A/N: Hey, everyone. I have an update on both my query letter and the webcomic. I got some interest from one agency, but they're undecided at the moment, so I'm sending out some more to other agencies in the meanwhile. As for the webcomic, my friend just got into an accident and messed his hand up bad, so that's why the first comic hasn't shown up yet. He plans to draw as soon as possible, but will have to do things biweekly at the earliest thanks to his condition.
I also have to say that I've barely had time to do anything else in my life, which is completely my fault, since my friends and I have just found Tales of Vesperia, and it has slowly become my crack, which would definitely be cheaper and not as habit-forming, lol. I love that game.
Anyways, here is is. Please let me know if there is anything I need to edit or restructure. Thanks in advance and enjoy.
1
Norman Osborn watched the torrential rain fall from the sky from his jail cell and tried not to listen to the mad ravings of his closest "neighbor," Moondark, who shouted out, "Kulan Gath's will is at hand in the world!"
Smirking at what was about to happen, Norman said, "He's coming for me."
2
Spider-Man flipped his cell phone on to talk with his wife as he avoided the attacks of a mad Whirlwind, while Mockingbird and Hawkeye tried to deflect a mob of explosives brought on by the newest man to wear the Clown's outfit. "What was that, sweetheart?" he asked. "I didn't catch it. It's a tad windy here."
"I know, tiger; I'm watching you on the news," Mary Jane Watson-Parker said. "Why don't you wave at the cameras for me and blow me a kiss?"
"Nothing would please me more," Spider-Man said, finding the local news correspondent and doing so.
"Okay, now I called you because I learned something about Osborn."
"What?" he asked, almost losing focus as he avoided Whirlwind once more.
"Harry said that one of the people working Norman's case is trying to get him paroled earlier than he ever should be."
"Well that's just perfect."
"Just wanted to give you a heads up."
"Thanks for that, beautiful. I'll see you tonight."
"I've heard that line before."
Turning off the phone, Spider-Man sent a web-line toward Whirlwind, but he deflected it and charged at Spider-Man, who barely dodged out of the way.
"So, uh, why are they doing this again?" Spider-Man asked.
"Haven't you been paying attention at all?" Mockingbird asked.
"You honestly expect that much from him?" Hawkeye asked, smirking.
"Hey!" Spider-Man yelled. "I got distracted!"
"Imagine that. They're after something in this museum! It's one of the many mystical objects they've been after for months!"
"Oh, I knew that. Just felt like using some exposition for some reason."
Hawkeye grunted and fired off an arrow at the Clown, who jumped out of the way, and knocked Hawkeye down with a mallet sent his way. Mockingbird had corralled Manslaughter Marsdale into a narrow alleyway and hit him with her batons.
His spider-sense telling him of approaching danger, Spider-Man somersaulted in midair, and latched onto a nearby police car with his feet, as he watched Whirlwind hit a building and try to force himself out of the rubble. Seizing the initiative, Spider-Man launched himself toward the villain and sent a web-line at Whirlwind's helmet and tore it off, revealing his face. Whirlwind, seeing his new vulnerability, charged at Spider-Man anyway, and was greeted with a punch to the face, which knocked him out.
"Go inside the museum, Spider-Man!" Hawkeye shouted out. "We'll give you some time by distracting them! Go stop Zodiac now!"
"On it!" Spider-Man yelled back, web-slinging into the museum's wide open doors.
Scanning the museum, Spider-Man felt a sense of déjà vu and realized that he had been inside of the museum before, at least four years ago at the latest. He felt a sense of familiarity enter his mind and he found a sword situated in a bulletproof case, and smiled.
Spider-Man looked at the sword, recalling the time where Mary Jane had been possessed by the spirit of a long dead warrior woman called Red Sonja. The two of them had been forced to fight with each other twice thanks to the influence of an ancient dark magician known as Kulan Gath. They had barely defeated him each time, and it had always reminded Spider-Man of just how much Mary Jane meant to him, although he was always left with a minor fetish for having her dress up in a chainmail bikini afterward.
Yeah, he thought, I have no excuse for that whatsoever. I'm a man, God, so sue me.
Smiling and chastising himself for calling out the Creator of the universe, Spider-Man jumped down and found a path of destruction that signified the presence of Zodiac ahead of him.
"Now where is it?" Zodiac asked, apparently unaware of Spider-Man's presence. "I was told that it was here from my contacts. This body is almost worthless."
That's odd, Spider-Man thought. What does he mean by "this body?"
"Ah," Zodiac said, acquiring a tattered book from a case he broke into. "Here you are."
Examining the book, Zodiac cackled and placed it within a bag, as he headed off to a large hovercraft in another room.
Spider-Man sent out a web-line to catch Zodiac, but then found it deflected by a strange energy field. Puzzled, he watched as Zodiac, uncaring at the assault, activated the hovercraft and then turned around to face him.
"Sorry, Spider-Man, but I have an appointment at the Raft," Zodiac said, cackling as he rushed off into the air on his hovercraft.
Seeing the hovercraft, Spider-Man sent out a web-line and headed straight to it, making sure to follow Zodiac closely across the skies of New York City.
3
Zodiac ran throughout the prison, trying to locate his intended target. He passed by the cages holding the Scarecrow and Purple Man, glad that they were behind force fields and could not attempt to corrupt him. The guards had been easily disposed of once he'd left the hovercraft behind and claimed it had a nuclear device set to blow. He was sure that they were all checking it out and trying to avoid a meltdown that would never happen.
