A resounding boom ripped through the warehouse, rattling Gosunkugi's
teeth. Wondering just what had happened, his eyes fell on the outlines of
several drums of what he realized was diesel fuel dotting the floor.
Oh, FUCK! If any more of those things blew... A muffled scream of
fear from Nabiki grabbed his attention. He saw a flaming piece of debris
dangerously close to Nabiki's right leg, the chain around her ankles holding
them in place. Rushing over, he kicked the piece of shrapnel away before
snapping the chain around her ankles and legs.
What now? he thought as he heard an omninous groaning sound from the
ceiling, followed by the shriek of tearing metal. Turning around, he saw
Doctor Octopus scowling ferally with all four tentacles stretching into the
darkness above.
With a loud screech, a good deal of the rafters came crashing down.
Doc Ock disappeared through a side door. Gosunkugi cursed as the smoke began
to burn his lungs, depriving him of the oxygen he needed. The dancing flames
cast erratic patterns of garish orange light in all directions, seeming to
change the dimensions of things around him with the shimmer of the heat.
Almost reluctantly, he ripped the tape from Nabiki's mouth. She let
out a small shout before coughing from the smoke. Forcing himself to remain
calm, he pulled away the remaining chains.
Can't go through the door, he thought, ducking as another drum
exploded, just gotta go up! Not bothering to snap Nabiki's handcuffs,
Gosunkugi put her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and shot a web up
to where the skylight rested. Making a brief stop to retrieve his camera,
which Nabiki didn't see due to her head being at the small of his back, he
continued to the roof.
The air outside filled Gosunkugi's lungs, refreshing him almost
completely. The sound of wailing sirens and blasting horns assaulted his
ears, drawing his gaze to the street below. Several fire trucks, accompanied
by police cruisers, rumbled up the street, gawkers on the sidewalk pointing
at the burning warehouse. Lights from the approaching emergency vehicles
washed over the sides of neighboring buildings as the noise grew steadily
louder.
"Would you mind putting me down?" Nabiki asked with a hint of
irritation.
"You might want to reconsider that," Gosunkugi said as he leapt into
space. Nabiki's shrill scream merged with the sound of the sirens as
Gosunkugi swung into the night.
=================================
"Hey, Nabiki," Spiderman said, "We're home." She opened her eyes to
find the familiar wall of the Tendo Dojo before her. Still woozy from the
wild ride, she managed to resist the urge to drop to her knees and kiss the
sidewalk. The handcuffs had been removed during a stop on the impromptu
flight home.
"Not that I'm ungrateful," Nabiki said, facing her rescuer who was
crouching on the wall, "But just who are you? And how do you know Gosunkugi?"
"Damnit, don't you ever give up?" Spiderman replied with a note of
annoyance. "You almost got killed over those pictures, and you still want to
know what's going on?"
"Just call it my need to know," Nabiki said with as cool a tone as
she could manage. She'd never admit it, but the experience had scared the
life out of her. But Nabiki giving up? Never.
"Take it from me," Spiderman said, "back off. You don't want to get
involved." With that, he leapt into the shadows and vanished.
"NABIKI!" She turned only to be almost bum-rushed by Soun, who
gripped her in a fierce embrace, "Where have you been?"
"Long story, Daddy," Nabiki said while trying to extricate herself
from Soun's bear hug.
=========================================