Before we get started...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I've played the running gag of "all the girls love Spidey" a lot since the beginning of this story. In spite of that running gag, I've tried to make it clear that Peter is staying with MJ. Yet, judging by some reviews from the previous chapter, it seems that Spidey's girl situation is still remaining a huge attention grabber, especially considering Silver is pregnant with you-know-who's kid. Now, regarding the reviews of Bismarck Alexander and idlefishpuppy, my response is a big NO. There is no "harem" (man, I hate that word) happening in the future. I mean, seriously, that's just... NO! Peter is loyal and very committed to MJ. This may be a FanFic story, but I wanna make sure the characters remain identical to the video game despite a few OOC moments (Silver Sable, being a key example). With the exception of Black Cat, maybe I've overplayed the gag and it's long overdue for the joke to stop. But I guess I'm not done with it yet.
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I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: Knox, rex1297, K2-Black-Panther, Heinkelboy05, JackTom, josephguy217, Knox
To Knox: Okay, thanks for the info. The way I saw things from every movie and cartoon I've seen, I assumed Skrulls can only change their appearance. I always thought the Kl'rt/Super Skrull required a scientific experimentation of some sort to gain the Fantastic Four's powers. I just thought that when it comes to the normal Skrulls, it's really just a matter of appearance, not powers (at least, not without extra experiments).
Another reply to Knox: I'm glad we can clear up the misunderstanding with the questions. Not afraid to admit you have Asperger's, I see. I envy your bravery.
To K2-Black-Panther: You don't have to apologize for being absent for a long time from my story. As a writer myself who has known what it feels like to be too busy to always be on FanFiction, I understand that everyone can be too busy themselves. Next time you review, you don't have to apologize. Just stating your thoughts on my story is enough. Thank you.
To CG: I honestly don't know what to think. Endgame played the time travel thing a little differently, so I prefer not to hurt myself thinking too much about it. Personally, I'm leaning more towards the Russo brothers' explanation.
To Guest (talking about Gwen Stacy): I don't know if I want to do that. Yes, you said so yourself, I can throw a Gwen Stacy nod without promising a future appearance. Still...
To Guest (talking about DC's Dark Multiverse): 1) I don't know, really. I already did a dark Peter in that one Noir AU chapter. 2) I really have no response.
The Raft. New York's maximum security prison. Floating just outside of Manhattan. Inside are the worst of the worst of New York's criminals. Criminals with rap sheets as long as a football field, victims/volunteers of human experiments, and superpowered villains that fought Spider-Man. The Raft has received a less-than-good reputation ever since the breakout last year caused by the Sinister Six. Despite that, the warden assured the public that The Raft's security has been tripled since Spider-Man recaptured all the escapees. Unfortunately...
The warden doesn't know that The Raft is being sabotaged from the inside. The only reason he doesn't know is because a fraction of the staff have been paid to stay quiet.
Martin Li sat in his cell, calm as a flower on a windy day.
Wilson Fisk ate his meal in silence, just waiting for the right time.
Otto Octavius grimaced as he thought of getting revenge on Peter Parker and Norman Osborn.
Max Dillon paced around in his cell with anger.
Aleksei Sytsevich continues to feel trapped in his Rhino suit, describing it as a second prison.
Adrian Tooms is in the infirmary, being treated for his spinal cancer.
Mac Gargan is thinking about new poison to use if he ever gets out.
Lonnie Lincoln is still in a coma.
It just seemed like a normal evening at The Raft. The prison staff is in control and the prisoners are right where they belong. Unfortunately, the two prison guards in the control room - both wearing shades to conceal their glowing eyes - were planning something. The warden is in the control room, unconscious, tied up, and his mouth duct-taped.
The clock strikes 9.
"Shiji yi dao (The time has come)," said one of the guards.
Glowy-eyed Guard #2 takes out what appears to be a detonator and pauses dramatically. The time has come, as his fellow guard said. The detonator is about to create something destruction.
So, he pushes the button.
One guard was standing by the prison's backup generator when...
BOOM!
That explosion was immediately followed by the power going out. The backup generator beeped, and it also went...
BOOM!
The first explosion took out the power. The next four left four separate messes that would remind everyone of last year's breakout.
From inside his cell, Martin Li remains calm and collected as he felt the quaking caused by the explosions. The sinister smile on his face meant that he knew this was coming and he was glad that it came. His powers begin to surge from inside him. His skin glows black. His clothes glow white. His eyes glow with menace.
"Finally," he said.
Peter was at MJ's apartment, just relaxing with her girlfriend. She was just finishing her latest article while he was preparing some chicken curry. There was literally no crime today, so Peter had the whole day to spend with MJ. They even worked on a simple story earlier, with Peter taking pictures while MJ takes care of the interview. Unfortunately, news on explosions from The Raft quickly reached the TV and their phones. Peter knew what he had to do, and MJ nodded as a way of saying she understands. Peter puts on his Advanced Suit and makes his way to The Raft.
Miles was about to visit Janice. He knew she didn't want to talk to him after their breakup, which still hurts to think about, but he didn't want her to go down an ever darker path than she already is. Before he could enter her apartment building, he gets an alert on his phone about explosions at The Raft. Knowing her can't ignore this, he turns around and looks for hiding place to suit up. Besides, if he's lucky, she'll suit up as Beetle and meet him at The Raft. It's dangerous, but so is she.
On the streets, a hooded Yuri was about to get a drink at some bar. Unfortunately, news of The Raft's explosion meant that a drink will have to wait. Rushing back to her secret hideout, she grabs her Wraith suit and gadgets, suiting up and preparing to contain the situation. Of course, she might do New York a little favor with a few executions. So long as no one sees who's under the mask, she's safe.
