SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SPIDER
Note: This is the official sequel to The Great Responsibility. The Earth-616 story that I am writing is mainly side story stuff that doesn't affect the continuity for my Marvel continuity all too much. Also of note, for this story I am going to adopt a different writing style compared to The Great Responsibility especially when it comes to dialogue.
8:35 am Fisk Tower, Manhattan…
Wilson Fisk sat in his office chair reading through documents and writing down notes as he read through budgetary plans. It has been roughly three months since Spider-Man had taken down Hammerhead and his crime syndicate. Now Queens stands open for another crime lord's taking.
Wearing a clean black and formal business and a smooth purple tie; the bald, oversized and muscle heavy crime lord stared at his papers with gleaming interest as he pondered on his plans. Unlike other crime lords, Wilson was an actual businessman with a legitimate business to run his operations.
As he sipped his morning tea, Wilson heard a knock on his fancy office doors.
"Enter…" Wilson said as he put down the porcelain cup.
The door opened with Wilson Fisk's personal assistant, James Wesley entered the fancy office looking sharp as his boss carrying a newspaper to his desk.
"I have the latest news updates for you, sir. Mr. Joseph Cavallaro's trial has succeeded and his assets are now open to us." James informed throwing a Daily Globe article down.
"Good, I want people going after those locations and seizing his items. We'll use them to restore the neighbourhood from the damage our metal-headed friend has caused." Wilson answered back, "What about the Chinese philanthropist?"
"Mr. Li has booked a flight from New York to Shanghai. His whole helping the homeless organisation is still in operation though." James informed again.
"So long as his other operation isn't running, then we shouldn't be worried." Wilson said back.
"And what about the Spider-Man that swings around Queens? He's the one who gave us this opportunity." James questioned.
"I'm not afraid of some fool dressed in red who's trying to play hero. Look back at history, Wesley. When has that stopped us?" Wilson asked back, "Unlike that fool, Hammerhead. I'm very much a man whose actions are bound to the law. We won't let him come near us."
"Well, I hope that's true, sir." James said as he looked to the side a little.
"Come outside with me for a moment, Wesley." Wilson said getting up from his chair and opening the glass door behind him to a balcony that has a large overview of New York.
Wilson then put his big hands onto the shoulder of his assistant as he pointed out to the direction of Queens.
"Look at the river over at the distance and look at the piece of land next to it." Wilson said smiling, "We're gonna make this side of New York better than before."
James nodded as the high altitude wind in the air blew on his face.
"Inform the Big Man. He's got a lot to go through." Wilson requested.
9:25 am Daily Bugle Building, 1st floor…
Ned Leeds hobbled his legs forward as he made his way through the busy crowd of Manhattan so he could reach the Daily Bugle building. The people were all minding their business be it tourists or people who were heading to work and Ned felt like he was battling a huge tidal wave in the ocean.
After he was relieved of the trouble by entering the Daily Bugle building, he gave out a huge sigh as he pushed the glass door and into the nicely decorated first floor. Carrying his satchel bag on him, he made his way to the reception.
Approaching the desk, he saw a nice short-haired brunette lady in her early 20s wearing blue sitting in front of a computer screen. She looked up to see Ned standing there and smiled.
"May I help you?" She asked.
"Hi," Ned smiled, "My name is Ned Leeds. I'm here to see Mr. Jameson regarding an interview."
"Ah…I see." The lady said before ringing up a number on the phone.
Ned was mesmerised by her and ignored what seemed to be a lot of yelling from the phone. She was quite an astonishing woman and since high school graduation day with his friend, Peter Parker, he hadn't had the best of luck talking with women.
"Ah, yes. Mr. Jameson would like to see you in his office on the fourth floor." The lady said smiling as she put down the phone from her ear after she finished talking.
"Thank you. Miss…" Ned said.
"Brant… The lady replied, "Betty Brant."
"Ah… I'm Ned Leeds, I'm here for a photographer position." Ned said before taking out a digital camera from his bag.
"Well better hurry, Ned. You don't want Mr. Jameson to bust your balls." Betty replied.
