Spider-Man: Year Two- A Spider-Man/X-Men Fanfiction
Summary: Despite his best friend leaving, Peter is doing well in his life. However, dark forces conspire to stop the influence Spider-Man has on the city of New York and larger, societal troubles begin to invade his life. Rated Teen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man or any other Marvel characters.
Author's Note: I would suggest reading Spider-Man: Year One before reading this story.
Chapter One
The charred and blackened skeletal structure were all that remained of the once glistening Oscorp building. It floors of white marble and walls decorated with the finest paintings now lay bare under a heavy coating of black ash and soot. The research floors, once among the nation's elite in cutting edge equipment, had been looted in the aftermath of the "incident", its secret sold to the highest bidders New York's underground could muster.
And, still, in the face of the literal disemboweling of the physical face of his company, Norman Osborn faced a figurative disemboweling of his life's work. And all because of his hubris.
There was a small, barely noticeable line in his company's charter that Norman had insisted upon for what he called "clarity and oversight" that stated if the company ever suffered a major loss, his position as CEO could be challenged. This became especially relevant when the company went public and he had to answer to shareholders.
The same shareholders who lauded him as a visionary mere months before now called for his head on a spike. Ingrates, all of them.
"This is outrageous!" Norman seethed, his glare baring down on the members of his board of directors.
All six men, including Norman, dressed in their finest suits, sat around a large, ornate table in one of the meeting rooms that the bank had generously offered for this meeting. The subject was simple, yet held the potential to change the course of the world: Is Norman Osborn still capable of running Oscorp?
"I built this company with my own blood! My blood powers this company! Without me, you have nothing!" he continued, a truly undignified amount of spittle flying from his lips and striking the face of the unfortunate board member who sat closest to him.
"We understand that Mr. Osborn. No man here would deny you that."
"Yet, you would deny me the right to continue to run my company."
"Mr. Osborn, we have shareholders to answer to. The simple fact is, Oscorp is no longer just your company. And many of these shareholders are worried about the future of the company with you in the driver's seat."
Norman rolled his eyes. "Those same shareholders were calling me an icon only a year ago."
"Be that as it may, that was before you were the target of two acts of domestic terrorism. They're worried about the negative impact these incidents have had on Oscorp's image, not to mention its stock prices. And, frankly, Mr. Osborn, so are we."
Norman laughed. It was a hollow, bitter laugh, yet it filled the room with an overbearing sense of dread. "And there it is. The first sign that any of your pocketbooks would begin to feel lighter and you serve me up on a silver platter to idiots who don't understand the complexity of running a company with interests as varied as this one."
"Mr. Osborn, don't think of this as a firing. Think of this as moving to an advisory role, so that you can spend some time with your son and recover from the trauma you faced. You will still have an important role in this company."
"The same type of important role a grandfather has before his grandchildren put him in a home."
"Mr. Osborn, we have legal options here. We don't want to take this to court, it would look terrible for the company. But, we will if we have to. And, not to speak out of turn, we have character witnesses that are willing to testify to your... lack of ability these last few months. Ranking members of your various departments have all agreed to state their opinion in front of a judge if need be."
"Of course they do. I wonder which of my pathetic, lowlife employees decided to turn on me? I don't suppose I'll get an answer out of this group, even as foolish as they are. A question for another day."
Norman paused for a moment. He could fight this, of course, and he may even win. But, he had a different goal in mind. Oscorp may be gone from his reach, but the knowledge that he wanted to gain from the company was still his. This was merely a setback.
"I assume I will be generously compensated?"
It was an appeasement gesture, designed to sate these fools' desires for the moment.
"Of course, sir. And we thank you for your understanding."
"Very well. Gentlemen, draw up some papers with your offer and my new... responsibilities and have them sent to my lawyer. I will be in touch. Good day. "
Norman turned to leave the meeting, pausing briefly to look at the so-called captains of industry behind him. "Just one more question gentlemen. Who do you have in mind to take over the company? I'm assuming you've already got a list of potential CEOs?"
