Chapter 1

New York City - the true capitol of the United States of America. Arguably the single greatest city in all the world. Home of the Yankees, Museum of Natural History, Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty. A place where people with dreams go in the hopes of becoming famous, and where so few of them ever manage to accomplish those very dreams. It's the kind of city that eats someone alive if they're unprepared.

As he gazed upon New York from his seat on the plane his mind was set ablaze with all that he would be doing in the next few weeks. He set that aside though and admired the beauty of the city. He was arriving at night while the skyline glowed like a symphony. Millions of lights coming together to form something more, a complete picture that made up more than the sum of its parts. There was a lot to be gained from a proper appreciation of such concepts. To see the greater scheme of things was important, and he had learned that lesson well. In the past he'd been no more than a pawn, a small and sacrificial piece to someone else's plans. That was not the case this time. Now he had the plan and no one would stop him.

They had taken everything from him. He no longer knew who he was, where he had been born, or what his life used to be like. When he looked in the mirror his face was unrecognizable. He wasn't even sure how he was supposed to appear. All he knew was that the face staring back in the mirror was not his own. Whoever he used to be, whether he was human or not, that was certainly no longer the case. Norman Osborn had seen to that.

Norman Osborn had created a monster and then abandoned it. After giving Norman everything, thinking himself willing to follow Osborn into greatness. But when the plan unraveled, when Spiderman had stopped them, who took the fall? Osborn disavowed all knowledge of the plan, and left him to fend for himself. After what they had done this resulted in a dark cell with absolutely no human contact. It was enough to drive a weaker man mad.

With five long years in that cell he had plenty of time to think. To find creative ways to use this power, and to use it for his own ends. That's when his ideas for revenge began to take shape, and he learned the truth about himself - he was no longer a mere pawn. He had become something more, something significant. He was special. And now the world was going to realize it. They were all going to pay for what had happened five years ago: Norman Osborn, George Stacy, Curt Connors, Ethan Callahan, and Spiderman. They were all going to pay, and so would the city that they all loved so very much. New York itself was just as much a part of his plan.

His first step in revenge, returning to New York City, was already complete…

Peter Parker had been Spiderman for five years now, and there were times when he honestly deluded himself into thinking that he was getting the hang of things. Back in high school it felt impossible to balance saving people with his obligations to his normal life. Between Gwen, Aunt May, homework, and money troubles it had all felt so incredibly overwhelming. More than once over the years his uncles words had brought Peter great measures of comfort and the strength to endure inhuman hardships. Wisdom from beyond the grave, there were days that it seemed like Ben was living on through the advice that he'd given Peter while he was still in this world.

Sure, there were still ups and downs. Gwen had left him because he kept too many secrets, the Daily Bugle was still guided by Jameson into printing some pretty harsh words, and his friendships with Mary-Jane and Harry were on the rocks - but at least none of the people that he cared about were in mortal peril anymore. As tough as things might be in the short term, Peter felt himself to be pretty fortunate when looking at the big picture. He had a little money in the bank, a stable gig as Spiderman's personal photographer, and hadn't seen a random psychopath with superpowers in at least six months. For a while it seemed like they were popping up faster than he could knock them down.

Now he was out on patrol as Spiderman, scanning the city for threats both big and small as he often did. He actually had some free time tonight, and overall things seemed quiet. He stopped a mugging or two, but in the end the typical thug took him all of ten seconds to incapacitate. At this point it was downright routine.

A scream snapped Peter out of his train of thought and he turned his gaze to the east. Swinging towards the sound, he rounded a corner to see where the cry had come from. The moment he did, that familiar feeling came over him: his spider-sense was alerting him to danger. Before he fully comprehended what was happening the web line snapped and he was tumbling towards the ground at an alarming speed. Thrusting his other hand towards the sky, Spiderman shot another string of webbing, and managed to narrowly avoid hitting the pavement.

There was a loud crash, all in he split second that had passed, and his attention briefly turned to see that a flying piece of debris is what had broken his webbing. It already collided with an adjacent building, and his gaze shifted around to see that the flying girder came from a considerable explosion. One of the many giant buildings of the New York skyline was ablaze, with people running down the streets in panic.

