For a second, I'm seized by blind panic. If we were anywhere else, my spider-sense would've kicked in with a warning. As it stands, I'm caught completely off-guard and it's only some strange sense of self-preservation that prevents me from yelling out her name.
Since Siryn's taking care of The Mutant Formerly Known As Wolverine, I'm free to focus solely on Mary Jane. I might not have any powers...I might not even be able to see...but there's no force in this universe -- or any other -- that will stop me from saving her.
With a running start, I shoot off a web to the nearest tree, using the forward momentum to send me swinging upwards. I'm a lot heavier than I remember being just a few short minutes ago, but now's hardly the time to think about starting Atkins. Still too far from the dinosaur – and, more importantly, Mary Jane – to do much of anything, I take aim at another tree, this one closer to the action.
Now, the problem with swinging in an unfamiliar jungle is that it's hard to assess which trees will be able to take the extra -- not to mention sudden -- weight of a human arachnid. Usually I can counteract this problem with some magical combination of my spider-sense, my 20/10 vision and the fact that I'm really, really smart. Right now, though, I'm only working with the last one. Unfotunately, brains are not the most important factor in the trifecta of web-slinging.
The branch I'd latched onto snaps under my weight and I find myself falling again. Luckily, my reflexes are still good enough that I don't end up on the ground. Another web gets me to where I need to be: a high and relatively stable branch. Steadying myself against the trunk, I take aim at another tree about hundred feet away, mentally calculating the trajectory. It'll take us pretty low to the ground, but at least MJ won't be dinosaur food.
"HOLD ON!"
I jump. The window of opportunity here is small and I don't have the time -- or the means -- for finesse. I roughly catch Mary Jane about the waist and we're moving fast enough that her dress rips, leaving T-Rex with a mouthful of tulle and lace and other girly materials whose names I’ll never admit to knowing.
The landing's far from graceful, though I manage to let go of MJ before I duck into a forward roll, leaving her -- somewhat improbably -- on her feet, while I get a face full of dirt. Pulling myself up, I double back, sweep MJ into my arms and start running for both of our lives.
no subject
Since Siryn's taking care of The Mutant Formerly Known As Wolverine, I'm free to focus solely on Mary Jane. I might not have any powers...I might not even be able to see...but there's no force in this universe -- or any other -- that will stop me from saving her.
With a running start, I shoot off a web to the nearest tree, using the forward momentum to send me swinging upwards. I'm a lot heavier than I remember being just a few short minutes ago, but now's hardly the time to think about starting Atkins. Still too far from the dinosaur – and, more importantly, Mary Jane – to do much of anything, I take aim at another tree, this one closer to the action.
Now, the problem with swinging in an unfamiliar jungle is that it's hard to assess which trees will be able to take the extra -- not to mention sudden -- weight of a human arachnid. Usually I can counteract this problem with some magical combination of my spider-sense, my 20/10 vision and the fact that I'm really, really smart. Right now, though, I'm only working with the last one. Unfotunately, brains are not the most important factor in the trifecta of web-slinging.
The branch I'd latched onto snaps under my weight and I find myself falling again. Luckily, my reflexes are still good enough that I don't end up on the ground. Another web gets me to where I need to be: a high and relatively stable branch. Steadying myself against the trunk, I take aim at another tree about hundred feet away, mentally calculating the trajectory. It'll take us pretty low to the ground, but at least MJ won't be dinosaur food.
"HOLD ON!"
I jump. The window of opportunity here is small and I don't have the time -- or the means -- for finesse. I roughly catch Mary Jane about the waist and we're moving fast enough that her dress rips, leaving T-Rex with a mouthful of tulle and lace and other girly materials whose names I’ll never admit to knowing.
The landing's far from graceful, though I manage to let go of MJ before I duck into a forward roll, leaving her -- somewhat improbably -- on her feet, while I get a face full of dirt. Pulling myself up, I double back, sweep MJ into my arms and start running for both of our lives.
"Hey," I say breathlessly.