Disclaimer: I don't own none unless u got buns hun (but even then I don't sorry :P)

Yo, yo, yo. Chapter 4 is out! I'm posting this one early because I'm leaving like literally right now for a week-long summer camp and feel bad for not giving people the goodies. Actually, I think a lot of people are going to be really mad at me for this chapter, but oh well just read it and hate me later. :D


Chapter 4

Peter slammed the obese criminal into the wall, his forearm pressed against the man's throat as he held him there. Blood dripped from his busted nose on to Peter's suit, leaving dark stains along the fabric.

"I warned you," Peter hissed between his teeth coldly. The knife that the man had drawn just moments ago slipped from his grubby fingers and clattered to the floor. He cough and sputtered, spraying crimson droplets on to Spider-Man's mask.

"P-please..." the cruel man blubbered miserably, "please, just let me go. I won't try nothing." His words reeked of liquor and lies.

As Peter glared at the pathetic man's face, an uncontrollable bubble of anger began welling up inside of him. What a pitiful waste of a human stood before him. And because of his worthless existence, innocent others were suffering. Peter's eyes wandered to left, where the dead woman laid in silence, sprawled across the floor and outlined with a growing pool of red. Spider-Man clenched his teeth together and tightened his grip on the man's shirt.

"You murdered that woman," Peter whispered, his voice shaking with rage. "You shot her in the head without even blinking!" He cocked his arm back and slugged the man in his face, sending a splatter of bloody saliva splashing against the wall. The man whimpered helplessly, drops of sweat and tears dripping down his face.

"I'm sorry! Please...I'm sorry..." The criminal grappled at the arm digging into throat, hardly able to breathe, when a whirl of police sirens became audible in the distance, growing louder and louder by the second. "Just take me to the cops."

But Peter was beyond rational thinking. Rage had engulfed his mind, and his vision was tunneling into red. He dug his elbow into the convict's Adam's Apple, causing him to croak like a frog.

"You killed her! And you were going to do the same thing to a little girl!" In his blind fury, Spider-Man began punching the criminal mercilessly, a sickening crack echoing through the restaurant with every hit. "You damn murderer!"

With all his heart, Peter wanted to end this evil man's existence in this world so he could never hurt anyone ever again. He wanted him gone. He wanted to kill him.

And he almost did.

"Spider-Man! Stop!"

Peter froze with his fist raised back, blood dripping from his gloved knuckles. His body shook violently as the voice dragged his mind back into reality, and his breaths came out in shallow, raspy gasps. He stared at the man's face before him, his eyes taking in what he had just done, and he grimaced at his handiwork. The criminal was unrecognizable—a swelling, bloody, black and blue mess making a sort of moaning sound that gurgled from his throat. Peter immediately released his hold on his neck, and the man collapsed to the floor, hacking and coughing as he sucked precious air into his starved lungs. Peter stared remorsefully at the suffering man on the floor for a moment, then slowly turned around to see the little girl from before surrounded by her mother's protective arms, both staring back at him with fear in their eyes. He glanced over at the other hostages huddled together on the floor, and they, too, gazed at Spider-Man with a similar look of terror plastered on their faces. Shame and guilt suddenly consumed Peter for allowing himself to lose control like that. He couldn't blame the people for fearing him. He had scared himself.

Peter turned around and walked up to the two rattled girls, who flinched slightly when he stooped down to meet the young child's eye level.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as gently as he could, his voice still shaking slightly. The girl nodded slowly, tears sliding down her face. Peter felt the weight of what he'd just done land heavily on his head, and he had to make it right. "I'm sorry that this happened. That...you had to see me do that." He rubbed at his chin, which caused him to notice the blood that stained his gloved hand, and he quickly hid it behind his back. "What's your name?"

"Emily," she said shyly. With his clean hand, Peter reached up and wiped the tears off of her cheeks.

"Well, Emily, I have to thank you. You...kind of saved me. I was just...well, I was really upset about what that guy did, and I kind of lost it." He swallowed guiltily and forced a smile. "But you stopped me. Thank you." He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You're my hero."