Spiderman saw that the firefighters were already there and doing their jobs admirably, but the higher floors of the building were impossible to reach. Which made them his territory. Launching himself in before he could think about it, Spiderman landed on the unstable rooftop and found one of the many holes created by the building's partial collapsing. He made his way down floor by floor, the smoke making him dizzy as he did. The building was mostly empty and it seemed like there wasn't anyone inside.

What worried him most was the scope of the fire. The entire building was engulfed in flames from top to bottom. It was only a matter of time before the structural integrity gave way, and the building collapsed. If it fell downwards perfectly then there would be minor danger, but what were the odds that would happen? Architects were paid very well to ensure such things, but the laws of physics implied one simple thing would always happen - Spiderman would always have the worst luck possible. Trusting this instinct he ran towards one of the windows and leapt out, using a web line to pull himself onto the rooftop across the street.

He kept his eyes on the building for a few seconds. The layout of the block and the street was perfect for his idea, and he only hoped he didn't run out of web before he could pull off his plan. Running along the parallel building, Spiderman aimed at one of the corners of the burning structure's roof and let the webbing fly. After it connected, he continued his sprint, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Every chance he got he would send another line of web to the towering inferno, trying to stabilize the upper stories. Slowly but surely he encapsulated the entire top floor in web, creating a makeshift cocoon. With that finished, he connected that cocoon to the various buildings around. Just in time, too.

The building began to collapse. The webs kept it from falling any way except downwards, causing it to implode rather than slam into any neighboring skyscrapers. Most of the firefighters had escaped, but there was still a single team that stayed too near the falling structure.

Spiderman jumped off the roof and began to zip towards them as fast as he could. Flaming pieces of wreckage were falling to the ground, forcing him to weave in and out of their way as he made it to the firefighters. In a single smooth motion he used his free hand to connect a web to each man. Then he pulled them all to safety. Every one of them jerked a little as he tugged them out of the way, but he wagered they'd be happier with some scrapes and bruises - since the alternative was having a building fall on them.

When Spiderman landed, it was only then that he noticed the logo on the side of the building - Oscorp. This building belonged to Norman Osborn, which lead to the question - how does an entire building go up in flames so quickly?

A man of Norman Osborn's caliber never worked normal business hours. Success required more than a schedule from morning to afternoon, it required dedication at all times. When Norman got a call in the middle of the night he was only half-asleep. His hand found the smartphone beside his bed and he brought it to his ear out of reflex. Without thinking, he said, "Yes?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Osborn, but we have a situation," one of his many employees informed him.

"What is it?" he began to wake up a little more, and was now sitting up in his bed.

The young woman, who Norman believed was named Vicki, went on, "The Lexington offices have burnt down, and the fire marshal has informed us that it was most likely arson."

This put an end to Norman's grogginess. Fully focused he replied, "Are there any suspects?"

"No, but the fire marshal wanted to ask you a few questions," she explained. "Was there any significant reason someone would want to target the building?"

"Absolutely none," Norman lied, and mixed it with a little truth, "All we kept there were old records and data. Nothing that would be of use to anyone."

The young woman went on to suggest. "Shall I make an appointment for you to talk with the marshal tomorrow morning?"

"Yes of course," Norman sighed, "Thank you." He hung up the phone without another word, not needing to deal with a formal goodbye.

It was true that there were only records kept in that building, but years ago it had served an alternative function. A function that there was no longer any evidence of, of course. It was fruitful grounds for Norman to launch his own investigation though. It would be a nightmare if the mainstream media learned a single thing about Project Titan from five years earlier. The gears began to turn in Norman Osborn's mind as he considered the true implications of this disaster.

Someone was sending him a message, and it was received loud and clear.

To be continued…

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading! If you've enjoyed this, and want further updates, then you should check out my official Facebook page and blog! Don't forget to leave reviews – reviews help make people into better writers.

julliangmortimer

Cover Art by Sean Anders
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