Silver Sable is lying down on her bed, patting her stomach non-stop. Besides the "package" she is holding within, she had just ingested a box of half-a-dozen cupcakes. Yet another craving. While those cupcakes were delicious, these cravings are driving Silver nuts. But cravings are gonna be the least of her worries when she reaches the midway point of her pregnancy. Then news of explosions coming from The Raft came in, and she knew she couldn't ignore it. She quickly puts on her midsection belt, which is made of titanium alloy to protect her baby from gunfire, and gets on her motorcycle.
Black Cat was fighting Demons that stole weapons from Ophelia Sarkissian's Queens unit. She incapacitated all of them, but one brute was unlucky. His brute strength combined with negative energy made things difficult for Black Cat. In an effort to defend herself, Black Cat sunk her claws into the brute's neck as she wrestled an RPG launcher from his hands. Despite her little reservations about killing, she hated doing it in service of someone. After packing up the weapons, she gets another call from Sarkissian. It's about The Raft breakout.
Spider-Man swings towards The Raft. There was a huge body of water between him and the prison, so he hitches a ride on a police helicopter, piloted by Detective Jean DeWolff. Unlike Commissioner Drew, she is willing to lend Spider-Man a hand if it's for the good of the city, just like her friend Yuri did.
"Thanks for the lift," Spider-Man said.
"Just hang on," said DeWolff.
"What happened?" asked Spider-Man.
"We don't know. All we know is that the power was cut right before the whole place started exploding," said DeWolff.
The two heard a thud from the other side of the chopper. It was just Kid Arachnid, who also decided to hitch a ride with his favorite police officer. Spider-Man wanted to send him home, but he knew Miles wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Mind if I join in on the fun?" Kid Arachnid started.
"This isn't gonna be fun, Kid," said Spider-Man.
"The Raft is filled with the worst of the worst this city has faced," said DeWolff.
"Don't worry, Jean. Between Spidey and I, we got this," Kid Arachnid said confidently.
"Your protege sure is confident, Spider-Man," DeWolff commented.
"Well, I couldn't ask for a better sidekick," said Spider-Man.
"Darn right," Kid Arachnid bragged.
DeWolff hovers close enough to The Raft for Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid to swing in. She heads back to Manhattan's coast, as she will need to bring in reinforcements. The two spider-powered heroes swing into the nearest hole on the side of the prison, caused by the explosions. Not only is it dark, but both prisoners and guards were scrambling to take control and find light for sight. Good thing Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid installed night vision in their masks.
"Man, this is a mess," said Kid Arachnid.
"Make a joke about it later. Right now, protect the guards," said Spider-Man.
Kid Arachnid goes low, while Spider-Man goes high. Kid Arachnid starts by webbing two criminals in the backs, dragging them away from the cops they were beating up and smashing their heads against each other. He then pulls a cop away from Prisoner#3 and electrocutes said prisoner to unconsciousness with an Electric Web. Prisoner #4 tries to attack from behind, but Kid Arachnid's Spider Sense alerted him. He shocks Prisoner #4 with his electrified fingers, knocking him out.
Spider-Man leaps high and fires two Trip Mines, webbing Prisoners #5 and #6 to the nearest walls. Still airborne, he web-yanks Prisoner #7 off the ground and then web-strikes him in the face. He ends his mid-flight entertainment with a "crash-landing," knocking out Prisoner#8 with a kick to the back of the head. He no-look-web-shoots Prisoner #9 in the face and web-throws Prisoner #10 against #9, knocking them both down.
A brutish superhuman stands and there is enough light cast from the big hole in the wall for him to see the two heroes. Fortunately, the two heroes were not discouraged. They both fire web lines at the brute's face and zip themselves forward, web-striking the brute at the same time, knocking him out.
"Oh, yeah!" Kid Arachnid cheered.
Kid Arachnid extends his fist forward. Spider-Man shrugs his shoulder and fist-bumps with his sidekick. It may be a bad time for a fist bump, but the kid asked for one.
"Good first round, but there's plenty more where that came from," said Spider-Man. "We have to find..."
Spider-Man stopped when his Spider Sense tingled. He grabs Kid Arachnid's arm as he jumps out of the way, just as electricity struck. Looking up and they saw where it came from. Who else other than...
"Electro," said Spider-Man.
"Hey, Spider-Man! Welcome back to The Raft. It's been, like what, a whole year?" Electro started.
Kid Arachnid was about to make a move, but Spider-Man blocks him from the electric-powered supervillain in a protective way.
"You go help any guards you find. I'll handle Electro," Spider-Man ordered.
"And if I run into any other supervillains?" asked Kid Arachnid.
"Be smart," Spider-Man answered.
"Okay," said Kid Arachnid. "Good luck, man."
Kid Arachnid swings away to look for more prisoners to put back in their cells, leaving his mentor alone with Electro. Electro charges up, feeling pumped up for this rematch. Spider-Man keeps his guard up in case of a sudden electric attack.
"I wish I brought my Anti-Electro suit," said Spider-Man.
"Not that it will do you any good," Electro bragged.
"Oh, wait a minute. I did bring it," said Spider-Man.
A pod flies in, hits Electro in the back of the head, and attaches itself to Spider-Man's chest. The pod starts dressing Spider-Man in a different suit right over his current suit. The Electrically Insulated Suit, which he can now cram into a pod for cross-city deployment. He learned that from F.R.I.D.A.Y.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Spider-Man said gladly.
Electro charges up again and fires a powerful electric blast. Spider-Man shields himself as he runs towards Electro. The suit's resistance to electricity has been greatly upgraded, allowing him to shrug off electric attacks like a pillow to the face. He jumps off two exposed pipes and web-strikes Electro. Electro recovers quickly and fires an even more powerful electric blast. Spider-Man gets knocked back several feet, but he feels A-okay.
