X: Wreckage, Part I
"Just finished our run of Sector 2," one of the Section-2 operatives reported over the communications system. "Still no sign of The Octopus."
"Acknowledged," Spiderman replied as he swung between two close buildings in downtown Tokyo-3. "Proceed to Sector 3."
"Understood, Major."
'This is getting us nowhere,' Spiderman thought to himself. 'She's obviously not in the city and trying to find her before she strikes another target here is like locating a needle in a haystack. We have no idea what she still needs, and without knowing that, we're sunk.'
"Major, be advised. Possible disturbance in Sector 5. Section-4 operatives are being dispatched, but uh, Major?"
"What is it?" Spiderman said over the communications link.
"It's not her... It's something else entirely."
'That's all I need tonight,' he lamented. "Copy that. On my way."
He swung hard to the right heading straight into the designated area. There on a building nearby, a spotlight from a nearby helicopter highlighted a creature that seemed completely unconcerned by the attention.
"The hell is that?" he said aloud as he got closer. "Some kind of huge iguana on steroids? As if the shit in this town couldn't get any weirder."
As he got closer, he noticed the blood around its mouth, and the mostly devoured corpse of a civilian by its feet. That alone prompted him to swing into the monster at full speed and feet first. The Lizard flew back rolling once before getting back on its feet in a three point stance and slowing its backwards travel using its claws. A sound akin to nails on a chalkboard magnified over a bullhorn reached Spiderman's ears as the monster slowed to a halt.
"Ok... seriously?" he said with an annoyed tone to his voice. "What is it with this town and attracting monsters that eat people?"
"Ssspiderman," the monster hissed.
"Ok, so you talk," Spiderman noted. "Maybe we can talk this out then." He suddenly noticed the monster was wearing a ragged lab uniform, one that looked like it could have come from NERV. "Why don't we start with 'Who the hell are you'?"
"The future," it replied before pouncing upon Spiderman from a distance the hero wasn't expecting.
Spiderman ended up on his back with The Lizard right on top of him. He barely held back the massive hook-like claws of the fiend and his legs were pinned down by the monster's muscular legs. He could feel the claws slowly sinking into his thighs to gain additional traction.
"Don't know you a full minute yet and I already get the sensation I'm not going to like you," Spiderman deadpanned. The Lizard attempted to bite him in the head but Spiderman was able to dodge, if only barely. As it pulled its head back, Spiderman slammed his head into the creature's snout, dazing it long enough to get free.
Once he had some distance he fired off two webs but missed the target as it ducked too low and ran at him on all fours. Spiderman followed up with a quick series of low web shots at its feet and claws, slowing down the monster until it could no longer progress forward.
"Ok, now can we talk about this?" he asked the monster, only to watch it rip itself up and out of the web trap with little effort. "I really need to stop using that line." Spiderman dodged the claw swipes aimed at him and used a web line to swing around the building's antenna. He built up a decent amount of speed and let go, hoping to propel himself directly into the monster feet first to knock it silly. Instead The Lizard blocked and absorbed the hit, sliding only a few feet back and grabbing a hold of Spiderman's legs. He then proceeded to slam him into the ground hard enough to send cracks along the rooftop. As Spiderman tried to get back up, the clawed foot of The Lizard slammed down on him, embedding him into the roof.
"Ow," he managed and quickly got himself free before the foot could come down again. Now forced into direct melee, he quickly threw punches and kicks, back flipping his foot into the creature's snout with the last hit. That strike pushed it away, but as Spiderman tried to follow up, The Lizard quickly spun 180 degrees. The web-crawling hero was whipped with the monster's tail and it felt like he just got nailed with a crowbar. He felt two ribs crack under the pressure and he was thrown into the doorway on the top of the building. Unable to control his fall, he ended up down the first flight of stairs, coming to a stop on the last landing of the stairwell.
As he tried to get back up, The Lizard appeared in the doorway. Spiderman barely noticed the sounds of gunfire as the monster threw itself down the stairs after him faster than he could react. The force sent both of them through several walls and out the other side of the building. Before they could fall very far, The Lizard had both of his clawed feet grasp the wall. He slammed Spiderman into the bricks around him several times before stabbing its hand into his stomach hard.
A cry of pain tore from Spiderman's lungs as the five claws pierced his flesh. The Lizard then proceeded to throw him downward towards street level, but about six floors down, Spiderman managed to grab a ledge, though the pain was making it difficult to do anything but hold on for dear life.
The Lizard quickly skittered down the side of the building towards him, but shots from a high powered rifle stopped him in his tracks. The first bullet missed, but the second hit him in the shoulder.