Emily grinned and let out a bashful giggle. Then, without warning, she ran from her mother's arms and gave Spider-Man a great big bear-hug. Peter sat, slightly stunned for a moment, at how forgiving this child was. He'd almost killed a man out of mindless rage only moments before, and now he was being cuddled by a young girl like nothing had ever happened. Peter realized that the responsibility of being Spider-Man carried an unseen weight that he had to hold himself accountable to. He could not lose control like that ever again. Peter blinked repeatedly, and out of nowhere a wave of emotion suddenly rushed over him and seized up his throat. He bit the inside of his cheek, grateful that he was wearing a mask as he felt his eyes become wet beneath the red fabric. He hugged Emily back gently, and a shaky breath slipped between his lips as the innocent embrace rekindled Peter's spirits with a newfound hope.

Once the police arrived, the heavily beaten criminal was taken to the hospital, and the hostages were safely freed of their Korean restaurant prison. Peter informed the officers of the dead woman and that the man had mentioned there being a bomb set to demolish the building, and the SWAT team showed up and began combing the area with sniffing dogs and strange beeping devices. Peter didn't wait around to see if they found anything. He had to find Gwen.

Spider-Man swung to a neighboring building and climbed up to the rooftop with his dress clothes tucked neatly under his armpit. He placed the suit behind a vent and crouched on the edge of the roof, staring down at the sparkling city below. He couldn't believe he'd almost murdered a man out of cold blood. Peter never knew he possessed that kind of rage inside of himself, and it scared the hell out of him. The words of his deceased uncle weighed heavily on his mind. If you can do good things for other people, you have a moral obligation to do those things. That's what's at stake here. Not choice. Responsibility. And with great power came great responsibility. Peter hung his head in spite of himself. He'd failed his Uncle Ben by not owning up to that responsibility, and not respecting the power he'd been bestowed with. He wouldn't allow himself to fail him again.

Spider-Man shook his head and took a steadying breath. He needed to find Gwen and let her know he was okay, and he needed to get home before it got too late. Peter stood, preparing to hook his webs into the the post office building to his left and swing by her apartment window to see if she was there, when a nagging buzz suddenly went off inside his skull. It wasn't as alarming as the sensation that he'd felt in the restaurant, but it was enough to make his body stiffen and set his mind on edge. Peter spun around and spotted something glowing in the sky, approaching fast. A sound like a miniature jet engine met his ears. He squinted, and a red and gold object came into view, short beams of light trailing behind it. Oh great, he thought irritably. What now?

On the opposite side of the roof, the object came to a graceful landing with a heavy, metallic thunk. Peter stood rigidly, his spidey sense still pinging subtly in the back of his head as he wondered what the hell was going on. The figure began strolling towards him, strange robotic whirrs sounding with its every step, and Peter realized the object resembled the shape of a man. A triangular chest plate and two thin eye slits glowed blue in the darkness, and Spider-Man felt a slight itch of fear creep into his throat. Who is this guy? he thought uneasily to himself. What does he want?

Finally, the figure came into full view, and Peter was shocked. The metal man that stood before him stopped a good distance away and gave him a small nod and a goofy-looking salute.

"What's up, Spider-Man?"


The police were already crawling all over the Korean restaurant by the time the Avengers had showed up at the scene. Tony Stark gazed down at the tiny people scrambling about beneath him from his position high in the sky, hovering with his hands at his sides. Natasha and Steve scoped the ground area and asked the police which direction they'd seen Spider-Man head, while Clint sat with his bow on top of an abandoned hotel building with a clear aerial view of the scene below.

Follow the plan, guys, Tony said into the mike in his helmet. We locate, surround, and capture. Got it? This guy couldn't have gone far without being seen.

The Avengers had decided to skip the whole "asking him kindly" plan and had agreed that taking him by surprise would be their best bet if they wanted to seize him without resistance. It seemed kinda unfair, but that was the plan.

What if he changed into normal street clothes? Clint asked, screwing a taser cap on to the tip of an arrow, which made the head blunt, but its shock value significant.