"Mr. Osborn, I'm not sure if this is an appropriate topic of conversation."
Norman waved a hand and plastered a smile on his face. "Gentlemen, I know when I'm beaten, so to speak. I wouldn't do anything to harm this company. I built it after all. I am merely curious."
"Well, sir, if you insist. Our top choice right now is Wilson Fisk."
Norman seethed internally, but managed to keep a calm face. "An excellent choice, gentlemen. Now, good day."
Fisk, that traitorous scum. He waited until Norman was vulnerable and struck. And he did so publicly, likely because he knew Norman would not be able to out him without exposing Norman's own involvement in some less than legal business. It was, admittedly, well played. But Norman wasn't one to go down without a fight. Whatever the Kingpin was planning, Norman would meet the challenge and prove himself superior as he had done with every other challenge of his life. The Kingpin was good, but Norman was better. The Kingpin was smart, but Norman was smarter. And the Kingpin would soon see what it meant to cross Norman Osborn.
As he walked down the hall, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Time to implement Plan A.
"Yes, Mr. Osborn?"
"Just checking in. Did you acquire the package?"
"Yes, sir. We found the formula in the remains of the building and delivered it to the P.O. box you requested. Is there anything else you need, sir?"
"No, that will be all."
Despite all but losing his company, Norman Osborn smiled to himself as he stepped out into the bright sun of the New York summer sky. He may have lost the battle, but he had far from lost the war.
…
The constant whizzing sounds of the topmost level of Stark Tower had become almost white noise to Peter at this point in his internship. Sure, when he had first arrived and was granted access to what the rest of the staff jokingly called the "Iron Man Floor", he had been in a state of awe. After all, how many teenagers were granted the opportunity to work with the very tools that Tony Stark used to develop his various Iron Man suits? But, now, the literal life-changing technology that surrounded Peter had become nothing more than a backdrop for his own work.
It was perfect for his current desire to increase the strength and durability of his webs.
It was assumed by the rest of the staff that Peter was given access to the restricted section of the tower due to Mr. Stark's interest in the young science prodigy. Before Peter, only Tony and Pepper Potts had access. And while that was true, it was only half of the story. Peter's work within Stark Tower was to help his progress as Spider-Man and, therefore, a secret to every employee in the company except Tony, Pepper, and Happy Hogan, Tony's driver.
"Any progress, Peter?" Mr. Stark asked as he entered the lap, one hand clutching a bag of chips and the other some sort of high-powered energy drink Peter hadn't seen before and was ready to assume Mr. Stark invented just so he could work late hours into the night.
Unlike the lab coat wearing scientists working on the lower floors, Tony Stark was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a tee with the Rolling Stones logo and the words "US Tour '78".
Peter glanced up at his mentor for a moment, raised his eyebrow at the shirt, and chuckled a bit before turning back to his lab bench again.
"Peter, I understand your generation likes to take shots at the classics, but if you bad mouth the Rolling Stones in this lab, we'll have to rethink your internship status."
"I have nothing against the Rolling Stones. Exile is a classic, Mr. Stark, Some Girls is a cash grab."
"Some Girls got nominated for a Grammy. It's considered a classic and a return to form for the Stones."
"All I'm saying is having Beast of Burden doesn't justify its praise. And I'm sure only true fans could name a song on the album other than that... if they can name a song at all."
Mr. Stark rolled his eyes, but sat down next to Peter and peered into the beaker he was stirring. "So, what the verdict with the webs?"
"I started with some experiments with carbon nanotube rope and used that data as a basis for my designs. Right now, the ultimate tensile strength of my webs is roughly sixty thousand Newtons. I could get it higher, but I would have to change up the designs for their size, shape, and how they fit in my costume. Right now, they should work fine for my purposes... at least as long as I don't have to stop a jumbo jet or a spacecraft."
"If they even becomes a remote possibility, I would hope had the sense to call me or Cap. That's a situation where the Avengers are needed."
