New York was falling into a frenzy under a dark cloud, first the murder of Captain Stacey and now the assault on the Baxter building which ended with the famous Johnny Storm hospitalised.
Spider-man & Scarlet Spider where still out looking for Kaine completely unaware of what had transpired at the Baxter tower or of the fate sealing flash drive now on its way to the daily bugle. They stopped for a rest on the side of Oscorp building overlooking the half of the city they had yet to search.
"So it doesn't sound all that bad, you tried to protect her from a deranged psychopath and she just feels like you're keeping her in the dark it happens…trust me once you talk it over and clear the air you'll be acting like rabbits again" Scarlet told Spider-man trying to sound reassuring about the context of their current conversation.
"thank you Dr. Phil" Spider-man groaned, the whole incident with Tiger was playing and replaying in his mind he wasn't sure if they just ended their relationship or if this was just an overheated dispute. But the one thing he was sure about Ben was no help at all,
They kept searching the area for even a hint of where Kaine might but were met with disappointment the city was huge 4 hours of searching was long enough and Gwen needed her friends with her now more than ever.
There was a reason why the Spider twins couldn't find Kaine he had found his way to the tri-carrier, after having navigated through the obstacle course of lasers and other security death traps he found himself crawling through the air vents.
As the unsuspecting agents below him went about their business but a passing conversation caught his attention,
"Goblin is to be relocated to the cube, once that flash drive reaches the bugle Spider-man will become a target as will his loved ones and Goblin is both brilliant and devious enough to escape from here and murder them" the one agent told his partner.
This news made Kaine smile this Goblin could be a very suitable pawn to take the fall for Peter and Ben's deaths leaving him free to assume the role of his rightful tittle. He shuffled through the vents his more progressed Spider sense allowed him to not only see several minutes into the future but could also be used as a natural way of determining direction so was he quick to find the prison deck. Kaine dropped to floor behind the guard silently before violently torqueing his head around in a 180 spin, the guards body fell to the floor like dead weight as Kaine walked up to a sealed cell with a Nome looking monster being restrained by blue beams "you must be the freak called Goblin…you don't look like much" Kaine snickered condescending Goblins appearance.
Goblin glared back at him his amber yellow eyes searing into his soul if he had one, "who are you supposed to be negative Spider-man" he scoffed,
"Something like that, now from where I'm standing I have something you want and you are capable of doing something for me" Kaine negotiated.
"And what might that be?" Goblin asked intrigued by this new figure,
"I set you free, you kill Spider-man and Scarlet Spider…deal?"
Kaine's words caught the attention of every inmate on the prison deck and they all started clawing the doors to opt for his deal, causing him to smile under his mask "going once Goblin…going twice…"
"You have a deal" Goblin cackled, Kaine ripped the gravity lock switch out of its panel shutting down Goblins cell and restraints.
"Find your own way out" Kaine said jumping to the roof as alarms started blaring and sirens flashed.
The others had all gone back to Aunt May's including Gwen and her family. They all sat around the den talking trying to be as respectful and comforting as possible to the Stacey family but that soon came to an end when the daily bugle announced a special broadcast bulletin,
"Folks tonight is my night of true triumph! Not only did the voters in their infinite wisdom elect me to lead this great city but I have just received undisputed proof that Spider-man is no hero but in fact a cold blooded murder!" J.J screamed over the TV.
M.j Aunt May and the team all sat up in their seats murder? J.J was calling Spider-man a murder and claimed he had proof something wasn't right.
"this video was hand delivered to me by Shield a satellite surveillance video of the wall crawling criminal murdering our trusted police captain Stacey! And we now have the face under the mask!"
face minimized as another video filled the screen, a black suit Spider-man dangling Captain Stacey from the roof of a building before dropping him, "as you can clearly see folks Spider-man is no hero or even a true man!" pictures of Peter and Ben plastered the screen with charts and D.N.A analysis "Spider-man is in fact a warped science experiment a product of cloning and gene splicing! We need to have this side show put down both of them!"
Aunt May shut the TV off as an unsettling silence fell over the room, Gwen starred at the TV in disbelief "Peter is Spider-man….he killed my father…I thought he was my friend" she whimpered trying to process this new world disrupting bit of information.
