In this, I'm envisioning the Spidey suit as the one from the upcoming reboot. Not important, but just saying.

ZEROBEN'S SPIDER-MAN

"Partners In Crime" Part I

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me start this off by saying how grateful I am that you all showed up. This mark's the first of many tours for Oscorp Inventions, and all of you attending have already made it quite the success."

The first official stop on the Project: Vulture tour of New York. Peter had received a special invitation. And, despite being wary of Norman Osborn, he couldn't help but accept. He wanted a closer look at the Project: Vulture tech, and he was hoping to secure some more money by snapping some photographs for Jameson at the Daily Bugle. A demonstration had been promised, but Norman had been known to break such promises in the past.

Harry Osborn was also in attendance. Not so much for his father, though. He had been talked into going by Peter, who said he'd be more comfortable going with someone he knew. And, as predicted, Harry was bored. All this science talk always flew way over his head. But, he was helping out his buddy. Should count for some kind of good karma, right?

"So, are there any questions?" Norman asked the crowd, and a chorus of hands shot up into the air.

As questions were asked by the public and Mr. Osborn responded to them, there was one particular person in the crowd that was more interested than the others. He was a young man in his late twenties by the name of Blackie Drago. He was there on official business. He had been hired by Adrian Toomes to spy on the proceedings and gather information. Toomes wanted to know any and everything about the product that he actually invented.

"This is so cool," Peter couldn't hide his boyish grin as he spoke to Harry while snapping pictures.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Harry being a bit of a buzzkill, "Iron Man can fly all over the world. Plus, a couple of his enemies can, too."

"Yeah, but with massive power sources," Peter reminded his friend, "This tech is completely different. It runs on air. There's no battery. I really have to hand it to your dad on this one, it's revolutionary. It could change the world."

Harry was kind of surprised to hear that, "You're a fan of my dad now?"

Peter sighed, "Don't talk about that here."

Harry just shook his head, now officially annoyed. Not only was he attending a boring demonstration, but now his best friend was all gung-ho about his dad? What was the world coming to?

:::New York City Subway:::

The train would be arriving in minutes. Good. It couldn't come any sooner. The woman standing to the side of a pillar couldn't wait any longer. She had an appointment that she needed to keep, and being late couldn't be tolerated in the slightest. She had to speak with a realtor about a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood. Her husband and children were going to love it.

As she waited, people walking by, she noticed a rather large and peculiar looking man move past. He was wearing heavy clothing, which included a bulky hooded sweatshirt covering his face, and big boots who's laces weren't tied. As he trudged by her, not even glancing her way, she couldn't help but retch at the foul smell he gave off. It was like he had bathed in the sewer. Oh god, it was so rancid.

Like something died in her nose and never got out.

Not to sound rude, but it was a blessing when he blended in with the crowd and was out of her sight. She happened to glance down at the subway floor, and there was disgusting boot prints made out of mud and green water. They nearly smelled as bad as the man. Did he literally just crawl out of the sewer? He must have. But, why? Maybe he was just a city worker, tasked with cleaning up some kind of mess. The stench would explain why he kept his face hidden. Still, it was...

"AH!" the woman screeched, hopping a step back, dropping her purse in the process as a big fat rat cuddled up against her ankle. When she tried to shoo it away, it bit her, leaving a nasty spot of blood on the bone.

Then, shockingly, it curled its little tail around the strap of her purse and began carrying it away. That it had enough strength and control in its tail was just as surprising a fact as it taking the purse in the first place.

The woman started chasing it, only to stop when a group of other rats came, huddling together with the main one, and crawled down to the tracks just as a train came to a stop.

"Holy crap, I can't believe that just happened," someone laughed, unintentionally being rude to the woman.

Another had a cell phone camera recording the entire ordeal, "Dude, that was sick! I didn't even know rats could do that."

"They can't," a man with glasses commented, "It doesn't make sense."

"Everything important I have is in that purse," the woman cried, wiping large beads of sweat from her forehead, "I'm supposed to be at a meeting in ten minutes. I can't believe this!"

"It bit you," the man noticed, "How are you feeling?"

Her throat was dry, she could barely swallow, and a fever was fast building. She suddenly felt faint, and fell over. The man caught her, though, luckily breaking her fall.

"We need a medic here," he shouted to the people, "Now!"

:::The Hardy Residence:::

With nothing much to do, Felicia Hardy was just laying on her bed, messing around on her laptop. Checking this and that, updating her status on Facebook, seeing what the latest gossip was on Midtown High. That sort of thing. Which, was just so boring. In fact, mostly everything to her was boring these days. Her life had just become so mundane. Rather than living life to the fullest, she merely felt as though she were simply going through the motions.

