COVER - A Christmas present with a new Spider-Man suit inside. Classic Design.
ZeroBen's Amazing Spider-Man
"Menacing"
Part II
Christmas morning.
Uncle Ben was the big spender this year, having bought the newest camera for Peter and providing fancy jewelery for Aunt May. Of course, she instantly scolded him, despite also thanking him. It was nice. Seeing them smile and enjoy themselves. There was a dark cloud over head, though. Uncle Ben was obviously still worrying over Max Dillon. Still alive, somehow. Still in a coma. As for Peter, he was very happy with his new camera, thanked his uncle about ten times over for it. But, at the same time, he had his own clouds to think about. The mysterious figure at the Hospital, his father's folder, etc..
Peter's cell phone jingled, sounding the familiar tone of a text. It was from MJ. She wanted him to go over her house so she could give him his present. Crap... He didn't get her anything. In fact, he hadn't gotten anything for anyone. He had been so wrapped up in his own world, he had forgotten about buying presents. Definitely something he would have to make up for in the near future, for sure...
Inside of Mary Jane's house, her aunt gone to visit May and Ben for a little, MJ handed Peter the box. Gift-wrapped, most certainly put together with kind thoughts. That goofy smile, his shaggy hair a little messy, he looked to his friend before accepting the gift, "I... May have... Possibly... Not gotten you anything."
She laughed a little, shrugging it off, "So?"
"Just... Ya know... Pretty rude of me."
"Open it," she encouraged him, "I worked hard on this damn thing, so you better friggin' like it, Peter Parker."
Peter opened it, his eyes wide at what was awaiting him inside. It was a new Spider-Man suit. A whole different design. It felt different, too. A better material, slightly thicker, more durable, yet stretchier. Pre-occupied with this present, he almost didn't hear Mary Jane as she began explaining...
"Mr. Beck is, like, the king of costumes," she said with a smile, "It took a little sneakin'... But, I snatched all the things I needed to put it together. And not only does it look better - No offense - it should work better. Maybe not rip every single time you go out."
Peter sighed, "Yeah, Aunt May has wondered why she's running out of thread so fast."
MJ cocked a brow, "Why didn't you just buy your own?"
"Good question," Peter wondered the same thing after she mentioned it, still holding up the new suit.
"So... Merry Christmas?" her way of asking if he liked it.
Of course he did, and he answered by smiling and giving MJ the best best-friend hug he had in him, "Yeah, this is awesome. Merry Christmas, MJ."
"I nabbed enough for spares, too," she mentioned, "In case you need them."
"Cool," he nodded, "Thank you."
Cutting the time between friends a bit shorter than desired, Peter's cell phone rang, "Harry, hey! Merry..."
"I need your help," it was definitely Harry, and he was definitely in trouble by the sound of his voice.
"What's going on?" Peter asked, instantly worried.
"Meet me in front of the Cafe closest to ESU," and then he hung up.
What the heck was that about? With a knowing glance, Peter was set to run out the door to meet up with his best friend. But, then he remembered... There was something that he needed to do first...
"I'm sorry," he said to MJ, "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have..."
MJ sighed, shaking her head, "It's okay. Just... I guess... Maybe don't do it again?"
He partly smiled, "I promise; I won't."
:::The Hospital:::
Still Alive... But Still In A Coma.
Max Dillon baffled the doctors. Considering the extent of his injuries... Considering he was also electrocuted... He should have been deceased. Yet, there he was, still breathing in the hospital bed. Hooked up to machines, meds pumping into his body 'round the clock, but his heart was still beating. At the moment, interns were allowed to go into the room with the doctor in charge, he seeing this as a once in a million teaching opportunity.
"As you can see," he said, "The patient has endured a horrendous ordeal. He was brought in late last night, suffering a severe assault and electrocution. I realize calling you all in on Christmas Day is unorthodox and perhaps unfair, but this situation is truly remarkable. You see, this man, Max Dillon, should be deceased. By all rights... The trauma he endured last night should have been the end of him. Yet... Here he is. Albeit, in critical condition. But..."
