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.
Spider-Man and Silk in Threads of Destiny – Episode Twenty: If This Be Our Destiny
By
Celgress
Labor Day Weekend Saturday, early evening
Every muscle in Silk's body ached as she strained against the relentless pressure of the armored car's sagging metal roof. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on. The rushing water was nearly up to her chest and showed no sign of abetting. She felt cold, so very cold. Glancing over at her battered partner who was leaning next to a wall blood pouring in rivulets from his injured right shoulder and abdomen she knew they didn't have much time left.
"Hang in there Spidey we'll get out of here, somehow." Silk said.
"I'm not sure we will." Spider-Man said staring at his blood stained uniform.
"Snap out of it," Silk admonished. "If we die here today who will help Aunt May? We can't leave her all alone in the World!"
"Right," Spider-Man said his voice weary. He stumbled over to Silk's side, "if we're going out let's go out with a bang."
Queens six hours earlier, early afternoon
Cindy who was dressed in black jogging pants and a white top with spaghetti straps ran down the stairs. She bounced to the front door and opened it excitedly. "Pete you made it home in time." She said throwing her arms around her boyfriend.
"Told you I would Cin," Peter said hugging her back. He was dressed in blue jeans and a pale purple dress shirt with short sleeves.
"I can't believe old man Jameson didn't give you the day off. It is the final weekend of summer, what a grouch." Cindy pouted.
"I know, but on the bright side we can spend the rest of today together." Peter said. "Where is Aunt May?"
"Out with Anna Watson, they'll be back after supper." Cindy said breaking their embrace. She chewed absently on her lower lip.
"What's wrong Cin," Peter asked having long recognized Cindy's outward signs of trepidation.
"It's nothing really," Cindy said turning away from Peter.
"Cin please tell me what's wrong." Peter urged. "If we can't trust each other, who can we trust?"
Cindy turned around with a heavy sigh. "Mrs. Watson doesn't like me. In fact I think she hates my guts."
"Well you did call her an old lady." Peter laughed.
"One time, I said it one time." Cindy complained. "Though I don't think that's the real reason she hates me."
"Mrs. Watson doesn't hate you." Peter interjected.
"She hates me because she thinks her niece Mary Jane would be a better romantic match for you." Cindy said ignoring Peter's latest comment.
"You're being silly Cin." Peter said with a chuckle. "Besides MJ is dating Harry. I'd never go after a friend's girl, not that I've ever had any real interest in her anyway. We have nothing in common, expect we both attend Midtown High. You've always been the girl for me."
"Even if our um shared accident had never happened, would you feel the same way?" Cindy asked waiting expectedly on Peter's answer. Cindy's eyes searching his face for clues what it the answer might be.
"I'm kind of offended you'd ask such a question." Peter said a frown on his face. "Of course I'd feel the same way about you I do now. Cindy I love you, I always have. I just never had the courage to tell you before, know what else?" Peter closed the distance between them and placed his hands around Cindy's waist.
"What else," Cindy said her breath catching in her throat.
"There is no one I'd rather spent my life with either as Peter Parker or Spider-Man." Peter said once more holding Cindy close.
"Oh Peter I don't know what to say, other than I also want to spent my life with you both as Cindy Moon and Silk." Cindy said tears of joy welling up in her eyes.
"I'm not saying it will always be a bed of roses, but we'll make work together." Peter said.
"Hush," Cindy said placing an index finger against Peter's lips to prevent him from babbling, like he often did. Peter had a tendency to overthink situations, sometimes one should allow their heart not their head to decide. She leaned in slightly closer and kissed him passionately on the lips.
Coney Island nearly six hours later, early evening
After seeing a movie, a double feature in fact, together Peter and Cindy went to the fairground on Coney Island. It was a warm, although not hot, late summer day and the place was packed with locals and tourists alike all taking advantage of the fine weather. They were enjoying themselves having gone on most of the rides, several more than once, when out of nowhere Dr. Octopus came rampaging through the resort. Luckily our heroes had their uniforms tucked away in the backpack Peter alternately wore and carried. They started taking their gear with them, both collectively and individually, about four months ago after they'd been caught without their superhero stuff during a particularly nasty daylight bank robbery: locating an inconspicuous place where they could change Spider-Man and Silk where once more ready for action.
"Out of my way insignificant insects," Dr. Octopus bellowed trying vainly to swat the webslinging duo away with his metallic arms.
