Disclaimers
All characters appearing in Marvel Comics are copyright Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney Company. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are not authorized by the copyright holders.
All original characters are the property of Celgress.
Small Town Spider-Man – Episode Eight: The Living Costume Part I – In the Black
By
Celgress
I had to know the truth. So I did something I'm not proud of. The next day after school I broke into Doc Morbius' now deserted office at the Cider Falls Health Clinic. Avoiding the alarm system was a breeze for somebody with my abilities and electronic know how. I spent an hour searching Doc's private files for answers with no luck.
I was about to give up when I found Doc's handwritten journal. Feeling guiltier than ever I read through the whole thing, in the pages I uncovered the information I sought. It seems Doc sold me out. He discovered the abnormalities in my blood long before he'd informed me and Uncle Ben about the test results. Theorizing he could use the genetic augmentation process I had apparently undergone as an infant to cure his own rare blood disorder. Doc had attempted to extract and replicate the trace amounts of the mutagenic substance present in my cells, without success. The next part made my skin crawl with a cocktail of disbelief, disgust and deep betrayal. Lacking the sophisticated equipment required Doc sought out assistance from an outside source. Maddeningly Doc, worried about incriminating himself, in his own words 'dare not commit to writing the names of his co-conspirators', dammit! I was back to square one. In truth I had gained valuable information. At least now I knew, or more precisely highly suspected, the route by which the Green Goblin had gotten involved in this mess. Little doubt the Green Goblin is one of the unethical outsiders Doc consulted with. I wonder does that mean Doc knows who's behind the mask? It is a distinct possibility, one that warrants further exploration. Leaving the clinic I was more determined than ever to find Doc and the Green Goblin.
The next few days were uneventful. My foes decided to stay under whatever rock they'd been hiding. School life was humdrum. The weather remained overcast, cold, and dreary with occasional bursts of light snow otherwise known as typical January weather in the Northeast. I didn't bust many crooks either I guess it was too cold for crime, who'd have thunk it eh? If I wasn't so worried about two super villains free in my town I'd have appreciated the break.
More than a week after the Green Goblin had sprung the 'Living Vampire' Morbius from custody I was swinging by the local pet shop. It was an unusually warm night, the beginning of the annual January Thaw, with temperatures in excess of fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Overhead the stars twinkled in the mild, southerly breeze. Something unusual caught eye. I did a double take. It couldn't be, yet in was. A giant, humanoid lizard in a tattered lab coat and purple slacks had smashed in the front window of the shop. Ignoring the blaring alarm the lizard creature was headed inside.
"Hey there greenie no shopping after hours", I said landing behind the lizard creature. Snarling the lizard creature turned around swinging his powerful tail at me.
"Leave me be pest." The lizard creature hissed. "I'm on an important mission."
"Looking for a date in there huh lizy", I joked.
"Do not trifle with the Lizard insect!" The Lizard hissed trying again to flatten me with his powerful tail.
"Do not break & enter and I won't." I said avoiding the second intended blow. This time I fired both webshooters unloading ropes of my newly strengthened webbing at Lizard. Just when it seemed I had Lizard on the ropes, he was having a hard time extracting himself from my improved webbing, I heard a familiar voice.
"Die Spider scum!" Morbius, now attired in a black jumpsuit with red trim, shriek barreling into my side.
I was knocked off my feet. If not for me spider sense I'd have been in worse shape. As it was I dodged slightly at the last possible instant avoiding the full impact of Morbius' attack. Not having time to detach my weblines from Lizard I violently pulled him forward. This development turned out to be serendipitous as Lizard collided with Morbius. Scrambling to my feet I clunked their heads together, knocking them silly. I emptied my web cartridges over the two. I then ran into the store. I found a spool of insulated cooper cable in the back. I used it to further secure my immobilized opponents. Knowing the drill I booked the moment I heard sirens.
The next day I found out three things that would change my life forever in unexpected ways, though I didn't know so at the time. The first was expected the other two were unexpected. J. Johan Jameson slandered me, I mean Spider-Man, again on the front page of the Bugle. He alleged I was the ringleader of a rogue mutant crime ring, made up of probable refugees from Xavier's academy in Bayville, who had chosen to get our jollies by terrorizing the defenseless citizens of Cider Falls. Give me a break. Does this clown know how stupid his ideas are? The only good news in the Bugle was that the Guardsmen would be arriving en masse to escort the Lizard and Morbius to the Vault. This time the transfer went off without a hitch. No sign of my goblin friend. I breathed a well-deserved sigh of relief when the convoy pulled out of town unhindered.