The doctor tapped Max's lifeless hand just briefly, experiencing a shock... Both literally and figuratively. A small spark of static electricity jumped from Max's skin to the doctor's.
:::Cafe Across From ESU:::
Little bit colder than he would have liked.
But, December weather in New York, right? If it wasn't cold and snowy, then it probably wouldn't have felt like the holidays. All the same, Peter had arrived at the Cafe, which was closed, of course. Still, there was Harry seated on the stoop in front of the door, all bundled up, ready for the cold. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, Peter brushed away a clump of snow and sat down next to his friend.
"Something happened to me last night," Harry spoke, dead serious, breaths visible, "I don't know what or how. But, something happened."
"What are you talking about, man?"
Harry's eyes closed for a moment, like the memory stung, "I woke up this morning, frozen, face-down on my floor, the window wide open. And... I can't remember anything about last night. Like I blacked out."
"Harry?" was Peter hearing this right, "What... What are you saying?"
"There's a new Goblin thing," Harry explained, "Didn't you hear? It showed up last night."
New Goblin? Peter's eyes lit up. No, he hadn't heard a thing. He was too pre-occupied with Christmas and what happened to Max last night to... Wait a minute... "This guy... Max Dillon. He went to the hospital, beat up really bad, electrocuted. They don't know how he's still alive..."
Harry swallowed hard, rocking back and forth slightly, "I have a bad feeling. Like... Like I..."
"Hold up, hold up," Peter stood, trying to process this new information, "Harry, what the hell are you saying here?"
Harry glared at Peter, "You know what I'm saying, Peter."
"No," Peter wasn't ready to believe such a thing, "It wasn't you. I mean... Why would it be? How? Call me crazy, but you haven't been experimented on or anything lately, right?"
"I'm telling you... I have the worst feeling today," Harry couldn't shake it, "I've never blacked out before. I've never woke up on my bedroom floor before. I never felt this before. Dude, this is the worst. I... What if..."
"Just go home, get some sleep," Peter offered advice, "You were probably partying last night and someone put something in the drinks. The last time there was a Goblin... He didn't change until he was ready to die. Plus, it involved a spider."
Harry wanted to believe what his friend was telling him. But, this feeling he had... This terrible gut feeling... It just wasn't going away, no matter how encouraging Peter was, "I don't feel right, Peter. I don't feel like myself. I know that something's wrong with me."
"Dude," Peter nearly laughed, "This is coming out of nowhere. Last time we talked... You were crushing on Lilly Hollister. Are you messing with me?"
Harry stood up, confronting Peter, seriousness filling his eyes, "Face it, Peter; Things are changing now... And it all started with Oscorp," then he turned and began walking away, "See you after Break, I guess."
"Wait," Peter called out, but it was no use, Harry was leaving, "Dude... Harry!? C'mon... Don't... Damn it."
Peter sighed, standing back against the bricks of the café, trying to piece together this information. New Goblin... Max was attacked... Harry blacked out and woke up weird in his bedroom. It wouldn't be the first time Harry had a bad drinking experience. But... He was so spooked... He was really scared about this. Harry Osborn a Goblin, though? Even the mere thought seemed surreal. One thing for sure, though... Harry was right about all roads leading to Oscorp.
Maybe a little detective work was in order.
:::Stacy Household:::
Christmas puke, anyone?
Gwen's stomach emptied into the waste bucket beside her bed as a punk tune blared through an alarm clock. She dropped onto her back, sinking into the mattress, catching her breath and cringing at the taste of vomit. Last night... Last night... How many pills did she take... She couldn't even remember last night!? The nausea gone, Gwen sat up, staring angrily at the clock put in her room by her father. Wait... Was that right... 1pm?