"These upgrades are amazing. Spectacular, even," said Spider-Man.
"A spectacular failure when I'm through with you," Electro insulted. "Time for some real fireworks! The shocking kind!"
Spider-Man continues to swing around, dodging Electro's shock attacks. Electro tries zooming towards Spider-Man for a electric-powered "raging bull" attack. He tackles Spider-Man and slams him to the ceiling. He keeps the web-slinger pinned to the ceiling and tries to electrocute him. Spider-Man's suit, however, keeps repelling Electro's attacks.
"You want power, Electro? I'll give it to you," Spider-Man taunted.
Spider-Man grabs Electro's arms and starts absorbing his electric energy into his suit. Electro can actually feel himself getting weaker by the second. He tried to let go of Spider-Man, but the hero's grip on his arms was too strong.
"What are you doing?" asked Electro.
"My suit doesn't just resist electricity. It absorbs it," said Spider-Man.
Spider-Man charges his own suit's electric power and unleashes an energy blast that sends Electro crashing down to the floor. Spider-Man webs Electro to the floor with a lot of webs. He even webs his mouth shut.
"Okay, you stay here. I'm serious," Spider-Man ordered. Jokingly, he adds, "And if you don't, I'll hook you up to the power to light up this place. How's that for being pure energy?"
"Nrrr!" Electro growled through his teeth. The webbing muffled his growl.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Spider-Man searches for Kid Arachnid. What he found instead is a death match between two of his worst enemies. Scorpion vs. Rhino. It should be no surprise that these two chose to settle their scores upon escaping. After their petty dispute while fighting Spider-Man last year, they've hated each other since. Scorpion hates Rhino because he's a big dope. Rhino hates Scorpion for being rude and condescending (Gargan's mental state helps with that type of attitude).
Scorpion's tail barely does any harm to Rhino, who retaliates by shoulder-slamming Scorpion to a wall. Scorpion leaps away and fires a toxin at Rhino, which only mildly burns his armor. Rhino grabs a huge chunk of concrete and throws it at Scorpion, who leaps out of the way.
"You're madman, Gargan!" Rhino insulted. "We have chance to escape, and you choose now to settle scores between us?"
"Only one of us is getting out of this prison alive, Aleksei, and it's not gonna be you," said Scorpion.
"Wow, did you two learn nothing from your forced together time in that shipping container?" Spider-Man started humorously, attracting the two villains' attention. "Maybe I'll tell the warden to lock you both in the same cell."
"Spider-Man. About time," Scorpion said with a sinister tone. "Wearing the Anti-Electro threads, I see. Is it toxin-proof."
"I'll let you know in a minute," said Spider-Man.
Scorpion hurls toxin at Spider-Man. Spider-Man dodges the shot and web-strikes Scorpion. Spider-Man webs both Scorpion's tail and left arm and does a bunch of flipping and spinning in mid-air. This results in Scorpion getting tied up in his webs. Scorpion, however, breaks out five seconds later and starts hurling toxin at Spider-Man. Spider-Man dodges, jumps over, ducks under the blasts of toxin as he waits for something to happen.
"C'mon, bug! Hit me!" Scorpion dared, continuing to hurl toxin at the hero.
"Just... one... more... second," Spider-Man said, saying one word per dodge.
The same pod from before comes flying in. It removes the Electrically Insulated Suit from him. Another pod comes in just as the first one leaves. This second pod attaches onto Spider-Man and dresses him up in a different suit. The Iron Spider. He quickly activates the suit's four metallic spider legs. He uses these arms to block Scorpion's swinging tail. Scorpion couldn't move fast enough to get a single hit. Spider-Man jumps on Scorpion's tail and cuts off its head with one of his metallic legs. Toxin spills all over the floor.
"Oops. Looks like someone's been drinking too much water," Spider-Man joked.
"No!" Scorpion cried angrily. "You insufferable, irritating son of a..."
Spider-Man interrupts Scorpion by webbing his mouth shut and kicking him down. He then webs him to the wall, including his tail, with Impact Web.
"Language, man," Spider-Man scolded. "Is cursing an offense? 'Cause you're lucky I cut you off."
Spider-Man's Spider Sense goes off again just as Rhino roars. Rhino charges at Spider-Man. Spider-Man super-jumps high to dodge the charging beast. Rhino ends up hitting Scorpion instead, smashing him through the wall he was webbed to. Good news, Scorpion is unconscious. The bad news, that broken wall just adds to the list of the number of damages done during this breakout.
Rhino picks up a bigger chunk of concrete and throws it at Spider-Man. Spider-Man back-flips under it, webs it immediately, and throws it back at Rhino. Rhino breaks the concrete with his steel-covered fist. Knowing the 7'5'' would do that, Spider-Man quickly web-zips towards Rhino and punches him as hard as he can in the face. A back-flip kick to the chin for extra. Rhino goes for a punch, but Spider-Man slides through his legs to dodge it. Spider-Man attaches five Trip Mines to Rhino's back, sticking him to the nearest wall.
"Okay, now can we talk?" Spider-Man asked.
Unfortunately, Rhino breaks out of the webbing in only a few seconds. He was looking angrier now.
"Out of the way, Spider. Gargan and I have business to take care of," said Rhino.
"Well, we have business as well, Rhino," said Spider-Man.
Spider-Man takes out what appears to be a metallic container and tosses it to Rhino.
"Apply that to one of your armor plates, and wait patiently for the result," said Spider-Man. "I'll come back for your later. Don't run off, and make sure Scorpion doesn't when he wakes up."
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
In the infirmary, which was mostly untouched by the chaos, Tombstone still lied in a coma. It's been weeks and he hasn't moved a muscle. Without the chemicals that made him invulnerable in the past, who knows when he'll wake up? Or if he'll ever wake up? One person walked into the room to see if any progress has been made. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the doctors. This someone was dressed in a dark purple suit and wore a mask that looked like the face of a ghostly demon.