"Another time perhapsss," he hissed as he let go of the building and fell into the alleyway. The helicopter tried to track him but quickly lost sight.
Shinji took his mask off with his free had and attached it to his belt.
"This has not been a good month for me..." He climbed back up and ended up in the stairwell he was just in. As he recovered and concentrated on regenerating the injuries he just took, he caught sight of an ID card in a plastic cover. Realizing it came from the lab coat the creature was wearing, he picked it up and read it. Sure enough, it was a NERV ID Card.
"Doctor Connors?" he said in a surprised whisper. "What in Kami's name have you done to yourself?!"
"I think I've finally found a potential solution to my current problem," Doctor Akagi announced as she continued typing away at her computer.
Maya was up and around finally, but she was still regulated by the doctor to go easy on herself for the time being. The young tech leaned over Ritsuko's shoulder, holding on to one of her tentacle arms for support as she read the information on the screen.
"Synthesis?" Maya asked inquisitively.
"Apparently, one of the scientists that studied the Trithic Elements before they were all acquired by Fisk wrote a report. In it, he postulated that the elements were of extra-terrestrial origin, meaning it came to earth via meteors. However, it is possible to synthesize the elements using earth-based chemicals and crystalline metals."
"I see," Maya replied. "Will this be easier than stealing the elements from Fisk?"
"He's got the elements themselves locked up tight enough that it's giving me pause. Besides, I'm not interested in going yet another round with Shocker." Ritsuko seemed very adamant about the last point. "That bastard is always where I need to be."
"So how are you getting the materials then?"
"There are a few suppliers that are less protected that I can lift the stuff from," Doctor Akagi replied.
Of course, Maya didn't look happy about the fact that Ritsuko would be breaking the law yet again, but she understood the goal, and she knew she had to continue this course.
"This one here seems to have everything I need in one place," Doctor Akagi continued. "Should be an easy run."
"Try not to hurt anyone, please," Maya requested softly.
Ritsuko sighed. "I'll try, but if things get bad, I can't promise you that."
Maya reluctantly accepted her answer.
"Maybe I should start seriously investing in life insurance," Shinji mused as he walked into his home inside NERV. Since the incident with Cartigan, the pilots have returned to standby duty forcing him to live underground with his family.
"Shinji-kun?" Rei called out. He could hear Eve fussing in the background.
"Yeah," he replied as he tossed down his backpack containing his Spiderman costume. He collapsed into their modest sofa as Rei came in and slid next to him and leaned into him. His arm instinctively snaked around her holding her close.
"You got hurt again," she stated.
"Yeah," Shinji replied. "Bad news; Doctor Connors went and turned himself into a monster today."
"Kami," Rei whispered.
"I thought I had problems before," Shinji lamented. "Between Connors going all 'Lizard' on us and Ritsuko off the deep end... I can't do this alone anymore Rei."
"What will you do?" Rei asked.
"I don't know..." Shinji stood up and walked to the window. The view looked out over the Geofront. He idly noted where Kaji's watermelon patch was. Shinji mused that Kaji would know what to do if he were still alive.
Inside herself Rei debated a moment, realizing that the young man didn't have to face this alone.
We should help, Venom said to her.
'He won't be happy,' she internally replied.
I know, but you heard what he said... he can't do this alone.
Rei sighed and stood up. "Shinji-kun... we need to talk."
Shinji sighed that worried sigh a man makes when his love says something along those lines. It usually means there is something wrong with the relationship and she needs to be reassured. He thought he was paying enough attention to her but...
"What's on your mind?" Shinji asked.
"You said you can't do this alone anymore, but what if you didn't have to?"
"I don't follow."
"What if I told you that Venom was still alive?"
Shinji's eyes widened at the implication of that. "You can't be serious. You said she was dead!"
"I never said that. I simply said that I can't feel free anymore." She paused allowing Shinji to comprehend what she was about to say. "When Carnage damaged my core, she punched a hole into it but failed to penetrate the inner sphere which is why the damage didn't kill me. When Domino hit us with the anti-symbiote dart, Venom realized that the serum inside it would kill her, so she hid inside my core, entering though the hole Carnage made with her attack. While I regenerated, she bonded with my core and became a permanent part of me. In return she 'fixed' me, moving my core up a few inches and grew a full set of reproductive organs for me. Venom is the reason we have a daughter, Shinji-kun. If it wasn't for her, we'd still be without a child."
Shinji let that mill over in his head a moment. He still found it hard to believe.
"Show me," he asked softly, hoping she wasn't serious about everything.