"Whew calm down Doc Ock." Spider-Man said. "Why so upset?"
"We were minding our own business enjoying a well-deserved day off and suddenly you show up and start wrecking everything." Silk said. "May we recommend an anger management class?"
"My lovely partner is right Doc, you could use to learn more instructive uses for your obviously out of control rage." Spider-Man said. All the while he and Silk continued to easily dodge Dr. Octopus' increasingly sloppy attacks.
"Yeah you need to learn control Doc before some innocent bystander gets hurt." Silk said shaking her head in distain.
"Out of control am I?" Dr. Octopus said. "I'll show you out of control."
Dr. Octopus grabbed the huge Ferris Wheel full of screaming people, many of them young children, with two of his mechanical arms and tore it free from its moorings. Several sizable pieces of jagged metal flew in every direction, one of which lacerated Spider-Man's right shoulder. Dr. Octopus flung the wheel at our heroes who scrambled to avoid contact. Their reaction time slowed considerably because they at first couldn't believe their adversary's callous actions. Although they quickly regained their equilibrium the delay caused them dearly. The Ferris Wheel, spinning like a giant tire, sped way towards the bay where two off duty security guards stood taking a coffee break next to their empty armored van. Their opponent forgotten Silk and Spider-Man busied themselves deflecting and generally getting people safely away from the flying shrapnel and rampaging wheel of destruction. Ignoring his constantly blaring warning sense Spider-Man was brutally slashed across his midsection by the rapidly whirling blades of one of Dr. Octopus four weaponized arms. Reeling from the shockingly deep wound Spider-Man saw Silk heading in the direction of the wheel of doom. Without a second thought he followed.
Forgotten by Dr. Octopus, who after grievously injuring Spider-Man, used the self-created distraction to escape the pair used four thick ropes of their organic webbing, two from each, to slow down and then barley stop the Ferris Wheel's forward momentum. Somehow, in spite of Spider-Man's wounds, they held the wheel back long enough for everyone to escape. The instant everyone was all clear their strength gave out, starting with Spider-man who had by this point lost a lot of blood. Unable to cut all of their weblines in time they were slingshotted off the pier by the once more rolling wheel which knocked the now smashed armored vehicle into the drink. Spider-Man and Silk tumbled threw the open side door of the vehicle which was wedged shut behind them by impact with the Ferris Wheel.
Inside water began to rapidly fill the confined space as the roof sagged dangerously low. Desperately Silk stretched upward trying to hold back the collapsing ceiling. Freezing sea water rushed in quickly filling the space. Spider-Man pulled against the crumbled door, but only succeeded in worsening his rate of blood loss by widening his already ugly stomach wound. Panting he leaned against the nearest way of the confined space while he recovered as best he could.
Present Time
"We're going to die here." Silk said aloud. By this point the churning water was almost up to her and Spider-Mam's heads. She couldn't see any way out of this horrendous situation.
It was the end. All her dreams would never come true. She'd never become a respected scientist. She'd never find her parents. She'd never marry Peter. They'd never build a life and family together. Everything ends, but Silk nah Cindy Moon never dreamed her end would come so soon and under such dismal circumstances. At least her life had meant something she reflected. She and Peter had spent their last year protecting others. No matter what happened from this point moving forward they'd done good, if for far too short a time.
"No we aren't, I refuse to give up and long as you're with me so do you." Spider-Man said half walking half swimming into position beside Silk he likewise pushed against the roof with his arms. A moment later he swore under his breath before speaking again. "Do you trust me?"
"Huh," Silk said taken aback by the abstractness of the question given their current dire circumstances.
"Do you trust me?" Spider-Man repeated.
"Always," Silk said after a split second of hesitation. She would trust him with her very life, as he would no doubt trust her with his.
"Good, because unless we do something very risky, very quickly we are finished," Spider-Man said the water mere seconds from filling the compartment and rushing over their heads. "I can't do this alone. I need your help."
"What are you planning?" Silk asked.
"We are going to pull the ceiling apart and swim out, it's our only chance. But it won't work unless we both target the same area at the same time." Spider-Man said. Silk nodded her understanding. "On the count of three, one, two, three, go," Spider-Man counted down shouting the final bit.
