Moving as a blur Peter webbed his way through the city skyscrapers heading to the building he knew as Tombstones operation base.
"I can't believe it."
" I mean I knew Robbie and Lonnie had some bad history from when they were kids, something about a store break-in I think he said but now tombstone is actually making a move to destroy Robbie's life, I can't let that happen!"
After what seemed like hours he made it to the building and made quick work of breaking through Tombstone's personal guards to finally standing opposite the crime boss himself.
" I thought you'd gone and died " remarked Tombstone looking unamused at the wall crawlers entrance to his office".
"Well she swallowed the bird to catch the spider but I don't know why she swallowed the spider, or the fly, or however that goes" joked Spider-man.
"Still the idiot " signed Tombstone "Now why have you seemed fit to disturb a well known and respected businessman like me".
"Err back up, the words respected and businessman just doesn't sound right coming from your mouth. I'm here about an old friend of yours and a current friend of mine… Robbie Robertson."
"So I'm to assume you've traced the whole heist back to me?" asked Tombstone with his eyes growing darker.
This took Peter by surprise, a confession was not something he had expected.
"You seem a little unsure about the situation" continued the crime boss allow me to explain. "You see the NYPD could foil hundreds of my gang's jobs and no matter how many of my boys go down, no matter how much money I lose I would still be untouchable. My guys know the penalty of giving up as little as one piece of info and they are paid well to keep to their assigned tasks and do nothing else, even from behind bars. If you look at things more carefully I think you'll find I'm right".
Peter took a moment to think about Tombstone's words and it didn't take long to conclude he was right. Jameson had the evidence to prove Robbie's innocence but nothing to prove Lonnie's guilt. The only evidence even tying Tombstone to the operation was his name mentioned once on a laptop and any big city Lawyer could easily come up with a reason for that.
"So that's it" Spiderman finally spoke. You guessed why I was here, tricked me into telling you and now I'm guessing all the back evidence against you in the repair shop will have disappeared by the time the police get there".
Peter new that JJ had been to busy contacting the DA to call the police and in his hurry to confront Tombstone he had also forgotten leaving the main evidence free to remove at any time and the crook he had webbed up able to escape once the webbing dissolved.
Clenching his fist Peter knew any hope of arresting Tombstone had disappeared but knowing that his boss had already set the wheels in motion to free Robbie he decided to leave it at that.
"Alright, you win Tombstone for now at least. But if you try anything against Robbie again I'll be back and I will go full-on terminator on you!"
Tombstone couldn't hold back a chuckle at this lame joke and responded "Having that straight arrow out the way would make my life easier but for now it would be impractical to try another stunt like this".
Not bothering to answer Spider-man broke a nearby window and swung off into the night.
The next day at the Daily Bugle was one of joy as everyone who could be assembled to wish Mr. Robertson who had been released that morning a very happy welcome back.
"Welcome back Robbie," said Peter as the two met, however, Robbie seemed a little stern standing opposite him.
"Come with me a second" requested Robbie as he led Peter into an empty room.
"What's wrong," asked Peter unsure to why the editor was acting so strange.
Robbie showed him a letter that he had received this morning. "I don't know who sent it but I'm pretty sure it's from whoever set me up".
Peter's eyes widened at the thought and quickly grabbed the letter to read it. Robbie told Peter how the police had checked it for prints but no prints had been found and both the paper and envelope which was blank could have come from anywhere with no trace back to the mystery sender.
Thinking about the monologue he had been given last night Peter wasn't surprised by the lack of evidence.
"You could say it's a warning to get me to stay away from crime-related stories but they made a point to mention I'm no longer in their firing line" stated Robbie.
Peter read the small letter until one line caught his eye, "so, for now, your free but take care, Mr. Robertson, the web-slinger won't always be around to fight your battles for you".
"I know it seems hard to believe Peter but for however this is to make such a claim there must be truth behind it," said Robbie.
" Spider-man? W.. Why would the guy come back after all this" asked Peter with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Look I know it sounds crazy but I believe in Spider-man. I have done for years and if he has helped me in some way then I'm more convinced than ever that Spider-man is a true hero. I know he breaks the law and I know he's not accountable to anyone but people like him are what this city needs right now. The world needs people in it who are strong enough and brave enough to jump into any situation no matter how dangerous and save the people who can't save themselves. Spider-man does this time and time again and he endures all the criticism he gets as he fights on no matter what stuck up pencil pusher is trying to stop him. I hope he is back and I hope his here to stay".
Robbie rejoined the party leaving a speechless Peter Parker to think about what he had just said. Peter's mind was whirling as the thoughts of Gwen and his uncle ben disappeared from his head and was replaced with the memories of his last two years as Spider-man and all the people he had helped. One week later a sudden radio news alert filled the Parker household airwaves. Getting up from his messy desk after working for a week straight Peter could hear the alert.
"The Brooklyn Bridge has been closed and the NYPD had ordered all citizens to evacuate the area. We can now confirm that the Rhino is rampaging across the bridge".