J. Jonah Jameson's office, 4th floor…
John Jonah Jameson, the publisher of the Daily Bugle paper was debating away with his chief editor, Robbie Robertson, a mid 50s African-American man about the next big news article title.
"I'm telling you, Jonah. I think using the word 'Shocking' is just getting redundant at this point." Robbie argued.
"Nonsense… The word sells like a hot cake. Everyone in New York goes crazy as soon as they hear word about our yellow costumed friend and what antics he's up to with his red menace friend, Spider-Man." John said switching his toothbrush moustache.
"There's also another problem. Spider-Man and Shocker are clearly enemies." Robbie argued back.
"You see, they both don't mind a bit of demolition. There's a similarity." John said back.
As the two primary editors of the Bugle continued discussing headlines, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was at that moment, Ned poked his head in.
"Hello Mr. Jameson. It's me, Ned Leeds. We talked over through email about the job position." Ned said.
"Ah, welcome Mr. Leeds. Please come in and take a seat." John said signalling Ned forward.
Ned came in and closed the office door before doing what he was instructed.
"Okay, Jonah. I guess we'll resume this later." Robbie said before attempting to leave.
"Robbie, don't leave me alone here. Why don't you witness what our guest has to offer?" John insisted.
Robbie listened as he stood by John's side and listened to Ned, who was clearly taking his time to relax under all the pressure. He watched as John began questioning him.
"Tell me about yourself…" John requested.
"My name's Ned Leeds. I recently graduated from Midtown High and I'm aspiring to work in the news media because I love keeping track of stories and I wish to be a photographer because I enjoy being creative." Ned answered.
"Not bad… Didn't need to say your name though. So what kind of photographer are you?" John asked.
"Well, I've brought my own photos to show you." Ned said as he went through his bag to search for printed out digital photos for J. Jonah to see. John examined the photos carefully before giving them back to Ned.
"That's amateur camerawork. Anyone can go to the park and take a photo of a tree. Or a photo of some Manhattan buildings." John said shaking his head, "Sorry kid. I'm not looking for people like you."
"Jonah.. The lighting in these photos are pretty good, I must say…" Robbie said looking at the photos.
"Well, I need someone for some serious work." John said.
"So, what exactly am I suppose to show instead?" Ned asked nervously in fear that John will snap.
"Young man, I'm looking for photos that capture the more exhilarating side of daily New York. Something like 'Iron Man flying by' or Tony Stark's public appearance." John said, "I'm sorry but I can't take you in."
"Please…" Ned said in a desperate tone, "I really want this job."
"Maybe go to the Daily Globe, kid. See how they go…" John suggested.
"Mr. Jameson…My family life is tough. I can't afford tertiary education and I'm in desperate need of work. Every day, my mum struggles from cancer and my little sister needs to be looked after. I swear.. I don't just want the job for fun but I need it to support myself." Ned said.
"Again, you mind telling me why you couldn't go with the Daily Globe?" John asked.
"Jonah…" Robbie added.
John leaned back on his chair and gave a huge sigh.
"I don't want to be that unsympathetic kind of person. To be fair, we've been struggling with good photographers. It's about time someone came up to us." John said, "Tell me, you're a Queens person right?"
"Yes." Ned replied.
"Come with me. I'd like you to meet someone." John said getting up from his chair.
Frederick Foswell's office, 4th floor…
"Foswell? You there?" John asked knocking on the office door, "Foswell?"
"Coming, Mr. Jameson." A voice cried out before opening the door.
Ned and John were greeted by Frederick Foswell, an orange haired Irish-looking man with blue eyes and a shaved beard.
"Frederick Foswell, I'd like you to meet Ned Leeds. He's a guy from Queens just like you." John introduced.
"Ah, awesome. I assume he's heard about the aftermath of everything that happened there. Whereabouts in Queens are you from?" Frederick asked.
"Forest Hills…" Ned replied.
"Ah...Astoria." Frederick said as he shook Ned's hand.