She wasn't in the game. Merely, she was a spectator sitting on the bleachers, dreaming of what she could do if given the opportunity to play.

Liz was going on about how she was excited for the first school dance of the year. Sally was bitching about the cheer uniforms. Harry didn't seem all that excited to be at his father's demonstration. Randy was complaining about how much he hates social networking. Kenny and Hobie were both being... well... Kenny and Hobie. And then there was Flash going on and on about how he witnessed his new hero - Spider-Man - save people from a burning building in Queens.

Spider-Man...

'Now that's the kind a guy a girl like me could get used to.'

Felicia smirked as clicked on one of Flash's likes - a page dedicated to Spider-Man - and began scrolling through pics of the web-slinger. Most of the pictures were shoddy. Just cell-phone camera snapshots. Nothing great. She had seen better, probably could take better. Although, she really couldn't fault any of the wanna-be photographers. Getting a crisp and clean photo of the Spider-Man in action was a difficult task.

Unless, of course, you were Peter Parker.

Hmmm... Maybe making nice with the nerd was the ticket to getting insider information on Spider-Man. Flash and his entourage had already tried over what felt like a hundred times. Parker never budged on the topic, though. But, what about a more feminine touch? A little female persuasion?

Felicia got up off her bed and walked over to the full-length mirror. Even in an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she knew she was a good looking girl. More than one football player had claimed she had great curves that hugged in all the right places. Peter Parker wouldn't be able to resist her.

A knock at her bedroom door, taking her away from her plotting...

"Yeah?" she called out.

"You have a visitor," the stern voice of her father from the other side of the door.

By only the tone of his voice, Felicia could tell exactly who it was. She fiddled with her hair for a moment, straightened her shirt and then exited the bedroom, heading downstairs.

Her house wasn't a mansion, but it also wasn't something just anyone could afford. Her father was very wealthy, his family always having money for generations. It wasn't Osborn money, but it was very close.

Felicia opened the front door, finding Eddie Brock on the porch, hands in his pockets, "Hey."

"Eddie," she wasn't shocked, but still surprised, "What's going on?"

Felicia shut the door behind her and they sat on the front steps, "Remember what you said last week?"

She had to think about it for a second or two, but she did remember, "Yeah."

Eddie sighed, feeling a bit nervous, "You're right. I always piss and moan, and I never do anything. So... I've decided to turn that all around."

Felicia didn't show it, but the feeling on the inside was that this was empty. Time and time again, Eddie had done the whole vow of being a changed man, but it never amounted to anything. He always reverted back to his old ways. He just didn't seem to have it in him to be something more, no matter how much better it would make him feel about himself. This was, actually, one of the reasons they never made it as a couple.

"First thing Saturday, I'm gonna walk in to Jameson's office and tell him that I'll get him Spider-Man pictures free of charge."

Felicia cocked a brow, "Eddie..."

"No," he shook his head, "I can do it. If that lil' Parker kid can, then why can't I?"

"Still... Why free?"

"That's the beauty," Eddie grinned, "Even if the pictures aren't as good, Jameson will go with mine because he won't have to pay for them. Then, as time goes on, I'll end up the Bugle's number one photographer. I got it all mapped out."

"Plus," Eddie kept it going, "There's another reason why I'm here. I've been thinking..."

Felicia sighed, knowing right where this was going, "Eddie... no."

"Why not?" he wanted another chance at being with her, "You can't deny that we're good together."

"Just because two people are good together... Doesn't mean that they're good together," she hesitated, giving it a chance to hopefully sink in, "You know?"

"I'm different now," he tried to build a case for himself, "I got my sights set, I'm determined. And, I know I can make you happy, Felicia."

"Eddie, you have to work on yourself first before you go into any relationship," Felicia explained delicately, "You have issues."

"Issues," Eddie chuckled, standing up, hands back in his pockets, "There's no issues! I've never had issues. If there was, there'd be only one; I was never good enough for you."

Felicia looked away, "You don't have to be hurtful."

"I'm not the one being hurtful," he walked off her porch and down the walk, "Later, Felicia."

Felicia could only watch as he walked away, never bothering to turn back. It wasn't that he wasn't good enough, or anything like that. The problem was just that he... Oh, what was the point?