Next I found out my teacher Dr. Curt Connors was missing. No one had seen Curt in two days. Curt's wife Martha was frantic. The talk around town was either the 'Vampire' or the Lizard had killed Curt, just like people suspected they had killed Doc Morbius. Knowing the truth about Doc's disappearance I almost wondered if Curt could have suffered a similar fate. Could Curt have been accidentally exposed to the same mutagen which had changed Doc into the 'living vampire'? Maybe Curt was one of the unnamed, shadowy persons who Doc had gone to for help recreating my mutational agent. Could Curt Connors be the Lizard? A disturbing thought I know. I felt horrible. Just in case I wrote an anonymous letter to the Vault telling them I was Spider-Man, leaving out my true identity of course, hey I'm not stupid, and detailing my suspicions about their two newest inmates. No matter the truth there was little I could do about it now. I only hoped if it was so the staff at the Vault would be able to cure both the Lizard and Morbius.
The third shoe fell during the closing days of January, on the heels of our third major snowstorm of the season. Aunt May received a three am phone call. It was from a hospital in Minneapolis–Saint Paul my paternal aunt Uncle Ben's sister, Linda Reilly had been killed by a speeding car while crossing the street. It seems the driver, who blew through several red lights, was an escaped fugitive from a local mental hospital who was involved in a high speed police chase. My temper flared when I learned the name of the escapee Cletus Kasady, the same maniac who had killed old Mr. Wilson before my startled eyes. How does this guy keep popping up? Aunt Linda's husband Murray had died serving his county a decade ago in Iraq during the second battle of Fallujah. The current tragedy left my cousin Ben, named after our late uncle, orphaned. Cousin Ben was a great guy. A year younger than me he loved astronomy and was better with electronics than I was. The past five summers Linda and Ben had visited me and Uncle Ben & Aunt May for a month. My cousin had loved the country; the orchards and especially the clear, light pollution free night sky that had allowed him to use the telescopes he'd bring to the fullest advantage.
A couple days later we were on a flight to Minnesota. Aunt Linda's funeral was a sad affair. Made all the sadder by the fact none of the relatives wanted to look after poor cousin Ben. After talking it over Aunt May and I decided we'd step up to the plate. Aunt May offered to adopt Ben. He agreed on one condition he said he wanted to change his first name to Reilly so when he officially gained the Parker surname the family name of his father would continue on. Aunt May readily agreed. I think it was a fine choice as calling him Ben all the time would only open old wounds. Aunt May arranged for whatever Reilly wanted from his apartment, including his mom's stuff, to be shipped back east. Other than some clothes, his laptop and his favorite telescope Reilly left most everything behind. Three members strong the new Parker family of Cider Falls returned home.
By the time we arrived back in Cider Falls another week had passed it was now early February. Reilly took over the largest of the spare bedrooms, just down the second floor hallway from me, at the homestead. Reilly settled in as a senior at Cider Falls Junior High School so we didn't see much of each other during week days. At nights being Spider-Man often got in the way. In spite of all these distractions Reilly and I grew close. We looked so much alike, in spite of his stylish, spikey blonde hairdo, folks around town started referring to us collectively as the 'Parker Brothers'. Reilly hit it off with my friends, all of which recognized him from his summer visits. Soon he was the youngest member of our little group. He fit in so snuggly it was like he had always been one of us.
I finally got my driver's license, yes, and not a moment too soon. Valentine's Day was right around the corner. I desperately wanted to ask Mary Jane to the Valentine's Day dance at the High School, or the Winter Formal as it was officially called. By now everyone except MJ knew my feelings. Heck Reilly knew. My cousin had only been living with us a couple of weeks and he figured out I was madly in love with the girl next door. Am I that easy to read? I sincerely hope not. If I am I shudder to think what it means for my secret identity. While I was dealing with teenage angst sinister forces were conspiring against my alter ego.
Oscorp Industries
"Thankfully gentlemen neither the vampire Morbius nor the Lizard creature can be connected with us in any way." Norman Osborn said leaning back in his plush office chair Roderick Kingsley by his side.
"How can you be certain Norman?" Dr. Otto Octavius asked.