Rei sighed and closed her eyes. Shinji watched as her black exoskin made its first appearance in a year, covering her outfit and bonding tightly to her body. It didn't cover her face, only her body from the neck down, but the white spider symbol on her chest was unmistakable.
"Venom has changed," Rei asserted. "She doesn't require massive amounts of meat to survive anymore since my core sustains her. She's not aggressive, she's almost a mirror of myself now. But she is still alien, and she is still part of me. Separate, yet a piece of my whole. We can't be separated, we never really could be."
"Why?" Shinji whispered. "Why hide this from me?"
"Venom needed time to prove she wasn't a monster anymore," Rei replied. "And I knew that if you knew Venom was alive, you would have stopped at nothing to try to separate us again. But to do that now, you would have to remove my core... and that would kill me."
Shinji shook his head and turned away.
"Shinji, please," Rei pleaded. "Don't look away from me. This is who I am."
Shinji sighed and turned back to see her.
"I don't..." he tried to think of what to say.
Rei rolled her eyes and launched two tendrils from her arms to entangle him. He made a surprised sound as he was pulled into Rei's arms.
"I fought Carnage, Venom, and the rest of the world it seemed to get you... I'm not letting you go now." Before Shinji could protest Rei kissed him hard. Proving he never could resist her, he fell into the kiss without hesitation.
It was still Rei's lips and tongue... it wasn't the monster... It was still her...
Shinji finally pushed past his misgivings, realizing that Rei was still Rei... no matter if Venom existed or not.
When they parted at last, they looked into each other's eyes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shinji asked.
"I want to help you... we both do."
"You realize, you can't be seen by anyone from NERV as Venom, otherwise..."
"I know," Rei said softly. "I'll stay incognito. I'm good at that."
Deep in the sewers, Doctor Connors awakened to the sound of running water. The section he was in was wide and relatively clean. Water cascaded nearby, overflows from parts of the city that were still inundated with water. He pushed himself up, and suddenly realized he still had both arms. His right arm however still resembled that of The Lizard, only sized for his human form.
"You're welcome," came a dark voice from the shadows.
"Who's there?!" Connors called out looking around.
"I'm inssside you Curtisss..."
"What in God's name," he whispered as he realized the voice was coming from inside of him.
"God? God hasss nothing on me. I'm what you created... I am esssentially you... unbound by the sssilly princssablesss of ethicsss. I am thisss worldsss future."
"You're a side effect," Curt countered.
"Am I? Or am I sssimply the persssonification of the real you?" Curt's attempt to insult his inner demon was totally ineffective. Curt did have to wonder just how correct it's words were.
"What do you want from me?"
"From you? Nothing yet. But we need to finish the ssserum."
"NERV will destroy us once they find out, or worse... dissect us and find out what makes us tick... Commander Katsuragi certainly seemed the type..."
"Indeed... ssso, we need to find ourssselvesss another patron... Sssomeone who can ussse our ssserum to their advantage and isss willing to front the materialsss and resssourcesss to get it done."
"But who would..." Connors stopped himself. He already knew the answer to that question. Wilson Fisk had been working to dominate the medical market in Japan for some time. Something like this would easily put him on top, make the fat man a ton of money... and he did reward loyalty well...
"Ah... we're on the sssame page I sssee. And who knowsss, prehapsss if we work with him, we can get our clawsss on that bitch Akagi."
"Doesn't matter," Curt countered. "She's small potatoes."
"And yet you ssstill wassste so much of your hate on her..."
Curt's jaw set on anger. "Alright... fine... I do hate her. She was undeserving of her stature in NERV and should have stayed in prison. I wouldn't mind killing her off." He couldn't really deny it... After all, he was always quick to anger when Misato compared him to her even briefly.
"What are we waiting for..."
The metal grate on the floor of the warehouse was pushed up by two metallic claws on the ends of complex tentacles. Once aside, Doctor Octopus pulled herself up using the same tentacle arms and readied for a fight.
"No one here?" she whispered. "This can't be good."
"Your sense of pattern recognition is remarkable as usual," came the sardonic voice of Kingpin.
Her head spun around only to realize the sound was coming over the speakers.
"You have got to be kidding me," Doc Ock said in dismay. "What, you own this company too?"
"I'm assuming you read the report written by Doctor Valker about synthesizing the Trithic Elements, otherwise you wouldn't be here," he replied. "If the elements could be duplicated artificially, don't you think I would do what I could to control those resources? As it stands, this is the only company that produces one of the materials needed to create synthetic Trithic Crystal. It was a simple matter to acquire it quietly, and I've owned it for as long as that report you read has existed. Admittedly, my quiet takeover of the company wouldn't be easily found in public knowledge but it worked out for me pretty well eh?"