It was Wraith.
"Still sleeping, scumbag?" Wraith whispered with hate.
Wraith would be lying to herself is she said she wasn't tempted to unplug his life support and let him die right now. But if it wasn't for the fact that he had a daughter who he cares about and who cares about him back, he would be in a body bag instead of an infirmary.
"I would make you pay for Teddy, but that is not why I'm here," said Wraith.
Suddenly, one injured prisoner comes in, looking for medical supplies. His shoulder is bleeding from a scuffle with other prisoners and he needs to patch it up. But then he saw Wraith.
"You're... you're... you're that Wraith chick I heard on TV," the prisoner said, scared.
"You know who I am. Well, then it's only fair I know who you are, and more importantly, what you did," Wraith said menacingly.
The prisoner grabs a nearby bottle of pills and quickly throws it at Wraith, who just moves her head to the side to dodge it. She then wraps one of her energy-powered whips around the prisoner's throat. She starts shocking him, causing him to scream loudly in pain as he drops to his knees.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Wraith asked with soft fury. "Don't lie to me, or else."
After the shocking stopped, the hurt prisoner said, "Evan... Evan Dillon... I killed a man and his wife."
"Why?!" Wraith asked, tightening the whip's grip on Evan's throat.
"The husband was my boss... ack... he owed me money, he wouldn't pay," said Evan.
"Contemptible and unforgivable," Wraith judged. "Your judgment has been decided."
Wraith tightened the whip's hold on Evan's neck further, hurting him even more. After making him suffer for ten more seconds, she knees him on the side of the head, twisting his head so far to the left... his neck snapped. One second later, a web shot knocked the whip's handle from her hand. That was Kid Arachnid, who was just a second too late from saving Evan.
"You just broke his neck... and you're proud of it?!" Kid Arachnid questioned.
"He's a murderer with no remorse, kid. He deserved death," said Wraith.
"Maybe, but this is just plain cruel," Kid Arachnid criticized.
"Your mentor may be a good influence, kid, but he's not always right," said Wraith. "This is the only way to clean up this godforsaken city. Rid it of all the guilty."
"That includes Tombstone, right? Is that why you're in here?" Kid Arachnid guessed.
"Your girlfriend's got one messed up father," Wraith commented, referring to Beetle. "He should be lucky he loves her, otherwise... well, you know."
"Well, Spider-Man told me that if I come across any supervillains, such as you, I have to be smart," said Kid Arachnid. "So, here's something for ya!"
Kid Arachnid quickly fires a Trip Mine that drags Wraith out of the infirmary and sticks her to a wall. Kid Arachnid uses his Bio-Electric Touch on her, shocking her until she passes out. Unfortunately, Wraith persists long enough to break out of the webbing and back-kicks Kid Arachnid down. Kid Arachnid quickly webs up Wraith and web-throws her across the hall. He swings to her way, trying to keep her as far away from Tombstone as possible. Janice will kill him (literally and figuratively) if he let Wraith do anything to her father.
Meanwhile, back in the infirmary...
One of Tombstone's fingers just moved.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Spider-Man swings from cell block to cell block, webbing prisoners left and right without even touching the ground. He encountered Sandman along the way, but he just tossed him back into his "jar" (yes, a giant glass jar is Sandman's prison in The Raft). It wasn't easy - it took a lot of taunting and Electric Webs - but he got it down. As for the next cell block, he tells all the guards to duck before unleashing his Web Blossom, webbing every prisoner in the area.
"Oh, yeah! I love that move!" Spider-Man cheered.
Suddenly, Spider-Man gets grabbed. It was Adrian Toomes, who is now back in his Vulture suit. Spider-Man webs Vulture's face and frees himself from the flying criminal's grasp. Spider-Man webs Vulture's wing pack and drags him to the floor.
"Ooh, sorry about you landing on your back," Spider-Man apologized. "On the bright side, Octavius' treatment'll do you good."
"Except thanks to you, Octavius' cure can never be recreated!" Vulture said angrily. "So, if I will die, then you die first, runt."
Vulture fires sharp projectiles from his wings (or metal "feathers"). Spider-Man dodges them, webs one of them, and throws it back at Vulture. Vulture shakes off the pain and gets back in flight. He starts spinning very fast, unleashing a hail of sharp metal feathers at the arachnid-themed superhero. Spider-Man had to flip and jump as fast as he can to dodge every incoming projectile. He even had to use the Iron Spider suit's arms to block and deflect some of the feathers.
"Gettin' dizzy yet, Toomes?" Spider-Man taunted.
Spider-Man then fires a web line at Vulture. The other end is stretched across the room. The longer Vulture spun, the more web he covers himself with. In the end, Vulture crashes down, webbed-up and a little dizzy.
"I wish I can help you," Spider-Man said sincerely.
Spider-Man then walks to the nearest open cell. It would seem like only one prisoner was smart enough to stay in his cell tonight. That prisoner is Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin. He just sat in his cell, peacefully eating his steak and vegetables. Fisk sees Spider-Man, but he doesn't attack. The big guy just continues to enjoy his meal. Spider-Man is relieved by this. He really didn't want to fight tonight, but he had to because it's necessary.
"Expecting aliens, boy?" Fisk started.
"Ha, funny," Spider-Man replied sarcastically. "Enjoying your steak, Willy? Maybe you should cut down on the meat. Do some sit-ups at the gym... oh, wait. The Raft doesn't have a gym. I still advise working out, though. Now that you're too busy in prison to be busy, there's nothing to do but lose a couple... hundred... pounds."