"Sense?" Peter chuckled. "Have you met me?"
Both heroes shared a laugh for a moment, the sound only broken by the sliding of glass doors.
"Peter, are you still here? You should have left an hour ago," Pepper Potts exclaimed with an almost fond smile. "Really, it's bad enough with Tony working to God knows what time every night. You really don't want to become like that."
"Sorry, Ms. Potts, I was just finishing up. I'll be leaving in a minute."
She nodded. "We've talked about this Peter, call me Pepper. Now, go and enjoy your last day of summer. If you want, Happy is downstairs and can drive you home."
Peter stood from his workbench, rolling up his sleeves to access his costume and replacing his webs with their new design. "No, I think these could use some field testing. Besides, I have a date with Liz tonight and I doubt Happy would want to be around that."
"I don't know," Mr. Stark smirked. "Happy never scored a date with a cheerleader, let alone went steady with one. Maybe you should give him some pointers."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "Went steady? What time period are you living in, Mr. Stark?"
"The time period where I can still kick your ass if you call me old again."
"Is this with or without the suit," Peter paused for dramatic effect. "Grandpa?"
Mr. Stark looked ready to retort, but he was silenced by a chuckling Pepper who pushed Peter out of the door.
"You know," Tony began, glancing over at his assistant. "I hate that kind sometimes."
"No, you don't."
…
After cheekily saluting Happy on his way out the door, Peter pulled out his phone to check the time. He still had three hours until he was supposed to meet Liz at her hotel. She had seemed very excited when they had discussed their plans yesterday and had almost begged Peter to make sure he would be out of his internship at the right time. When he mentioned that he may have to patrol as Spider-Man, she nearly pitched a fit. Whatever was going on tonight was important to Liz and, therefore, important to Peter. He could take a night off.
Still, he did need to test out his new webs and he technically never claimed he wouldn't get home by web slinging.
Knowing Stark Tower as well as he did, Peter already had an area where he could get changed into his costume. It was a dark, back alley, separated from street view by the building itself and located conveniently in a blind spot of the security cameras outside. No one used the alley, except for the night shift using the back door to carry supplies into the building. It was the perfect spot for a quick change and go.
On his first day at Stark Tower, Mr. Stark had all but mandated that Peter's costume receive a systemic overhaul. Unlike the previous material, though good in its own right, the new suit was made of a polymer guaranteed not to split or tear, as well as being completely fire retardant and bullet proof. It was something Mr. Stark had created for Captain America when they began working together as the Avengers.
He had also tried to load the suit up with the newest tech Stark Industries offered, but Peter refused. Personally, Peter felt that too much technology in his suit would mess with his powers, specifically his Spider Sense. Still, he relented to allowing a GPS tracker and a communication link to the rest of the Avengers, for safety purposes.
Aesthetically, the costume remained similar to his previous model, though with a more muted red and blue color scheme and a smaller spider on his chest. He was quiet pleased that the new design kept the webbing under his arms. He felt it gave him a more monstrous appearance.
Once he was geared up, Peter smirked under his mask and flexed his wrists. Time for a test run.
The webs released with more force than Peter expected, but he was able to stabilize himself and grapple from the side of the tower to one of the nearby skyscrapers. Situating himself properly, he landed on the roof of the building in a full sprint, jumping off the ledge in a free fall dive.
"Woo!" Peter yelled as he sent a web, pulling himself out of his dive, and tucking his feet under him as he came very close to skimming the street below. He allowed himself an unnecessary amount of acrobatics and he went, mostly for the benefit of the kids in one of the cars as he passed.
"Don't mind me New York. Just you favorite wall-crawling Web Head out for an evening stroll," Peter called out as he launched himself into the air. "Man, sometimes it's good to be me."
His feeling of elation lasted for roughly thirty more seconds as an ear-splitting scream echoed through the caverns created by the large New York buildings. Peter's eyes immediately scanned the surrounding streets until he spotted a two thugs taking off with a woman's purse.