Doctor Octopus's eyes narrowed.
"Now, since I've got you here and I did fully expect you... You're right on time by the way... I took the liberty of making sure my two best men were here to collect you."
Doors to her left opened and in stepped the massive Russian wrecking ball of a man, Rhino. The familiar sound of Shocker's blasters powering up could be heard from the passage behind where she was currently standing.
"I remember this not ending well for you last time," Kingpin said proudly. "I'd strongly suggest giving up quietly."
"You're right of course," Doctor Octopus said as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "This didn't end well for me the last time. But I've gotten a lot better since then."
She didn't wait for one of them to start the fight. One of her tentacles launched into a nearby crate and threw it full speed at Shocker as she turned to face Rhino. Shocker fired off a blast from his gauntlets to stop the crate by blowing it apart as Rhino charged Doctor Octopus. The doctor slammed two tentacles into the ground and propelled herself into a forward flip over Rhino, grabbing him between the tentacles which were crossed in front of him. She spun as they pulled taunt from his forward momentum and made the claws lock behind him as she landed and slammed both of her other tentacles into the ground.
Shocker took aim but didn't realize what Doctor Octopus was doing until it was too late. With a show of strength unexpected from the woman, Rhino was ripped from the ground and used as literal human wrecking ball, slamming into Shocker hard as her tentacles let go. Shocker was stunned from the impact and thrown into a nearby wall as Rhino went through the same wall a few feet away.
Doctor Octopus turned towards both of them as Shocker started getting back to his feet. His outfit, which was designed to protect him from the backlash of his own weapons reduced the stun quite a bit.
"Get her you fools!" Kingpin yelled over the speakers.
"Yeah, that's enough from the peanut gallery," Doc Ock commented as the twin prongs of her EMP system extended from a tentacle and slammed into the speaker, frying the entire security system of the building as well as the lights.
Shocker looked around realizing he was in total darkness.
"Damn it," he hissed as the emergency lights kicked in, but Doctor Octopus was nowhere to be seen.
Nearly 30' above, Doc Ock quietly suspended herself from the rafters. She took off her sunglasses and took in the room. Ever since the accident that burned her eyes, she's been light sensitive. The nanites never seemed to be able to fix her eyesight but instead enhanced her low range vision by expanding the rods and cones in the back of her eyes. She could see perfectly in this low light, and her enemies were at a distinct disadvantage.
Rhino finally entered the room from the hole he made. "Can't see shit," he said in a thick Russian accent.
"Noticed," Shocker agreed in a very mad voice. "Where the fuck did she go?!" He raised his blasters and prepared to fire randomly.
"Don't!" Rhino yelled and grabbed his arms. "You remember what you did last time you and that bitch fought?! You wanna bring this whole place down around us?!"
"How do you know about that Aleksei?" Shocker demanded.
"Kingpin showed me the footage and told me to make sure you didn't do that again," Rhino explained.
"Really? I got carried away the last time, I admit that. But I sure has hell don't need you 'watchdogging' me."
As the two argued and tried to keep their eyes open, Doctor Octopus quietly made her way into a position over the two of them.
"What, you don't think I can do that? Oh right, I forgot, I'm just a 'big dumb animal'. Right?"
"Really?! What the hell did he tell you?!"
"So you did call me that. I ought to trample your happy ass all over this warehouse."
Doc Ock suddenly struck. Two tentacles came out of the shadows and grabbed Shocker from behind pulling him into the darkness behind him. A scream of fear came out of him as he started firing randomly. Rhino ducked low, hoping none of the blasts randomly hit him or something else important. A cracking sound was heard and Shocker suddenly stopped yelling in the darkness. He dropped onto a crate nearby with a crash and a groan of pain.
"What the hell?!" Rhino exclaimed as he looked around for Doctor Octopus. Suddenly two tentacles wrapped around his arms from behind and grabbed hard. Doctor Octopus landed on his back and started punching the back of his head viciously. Though little damage was being done due to the suit, Rhino was already sufficiently unnerved and took off running.
Doc Ock ducked behind his massive frame as he slammed into wall after wall trying to dislodge her and get away. He nailed a strut wrong dislocating a massive shoulder, but he was so terrified that he didn't even notice. A third claw grabbed his horn and pulled his head in a different direction, effectively steering him for a moment. Finally her last tentacle arm wrapped around his legs and ended his run, sending him into the floor hard. He slid a good 50 feet due to the sheer amount of force before coming to a halt.