"I've taken the add precaution of bribing, via secure backchannels of course, several high ranking officials at the Vault. They have assured me if either Morbius or the Lizard implicates Oscorp in their mutations the allegations shall never see the light of day." Norman said with a smile. "Now on to more pressing matters, the first batch of our new Super Soldier Formula has proven less than reliable. The Defense Department is pushing me for a demonstration of our progress ASAP. Progress we cannot demonstrate because it is grossly lacking. How do we resolve said problem? I'm open to suggestions people."
"We us Project Facsimile", Dr. Octavius said clicking together a pair of his metal fingers.
"Aren't the ability copying nanites still highly unstable?" Kingsley asked. "Haven't they smothered the past few hosts?"
"I've rectified those issues." Dr. Octavius shot back defensively. "We can use the Project Facsimile nano colony to obtain a more detailed biological portrait of Spider-Man. Using the resulting molecular map we can then replicate a working mutagen. A mutagen which we'll mass produced thus fulfilling our Defense Department contract. In the meantime the nano colony can be integrated into a new, loyal subject thus creating our very own Spider-Man prototype Super Soldier." Dr. Octavius finished waving around his four mechanical limbs excitedly.
"If it should fail?", Norman asked impassively.
"The only thing that could go wrong in my estimation is the nanites might reject their host for some unforeseen reason, in which case the Spider-Man dies. We should still be able to collect post-mortem physiological data from the nanites. Hardly a grievous loss to us, wouldn't you agree gentlemen?" Dr. Octavius said.
"Alright Dr. Octavius I'm almost convinced. However two points greatly worry me." Norman said, "One how do we retrieve the nanites once they've latched onto the Spider-Man and finished gathering the data we desire? It would truly be a shame to lose control of Project Facsimile after the extensive investment we have put into it. Also providing Spider-Man the long term defensive benefit of nano armor simply is a nonstarter."
"Worry not I have already imbedded a failsafe command into each individual nanite as part of their basic programming. It is impossible for them to ignore their homing instinct once I activate it. Furthermore we should be able to completely control the actions of their hosts once full integration has occurred. If we cannot I'll merely recall them and gather the needed bio profile." Dr. Octavius answered highly exaggerating the level of control he exercised over his creation. In truth the nano colony was it's own master seemingly doing as it pleased often in direct defiance of Octavius' orders. Octavius now purposely withheld this information from his bosses arrogantly self-assured by his own superiority complex that he'd be able to solve the problem before either Norman or Kingsley noticed.
"One major huddle remains", Norman said. "How do we bring the Spider-Man into contact with the nanites?"
"The Green Goblin could do it sir." Kingsley said.
"Yes, perhaps utilizing a specially designed pumpkin bomb." Dr. Octavius mused. "He must only be exposed to the nanites externally. They needn't be injected directly into his system."
"Fine it is agreed gentlemen, prepare the delivery device." Norman said with a chuckle.
"At once", Dr. Octavius said about to leave the office when Norman stopped him.
"Oh one more thing, if anything goes wrong Dr. Octavius it'll be your responsibility. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal", Dr. Ocatvius said stiffening. He barely suppressed the anger in his voice. How dare Norman talk to him in such a condescending tone Dr. Ocatvius thought before departing the office. He'll show Norman and the equally detestable Kingsley who's really in charge, when the time is right.
Cider Falls High School
Aunt May picked me up after getting Reilly from the Junior High. In spite of recently acing both parts of my driver's examination Aunt May didn't trust me on 'icy roads' like we had today yet. MJ hitched a ride home with us. Her father was supposed to take her home but he had cancelled at the last minute per usual. During the drive conversation turned to mutants. Professor Charles Xavier, better known as Professor X, from Bayville had challenged J. Johan Jameson to a public debate on the subject.
"More vigilante mutants roaming about", Aunt May said shaking her head. "Just what the town needs."
"I don't know Aunt May some of them are rather cool." Reilly said. "Wolverine has these retractable metal claws and metal bones. I hope Professor X brings him along."
"Heavens above this Wolverine sounds simply dreadful." Aunt May said shaking her head.
"If Spider-Man is a mutant than consider me a mutant lover", MJ said winking at me suggestively. Her gesture made me uncomfortable.
"Mary Jane Watson you should be ashamed of yourself talking like that." Aunt May declared. "Spider-Man and his fellow mutants have brought nothing but disgrace upon own town; brawling in parking lots, attacking town events."