Gwen all but leaped out of bed, smashing the alarm clock along the way. She quickly headed to the Christmas tree, finding a few gifts wrapped for her, along with a note stuck to the pines. From her father, of course. She read it to herself, shedding a tear or two. She shouldn't have bailed on the family dinner. But, what the hell did she bail on it for? Why couldn't she remember? The pills she took... A few were from Dr. Warren. Maybe grabbing extra of those to sleep wasn't the best of ideas, better to stick to the script on those.
So, what to do? She had Christmas all to herself, her father out fighting crime as the big Police Chief. Sigh... Maybe Netflix wasn't such a bad idea after all. No... Screw it... It may have been a little cold outside but she needed fresh air.
:::Parker Household:::
Ahh... The Internet.
Hard to believe, but there was far more to it than just boobs and Facebook. Case in point, Peter was busying himself with digging up news about the new Goblin that apparently appeared last night. It explained a lot... And would it also explain who was on the roof of the hospital last night as well? Eyewitness accounts didn't say other than that there was a creature lurking about the city. What if by some crazy chance... Harry was right, and really was this new Goblin? Logic told Peter the answer to that was a big ol' no, but stranger things had happened lately.
Well... Looked like he had found all he was going to for the time being. It would be time for dinner soon, anyway.
:::New York:::
Christmas Night.
The decorations, the lights, the snow, the happy people filling the streets, it was a good night. Although... There was one character not having such a jolly good night. The Goblin sat hidden in the crevice of a Times Square building, watching people from the shadows as they went about their merry way. The Goblin felt pain... Anguish... Despair. It was a creature, a monster snarling in the face of the happiest time of the year. It held a rage, a blood-thirst... Yet it tried to hold back... Tried to...
"More on the condition of the Goblin attack victim from last night; Max Dillon. He is still alive, miraculously. And, even more surprising and uplifting for this holiday season, he has started to recover somewhat. Mr. Dillon has awakened from his induced coma, and while he is of course in a lot of pain and struggling some, the doctors attending have said there is no more need to keep him asleep, the pain is now manageable. This is great news for Max Dillon... An electrician from..."
"You saw me..." the Goblin whispered, "You saw me..."
:::The Osborn Estate:::
The New Team.
Vincent Stegron, Ignatius Wallah, Carolyn Trainer, Samuel Smithers, Morris Bench. These people of all walks comprised the new batch of scientists soon working at Oscorp. Jonathon Ohnn, Fritz Von Meyer, Jackie Arvad, Michael Morbius, Spencer Smythe, they were all experts in fringe science. They had all been called in from around the world, Norman tapping into many resources and contacts to make this happen. He wanted the best money could buy, and he had just that. Though, there was one who declined...
"I was expecting one more," Norman announced to the table, Sergei Kravinoff behind him, Victoria Hand was seated next to Norman, "But... It would seem he declined."
"Connors," Vincent Stegron spoke, perhaps out of turn, but no one cared.
Norman simply nodded, "No matter, though," he raised a glass, "I'm confident that all of you together can help thrust Oscorp into the future. Ladies and gentlemen, what do you say... I think it's time we make this world a better place."
"There is one more missing, ja?" Fritz Von Meyer, his thick German accent undeniable, "Your son?"
Norman willingly admitted the ongoing issue, "I'm afraid... When it comes to Harry... The fruit does not fall far from the tree in terms of attitude. As far as execution? Well, you all know I love my son. I just wish... Well, what can I say... I just wish he turned out better. It's not easy looking at your son and your biggest failure at the same time."
Even Sergei Kravinoff... A feared man in his native homeland.. Had to admit how cold of Norman it was to say such things about his own flesh and blood.
:::The Hospital:::
Ben Parker had heard the news.