"Do not be mistaken, child. I do intend to liberate myself from here, but this breakout is not the way," said Fisk.
"Ah, I get it. You wanna get out legally. That way, you get your charges dropped and you can get back to doing your so-called legitimate business with a clean sheet," Spider-Man guessed. "Well, don't count on it, Willy. You're not getting out of here. Ever. I may have brought the bad guys you kept in check out of hiding, but this city is safer with you behind bars."
"Tell that to the grieving families who were lost at the City Hall Bombing," Fisk replied.
"Everyone in this city but Jameson agrees that you belong here," said Spider-Man. "You can try to justify your crimes, but no one wants you back. Enjoy your stake, Willy."
Spider Sense! Too late. Spider-Man gets hit by a shock blast, courtesy of Herman Schultz, a.k.a. Shocker. Instead of waiting for Spider-Man to get back up like an imbecile, Shocker jumps high and prepares to unleash and shock-powered ground pound. Spider-Man, fortunately, jumps out of the way.
"Hey, Herman," Spider-Man greeted. "Look, I know you love our little dance numbers, but you don't seem the type to just fight me as a first option."
"I'll never get out of here as long as you're here," said Shocker. "Buried alive or dead, you're going down."
Spider-Man summons another pod as he dodges Shocker's next three shock blasts. Shocker charges up his gauntlets and unleashes a huge shockwave, hurting Spider-Man and ruining Fisk's dinner.
"Sorry, Willy!" Spider-Man apologized humorously.
Shocker lands five successful shock-powered punches to Spider-Man's face, chest, and stomach. He charges up his right gauntlet and punches Spider-Man so hard, he crashes through a wall.
"I didn't want to do this, but you're never gonna stop coming after me," said Shocker.
"Wow, that's... ow... actually very nice of you to say," Spider-Man joked.
To Shocker's shock (sorry, not sorry), two pods come flying in and hit him in the head. The first pod removes the Iron Spider suit from Spider-Man, while the second pod dresses him in his Velocity Suit. Activating the suit's high-speed power, Spider-Man super-speeds towards Shocker and shoulder-bumps him to the next room. Shocker fires shock blast after shock blast, but the Velocity Suit makes dodging easier for Spider-Man. He even ran on the walls at high speed, weaving left and right with no problem.
"Too slow, Herman," Spider-Man taunted.
Spider-Man jumps off the wall and lands in front of Herman. He punches Herman in the face, runs behind him for a punch to the back of the head, speeds to left and right for punches to the face and back, and runs circles for a big-time punch to knock him down. Spider-Man uses Electric Webs to short out Shocker's gauntlets before webbing him down to the floor.
"Man, super speed is awesome. Imagine if I can run as fast as Quicksilver," Spider-Man imagined.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Silver Sable finally arrived at The Raft, via her personal hovercraft. She jumps off her aerial vehicle in a swan dive position, activates her jetpack after a few seconds of free fall, and shoots three prisoners with her energy pistols as she makes a stylish and graceful landing.
"Queen of Making Entrances, he said," Silver commented, remembering Spider-Man's nickname for her. "Perhaps I was never aware of my own vanity until now."
A dozen prisoners see Silver and charge at her, armed with batons and small broken pipes. Silver keeps her fingers on the triggers as she prepares for a fight full of quick moves... on her end.
"I know I should not move inordinately at this stage, but I cannot afford to compromise," Silver said to herself, referring to her baby's effect on her mobility.
Silver starts with a stun grenade, which shocks and immobilizes half the incoming army. The half that weren't caught in the grenade's blast continued to run towards her with no care of the others.
"Criminals. No sense of honor, or common sense whatsoever," Silver commented.
Silver starts running towards the small band of prisoners as she fires her pistols. She gets clear shots at five prisoners, killing or incapacitating them. She dodges Prisoner #6's pipe swing by sliding to the right before shooting him straight through the heart, all the while lying down.
The grenade's effects on the other six wore off. They quickly continued what they started, charging at the Symkarian princess.
"Primitives," Silver insulted stoically.
Silver activates one of her shields as she charges at the prisoners herself. She jumps off the wall and whacks Prisoner #7 across the face with her shield. She quickly knocks out Prisoner #8 with a roundhouse kick to the head. She dodges Prisoners #9 and #10, causing them to hit each other with their batons. Silver stands on one hand and kicks Prisoner #11 in the face before knocking him out with a jumping spin kick. Prisoner #12 - a brute - grabs her and tries to squeeze her to death. She severely scratches his big arms with her shields, forcing him to release her. She punches the brute in the face twice before using his shoulders as a boost. While upside-down in mid-air, she shoots the brute in the back, killing him as she makes yet another stylish landing.
But then her stomach started to hurt.
"I cannot keep doing this," she said to herself.
She then heard screaming. Flying towards her direction is a black-suited vigilante. It was Kid Arachnid, looking like he had just been thrown by The Hulk. The young hero crash-landed near the princess. He seemed hurt. He was holding his leg. There was a bleeding wound on it.
"Hey," Kid Arachnid greeted, in spite of the pain.
"Aleksei?" Silver guessed.
Kid Arachnid nodded no.
"Marko?" Silver guessed again.
Kid Arachnid nodded no.
"Wraith," he said.
Out of the shadows (since there's barely any power inside) comes Wraith. With only one energy whip in her hand, she was clearly far from done with this fight.
"I noticed you've made upgrades to my weapons," said Silver.
"Well, you do have the best toys," Wraith complimented. "Here's one from one of the inmates."
Wraith throws one of her gas grenades at Silver. The princess kicks it out of the nearest hole on the wall as Wraith rushes towards her. Silver dodges Wraith's whip attacks as she throws a stun grenade at the vigilante. Wraith smacks the grenade aside before it explodes and fights the princess up-close.