:::Parker Household:::

"Yeah, it was really something. I gotta hand it to Mr. Osborn, he really outdid himself. I mean... A machine that runs on air is revolutionary. It, like, has this intake device on the front. So, as long as you're moving forward, you're constantly refueling your reserve. It seems unbelievable, but it works!"

Peter was a bit of a motor mouth at dinner. But, his aunt May and uncle Ben welcomed the change. As of late, he always seemed so tense and distant. Like he constantly had some important thing on his mind. To see him now so relaxed and genuinely excited about something was great for the both of them.

"It's amazing," Peter said between mouthfuls, "It really is."

"Glad you're excited," Ben said, "So, how has ESU been going?"

"Good," Peter answered, "Doctor Connors is a genius. It's really a big opportunity for me. If I do well enough with him, I might get a paid scholarship to ESU."

"That would be wonderful," May smiled, "Just don't let taking pictures of Spider-Man distract you too much."

"I know," Peter said quietly, well aware of his aunt's distaste for him photographing Spider-Man. If only she knew the truth, right?

"Anyway," Ben changed the subject, "For once, I have some good news of my own to share."

That definitely caught Peter's attention, as well as May's.

"I have an interview next week," he announced, May and Peter smiling, "It's an electrician job. Just like I wanted."

"Oh, I hope this is the one," May already had her fingers crossed.

"That's great, uncle Ben."

"Yep," he agreed, "Hopefully, I'll be part of the work force once again, very soon."

That would be great. Peter knew how much being unemployed had hurt uncle Ben's confidence and pride. It also was driving him crazy, not having anything substantial to do all day. He was the type of man that constantly had to be doing something, that had to keep his hands busy. Hopefully this interview would be more positive than all the others. One thing was for sure, Ben's forte in life was being an electrician. This was definitely a step in the right direction, if nothing else.

"I'm happy for you, uncle Ben," Peter made sure to tell his uncle, May smiling as he did so.

:::Elsewhere:::

"Everyone loved it. They were practically eating it up right out of his hand."

Blackie Drago was offering up the information he gathered at the demonstration to Adrian Toomes. They had met at a local bar. Not many people, no prying eyes. Just the kind of place they needed to freely converse this matter.

"And it worked?" Toomes wanted to know again, "The demonstration was a success?"

Blackie downed a bit of his drink, curling his lips at its bite, "Yeah. He had some nobody test it outside. It went perfect."

"That bastard," Toomes slammed a fist on the table, instantly shaking it once he did.

"Did you just hurt yourself?" Blackie asked curiously.

"What's it to you!"

"Okay, okay," Blackie put up his hands, "Don't shoot, boss."

"I need an idea," Toomes tried to think.

"Why don't you just sue the guy?" Blackie asked, "That attorney in Hell's Kitchen never loses a case."

"I've already tried," Toomes sat back in his chair, favoring his sore knuckles, "No one will take the case."

"Why not?"

"No evidence," Toomes scowled, that nose hanging down, "I signed all the rights over to that thief."

"Yeah, but under the assumption that he was gonna give you credit later, right?"

"No matter," the scowl lingered, "From a legal standpoint, there is nothing I can do."

"So... How about from an illegal standpoint?" Blackie smirked, finishing his drink.

Adrian Toomes only looked at his associate, now left with something to ponder.

:::Midtown High School:::

Peter Parker shuffled down the school hallways in the morning as he always did, flanked by both his friends, Harry and Mary Jane. Business as usual as they walked to their first class. Yeah, until they were all stopped by the sudden appearance of one Felicia Hardy...

"Oh, sorry," Peter was oblivious, "Didn't..."

"It's Peter, right?" she smiled.

Mary Jane and Harry both cocked their eyebrows, instantly picking up on the flirtatious vibes this chick was putting out there.

"Umm..." nervous around hot girls, nervous around hot girls, "... Sure, I guess."

"You guess?" now Felicia was cocking her own brow.

MJ whispered to Harry, "Did he just really say that?"

"Yep," Harry's lips smacked on the p sound, "Sure did."

Peter shook out of his daze, "Um, yeah, I mean... I am. Or, I mean... I know I am?"

Felicia was starting to wonder if this was really worth it, "Okay..."

Peter took a deep breath, "Can we start over? I'd feel better if we started over."

Felicia chuckled, "You're cute, Peter. See you at lunch?"

"Okay, sounds great," Peter smiled, "See you there."

"Cool," Felicia said, "Well, I gotta get to class. Bye, Peter."