Further down the corridor, Zodiac found the former leader of HAMMER staring at him behind another force cage, grinning wildly.
"So," Zodiac said, slipping closer to his target as he knocked out the surveillance cameras with a mini-EMP burst, "you've seen better days, Osborn."
"As have you, my friend," Norman said, still grinning.
"Since when have I been your friend?"
"Since the Space Phantom took over your body and told me of his plan to help the both of us out with our great knowledge."
Zodiac smiled and Norman caught a brief glimpse of the Space Phantom's visage.
"Those fools thought you were the real deal the entire time," Norman said.
"Yes, yes they did," the Space Phantom-controlled Zodiac said. "They had no idea that this mystical device could help the two of us achieve great power in the coming Apocalypse. I am loathe to admit that this alliance is necessary, but it had to be done. You have a background in these mystical realms that I have yet to fully understand, but must now do my best to study in order to survive the coming crisis."
"Then you brought the Darkhold, correct?"
"I'm afraid that I could not obtain the actual book itself, but I have one of its many copies instead. Stephen Strange seems to be the only one to possess the true one at this moment."
"It will have to suffice then. Can you break the barrier for a moment to hand it to me?"
"Yes I can," he said, using another mini-EMP to bust the force field.
Bringing out the Darkhold copy, Space Phantom placed it in Osborn's hands, who then muttered an incantation that bound it into invisibility. "Well done," he said. "Now you may go and revert this fool into his usual form."
"Very well," Space Phantom said, leaving for Limbo, as the force cage reignited.
"What?" Zodiac asked, looking at his surroundings and finding Osborn smirking right at him in his cell. "You! What's going on, Osborn?"
"My dear Zodiac," Osborn said, chuckling. "How lovely of you to visit me; and after all those awful things you did to me when I was in charge of the world."
Zodiac approached the cell and beat his fist against the shield keeping him from touching Osborn, saying, "Tell me what's happening, Osborn! Why am I in front of your cell?"
"Oh, well I suppose something could have happened to make you unaware of how you would come in here and perform an action that could have helped me out because you had been possessed by a Space Phantom, in fact the Space Phantom, but that would be silly."
"What? Impossible! He hasn't been heard from in years!"
"I know, but he has found ways to contact me, and so he did, using you as his puppet, or at least he would have, if he had been involved."
"Why are you talking like that? What's going on?"
"There you are!" Spider-Man's voice said, resounding in the cramp hallway.
Zodiac turned around in time to see Spider-Man's fist propel into his jaw and force him into the force cage holding Tiger Shark within it. He tried to get up, but was bashed into it once more, as Spider-Man lifted him up and webbed him to the wall.
"Try to get away from me this time, creep," he said.
"But it wasn't me," Zodiac said, his head slumping.
Spider-Man felt his spider-sense tingle and heard clapping from behind him. When he turned around, he found a grinning Norman Osborn looking back at him.
"Hello, Spider-Man," Norman said. "So nice to see you again."
"You," Spider-Man said. "Enjoying your cell, Norman?"
"Oh, yes, it's been a lot of fun. How are things for you?"
"I've had better days."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Why am I having small talk with you? Why am I even talking to you?"
"Because we were meant to be close to each other, Spider-Man."
"Whoa, dude, no offense, but I don't swing that way," Spider-Man said, holding up his hands. "I realize I'm an attractive guy with nondescript features since you can't see me with the costume on, but I'm just not interested in you like that."
Norman laughed, throwing his head back. "I love your jokes, Spider-Man," he said, as he regained his composure. "They always did make me laugh."
"Then I'll shut up to not give you the satisfaction anymore," Spider-Man said, turning his back on him.
Spider-Man watched as the guards transported Zodiac away, while the madman tried to proclaim his innocence in the matter.
"I'm coming for you, Peter," Norman whispered.
"What was that?" Spider-Man asked, turning back around.
"We'll meet again, Spider-Man."
"Yeah, then it had better be your funeral, Osborn."
Spider-Man turned his back on him once more and slung away on a web-line.
"Indeed it shall, Peter," Norman said, standing in front of his cell, as he examined the Darkhold once he had rendered it visible once more.
4
A tall, winsome woman left the guard station and walked to the interrogation room, as she made sure no one was listening in on what she would say with her client, who sat in a cell, his hands bound behind his back.
"Hello, Mr. Osborn," she said, pulling off her sunglasses to reveal yellow eyes. "It looks like you have a chance to be freed thanks to what I've done. What would you suggest we do next with the plan?"
"Why it's simple, Mystique: I'm going to die."
A/N: Surprised? So am I. This was the last way I expected to develop this chapter, yet here it is, and I kinda like it. I look forward to see what you have to say about it.
The next chapter will focus on Spider-Man and Black Panther as they fight racism, which will-Hey, what are you doing here?
"Hello, boys and girls! It's the delicious and disparaging Deadpool! Next time on Repercussions: The Deadpool Saga, I invade another character's story in the hopes of bolstering its sales! Which is funny because this poor sap of an author doesn't make any money! Because he's a loser!"
"Hey! I am not!"
"Are too! So bring the popcorn and the bazookas, kiddies, because we're gonna have a lot of fun fighting off the dreaded menace of Gamecock and Black Talon, the cluck-y chicken supervillains!"
Really? Really? I've sunk this low.
"Yes, yes you have."
*Sigh* Until next time...