Max Dillon was awake, although still heavily sedated. It wasn't enough to put him to sleep, though. Unbelievable... What a trooper... Pulling through like this. Ben was in awe, proud of Max, and wanting a front row seat to tell him just how great this all was that he could recover so well. So, there he stood, next to the hospital bed, Max barely awake, but just the smallest semblance of a smile on his lips. He knew how damn lucky he was to be alive, even if he couldn't truly express it just yet.
"This is incredible, Max," Ben was still amazed, "I mean... This is really something. You're doing it, you're pulling through. Wow."
Max wanted to talk, but he just didn't have it in him yet to do so.
"Hey, that's okay, save your strength," Ben assured him, "There will be plenty of time to talk later."
Seconds turned to minutes as Ben kept Max company, not wanting to leave until the younger man fell asleep. However, then came a valid excuse for leaving a little ahead of time, as the window burst in and there stood the menacing creature who attacked Max the night before, the new Goblin. The out of nowhere scare was nearly enough to send Ben's old heart jumping right out of his chest. But, the older man was able to stay composed enough to stand in front of Max's hospital bed...
"You have no business here, leave!" Ben shouted.
"Business..." the Goblin spoke in its raspy tone, spit dripping from its gnarly teeth, "Business isn't good... Stocks are down... Need a rally," it nodded, stepping closer slowly, alarms crying in the hallway as people scrambled every which way, "Need... A spike!" it pulled a steel spike out from under its shoddy purple clothing that was nothing but rags and bandages.
"No!" Ben jumped in the way as the Goblin threw the spike at the defenseless Max Dillon, and it stuck right into the brave man's arm, spitting blood like a busted broken pipe, "Aggghhh!"
"You're in the way..." the Goblin grabbed Ben Parker, about to throw him into the wall across the room, "You need... I need... We all need... You outta the way!"
Ben Parker was thrown, but before he could hit the wall with lethal force, it was softened by webs! He stuck there safely, though he still bled from the wound in his arm. The Goblin turned around just in time to be dropkicked by Spider-Man, the two of them crashing through the door, into the hallway and the wall next to it. With a few seconds to breathe, Peter quickly checked on his uncle, using webs to try to slow the bleeding. Ben was definitely hurting, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed. Jeez... If he had hit that wall though...
Too wrapped up in his thoughts to pay attention to his Spider-Sense, the Webslinger was grabbed from behind and easily thrown out of the hospital, through the broken windows. Right behind him was the new Goblin, leaping after him! Spider-Man spun a web, the Goblin latched on and they swung down onto the top of the parking garage, landing on the flatbed of a pick-up truck.
Spider-Man tried to shake the cobwebs - pun shamelessly intended - but was grabbed by the back of his head and slammed face-first a total of four times into the surface of the flatbed. Needless to say... Ouch!
The goblin hissed, holding the hero by his mask before delivering a fifth smash, "I know who you are... I know, I do! You don't know me... No one does! WHO AM I!? WHO AM I!?"
"Uhhh..." trying to block out the throbbing in his skull, "The new Menace in town?"
One more slam! After this one, the Goblin stepped off the truck, onto the concrete, snow crunching under its feet. Its movements were jittery, stilted, "Me... Menace? I like Menace... I AM MENACE!"
"Nice to meet ya!" Spider-Man dove ahead, striking a cracking punch to Menace's jaw, knocking the monster down, but obviously not out. Spider-Man stood over his temporarily fallen opponent, "You can't be Harry, right?"
Spider-Sense... Glowing hands courtesy of Menace... Crap, not another set of fireballs like the first Goblin! Spider-Man back-flipped out-of-the-way as Menace came to life, launching fireballs from its clawed hands, blowing up the truck they had fallen on, which in turn caused a fast spreading fire throughout the top of the parking garage.
"Where did you come from?" Spider-Man wanted answers.
"Don't know..." Menace growled, seething with anger, fists still glowing, another round fired, "... DON'T CARE!"