"Yeah... Bye," Peter nearly passed out after the spunky Felicia Hardy headed down the opposite way. Holy freakin' crap, did that actually happen? Did Felicia Hardy actually talk to him and say...

"See you at lunch?" Harry asked, "I wonder what brought that on all of a sudden?"

"He is pretty popular now," MJ said.

"Yeah," Peter's turn, "But only 'cause... Oh, I get it now."

Harry and Mary Jane both caught on. More likely than not, the only reason Felicia Hardy wanted anything to do with Peter Parker was because she was looking for some insider information on the Amazing Spider-Man.

"Bummer," Harry remarked, slapping an arm over his friend's shoulders, "But, hey, look on the bright side, at least you'll get to have a lunch with one of the hottest girls at Midtown High."

"I just hope I'm able to speak to her in coherent sentences," Peter added.

Little did they know, just around the corner was Eddie Brock, and he did not look at all happy with his ex-girlfriend chatting up his Daily Bugle rival. How could she? What was she trying to do? Literally rip his heart out of his chest and force it down his throat? Didn't she still care at least a little about him? Didn't she feel something? Anything?

"Parker," Brock muttered under his breath, "Peter Parker."

:::Daily Bugle:::

The Daily Bugle was currently riding the waves of an upswing in popularity. One that J. Jonah Jameson hoped they would continue to take advantage of. Problem being... Nothing as of late had been happening. Other than a burning building - which Parker didn't get pictures of - the last major Spider-Man sighting was when he battled some loser calling himself the Ringer. Spider-Man sold papers. But, they needed something else as well.

Apparently, yesterday in the subway, a woman was literally mugged by a gang of rats while waiting for the train. Yeah, it sounded pretty unbelievable. But, it really happened. There was video footage to prove it. It was one hell of a story to sell. The only problem being... It wasn't the Bugle that broke the news. Jameson wasn't one to sit back, though. If the people wanted to know about a gang of rats mugging a woman in the subway, then damn it, that's what the Bugle was gonna tell 'em all about!

Jameson tapped the button on his intercom, "Betty, get Ned in here," a second later, "Ah, there you are, what took you so long?"

Ned simply looked at him cockeyed.

"Where's Brock?"

"School, sir."

"I thought he dropped out?"

"No, sir."

"Eh well, let's improvise. Where's Urich? Get him in..."

"Interviewing the Ringer, like you asked him, Mr. Jameson."

"I see," this was a tough one, "Well, okay, looks like it's your time to shine, Ned! Don't expect a raise, though. It's bad enough Parker's breaking my back with the Spider-Man photo's."

"Ummm... What do you want me to do, sir?"

"It's just occurred to me that no one's bothered to interview the victim of the subway mugging."

"That's because she's in the hospital," Ned explained, though it should have been common knowledge, "She got sick from being bitten. Some kind of nasty infection."

"So?"

"Uhh... Well," Ned cleared his throat, "She's pretty much been asleep ever since she got there."

"Just wake her up then," Jameson said like it was no big deal at all.

"Sir, I don't think that's a good..."

"Ned," Jameson leaned forward over his desk, glaring right through poor Ned Leeds, "Do you or do you not want to get ahead in this business?"

"I do, b-but..."

"Exactly," a wide smile from the Editor In Chief, "Now, go out there and make me proud, Ned. Not that it's possible, but you could still give it the ol' college try."

"Okay," he so did not want to do this. But, what choice did he have? This was the first time Jameson had called upon him to do anything other than update the website or fetch him something. Ned had to take the bull by the horns. Even if it meant probably getting arrested for bothering a very sick person in the hospital.

:::Midtown High School:::

This felt odd.

There was Peter Parker, sitting all by himself at lunch, wishing he could just go over and sit with his friends, pretending none of this Felicia Hardy business ever happened. Ignorance was bliss, right? Anyway, where was she? He didn't spot her in the line, and she didn't strike him as being a brown-bagger like he was. Oh, how sweet it would be to just leave this behind and go sit with Harry, MJ and Randy. Sitting through another one of Harry's staring sessions of Liz Allan didn't seem so bad now.

"I didn't think you'd do it," and suddenly, there was Felicia, sitting across from Peter at the small and rounded table. She was, in fact, a brown-bagger. Go figure.

"I didn't think I would, either, actually," he felt nervous.

"So, how you liking the rise in popularity?" she wondered.

He didn't want to ask this next question, but he couldn't help it, "This is about Spider-Man, isn't it?"

Uh-oh, the jig was up. Would he cut this off before it started if she told him the truth? In that case, she couldn't just blurt the truth. If she made him mad or anything like that, then she would never get the scoop on Spider-Man. So, she had to play it cool...