With all the strength they had left Spider-Man and Silk somehow wrenched a hole in the armored car's weakened roof big enough to escape from. It took all but twenty seconds to tear through the reinforced structure, the latter two thirds of which they spent underwater. Exhausted the teenage heroes escaped what would have been their watery grave. Less than half way to the surface Spider-Man passed out from blood loss and overexertion forcing Silk to pull him the rest of the way.
Downstream of Cony Island Silk dragged herself and Spider-Man out the murky waters several minutes later. She collapsed on the beach gasping for breath her oxygen starved lungs burned. It was some time before she regained her lost stamina. When she did her first priority was taking care of Spider-Man who fortunately had stopped bleeding. Spider-Man however was still in far worse shape than she. Unsure what exactly to do after checking Peter's pulse, which was weak yet steady, Silk headed home. Figuring there she could better tend to her partner without the fear of uninvited watchers.
Unnoticed by Silk a small, gray stealth drone had recorded her and Spider-Man's emergence from the ocean. It hovered there for a moment after she'd hastily departed with Spider-Man held in her arms. Rather than follow them the drone sped off in the opposite direction. It had much to report.
Abandoned Warehouse in Brooklyn half an hour later, evening
Dr. Octopus stood before the upstart masked crime lord known as the Rose. Rose who was flanked by two burly business suit wearing goons, the right hand goon carried a briefcase, he clapped his hands together slowly. Dr. Octopus seemed neither pleased nor angered by Rose's actions.
"Bravo Dr. Octavius on a job well done," The Rose said in his usual gentrified manner. "I must congratulate you."
"Did I pass your test or not?" Dr. Octopus asked cutting straight to the heart of the matter at hand.
"Yes you did as my monitor drone confirmed, welcome Dr. Otto Octavius first official member of my latest brainchild the Sinister Syndicate." The Rose said regally patting a thumb drive in the breast pocket of his suit jacket on which was the drone footage.
"I want the liquid assets you promised me upon successful completion of my assignment." Dr. Octopus said.
"Of course," The Rose said gesturing to his right hand goon who stepped forward and handed the briefcase he carried to Dr. Octopus who greedily snatched it with one of his metal appendages.
"Wonderful," Dr. Octopus said a minute later after opening the briefcase and counting the million dollars in unmarked bills held within. Snapping the briefcase shut he added. "May I ask what is next for our little endeavour?'
"Soon, not yet though," The Rose said. "Rest assured I have plans big plans. However for my plans to bear fruit first the Goblins and Mr. Negative must be eliminated."
"How do you plan on accomplishing such an ambitious feat?" Dr. Octopus said genuinely intrigued by the mechanics behind Rose's grandiose plans.
"In part by gathering a group of beings more powerful, more skilled and most importantly of greater competence than those my competitors employ, starting with you Doctor," The Rose said. "And the best measuring stick is the Spider Duo, thus why I am utilizing them in my testing process. Like it or not they, along with their compatriot Scarlet Spider, are the gold standard against which all street level supervillains must be measured."
"A contest, of sorts," Dr. Octopus said appreciating the sheer ruthless genius behind Rose's madcap methods.
"Of sorts," The Rose confirmed. "One that shall ultimately gain me, and my associates, uncontested control of the City's various lucrative criminal underworld enterprises," The Rose laughed.
"How delightful," Dr. Octopus said smiling at his nominal superior.
Parker Residence
Removing her Silk mask Cindy laid Peter down gently on the sofa in the dark living room. Thankful Aunt May either hadn't yet returned or was already soundly asleep in bed Cindy took off Peter's Spider-Man mask. Peter's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, how are you feeling Pete?" Cindy said brushing Peter's damp hair out of his eyes with her equally wet gloved fingers. She gave her boyfriend a sad smile.
"Like I got hit by an armored van, or almost drowned in one." Peter said weakly.
"Always the jokester," Cindy said.
"You know me to well Cin." Peter said cracking a small smile after a bout of violent coughing.
"Shush, be still," Cindy said. Dipping her head she placed a light kiss on his forehead.
"We made it. We beat the odds." Peter said after a pronounced silence.
"We did." Cindy said.
Both young heroes were so caught up in their heartfelt conversation that they took no heed of the slight buzzing from their shared warning sense. The overhead lights flashed on temporarily blinding and confusing the pair. Neither was sure what exactly had happened until they heard a familiar voice gasp.
"Peter, Cindy what is going on? Why are you dressed like, like this?" It was Aunt May, her voice unusually shrill.