The tentacle around his legs leg go coming up to his head and extended a long spike-like blade. Doc Ock was about to punch the blade though the back of Rhino's head and end him when Maya's words echoed in her mind.
"Try not to hurt anyone, please..."
Not hurting was impossible from her perspective, but she didn't have to kill him and she knew it. The blade came down and sliced open part of the suit protecting his head. Doc Ock brought down both of her fists clenched together and slammed him in the back of his head as hard as she could without breaking his neck. One grunt later and Rhino was unconscious.
Uncoiling herself she was about to go over to where Shocker was when she got hit in the back with a blast from his gauntlets. It didn't hurt nearly as much as she was expecting but she dodged the follow-up shot finally landing on him from above. She pinned both his arms down and held the blade from one of her tentacles inches from his head.
"I'd rather not kill you," Doc Ock said.
"All evidence to the contrary," Shocker groaned.
"I should kill you," she reiterated. "You hurt my Maya."
"Sick slut," Shocker commented. The blade came down next to his head causing him to go silent lest he really did push her too far.
"It's no different from any girlfriend you might have had in the past. We share something special together, not that it's any of your business. Just because we're both girls doesn't mean anything. We love each other, and that's all that matters."
Her claws on his arms tightened nearly breaking his arms, but instead shattered his gauntlets. Shocker grunted and growled as he realized his toys were destroyed.
"And it's because of her that I'm not going to kill either of you. So count your blessings and be sure to thank that 'sick slut' as you put it."
Now that he was no longer a threat, she simply got off of him and retrieved the materials. Shocker just sat there, thinking about what Doctor Octopus said to him. He barely moved his head at all as she left with the materials in hand.
Unbeknownst to Ritsuko, a small tracking device was stuck to the back of her trencher...
An hour later, Ritsuko made it back to her warehouse. Maya ran to her and nearly tackled her.
"Oof! Easy girl!" Ritsuko said with a chuckle.
"I was so worried!" Maya said with a twinge of fear in her voice.
"I'm okay," Ritsuko assured her.
"Your coat is messed up again... who was it this time?"
"Apparently Kingpin owned that company too," the doctor explained. "He had both Rhino and Shocker there waiting for me... but I beat them pretty easily. No real injuries to report."
"Thank goodness," Maya affirmed as her arms snaked up the older woman's back.
"I got the material," Ritsuko offered, but Maya seemed suddenly confused.
"What's this?" she asked as she pulled something off the back of her trencher. "Some round thing."
Ritsuko took the item from her and examined it closely. She picked out a small power source and some circuit lines, but the thing that stood out most, was in the center of it. It looked like...
"Oh shit," Ritsuko whispered as she realized it was a transmitter. A second later, the windows in the front of her building shattered and canisters loaded with tear gas began to his madly and disperse their cargo.
Ritsuko and Maya instantly ducked under one of the tables, trying not to breath in any of the noxious vapor. But despite the size of the warehouse, there was more than enough canisters to flood the place. One of Ritsuko's tentacles grabbed a nearby gas mask and gave it to Maya.
"You've got to get out of here," Ritsuko said. "Head out the back and head for the woods."
"What about you?!" Maya cried.
"I've spent a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get this equipment, I'm not letting it go without a fight... Now go!"
Maya ran. In her fear, she managed to get out the back but was immediately grabbed by two of Kingpin's men. She screamed drawing the attention of Ritsuko.
"No!" she yelled and sent two tentacles in that direction to try to stop them. The door was slammed shut before they got there and they stuck into the door instead of going through them.
She ripped her tentacles back and heard automatic fire. A hail of bullets came through the walls keeping her pinned down. She heard a hissing sound and looked for the source. One of the gas tanks she was using to feed the generator was ruptured.
"As if this couldn't get any worse," she whispered as she ran for the door.
She never heard the explosion but she felt herself lifted from the ground and get thrown by the blast. She slammed into the door and that was the last thing she remembered...
To Be Continued
How could he know this new dawn's light would change his life forever,
Set sail to sea but pulled of course by the light of golden treasure
Was he the one causing pain with his careless dreaming
Been afraid, always afraid of the things he's feeling
He could just be gone
He would just sail on!
He would just sail on...
-Metallica, Unforgiven III
Review Responses
orionpax09: Welcome to the party! Glad you're enjoying the ride so far. Of all the people I hoped would read my drivel, it was you. I could never thank you enough for letting me become a part of the SOE project back in the day when it first started. I've never enjoyed writing as much as when I started on these pieces of fiction.
Jimbo86: True enough, Maya has her own problems especially now that she's been taken for the second time.
Belthazar: I explained in a PM why.
Until next time my friends...