A WEB OF STONE
Truth be told, dusk in New York City isn't all that much different from morning or mid-afternoon in the City That Never Sleeps. The noises, the action, the average everyday hustle and bustle of the city streets never seemed any different from one time of day to the next. The constant honking and drone of engines in the streets backed-up with vehicles of every make and model, which was just as bad as the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk, as the fair city's denizens marched along to the ceaseless hum of talking on cell phones all at once. All in all, dusk is just as mundane and normal as any other part of the day, only slightly darker.
Unless you're swinging from the rooftops of skyscrapers on a thin line of webbing.
"BANZAI!" Peter Parker, better know to the world as the spectacular Spider-Man, shouted as he released his web line and flipped through the air in a way that would make any veteran trapeze artist cry for his mommy. After deftly landing in a crouch on a nearby rooftop, Spider-Man straitened himself and walked to the edge of the tall building to look out at the golden skyline of Manhattan.
"They don't make enough days like this anymore," Spidey said as he watched the red orb of the sun lower in the sky. "Nice weather, good health…no eight-limbed, pumpkin-chucking, electric, winged, made-of-sand alien symbiotes out to eat my spleen and destroy the city. Ahh, life is good!"
With that, the heroic web-slinger prepared to make one last leap and call it a night. "It's been pretty quiet today. One last swing around the city, then it'll be time to head home to my nice warm bed and my smokin' hot supermodel-slash-actress wife."
Spider-Man shot off another line of webbing and paused to reflect on his last statement.
"Life is really good!"
That's when his spider-sense hit like a ton of bricks.
"Oh great. Looks like I spoke too soon," He groaned as the familiar tingle attacked the back of his mind. "My spider-sense is going crazy! What could--"
Spider-Man ducked just in time to avoid being clipped by a black military helicopter that flew overhead.
"I may not know much about military operations," He pondered out loud. "But I do know that shouldn't be flying this low in a residential area. Guess Mary Jane will have to wait…again."
Spider-Man took another moment to reflect on his statement.
"This had darn-well better be important!"
With that, Spider-Man swung from the rooftop to follow the mysterious black helicopter. He didn't have to go far, the helicopter stopped a few blocks away and hovered above a nondescript rooftop. Spidey hopped onto the side of the building and peered over the edge at the helicopter floating above the opposite end of the roof. It was at this time that Peter noticed the symbol on the door of the copter as it opened.
The black circle containing a yellow "Q", made with a sledgehammer serving as the slash, struck a memory with Parker.
"Wait a minute," Spider-Man said. "I think I know that symbol. It belongs to those loopy Klan wannabes that rally in the streets and think gargoyles are loose in the city eating babies and stealing everyone's left shoe."
"Alright, Quarrymen, listen up!" A man dressed in thick black body armor and the Quarrymen's trademark hooded mask growled as he leapt out of the helicopter, followed by four other similarly dressed malcontents, all wielding massive metal sledgehammers. "We don't have a lot of time left, so let's make this quick. Two to the left, two to the right, and one follows me up the middle. We smash the statue and get the hell outta here!"
The Wall-Crawler watched as the men organized as ordered and quickly, but cautiously, approached the statue of a massive winged beast roosting on the other end of the building.
As they got closer, one of the men twisted the handle of his sledgehammer and it began to hum and crackle with electricity. The others followed suit and the first man to reach the kneeling statue raised his hammer, ready to strike.
"You know," Spider-Man announced his presence as he leapt up onto the ledge. "Maybe it's just me, but I don't think you guys are wearing the right uniforms for a maintenance crew. Then again, who knows, maybe this is just a really weird building."
"Stay outta this, Spider-Man!" The apparent leader ordered. "This will just take a minute, then the streets will be much safer at night. We don't need you to interfere."
"Technically, I already interfered," Spidey quipped, quickly snagging the man's sledgehammer with a webline and yanking it out of his hand. "So why don't the rest of you put down your nifty little toys and walk away before you do something we're all going to regret."
One of the other Quarrymen unleashed a pathetically primal battle cry and charged towards Spider-Man, quickly followed by three of the remaining four armed zealots.
"Something like that," Spider-Man sighed as the Quarrymen charged forward, sledgehammers raised and electrified.
Spidey easily leapt over the first's wild swing and knocked the uniformed man to the ground by using his back as a springboard. The web-slinging hero then flipped through the air, kicked the following two men and punched the third, sending them stumbling across the roof, before even landing in a trademark crouch.
His Spider-sense hit once again and he turned to find their leader raising his hammer above his head.
"If you're not with us, Spider-Man, you're against us," He said, preparing for the final blow. "And all those against us, must be eliminated!"
He swung and found his hammer stuck in place behind him by a wad of webbing.
"Hey," Spidey said, sparing a glance at the trapped hammer. "Does Thor know you guys are ripping him off?"
Before the bigot had time to respond with another rant, Spider-Man knocked him out with a single punch.
Then Spider-Man heard something even his Spider-sense couldn't have prepared him for.
"Why, Spider-Man? Why?" One of the hooded Quarrymen said in a voice on the verge of tears.
To hear a voice like that coming from a figure with such an imposing appearance was...just plain weird.
"I thought you were different," He cried. "But you're just like the rest of them. Like the muties and all the other damn monsters and freaks running around! You say you're fighting to protect us, but then you turn around and stop us from protecting ourselves!
"The Bugle was right about you!" The Quarryman yelled, ripping off his hood to reveal a young boy, with blond hair and blue eyes, no older than seventeen, with tears running down his face. "You used to be my hero, Spider-Man. But now, you're just another freak in a mask."
The spider-sense came a little late this time, and Spider-Man was able to move enough for the electrified hammer to hit him in the back instead of the head.
With a grunt of sharp pain, the sensational Spider-Man with the roof top and found himself too stunned to move.
"C'mon! We're outta time!" He heard another member say as they dragged their leader back to the waiting helicopter. "Let's get goin'!"
"Next time, Spider-Man," Peter wished he didn't hear. "Next time you are the enemy."
A few minutes after the sound of spinning propellers had faded, the web-slinger regained the ability of actually move.
"Ugh," Spidey groaned as he sat up. "Those things pack a heck of a whollap."
Slowly, the superhero got to his feet.
"I just don't get it," He said, walking over to the still intact statue. "All this fuss over an ugly hunk of stone."
With that, Spidey perched himself on the back of the statue and watched the sunset, pondering the recent events.
He remained so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the sound of cracking stone coming from right underneath him.
Suddenly the statue exploded with a primal roar sending Spider-Man to the rooftop and shards of stone flying everywhere.
A shocked Spider-Man looked up to see a large creature with leathery skin and a whip-like tail, stretching out it's massive, muscular limbs and displaying it's impressive bat-like wingspan.
Then it turned its glowing white eyes on Spider-Man.
"You!" The creature bellowed. "Quarryman!"
Peter Parker noticed the discarded hammer he landed next to and quickly put two and two together...and didn't like the outcome one bit as the gargoyle pounced towards him.
"Oh boy..."