No, that is... eh, this is getting tiring.

I am Azazel, patriarch of the Neyaphem, sovereign of the dark places inbetween, and, if the old bloodlines speak true, something of a devil in more than name alone.

It is a rare pleasure to speak to those who still possess qualities that interest me...most who find their way to me are either desperate or deliciously foolish. Which, I wonder, might you end up being?

Do feel free to introduce yourself. But know that you will never ever reach the same height as you did today. After all... once you’ve danced with the father of demons, the rest of the world tends to feel rather...pedestrian.

Speaking to me might perhaps become the most interesting thing you ever manage in your short existence. For me of course it will most likely be another boring day in an eternity of them...

But don't let this deter you, please, try your best to amuse me.

Zey really zought zat zey could keep ze Leaper in zeir simple prison.

An insult, zat is what zat is.

It was very simple to break out, shows how well ze American system works. Now zat I am free, zere is just ze matter of getting back into ze heisting!

OOC: honestly I just wanted my silly character back so I'm Batroc again now :)

Privet, my friends. I am Laynia Sergeievna Petrovna, but the world knows me as Darkstar. I'm a mutant with a complicated history, but I have always tried my best to be on the side of good.

For a time I put the Motherland first...but I am a mutant, and my people come first. My true people. Separated not by borders but by our birthright, our unique abilities.

In Russia there is a phrase I hold dear...Один за всех, и все за одного. It is similar to the english expresion One for All and All For One. This is how I believe it should be for us as mutants.

Dasvidaniya for now...and have a wonderful night.

My birth certificate says my name is David Cannon. But that ain't who I am anymore. My name is Whirlwind.

I've been a lot of things. Career criminal, supervillain, security guard, wannabe hero, muscle for the bad guys and the good guys both.

But above all I'm a mutant. Not one of the famous ones. Hell half the time people forget I'm even a mutant at all. But that don't make me not one of you.

You think the world treats mutants like trash? Try being a mutant and broke. With a criminal record too. Man like me is the lowest of the low. No wonder I keep returning to a life of crime.

Buncha smug heroes running around thinking this is easy. X-men never asked me if I wanted to join their big clubhouse. No one showed up to my house as a kid offering a Mansion and hope for a future.

You know while I'm griping, Stark and Pym can %##$ off too. Rich as hell but can't look the other way once in awhile.

Gonna give it another shot going straight..all I can do.

Brand looks out into the cosmos and sighs. She’s out of the loop with the Annihilators, her team is growing tired of the repetitiveness of space, and she was exhausted. Combine that with the uncertainty of Frost… they’re not feeling too good. She checks her intergalactic calendar and sees that stupid holiday America celebrates, and it gives her an idea. Maybe Sersi’s in her head, maybe she’s truly lost her marbles, but it’s worth a shot. She clicks on her radio and calls out to the ruby-eyed man.

Summers. Bring your team to the bridge. I have a surprise.

She clicks the receiver off before she can hear a response and calls out to the recent strays she’s collected. Time for the teams to get acquainted with each other.

OOC: A “party” for the X-Men and others aboard Brand’s ship. Interactable if you’re here.

And happy 250th birthday to America! I hope you all have an amazing day! Eat plenty of hot dogs, play some baseball, and safely light those firecrackers!

Warren spent hours discussing with whoever would listen to set up the medical equipment and storage. Once this was complete, he gathered the students for a presentation.

Hello, student body of the mansion. My name is Warren Worthington III, and I recently rejoined the faculty body. In light of recent... "unwanted exposure," I overheard the idea from a concerned student and decided to provide my backing towards a noble venture.

Starting today, the Emma Frost Blood Drive will be available for all willing volunteers who want to help our vampiric colleague and friend. Simply go to Dr. McCoy and ask to have your blood drawn. I myself will be the first one to donate blood. Once we have twenty bags collected and stored, Herr Wagner will teleport the collection to Ms. Sage before teleporting out to ensure his safety while the next batch is prepared.

If you have any questions, I will take them up front. Yes, written notes of compassion will also be accepted with any blood donated.

I despise this 4th of July holiday you Americans do. Celebrating “freedom” what a waste.

Name's Calvin Rankin. They call me the Mimic. Any mutant, any power. I can use it. Make it my own. Isn't permanent..at least not usually anyway.

Once upon a time, I was part of the original X-Men. I was even co-captain. Didn't go so well...no reason to dwell on it. But now...Iceman, Angel, Cyclops, The Beast, Marvel Girl....I do what they do. All of it.

I'm a one man X-Team.

So feel free to add your powers to what I already got...cause anything you can do, I can do better.

*Blade sits down on a rooftop, overlooking new york, a bottle of aged alcohol sitting next to him as he looks out, not patrolling, but thinking of his life*

With Independence Day happening tomorrow, I figured I would share a message for all my fellow Americans and freedom-lovers alike. Stay safe everyone, and have a great time tomorrow!

You hire Gamora if you want results.

In a matter of days, she was ready produce then. Blades sharpened, target located, easy mark, seemingly.

Of course, she knows her target isn’t going down without a fight. Good. She gets a good workout and then she gets to choose whether she wants more pay, or wants to take a a crazy bird woman off the board. Both options have their perks.

Sneaking onto the ship was easy. Gamora has done it before, hiding in a supply drop and waiting for her opening. When she sees it, she begins to sneak her way through the ship, weaving around any cameras.

Eventually, she finds the room of a currently sleeping Deathbird. Gamora stands over the bed, sword in hand. Shame, this was supposed to be harder.

My name is Kaine Parker, but you can call me the Scarlet Spider. No, not the one with the blue hoodie. I’m different… in a lot of ways. I’m here to help as best I can, do things my way, and be my own kinda person.

Telepathy is quite the tool. It’s so associated with the X-Men by this point that many forget that others outside of them possess it. Others such as Sersi.

It’s not her favorite power to toy with. Hard to compete with being able to anything into just about anything else. Been too long since she’s made a man into a pig, she should fix that. But it’s fun, when she’s bored.

Sometimes, Sersi will hear something that intrigues her. Someone will have a thought that leads her to dig into another thought. That chain starts at the party she was currently attending. Her nosiness led her to realize that one of the guests at the party was a Skrull. Nothing too unique on its own, but what this Skrull was thinking about was very interesting. They had escaped to Earth in order to avoid the war. The war? That’s interesting.

She doesn’t love how it feels to teleport. But that was one of her practical abilities, as opposed to her enjoyable ones.

She lurks around various planets, listening in on countless conversations, slowly piecing together what was going on together via the gossip people store in their heads. This was very interesting indeed.

Sersi does not believe in a lot of the traditions of the Eternals. But that does not mean she rejects her duties outright. If her help is needed somewhere, she will be there.

Besides, she has a feeling she’s going to get so have a lot of fun doing it, anyway.

So, with one last teleport, Sersi arrives on the Tyrfing. She takes a seat after helping herself to a drink she found. Assuming she’s right, this is exactly where she needs to be.