"Gwen you can't believe Jameson he's a blow hard and you've known Peter since the 7th grade you know he's not capable of that!" M.j cried.
Gwen looked up from the floor to her friend her eyes were consumed in hate "we just saw a video of Spider-man killing my father! And saw Peter and apparently his clone whom he's been calling his cousin as Spider-man, so forgive me if trusting somebody who has lied about so much isn't exactly in the cards!" she screamed.
"Gwen your eyes can deceive you and your mind can lie ask your heart to find the truth" Danny said calmly,
"at least let the boys explain their side before you crucify them because Peter and Ben both wear red and blue that Spider-man was black and silver not to mention the crazy long hair!" Luke interjected.
Gwen looked like she was ready to scream at them but was interrupted by the back door opening and Peter & Ben walking in, "you two!" she shrieked jumping to her feet and whipping a remote at them. They easily dodged the remote but the flying lamp wasn't as easy it winged Peter in the side of the head,
"Gwen what the hell?" he gasped
"You're Spider-man! You murdered my father you son of a bitch and Ben's your clone are you even human?" she yelled.
Peter stepped back a few steps he was caught so far off guard that he had absolutely no response, Gwen just called him on 2 of his biggest secrets.
"I don't how you came up with those idea's Gwen but…" his voice faded as Sam tivo'd back to the news bulletin showing their faces, the color ran from Peter and Ben's faces they were just ousted on TV and Gwen was blaming them.
"we were friends for a long a time so I'm willing to listen to your side of all of this…but Peter I swear if I even think you're lying to me I'm calling the police!" Gwen said between sobs. The hardened glare she was giving them was a clear indication that she wasn't kidding.
Peter dragged his hand down his face which was now white from being so nervous "ok Gwen that's more than fair but you better sit down" he sighed, Peter's eyes wandered over to Ava "no more secrets…as Ben will fill you all in" he added.
Ben did a double take at Peter's implication "wait why me?" he blurted, Peter shot him a quick cocky grin
"Because I said so" he laughed.
Peter went to sit down but the cold stare from everyone prevented him from moving towards the couch.
"Ok…yes I lied to everyone about a few aspects of my life, I am Spider-man and Ben is a clone of me although he's been more of a brother to me..."
Before Peter finished his sentence Sam threw a mini tantrum "there's two of you! Ahhh! That is the foundation of one of my worst nightmares!" he screamed.
"…there's actually 4 myself, Ben and Kaine along with Spidercyde. Kaine is the black suit Spider-man you saw on that news clip, he's not exactly like Ben and myself we need our web shooters Kaine's webbing is organic to his genetic structure and his Spider sense is more progressed to the point he can see the threat before it becomes a threat. Then there's his mark Kaine's deteriorating his D.N.A is destabilizing and breaking down it's making him crazy and his mark is a side effect he's a murder as he's proven many times…"
The room was silent as Peter continued to explain himself for another 20 minutes and when he finished the Stacey's were slack jawed while the team was speechless they never imagined all what Peter had been through while Mrs. Stacey and Charlie seemed to accept Peter's sincere apology but Gwen was still upset with him and refused to look at him or Ben. "Gwen I became Spider-man to protect people from ending up like my uncle Ben why would I dishonor his memory by becoming the very thing I swore I would stop?" Peter asked is eyes now burning from suppressing tears.
Sirens came wailing from down the street lights flashing and Swat trucks along with Widow and Hawkeye in a shield car "Peter…we have to go!" Ben blurted as he ducked his head back inside the window, before anyone else could say a word the brothers ran for the back door,
Ava ran out after them she and Peter needed to clear the air on something "Peter wait!" she called catching him in the backyard,
Peter turned to face her "Ava bad ti.."
He was cut off when Ava hugged him "I don't want to lose you but you can't keep hiding things from me…please Peter from now on if something like this ever happens again you can ask for help you're not alone" she whispered.
Peter smiled down at her "we're still dating right?" he laughed, Ava gave him a quick parting kiss
"what do you think idiot?" the sirens got louder and she could here police officers preparing to swarm the house, "you have to…" Ava turned around to open space. Peter was already gone and she was alone "I hate it when he does that" she mumbled.