"Sorry Mrs. Parker." MJ said hanging her head dejectedly.
"I think they're cool." Reilly reiterated from the front seat. "Wish I had super powers."
"Dear Lord why are you children idolising these glorified, deviant thugs?" Aunt May sighed. "Peter surely you know better?"
"Um Aunt May how can you be so sure Spider-Man and the others are natural mutants? Maybe they are manmade or get their powers from technology?" I asked.
"Either way the lot of them are hooligans." Aunt May answered. "Hooligans that do not belong in a normally peaceful place like Cider Falls if they had never come here your dear Uncle Ben, God rest his soul, would still be with us."
I didn't say anything. What could I say? Perhaps Aunt May was right. If I'd never become Spider-Man Uncle Be would be alive. At that instant I felt lower than a snake's belly, as Uncle Ben use to say. The rest of the trip home passed in silence.
Two nights before the Valentine's Day dance. I still hadn't asked MJ. Hey I'm working on it. It was another bitterly cold night in a winter full of bitterly cold nights. Patches of clouds raced by overhead giving the occasional light flurry. I can't wait until spring. God I'm getting tired of wearing thermals under my regular suite. It had been a peaceful night thus far. It was after ten pm and not a petty criminal in sight. I should be heading home soon. On my third swing around town I heard an all too familiar whirring sound overhead as I passed through the massive parking lots of Oscorp. Balancing precariously atop a street lamp I saw my target fast approaching. Sure enough it was my nemesis the Green Goblin!
"Ready for round three big boy?" I said jumping onto Green Goblin's glider as the villain swooped low overhead. Green Goblin cackled directing several energy bolts in my direction. I dodged the barrage laying into Green Goblin with a series of punches he answered with a series of his own, "I taking you in, its' over."
"Hardly in fact it is only beginning my arachnid themed foe." Green Goblin cackled unleashing two razor sharp pumpkin boomerangs at me. Ducking out of their way the pumpkin boomerangs ricocheted back towards Green Goblin who gracefully summersaulted out of their path. I used his moment of vulnerability to drop kick him off the glider. "Naughty, naughty that wasn't very sporting of you now was it Spider-Man?" Green Goblin taunted landing apart a street lamp then using it to safely reach the ground.
Following his path down I was on him a moment later. He blasted his energy blots I dodged them. He threw his exploding pumpkin bombs I avoid their impact. I started unloading my webbing in his direction he likewise skillfully avoided contact. Our stalemate continued for several minutes until I heard an approaching whirring noise. Jumping aside at the last possible instate I narrowly avoided contact with the Green Goblin's remote controlled glider. Leaping aptop the glider Green Goblin rapidly peppered the immediate area with half a dozen pumpkin smoke bombs. While I was chocking back noxious yellow fumes he unleashed a collection of pumpkin boomerangs at me. Hugging the icy pavement to avoid contact another pumpkin bomb, if you could call it such, fell next to me. The pumpkin bomb was unusually as it shattered rather than exploded on impact. It splashed me with a sticky, black goo resembling tar. Inexplicably I heard the whirring sound along with the Green Goblin's laughter fade away as the smoke bank slowly lifted. When I could see the sky again the villain was nowhere to be seen.
Unable to cleanse my costume of the gross substance no matter what I tried, including rubbing it off with snow. I headed home. Slipping in through an upstairs window I quietly entered my room. Stripping off my hopefully not ruined uniform I threw the dirty suite into my clothes hamper. Forgetting to turn off my light I then collapsed into bed passing into a fitful sleep.
I woke up with a start who knows how long later. Something was amiss. I felt it. Looking down and to the left I saw it was still dark outside, so I hadn't overslept. Wait a minute I looked down. I was on the ceiling! How did I get up here? Examining my hands I noticed I was wearing slick, inky, blackish-blue gloves. Releasing my grip on the ceiling I landed on the floor with a dull thud. Standing up I gazed into the long mirror mounted on the back of my door. I was outfitted head to toe in a new blackish-blue version of my Spider-Man costume with stark white eyes and a matching white spider symbol on the torso that joined up along my sides with another spider symbol on my back. Where did this new outfit come from? Could it be connected to the ooze I was doused with earlier? What the heck was going on? Touching the mirror with trembling hands it dawned on me my life was about to get a whole lot weirder.
To Be Continued