"Foswell, this guy is aspiring to be a photographer. I'm thinking of assigning him with you to help with your articles. And do teach him some things on the way." John advised.
"Ah okay then, Mr. Jameson. Um…Not sure, if I need that. I'm fine with what I'm doing so far." Frederick said.
"Eh.. Don't worry. Mr. Leeds is gonna be given a deadline. If he doesn't get to it, he's fired." John said patting Ned on the back, "You hear that, Mr. Leeds? I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Jameson." Ned said with respect.
"Alright, here's the task. If Mr. Foswell wants a picture, he'll have you tag along. On the other hand, I want you to try get me a nice picture of Spider-Man." John said.
"Spider-Man?" Ned asked.
"Yes, you heard me! I want pictures of that web slinging menace for my articles. Gotta make the Bugle stand tall in front of the Globe." John said raising his voice a little.
Frederick then looked at Ned before speaking.
"Please get that picture. It will help me a lot." Frederick added.
9:45 am Long Island City, Queens…
Peter Parker's duties as Spider-Man have been relatively tame as of late. After the arrest of Hammerhead as well as Chameleon's demise, the neighbourhood of Queens has gone quiet from criminal activity.
The only thing troubling Queens have been reckless youths, wannabe thugs, bank robbers and the occasional trouble from Shocker. Other than that, Spider-Man was having it easy taking down criminals with his private investigator friend, George Stacy.
Today, Spider-Man was giving chase to a red car with four teenagers inside driving recklessly in the traffic. The teenagers consisted of two boys and two girls who were laughing hysterically as they caused other vehicles to crash.
"Time to stop this joyride." Spider-Man said as he swung down to stop the vehicle.
"Hey guys.. We got his attention!" One guy shouted.
"Faster!" One girl shouted as well.
"Get off your high horses, guys." Spider-Man said before breaking the driver window.
Spider-Man then lifted the guy driving the car out of his seat despite wearing a seatbelt using his superhuman strength. The car then uncontrollably continued going until Spider-Man jumped in front of the vehicle using two web strings attached to the bottom and used his feet against the hood to stop its momentum.
The vehicle grinded to a halt as the teenagers were speechless while the teenage driver who was thrown out of the vehicle groaned as his hands were webbed up by Spider-Man. Moments later, police arrived with a drug testing van driving alongside two police cars.
"Hey officers, caught these troublemakers in the midst of the chase." Spider-Man noted.
"Appreciate it, Spider-Man. We've got the drug testing ready for these guys." One officer said as he approached the four teenagers.
"Worth it." One girl shouted as Spider-Man left.
Perching on top of a building, Peter contacted George using an electronic communicator beneath his mask. Ever since Phillip Chang left New York, Peter had developed the tech himself over the past few months based on the tech specs his friend gave him through email.
"Took care of the younglings, George. A fairly normal routine." Spider-Man informed.
"Nice work, That's all for today. Good job making the police's work easy." George replied.
"You know I'm still somewhat flattered to have that kind of fanbase these days." Spider-Man said.
"Everyone in Queens is ought to get your attention. But it's the young ones who get the most absurd ideas." George said.
"Come on, George. I know you love getting my attention." Spider-Man giggled.
"Nah, I'm always the guy who believes in you. Supports your crusade and…..Doing my best to protect the city." George said.
"So any other plans besides crime monitoring and such?" Spider-Man asked.
"Oh, tomorrow is a special day. My daughter. Me and the rest of the family are going to the Orientation Week at Empire State University. Her boyfriend is also joining us." George informed, "It's gonna be a fun day to know what my daughter wants to do for her future."
"Sounds like a fun day, indeed. Alright, catch you later…" Spider-Man said.
"Yep…Gotta prepare my other suit and such." George said before disconnecting.
"Orientation week…Ah, crap. I gotta make sure I can make it to Manhattan." Peter thought to himself.
TO BE CONTINUED…
End note: My inspiration for this story will be taken from the 'Spider-Man No More' storyline which is also the storyline that influenced parts of 2004's Spider-Man 2. I also have plans to introduce Spider-Gwen in this story.