As for Kid Arachnid, he was trying to get back up, only to be distracted by something he sees outside through a hole in the wall. Something in the air. Something flying.
"Is that..." He wondered.
Wraith throws as many kicks as fast as she can, but Silver was quick to block and dodge. Silver lands two hard kicks to Wraith's torso before spin-kicking her in the mask, knocking her down. Silver goes for a deadly axe kick while Wraith is down, but she uses both her arms to block the kick.
Wraith trips Silver and gets back up. The two women point guns at each other.
"You've come so far, haven't you... Ms. Watanabe," said Silver.
"Of course Spider-Man would tell you," said Wraith.
"I would know regardless. Hammerhead met a brutal demise, so did his minions. Only someone with such a grudge against him would do such heinous acts," said Silver.
"And you haven't told on me, why?" asked Wraith.
"I had to find you first. And now, I have," said Silver.
"Spider Sense tingling," Kid Arachnid said.
A metallic sound forced the two women to turn their heads elsewhere. Out of the corner, a black, metal tentacle shows itself. Along with another.
"Damn," Silver, Wraith, and Kid Arachnid cursed at the same time.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Spider-Man had just rescued another guard, who was about to fall off a three-story drop. After that, he contacted Kid Arachnid. Unfortunately, the sidekick sounded in distress, just before the call was cut off. Knowing this can't mean anything good, he starts swinging to look for his young protege. But...
He is hit mid-swing by a beam of negative energy.
And Spider-Man just so happened to crash and fall right in front of the guilty party.
"Martin Li," Spider-Man grunted in pain.
"Nice to see you again... Peter," said Mister Negative.
Underneath the mask, Spider-Man's eyes and mouth were opened wide, shocked by what he just heard.
"You knew?" asked Spider-Man.
"You pretty much gave me the answer yourself," said Mister Negative. "The auction house fiasco. Coming to me with one of my masks. Snooping around F.E.A.S.T.'s storage room, which just so happened to be underneath my private room. The way you looked at me while talking about the City Hall Bombing. Besides, why would Spider-Man talk to me like he knew me? Unless, of course, the man beneath the mask did know who me, at least, the positive side of me."
"And you still tried to kill me?" Spider-Man growled angrily.
"You know my secrets, Peter. The Demon seeks to punish those who seek to control it, to control me," said Mister Negative. "I never wanted you and May to get hurt, but you forced my hand."
"Do you even regret what happened to her?" Spider-Man asked angrily.
"Of course I did!" Mister Negative answered, his voice booming with rage and grief. "Your aunt was one of the best people in the world, Peter. This city needed her. She did not deserve to be a victim. I won't deny my part in her demise, but do not assume I was not affected by it."
"Then don't escape, Martin," Spider-Man begged. "If you truly have regrets, then don't pursue vengeance again."
"Sorry, Peter, but Osborn has yet to pay for his sins," said Mister Negative. "And I can't let you get in my way."
Mister Negative grabs Spider-Man by the throat and tries to infect him with his negative energy. Spider-Man tries fighting back, to little avail. Just before he was about to go on another into-his-own-mind journey with Mister Negative, someone hit the former F.E.A.S.T. manager with a glowing whip.
It was Tombstone, who was finally awake. He was using one of Wraith's whips, which she left in the infirmary due to her fight with Kid Arachnid.
"Consider that your change for the APC," Tombstone joked.
"Lonnie? You're awake," Spider-Man said happily.
"Nobody kills you but me," said Tombstone.
"Well, that's sweet," Spider-Man replied half-sarcastically. "So, uh, where did you get the whip? Did Wraith try to kill you again?"
"I could hear your protege's voice before I woke up. I'm guessing he's dealing with her now," said Tombstone.
"Hey, look, I know you're a criminal and all, but can you maybe help me contain this breakout?" asked Spider-Man. "I mean, I can put in a good word, help take years off your sentence. You can see your daughter again."
"Aren't you the generous kind?" Tombstone replied, flattered.
Spider-Man's Spider Sense goes off. Mister Negative was charging up and about to fire. Spider-Man pushes Tombstone out of the way before jumping out of the way himself, avoiding the negative energy beam. Mister Negative draws his sword and powers it with negative energy. He charges at Spider-Man with speed to smite him, but the web-slinger barely dodges his blade. Spider-Man webs Mister Negative in the face before landing a couple punches, only to get knocked back by a burst of negative energy. Mister Negative jumps and slams his sword to the ground, unleashing a negative shockwave that hits Spider-Man.
Mister Negative goes for a leaping strike, but Spider-Man tumbles out of the way. He kicks Mister Negative in the chest and face three times with great speed, following it with a two-footed kick off a handstand spring. He then tries to wrestle the sword away from Mister Negative with his webs.
"If you truly did care about May, then you know she would be disappointed in you," said Spider-Man.
"Osborn did this to me, Peter. I want to escape it, but I can't," said Mister Negative.
Tombstone interrupts the fight by punching Mister Negative, knocking him down. Mister Negative counters with a very powerful negative energy blast that sends Tombstone flying. That blast drained Mister Negative. Fortunately, one of his mind-controlled guards came. He absorbs the negative energy from the guard, strengthening himself.
"You mind-controlled the guards. That's how you set this all up?" Spider-Man guessed.
"You should know better to underestimate me, Peter," said Mister Negative.
Spider-Man goes for a Web Strike, only to get a negatively charged kick to the stomach. Mister Negative turns his attention to Tombstone, who was struggling to get up. Picking up Wraith's whip, Mister Negative uses it to strangle Tombstone. Curious to know what the button on the whip's handle does, Mister Negative presses it. The whip starts electrifying Tombstone, hurting him to the point where he screams.
"Lonnie!" Spider-Man shouted with worry.
