The Many Loves of Spider-Man

A Portal to Love (Clarice Ferguson, aka Blink)

She stared at the desolated Coney Island, her pupiless eyes looking at all the attractions with longing. It has been so long since she had participated in one of the most attractive events in New York, and she couldn't even recall back to that day. Memories of death and battle were all that remained in her mind, which only had made her more frightened by those she still did not fully trust. She sighed, closing her eyes for a mere second, her head looking down at her bent knees.

She knew that there were many things to do in Krakoa and even in Arakko, but they could not compare to the memories she wished she could recover from this specific event. It called to her, to finally be able to enjoy the activities that the Coney Island festival would bring to all New Yorkers. Yet, as soon as she was about to use her powers to return to a safe place, her eyes caught the sight of a young man entering the desolated festival. She blinked out of there, her powers manifesting almost immediately in creating a portal to get her as far away from the man as possible. And when she was at a safe distance, she only kept watching him.

"I should really get out of here..." She whispered to herself, her pupiless eyes following each and every movement that the young man was taking through the various stands in the festival. She could see that he had a destination in mind, avoiding the other places or simply walking past them without a look back at them. While frightful and tense about the whole situation, she was curious enough to keep on following him. And it was then that she saw him stop near a machine. "Why did you-"

She did not finish talking, her eyes widened a bit as her already pink skin tone turned slightly magenta around her cheeks as soon as she was able to read what the machine was supposed to do. She had no idea what the man wanted to do to the machine, but she kept watching carefully. She could barely see him move his mouth and with the man saying a few words. Yet she was able to identify a 'thank you' from the lips of the young man. She was confused as to why thank the machine, but it definitely was not her problem. But it was because it kept eating up inside of her, she got closer. She ignored her instincts of staying as far away from him as possible, but for some reason she could feel that he would not harm her.

"You know that if you wanted to talk, all you needed to do was come closer" She actually froze, his words resounding through her entire soul. She got caught staring, his eyes slightly narrowed at her with confusion and irritation. She flinched back nervously, trying to force her powers to activate. But even she knew that they would not do anything if she was not calmed down. Yet in a matter of seconds, the man sighed and softened his eyes a bit. "Sorry for that... Did not meant to scare you, Blink"

And she did just that. Her eyes blinked twice in confusion, her mouth slightly agape. Clarice Ferguson, the Krakkoan citizen that went by the alias Blink, took a step back as she started to fear for her life. She could see that the male hadn't even moved from his place as soon as the two started talking with one another. It was as if he was conscious of the fact that she was frightful of her surroundings, that she would get tense over everything that may act towards her. It was as if he was reading her completely, and it only made her blush a bit at that.

"Blink... Imagine I'm wearing a red and blue costume..." She furrowed her brow, actually confused as to why he was trying to make her think of something right there and then. It only resulted in her taking a step back. "Blink... Calm down, okay? It's me... Remember my voice" She tried to remember, her mind trying to make her think to someone that remotely sounds similar to the man that was in front of her with a space of two or three cars in between them. Though it was when she combined both hints that he gave her that she was able to realize who exactly he was. "Are you better now? You need me to call Krakoa?"

"No... T-Thank you either way, Spidey" Spider-Man only gave her a sincere smile. She could see the attraction that many mutants had for the arachnid hero now. He was very attractive underneath his suit, and the trimmed beard was helping him look quite mature which was a bonus in her eyes. Yet the one thing that captivated her the most were his hazel eyes, orbs that were looking at her in worry. She had relaxed quite greatly now knowing that the man in front of her was Spider-Man. "S-So... What w-were you doing here?"

"I was just thanking this old piece of work..." She saw him point at the machine she saw him talking to. She could perfectly read the 'Test Your Love' title that the machine had on top with the many categories were probably placed from best to worst, with the worst being the lowest line of words in the machine. "It's... Something personal, really not ready to talk about it just yet" She nodded, understanding that even something should be kept hidden for now. She barely even knew the hero behind the mask, so she definitely did not expect him to tell her anything as to why he was thanking a machine in the first place. "What about you... Why are you here in Coney Island?"

"I... I wanted to try and remember the memories I had here..." She commented, her white eyes looking around. She wanted to try every stand, to remember what it felt like to have fun in the first place. She could see him chuckle a bit, lowering one of his hands into his right pocket. She tensed slightly, though immediately relaxed as soon as she saw that he only took out a couple of quarters that he inserted into the machine. Her cheeks darkened once more, immediately noticing the slight invitation that she was receiving from the arachnid hero who had his hands already placed where it marked. She walked slowly, her eyes looking at the machine with slight dread. It was not like she was wanting to get a high category, but she definitely did not want to be on the lower end of the list. With one last sigh and an encouraging look given to her by the hero that was patiently waiting right next to her, she softly placed her hands on the machine.

The machine immediately activated, lighting one line each second that passed. She even started sweating by the time it got slower, the machine seemingly alternating between 'Borderline' and 'Sad Sack'. She was about to close her eyes in defeat when it suddenly rose all the way to the top and stopped at 'Spectacular'. She blushed harder, especially when the hero grabbed her hand and seemingly started to drag her slowly to probably another booth for the two of them to play in. She gave out a weak smile, her feet slowly following him around Coney Island. This was not what she expected out of this day, but she definitely found out about something that she now wanted to be a part of.