Peter and Ben raced through a back alley towards the old community church their adrenaline pumping through their hearts as they jumped over a spear tipped fence, they thought they made it they thought they were safe. That is until an arrow nearly shot through Ben if not for his Spider sense, the boys turned to see Hawkeye and Black Widow pursuing them "oh this is just really great Peter now were being hunted by Robin hood and mid Marion!" Ben growled as they dove behind separate tombstones. If it was a fight Hawk & Widow wanted it was a fight they would get.
The boy's scattered throughout the cemetery forcing the pursuing Shield agents to separate, Peter led Hawk into the church basement even a master archer/Avenger can fight at his peak in the dark and Spider-man had beaten Hawk in every sparring session.
The basement was dark and damp, water puddles in certain spots where the ground had shifted this would be the best spot to take Hawkeye. Peter leapt for the basement roof compressing himself into the shadows and waited for Hawkeye, the outer doors tore open as Hawk came storming inside with his bow fully drawn and arrow notched at the ready. "come on Parker we both know how this going play out, you're a wanted fugitive the thing in Latveria we could all over look because you were still doing the right thing but killing Captain Stacey…we have to bring you in kid" Hawkeye said speaking into the open darkness.
Peter remained hidden as Hawk kept searching around for him ("see I could kick Hawkes butt again but what good would it Jameson would spin it to look like I was evading arrest or some B.S")
Peter dropped from his hiding spot and swung around kicking Hawk clear across the room crashing into an old shelf. "finally decided to show yourself?" Hawk snarled,
"Clint you have to believe me I didn't kill Captain Stacey I was framed!" he shouted back. But Hawkeye seemed cold to his former teammates plead of innocence.
"good story kid but how many Spider-men do you think there are in this city?" Hawk scoffed,
"lots!" Peter shot back before having to dodge a handful of arrows some split into bolas while the others turned to Tasers luckily for Peter his reflexes were sharper than Hawkes aim. Peter dropped and swept Hawkes legs out from under him but Hawkeye quickly recovered and fired 3 more arrows forcing Peter to jump into the shadows "are you freaking serious Clint! You are so off the Christmas card list!" he shouted in anger.
Hawk shot his last arrow into the shadows where Peter ducked out, the arrow struck wood an began beeping at a rapid pace "shit wrong Arrow" Hawk quivered before he started frantically digging his way through the scraps to find a suitable cover as his arrow detonated blowing a hole in the floor of the church launching projecting Peter into the main hall scorching parts of his suit, the basement shifted and caved in trapping Hawkeye below.
Peter laid sprawled out on the church floor panting like a dog he hated being blown up but he had evaded Hawkeye now the question was how did Ben fair out against Widow? A question that was answered when Ben came crashing through the window with Widow trapped in a web cocoon dangling from a web line.
"what did I miss?"
Peter allowed his head to hit the floor with a thud "some days I just want to stay in bed" he groaned. As the boys got up to go home the church doors were blasted and the resulting shock wave threw them through the back alter window into the cemetery a tinnitus inducing ring in their ears "god damn I'm so over being blown up!" Peter shouted.
"I'll keep that in mind for your demise Spider-man or would you prefer Peter Parker! Came that hauntingly familiar voice through the haze of dust and smoke Peter saw him the Green Goblin.
"God…you are one sick twisted fuck"
Goblin launched his pumpkin bombs at the two, whom instinctively retreated to the church roof figuring clustered statues on the roof would provide some cover. Goblin circled the church laughing maniacally throwing pumpkin bombs everywhere statues and windows blowing up and shattering "great plan Peter!" Ben screamed.
A pumpkin bomb rolled and dropped down between them Peter and Ben traded glances as the bomb detonated Ben crashed through the roof landing on his shoulder a searing, throbbing pain shot down his arm "Argh damn it!" he growled wincing in severe pain.
Peter was cast into the steeple slamming against the side of a bell the concussive ringing deafened the tower as Peter struggled to his feet the screeching in his ears seemed to affect his balance he was fighting just to stand.
Goblin circled back around Ben was lying on the church floor clutching his shoulder in pain and Peter was semi stunned in the steeple this was it his moment of triumph he would finally destroy Spider-man and his only replacement. 3 jagged blades sprung from the nose of the glider and targeted Ben, Goblin closed the gab his blades a mere few feet from Ben's body Goblin smiled his cocky sinister, devious smile "I win!" he cackled.