Spider-Man launches himself towards Mister Negative with two web lines and kicks him down, making him drop the whip and releasing Tombstone. Unfortunately, the buff drug dealer faints to unconsciousness. Fortunately, he's still alive.
As if things can't get any worse, Wraith comes flying in like The Hulk threw her from the other side of the prison. Seeing her missing whip nearby, she quickly grabs it. That's when she noticed Tombstone.
"Oh, c'mon. Wraith?! Can things get any worse?" Spider-Man complained.
Indeed, it did. Beetle had just shown up, flying in from one of the holes in the roof. She sees Wraith with her whip, and she sees her unconscious father. She approaches him and sees the burn marks on his neck. That can only mean one thing. Glaring at the purple-suited killer with vengeance, Beetle made it clear what she was about to.
"That was not me," said Wraith.
"LIAR!" Beetle shouted.
Beetle zooms towards Wraith and tackles her into the next room, leaving Spider-Man alone with Mister Negative, who was clearly not done fighting as he picked up his sword.
"Martin, please, stop! Too many people have died from your actions. You can't keep staining your own name," Spider-Man pleaded.
"Don't worry. The only life I'll be taking is Osborn's," said Mister Negative.
"HIS LIFE IS MINE TO TAKE!"
That shout came from none another than a certain mad scientist who walked into the room with four hi-tech tentacles attached to his back. Two of those tentacles held hostages. Silver Sable and Kid Arachnid.
"Otto Octavius?!" Spider-Man exclaimed with worry and fear.
"Hello, Spider-Man," Doctor Octopus greeted with scorn. "Or should I say, Peter Parker?"
"I already knew, Octavius," said Mister Negative.
"Well, it doesn't matter. If anyone is going to make Osborn pay, it's gonna be me!" Doctor Octopus said angrily.
"Let my friends go, Otto. This is between you and me," Spider-Man begged.
"You chose to lock me up instead of helping me, Peter. For that, you'll pay!" Doctor Octopus shouted.
Doctor Octopus throws Silver and Kid Arachnid at Spider-Man. He manages to save them from hard landing, only to get grabbed by one of Doctor Octopus' nasty tentacles and thrown across the room.
"Ms. Sable, I presume," Mister Negative greeted formally.
"Mr. Li," Silver greeted back.
"We're not gonna fight now, are we?" asked Kid Arachnid.
"That depends. You let me leave, and I'll spare you," said Mister Negative.
"Not happening," said Silver Sable.
"In that case, we have a disagreement," said Mister Negative, holding his sword threateningly.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Beetle flies out of The Raft with Wraith still in her grasp. No matter how many times Wraith pounded her fist on Beetle's helmet, the winged vigilante won't let up. Instead of attacking the armored vigilante, Wraith grabs one of her whips and uses its energy to short-circuit Beetle's wing pack... again (this time, it's on purpose). This causes Beetle to lose control of her flight and the two crash on a rooftop at Ryker's Island.
Despite the crash-landing, Beetle won't stop fighting. She punches Wraith as hard as she can before delivering a deadly uppercut that knocks her opponent close to the edge of the roof. Wraith grabs her whips, but Beetle grabs her hands before she could activate them. Squeezing as hard as she can, using her super strength, Beetle crushes Wraith's hands, causing her to scream in pain.
Beetle throws Wraith to the very center of the roof. Wraith can barely get up, what with her hands half-crushed by Beetle's sheer strength.
"My father just got out of a coma, and you choose that time to attack him?!" Beetle shouted.
"I did not attack your father," Wraith insisted.
"Why should I believe you? You kill the likes of him, don't you?" Beetle responded, refusing to listen to Wraith.
"Don't make me hurt you, kid," Wraith warned carefully. "Besides, you have an even bigger problem. Kid Arachnid. You're close with him, aren't you? Well, he's in a facility filled with criminals and monsters. You really want to leave him behind in pursuit of vengeance?"
"Don't try to talk your way out of getting what you deserve!" Beetle shouted.
Beetle grabs Wraith by the neck and punches her over and over and over again, as hard as she can. After what seemed like a dozen punches, Beetle was about to pull off the mask when...
Miles called.
"Jan! I know you're here! Listen, I need help here!" Kid Arachnid shouted, panicked and tired. "Spider-Man is too busy with Octavius. Sable and I are barely holding our own against Li. We need three heads against one here. Jan, please... AAAAAAGGGHHH!"
Beetle wrestles with the choice of killing Wraith or helping Kid Arachnid. That screaming before the call ended, he was clearly in pain. Just because she broke up with him, does that mean she has to ignore him and leave him to die?
Beetle lets Wraith go and flies back to The Raft.
Wraith, meanwhile, regains consciousness a while later and takes off the mask. She didn't need a mirror to know how bad it is. Her face is badly bruised and bleeding. She was lucky Beetle hasn't crushed her skull.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Spider-Man's battle with Doctor Octopus leads them to the very same roof where the Sinister Six ganged up on him one year ago. He remembers that moment all too well. Outnumbered, outmatched, and fifteen broken bones. Well, this time, it's just him and Doctor Octopus. But he was being even more merciless this time. While there was a small part of Doctor Octopus holding back the last time they fought, he doesn't seem to be holding back this time.
"Nowhere to run, Parker," said Doctor Octopus.
"I don't have to run. I'd rather talk to you," said Spider-Man.
"There's nothing you can say to change my mind!" Doctor Octopus said loudly and angrily.
"I lost Aunt May because of you!" Spider-Man shouted back. "She was a victim of Devil's Breath, a virus that you unleashed on the city, and she didn't make it! But I chose not to blame you. I blamed myself, because I helped you create those arms. But now I'm beginning to see that the neural interface only gave you the guts to turn the dark thoughts you've always had into reality."