"I'll be honest, Peter," she said, acting a little shy, "I'm sick of the usual clique that I hang out with. Honestly, Sally exhausts me and all Flash talks about now is Spider-Man. It's so annoying. And, I don't want to end up like Liz."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like she's stuck on the top of the fence," Felicia explained, "Doesn't know which yard to go in. You and Harry don't care about popularity. You don't care who likes you, and it seems like you're both loyal friends. I mean, you two look like you genuinely care about MJ, instead of trying to mold her into something like everyone else has."

"MJ's really cool."

"I want a friend," Felicia displayed soft eyes, "Someone that I can trust. Someone that I can count on. Not to mention, someone who might be able to help me with a few falling grades?"

They both let out a short laugh.

"I know I'm being really forward, but I couldn't think of any other way to..."

"Wow, seriously, Felicia?" Eddie Brock interrupted the conversation, "You really need revenge this bad?"

Felicia was instantly humiliated.

"Eddie, what's going..." Peter started before being grabbed by the collar of his shirt and shoved back.

"Stay out of it, Parker! And don't act like you know me 'cause you know my name!"

"I'm sorry, Peter," Felicia excused herself, leaving the cafeteria red-faced.

Eddie scoffed and turned back around to Peter, ready to vent his anger and frustration, "It ain't enough you outshine me at the Bugle, now you gotta steal my girl? What did I do to you?"

"What?" Peter was confused, "I didn't do either of those."

"Don't push me, Parker," Eddie warned, walking away, "'Cause I damn sure will push you back!"

'Great. Now I have Eddie Brock gunning for me. And, just when I had Flash off my back.'

:::Hospital:::

This just felt wrong.

Ned Leeds stepped off the elevator, swallowing nervously as he approached the nurse's station. Oh hell, what was the use? They would just deny him the chance to try and speak with the victim. If he was smart, he would have turned around right then and there, go back to the Bugle and tell Mr. Jameson that this was crossing a line that Ned wasn't willing to cross.

On the other hand, this was an opportunity. It wasn't everyday that Mr. Jameson told Ned to do something. Maybe Ned had to just shrug off his apprehension and go for it. Yeah, what's the worst that could happen, anyway? Probably just kick him out of the hospital. Hopefully not... Literally.

With a deep breath, Ned moved forward, nonchalantly bypassing the nurse's station altogether. Even more so, he peeked into the individual rooms until he found the right one. There she was, the lady from the video. With a casual glance, Ned saw no one was paying attention to him. Therefore, he slipped inside the room, quietly closing the door behind him. With any luck, he wouldn't be interrupted.

How absurd was this? Sneaking into a hospital room to interview the victim of a rat mugging? What was this? Some kind of cheesy comic book story?

The stench was awful and all too strong. It nearly knocked him on his feet. He had to stay the course, though. So, he approached the bedside with soft steps and trying to ignore that apprehension and foul smell.

"Excuse me?" he asked in a quiet voice, looking upon an obviously extremely ill woman, "Mrs. Grant?"

Nothing. This was a bad idea. One more attempt, though. If this didn't work, he'd simply make his exit and give Mr. Jameson the bad news. Even if it meant he would never receive a promotion.

"Mrs. Grant? Can you hear me? Mrs. Grant?"

She continued sleeping. Okay, just one more try...

Ned nudged her gently, "Mrs... Ugh," his lips curled in disgust, she felt so cold and clammy, "Oh my god, I shouldn't be here. If you can hear me, I'm terribly sorry."

Ned turned on a dime to leave, when he heard a sudden noise and was grabbed by a cold and clammy hand. Before he could even turn around, a set of teeth sunk into his hand.

"AHHH! I need help in here!" he yelled, his hand bleeding from the bite.

Then the woman pulled out all she was hooked up to and stood up, throwing a chair through the hospital window and then leaping to it, looking back over her shoulder at Ned with a horrific face and then jumped out.

"Z-Z-Z-Z..." he couldn't even say it, he was so shaken, laying on the floor, holding his aching and bleeding hand as the door was flung open, a nurse and an orderly discovering the scene.

That woman... That...

She was like...

A zombie!

ZEROBEN'S SPIDER-MAN

No Spidey in this one, but hopefully you guys don't mind. The villain here is kind of obscure, I guess, but he did play a part in one of the more appreciated and applauded Spider-Man stories. I always liked him, although I boosted him a bit here to make him a more credible threat.