Something solid and round struck Goblins face launching him from his glider bouncing and rolling across the ground. "who dares!" he hissed searching around for his surprise attacker,
Captain America emerged from the shadows with his shield in hand "I prefer to think of it as covering my teammate" Cap said proudly.
"ditto!" Powerman to emerged from the shadows cracking his knuckles threatening Goblin,
"so what's going to be?" Cap daunted.
Goblin growled as his eyes slid from the two beaten Spider-men to the newly arrived Captain America and Powerman he knew Captain America alone would be beyond his ability but with the aid of the former shield trainee it wasn't worth it he know knew the face behind the mask and could easily draw Peter to him "another time son" he growled summoning his glider and racing away.
Cap went to Ben's aid while Powerman climbed to the bell tower to help Peter who he found trying to support the dangerously close to falling bell. "web head what you doing?" Powerman asked,
Peter looked over at his friend "hey big guy, this? This is for when the new dream team arrives to try and arrest me and Ben"
Before Powerman could retort the familiar blue light of Nova came crashing into the church "never fear the Nova…hmmpf" Ben used his good arm to web Nova's mouth shut.
"I just couldn't take another Nova intro" he moaned.
Nova turned to face him and flipped him off struggling to tear the webbing from his face, he finally pulled the webbing off "oh you are so under arrest!" he snapped.
Peter released the bell from his grip letting it free fall on top on Nova trapping him inside.
Tiger & IronFist arrived to the sound of muffled screaming from within the bell while Ben, Cap, Powerman and Peter sat around laughing like asylum patients,
"Who's trapped inside?" IronFist asked gesturing to the bell,
"the great bucket head Nova" Powerman laughed.
"Nova?" Tiger asked striking the bell with a piece of church debris,
"Ahhh-haa-Ahhh" Nova wailed from within the bell.
"name rings a bell" she laughed as did the others before she sat down next to Peter who looked like hell. Widow finally cut herself free of her web cocoon and confronted the wanted heroes and shield recruits.
"good to see you again Steve" she said, Cap nodded as his gesture of being glad to see her to. "Peter Parker Ben Riley you're under arrest for the murder of Captain George Stacey" she said vindictively,
Peter and Ben went to stand but with Bens shoulder hurting the way it did and Peter's ears still ringing running was a little beyond their capabilities luckily Cap stepped between them.
"Natasha somewhere inside you, you know Peter's no killer and if Ben is Peter's clone he would be the exact same morally"
Widow shook her head "I have my orders steve…you can appreciate that can't you? I have to take them as do the kids"
"how about a head start at least? Considering we just got ambushed by Norman Osborn! Who by the way must have escaped the Tri-carrier. Good to know security up to date!" Peter growled
"and oh he knows our faces now thanks to shield! So if anything happens to Aunt May because of that decision I'll personally sink that heap of scrap metal and everyone on board to the bottom of the ocean!" Ben interjected venomously.
Widow glared at the two boys she didn't care for being threatened by a teenager but they did have a valid reason to be angry, "alright I will take extra precautions to make sure your aunt is safe but as for you two…I'll give you 48 hours to try and prove you're innocent as you so claim but until then you'll remain public fugitives"
"48 hours to find Kaine and show the public the truth? We're so screwed" Ben sighed.
Tiger leaned against Peter's chest "so I'm guessing you're not coming to the fall formal/ winter homecoming with me?" she whispered. Peter's eyes sprang open with anxiety,
("oh for Fuck sake, what else have I forgotten?")
"Peter there is smething you need to know...Johnny was attacked and he's been hospitalized with some serious injuries" Ava whimpered as a dark discoloration set in his eyes.
48 hours to prove their innocence that could be problematic with the whole city aware of who they are now and is led to belive their wanted criminals can the boys track down their other brother before the time is up?
Jameson is now Mayor of New York what kind of problems will that endure?
Kaine released Goblin under the condition he kills his brothers so he can assume the life of the original
Goblin knows Peter ands Spider-man are one in the same and knows how to get at Peter's weaknesses