Let's hope not, Natasha chimed in, rolling her eyes as an unhelpful police officer offered her his number. This already feels like a wild goose chase as it is.

Apparently, Spider-Man took out some crazy drunk murderer who was holding the whole restaurant hostage before fleeing the scene, Rogers informed them after chatting with the police chief, donning his seemingly flashy Captain America suit that made him stick out like a sore thumb among the officers swarming below. He told one officer there was a bomb somewhere, but they haven't found anything yet.

Stark increased his altitude, frustration beginning to dampen his mood. Where o' where had their Spidey run off to? This guy was crafty, he gave him that. And a bit too smart for his own good.

Tony tapped on his helmet's temple. "Jarvis, switch to thermal imaging mode." Immediately, the bustling bodies below him became a sea of red and yellow blobs swimming about in an ocean of dark blue. He scanned the area diligently, his brow wrinkled in concentration.

Then, suddenly, a solo red dot became visible to him on top of a building a little ways away from the Korean restaurant. He zoomed in, just to be sure he wasn't seeing things, and low and behold there was a figure walking on the structure's rooftop. Surprised excitement swelled inside of him.

Guys, I see him! On the rooftop, far west corner!

Are you serious? Natasha exclaimed, whirling on her heels and speeding in that direction. Heading that way now. Hold position, Hawkeye and Stark, until Cap and I are in formation.

I don't have visual, Clint stated impatiently. Should I move so I can have a clear shot if things get hairy?

No, stay put, Iron Man insisted. If something goes down, I'll push him your way and maybe you can take him out by surprise. He watched as the skinny figure on the building crouched along the edge of the roof, his head hung low. For a guy who supposedly just saved a restaurant full of people, he looked kind of dejected. Tony suddenly felt guilty as he realized what they were about to do: capture this guy like a mouse in a trap with no explanation whatsoever and force him to spill the beans on all of his secrets. Even he, the notoriously self-serving Tony Stark, could feel the injustice behind it all.

We're in position, Romanoff announced to the group. You have the tranquilizers ready, Stark?

I thought he was shooting an electrified net over him, Clint responded confusedly.

After a moment in thought, Iron Man shook his head and took a deep breath to compose himself. I'm going to go talk to him.

You're what? Natasha asked, alarmed. You can't be serious. Whatever happened to the whole "follow the plan" deal?

This just doesn't seem right, taking him out like this when he hasn't done anything wrong. I'm going to see if I can work things out without all the tranqs and traps.

You're going to screw up everything, Clint grumbled with an irritated edge to his voice.

He heard Captain America sigh on the other end. I understand your reasoning. I don't particularly enjoy the idea of kidnapping a fellow soldier like he's some kind of criminal. But this is pretty stupid. If this ends in a brawl, you're buying the whole team shawarma dinners for a week, got it?

Stark let out a laugh. Fine, but Thor isn't invited. That guy can put those things away like nobody's business. Switching back to regular camera mode, Tony took off towards the building, his focus locked on target. As he got closer, he could clearly see the flashy red and blue suit with the iconic spider pattern stitched into the back fitted like a glove to the hero's thin frame, which validated that this was indeed the famous masked vigilante in his sights. He watched as Spider-Man rose to his feet, stared down casually at the expansive cityscape below, then went rigid as a statue.

No way he could've detected me yet, Iron Man thought to himself. But to his disbelief, the spider guy spun around and stared right up at him. Or, maybe he could've. And did.

Tony descended on the far side of the rooftop, his eyes never wandering from the masked hero before him. Although the guy's face was hidden, he could tell that Spider-Man was on edge by stiffness of his muscles and the defensive nature of his stance. He began to walk closer, watching the skinny man intently and half-expecting him to leap off the roof in a valiant attempt to escape or something. But he stayed put, observing Iron Man's movements attentively as he drew nearer. When he was about twenty feet away, Stark stopped and gave Spider-Man his friendliest of salutes.

"What's up, Spider-Man?"


I'm a terrible person. :) The real goodies come next chapter, but I guess if people are actually following this crazy story then you'll have to wait until next week. Sorry, I love all of you! Rant at me in your reviews if you must. :P