"You're kidding me? A purse snatching? Right now?" grumbled Peter running his right hand across the bridge of his nose in aggravation. "I promised Liz I wouldn't stop, but it doesn't look like the cops will be here anytime soon. I can get this done and still have plenty of time before our date."
Nodding in affirmation to himself, Peter launched a web and swung himself forward, above the running thieves, to land in their path on the sidewalk. The large number of pedestrians in the area cleared as Peter landed, most having lived in New York long enough that a street fight between one of the local heroes and a criminal was more of an inconvenience to their day than a spectacle they wished to observe.
The criminals, however, skidded to a halt in front of the hero, the larger of the two tripping over himself and dropping the purse in the process. Both were men, bigger than Peter, and wore black coats and ski masks. However, the one closest to Peter's size, which really wasn't saying much, stepped forward and looked ready to challenge should he have to.
"Listen guys," Peter began. "I'm sure you're all big and tough and scary, but I've got plans I can't mess up later... so, in the interest of keeping my appointment and, you know, my general sanity, how about you just give up now?"
The smaller of the two thieves, and the one Peter assumed to be the brains of the outfit, let out a condescending laugh and dropped himself into a martial arts pose, quickly going through a number of katas in what Peter was assuming to be an intimidation tactic. Needless to say, Peter wasn't intimidated.
Peter raised an incredulous eyebrow at the display. "Really? He really wants to turn this into an episode of Kung Fu? I can never catch a break."
Nevertheless, Peter readied himself and waited for the man to make a move.
The first punch came quicker than Peter initially expected, but he caught the man's fist in his own and turned him around, throwing him back toward his partner. The man charged again, swinging a wild hay maker that Peter was once again able to catch. This time, Peter kept his hold on the man's fist and pulled him close.
"Iron First?" Peter jovially asked, affecting a tone of wonder in his voice. "Man, I've been looking forward to meeting you. I have a ton of questions about whole Heroes for Hire thing you and Luke Cage have going on. Is a commission business or are you salaried?"
The man snarled and tried to headbutt Peter, who casually moved his own head backwards to avoid the blow. "Touchy subject? I guess that means you aren't up for discussing what your health and dental plans look like."
Forced to dodge another headbutt, Peter decided to end this quickly and move on to the next guy. Forcing the criminal's arm behind his back in a very unnatural pose, Peter turned and threw him against the brick siding of one of the nearby buildings. He then webbed him up for good measure.
Turning on the larger man, Peter raised his hands in a questioning measure. "What about you, big guy? I think fake Iron Fist over there spoiled my apatite for playing, but I may have enough room left for a bit more."
The man didn't need a moment to decide, turning tail and running from the hero with as much speed as his large body could muster.
Peter sighed and shot some webbing around the man's feet, watching in amusement as the criminal tried valiantly to hop away before tripping and falling face first onto the concrete. Before he could get up, Peter webbed him to the ground.
The woman whose purse was stolen in the first place ran forward and scooped the bag from the ground before turning and giving a shaking smile to Peter. "Thank you Spider-Man."
"It's no problem," Peter waived her off. "Just another good deed from your neighborhood watch. Get home safe, okay?"
She nodded and scurried off, Peter watching her for a moment before turning to the small, but still present crowd of onlookers that mist have been new to the city or still surprisingly curious about this sort of everyday occurrence. "Could one of you call the cops. I would, but I need to save my minutes to talk to Thor. Off world calling costs a ton."
With a wave and a wink he was able to manipulate through his mask, Peter sprung from the ground, attached himself to a lamppost, and swung into the night. He got maybe a block away before he heard the sirens.
"Shit," he swore to himself. "Liz is not going to be happy."
End of Chapter One
Author's Note: Well, here we are with the next installment of Peter's life as Spider-Man. Like I said in the last story, this year will involve the larger Marvel world as a whole and expand Peter's network of allies and enemies alike. Hopefully, you all enjoy the story. Any questions or concerns, drop a review and let me know.