"We can explain." Cindy blurted out whirling around to see Aunt May staring at her and Peter. Aunt May's mouth agape. An expression of utter shock etched on Aunt May's aged face.
"Hi Aunt May." Peter said waving weakly from his place of rest.
"I feel faint." Aunt May said before pacing her left hand on her forehead before collapsing on the floor.
"Aunt May!" Cindy and Peter yelled in unison.
Cindy rushed to Aunt May's side. Peter attempted to do the same, but fell back onto the sofa due to combination of pain and exhaustion. Cindy knelt down by Aunt May and took her vitals. Cindy stood up and made eye contact with Peter.
"Is she," Peter asked his voice filled with dread.
Cindy spoke deliberately, choosing her voices with great care. "She's alive."
"Thank goodness," Peter said with a sigh of relief. "What happened?" He asked a second later his apprehensive having returned.
"I think she's had heart attack or maybe a stroke." Cindy said her voice eerily calm, detached. "We better call 911."
"We'd best do that." Peter said his voice growing hollow.
Ten minutes later an ambulance arrived. Peter leaned on Cindy for physical and emotional support, both now in normal clothing, watched helplessly as Aunt May was loaded into its back and rive away by the paramedics. On the roof of a nearby house a hulking shadow watched the scene below unfold with perverse glee. Six long months the hybrid entity named Venom had secretly stalked the Parker Family watching their every move whenever possible from afar eagerly awaiting an opportunity such as now presented itself. Venom would soon make those who had unjustly wronged both its halves sorry they'd ever been born, by striking at their weakest most vulnerable point May Parker! Spider-Man and Silk would learn a new definition of pain.
The Bronx sometime later, wee hours
Gwen Stacy hated her life. Since her father had been killed by Sin Eater roughly eight months ago she'd been stuck in a living hell with no means of escape until she turned eighteen, which was two long years away. Shipped off to live with a maternal aunt and uncle who didn't want children, little own a grieving teenager, in a dingy apartment and forced to attend a new school where no one knew her. At least things couldn't get much worse, or so she'd thought before her reluctant guardians had force her into summer employment at a dump of a pizzeria. She had to earn her keep after all, or so they said.
Sitting alone in her dark, claustrophobic bedroom dressed in a grey hoodie and matching sweat pants Gwen blamed many different people and organizations for her current predicament, including the Mayor and her deceased father's old employer the NYPD. Most of all however she blamed the heroic trio Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man and Silk if only they'd done better their self-appointed jobs and caught Sin Eater earlier, before he killed her dad in front of her, none of this would be happening. Her current status or lack there off was their fault! If she ever had the chance she vowed to make them pay, by making them suffer as she had suffered. After that she'd handle all the injustice in the world clean it up by whatever means necessary, someone had to.
"Someday I'll have the power, and then watch out bad guys and girls." Gwen whispered. "I'll be coming for each and every one your sorry hides."
Murdock Residence Upper Eastside of Manhattan the next day, dawn
District Attorney Matt Murdock sat in his study clad in a white fluffy bathrobe and dark glasses as he enjoyed the sensations of a new day. While the substance he'd been forcibly injected with by the Rose six months before had robbed him of his sight. He'd soon discovered, within two weeks exposure, that he possessed a new sort of sixth sense: a type of sonar that allowed him to perceive his surroundings in three dimensional holographical like detail relayed direct to his brain. His reflexes and general reaction time to stimuli had also greatly improved along with his strength and speed. He estimated all were operating at somewhat above optimal human standards and hadn't yet leveled off. In fact other than his lost sight everything about him had been augmented by the mysterious serum.
Perceiving the latest paper edition of the Daily Bugle by touch and its disconcerting headline – "Spider-Man, Silk & Dr. Octopus go on Coney Island holiday rampage, dozens seriously injured, his expression turned dour. His beloved city was such a dreadful mess. It needed a real hero not these Spiders to clean it up. Yes that was it. He'd become the saviour the masses had been clamouring for. The one they so desperately needed.
"I'll be their knight in shining armor. I'll do what I never could while serving as DA, clean up this town." Matt Murdock said softly. "Watch out criminals everywhere your worst nightmare is coming. Rose your first on my hit list, then Mr. Negative, the Goblins and finally if they get in my way the Spiders." He leaned back in his chair a look of serenity washing over his features.
To Be Continued