Spider-Man dodged again, this time a street light hovering over the area was hit, sparking electricity, falling onto a car and then starting a second separate fire. This was quickly spinning out of control. Menace... Whoever it was... Needed to be put down as fast as possible.
"STOP MOVING!" the hands were then smothered by webs, giving Spider-Man an opening to dive in and tackle Menace down, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"Trust me," Spider-Man said after the fact, flipping up to the safer side of the garage, "It isn't pleasant for me, either."
Menace tore its hands from the webbing, ready to launch another blast, but found itself attacked again. This time, it was a head-scissors takedown that sent it flying over the edge of the parking garage. Spider-Man quickly fired a web, securing Menace to the side. Peter couldn't let this thing die. After all, Dr. Van Adder had changed back at the end... And maybe there was a way to cure the transformation before that happened.
Peter peered over the side as emergency workers tended to the fires, having just arrived on scene. There was Menace, snug in a web, passed out from all the excitement. Or perhaps from whatever it was that turned it into a Goblin in the first place. Spider-Man watched for a few moments... Waiting for a transformation... But there wasn't any.
"Spider-Man," Captain Stacy approached from behind, having just gotten out of his squad car, flanked by Stan Carter and Jean Dewolff, "What are we looking at here?"
Spider-Man looked over his shoulder, "I wish I..." Spider-Sense, but it wasn't Menace, it was armored trucks with Ravencroft painted on the side, then armored men in riot gear piling out, bee-lining for Menace, "Uhh... And who might you gentlemen be? And why does everyone always show up after the fight?"
"Luther Manning," a beefed up one of the crew stepped forward, "Head of the Ravencroft Offensive Unit. We're here to retrieve the villain and bring him to Ravencroft Sanitarium where he'll receive the attention needed."
"Ravencroft Offensive Unit?" Stacy questioned, Spider-Man spinning his webs toward the hospital in the background, "I haven't been informed... What the hell is this?"
"A new operation," Manning explained to the captain as his men retrieved Menace, doing it with a hefty sedative to make sure nothing happened before loading it into the truck, "It's been green-lit by the right people. You'll find a briefing in your computer system at the NYPD."
"You gotta be kiddin' me," Carter was baffled, as was everyone else not affiliated with Ravencroft.
:::Meanwhile:::
Spider-Man landed outside the hospital window to check on Uncle Ben.
The room was a complete wreck. Uncle Ben had already been transferred to a different unit. At the current time, Max Dillon was being prepped for a move as well. On second thought... Peter should return to Aunt May considering she would be her own wreck once she caught wind of what happened, and rightfully so. However... just as Peter was about to fire a webline... His Spider-Sense kicked in...
From his place outside the broken window, he turned his head just in time to witness a blinding burst of electricity exploding out from Max Dillon and engulfing the entire room!
:::Ravencroft Truck:::
"What a first grab, huh?"
Thanks to Spider-Man, the boys' first mission was a shining success. Being secretive until finally showing up on scene was definitely the correct route to take. Everything was congratulations and handshakes, though Manning didn't partake in the frat-like camaraderie. He was a man focused solely on the task at hand. And, to him, that task wasn't completed until this creature thing was unloaded at the Sanitarium.
But then, a surprise! The Goblin's features began softening into something a bit more human... A bit younger than one may have anticipated. And it looked a bit like...
"Well, I'll be damned," one of the guys chuckled, "You know who that is, don't ya?"
"What the hell just happened? Who is it?"
"It's..."
:::::ZEROBEN'S AMAZING SPIDER-MAN:::::
Finally back, chapter ended up being rewritten. At first, it was going to be SHIELD taking Menace in, but then I had this idea for Ravencroft and decided to go with it. Plus... Cameos anyone? A lot of new and important characters introduced. Ignatius is just an OC I threw in. Well, OC as far as his human form. Aahhh, I've already said too much! Jackie Arvad is just an OC-Esque female version of a real minor character. The others are all actual characters.