9.
It had taken a few days but Chameleon felt all this basis had been covered from his extensive planning. Dressed as a security guard with a face to match, he made his rounds while making pit stops at every trashcan and under every security camera mount. Booths where people would write out their deposits or other documents were also stopped at with him mentally checking off every spot he had marked out on his map, which he burned along with what he had left behind.
Everything was going smoothly. The people were few, it was a slow day, and even the security team seemed more than ready for closing time. It was all perfect, exactly as he had planned and now was time for it to go into effect.
Casually heading to a quiet hallway, the Chameleon shed his uniform and drew his pistol. Extra ammunition was stored in a utility belt along with various electronic detonators. The last thing he put on was a familiar red mask. Now was when luck would play a roll. He was banking on a certain wall crawler to show up, which was the reasoning behind his red and blue fashion choice.
"All right, you know the drill," he yelled as he emerged from the hallway with his gun drawn. "Public, kiss the floor. Tellers, fill the bags. Security guards, surrender your guns or else."
"Take him…" Before the head security guard could issue his order, the Spider-Man dressed Chameleon put a half dozen bullets in his chest.
"Anyone else have anything to say?"
"Why are you doing this?" a woman asked. She too was shot dead.
"That's why. Now hand over the guns or this place goes up in smoke."
He flicked a switch on his belt and several high-pitched whines emitted from the trash cans. One look by the security guards told them this guy had the entire bank wired to explode. One by one, they slid their weapons over to the gun toting Spider-Man and joined the others on the floor.
"How are my bags coming along over there? You finished yet…"
The bank teller, an older man with gray hair, was hunched over his counter with the moneybag in a tight grip. His hands were shaking and his face was in a state of pain as he grunted deeply and foamy spittle seeped out of his mouth.
"Earl's having a heart attack!" one of the female tellers yelled.
"$# &!" The Chameleon said. "This can't be happening." With his attention diverted he didn't see three of the hostages attempt to escape and trigger one of his bombs.
An explosion rocked the front of the bank, killing the three fleeing hostages and sending the others into a panic. Those outside fled the scene and screamed as several others entering the bank were caught in the explosion and were also killed. It didn't take long for the police, fire department, and EMTs to get there. With his plan falling apart, Chameleon new it was only a matter of time before his intended prey showed up. Sure enough, a black and red vigilante made himself known within a few minutes of the emergency responder's arrival.
"Is that all they do?" Peter groaned from the couch in the living room. "Come on, man. Change the channel. I don't want to see this crap."
"How can you call this crap?" Bobby asked. "One of these girls could be the next best model of the US."
"Oh, for only one seam to pop." Johnny was on the edge of the sofa next to Peter with his eyes bouncing along with what he saw on TV.
"Change it to College Wolf. At least that has substance." When the others didn't respond to him, Peter slumped down further and glared at the TV. "Nothing but fake plastic people…hello."
A woman came on camera that caught his attention and he ended up like the others, on the edge of his seat. She walked down the runway and prepared to turn at the end when the news broke in and interrupted the show.
"No, I liked her," Johnny said in disappointment.
"She, she had on a thong," Bobby wept. "A beautiful, sweet, gorgeous thong."
"Oh crap." Peter stood and stared at the image of a bank as police surrounded it. Plastered under the live image was the caption, "Original Spider-Man robs bank, kills several in the process."
The three teenage boys stared holes in the screen. As the reporter continued their coverage of the event, replays marked less than a half hour ago showed the red and blue Spider-Man with what appeared to be a belt and pistol holding off be black and red version. Every time he came close to the armed robber, he would quickly retreat for some reason no one could make out. There was a time however when the camera crew just outside one of the main Windows caught a glimpse of the red and black Spider-Man firing a web line and ensnared the red and blue Spider-Man's mask. With a tug the mask was ripped off a revealed a person with no face whatsoever that looked to take the red and black vigilante by complete surprise. This of course had the news reporters completely baffled as to who this person was if not the original Spider-Man from a year ago.
Upon seeing this, Johnny turned to Bobby who turned back to look at him. "Bobby, ice up. I'll…"
"No, Johnny," Peter said. "Remember what Kitty told you the other night? They'll shoot you and Bobby first for being mutants."
"But I'm not a mutant," Johnny told him.
"It doesn't matter to them." May came into the living room from the kitchen with a dish cloth in hand. "She told me everything she told you to. And while I can stop you two from going, please listen to reason and let Spider-Man handle it."
Both boys looked at Peter but he shook his head. "Not me. I'm not Spider-Man anymore."
"He's gonna get himself killed," Johnny said. "You know he will. We know what that shape shifter guy can do. He'll kill everyone in the building."
Peter stomped past them and to the stairs. "For the record, I don't want to stay, but I have to. People don't want me anymore."
"Oh come on, Peter," Johnny said. "You're just gonna quit? What about the people who need guys like us? You could take him down and…"
"I made a promise I wouldn't be Spider-Man anymore. I'm just an ordinary teenager. Nothing more."
"So that's it? Let the bad guys do what they want? Let them win? I told you I looked up to you before I knew who you were, remember that? Same thing with Bobby because of what you did. You're no hero, you're just as bad as they are because you're letting these things happen and not doing a damn thing about it!"
Peter was almost up the stairs when he turned back at Johnny's words. He looked ready to yell back at him but instead just growled angrily and headed up to his room.
"He'll figure something out," May said. "He just needs time."
Bobby and Johnny just looked up the stairs after Peter as he rounded the corner.
Climbing up the last staircase to his attic room, Peter just wanted to be left alone. The bad mood he was in was only worsened by the fact that he felt like he was once again trapped in the house with no chance of getting out now.
As he climbed the last few steps, he heard some light giggling from his room. Kitty met him at the top of the stairs and had a sly grin. He was about to say something to her until he saw Gwen and Mary Jane lying on his bed with mischievous grins of their own.
"What's this?" Peter asked. "And how did you get up here?"
"Kitty helped me out. And we've got a big surprise for you, Tiger" Mary Jane crooked her finger to urge him further into his room.
"You're going to love this," Gwen said.
Looking at the three girls and the way they looked at him, Peter could feel his face flush. "Uh…am I…uh…am I gonna…"
"Relax, Pete," Kitty told him with a hand on his shoulder. "This will be something you will never forget."
To be continued