Doctor Octopus laughs and says, "And I though this is the part where you tell me that this isn't me."
"Mostly," said Spider-Man. "I gave you a chance, Dr. Octavius. To serve out your sentence and think about what you've done. Now, I see that you don't need the neural interface to be like this."
"So, you've given up trying to save me?" asked Doctor Octopus.
"No," said Spider-Man. "I'm just not letting my emotions get in the way this time. Not with you. Not anymore."
"Bold, but pathetic," said Doctor Octopus.
Doctor Octopus sends one of his tentacles towards Spider-Man, only for that tentacle to get hit by an incoming pod. This was followed by a second pod hitting him in the head. The first pod gets rid of the Velocity Suit, and the second put puts Spider-Man in another suit. The Anti-Ock Suit. He never thought he'd have to need it again, but he kept it and repaired it just because.
"I never got to express my astonishment for your little creation, Peter," said Doctor Octopus. "Using the materials that made my arms and turning them into a suit that can match me, I knew I hired the right assistant."
"Now let me show you why I beat you last time," said Spider-Man.
Spider-Man dodges one of Doctor Octopus' tentacles, leaps off the radio tower, and strikes Doctor Octopus in his mortal body. Doctor Octopus uses his tentacles to keep himself standing and starts tearing the radio tower apart. He uses whatever he ripped off as a weapon to bash Spider-Man with. Spider-Man fires a Trip Mine at Doctor Octopus, webbing him face-first to the ground. Spider-Man secures the collapsed radio tower with well-placed webbing. Thanks to the Anti-Ock Suit, his Web Shooter recharged immediately.
Doctor Octopus rips the webbing off of his body with his tentacles and starts unleashing them on the young superhero as fast as he can. Spider-Man dodges the tentacles in many ways, be it side-stepping, jumping left and right, leaping high, ducking, sliding under, and flipping in the air. Doctor Octopus manages to finally grab Spider-Man with one of his tentacles and starts squeezing, only for Spider-Man to web him in the face. Spider-Man uses Impact Web to web two of Doctor Octopus' tentacles to the lower half of the radio tower (which Doc Ock hasn't torn off... yet). The web-slinger then jumps on Doc Ock's back and tries to rip out the neural interface to cut off Octavius' link to the arms. Doctor Octopus, however, grabs him with one of his free tentacles and slams him around like a rag doll.
"You know what Osborn has done! Why do you still defend him?!" Doctor Octopus shouted.
"Because protecting him from you is the lesser of two evils," Spider-Man answered.
This time, Spider-Man webs Doctor Octopus' physical body, from head to toe. He used up almost all of his web fluid, but the suit's special function helped with rapid refilling. Since he can't see, Doctor Octopus doesn't know where to strike with his tentacles, causing him to wander aimlessly off the rooftop.
Spider-Man dives off the roof, web-swings towards Doctor Octopus, and kicks him to the side of the structure. He uses Impact Web to glue him there, along with his arms. After that, Spider-Man rips out the neural interface from the back of his neck, rendering the arms useless.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Octavius, but I can't let you leave, no matter what," said Spider-Man. "You're done ruining lives just for revenge."
"You do not even know what's happening," said Doctor Octopus.
"What are you talking about?" asked Spider-Man.
"Fisk planned this breakout. I heard chatter from the guards he paid off," Doctor Octopus said. "At exactly midnight, they're gonna blow up The Raft, along with everyone who is in it."
"That's fifteen minutes away," Spider-Man realized.
"So, are you gonna help me get out or are you gonna leave me to die?" asked Doctor Octopus.
"I'm gonna save everyone," said Spider-Man.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Silver Sable uses her combat training against Mister Negative, punching and kicking him as fast and as smart as she can be. She blocks his palm strike, kicks him in the stomach, dodges his blade, spin-kicks him in the head, dodges his negatively-charged punches, and knocks him down with a spinning axe kick to the top of his head. Mister Negative stands up and palm-strikes Silver in the stomach, only to hurt his own hand. Hitting her stomach felt like hitting reinforced steel.
"Preparation. Always vital," Silver explained without giving away her secret.
Unfortunately, one burst of negative energy from Mister Negative is enough to knock her down for a long time.
Kid Arachnid, meanwhile, was lying down on the ground with a bleeding cut on his abdomen, courtesy of Mister Negative's sword. After covering the wound with webbing, the younger spider hero gets up and continues fighting. He throws some punches, but Mister Negative blocks and dodges them with no effort. The wound was still slowing Kid Arachnid down. He goes for a high kick, but Mister Negative blocks that as well. One negatively-charged palm strike to the chest knocks down the black-suited hero.
"Peter should choose his sidekicks wisely," Mister Negative insulted.
"He chose me for a reason, Li. I wouldn't expect you to understand," said Kid Arachnid.
"Of course there's a reason... Miles Morales," Mister Negative knew. "I heard you started working for F.E.A.S.T., and that it was Peter who got you the job. Both of you, both orphans, both looking for purpose after losing a father figure, it only makes sense why he would trust you to fight by his side. Unfortunately, you're gonna be seeing your father very soon."
Just as Mister Negative was about to finish Kid Arachnid, something in him made him hesitate. He can feel his own will overpowering The Demon's, but only for a brief second. Fortunately for Kid Arachnid, Beetle swoops in and shoulder-bumps Mister Negative three dozen feet away from her ex-boyfriend.
"Stay away from him," Beetle growled.
"You came," Kid Arachnid said happily.
"Just help me get my father out of here," said Beetle.
"Miles!" Spider-Man called, via comm-link. "Li and the Demons have The Raft set to blow. You have to get everyone out of there!"
"We got extra trouble," Kid Arachnid said to his ex-girlfriend.
"Trouble for the city. Li is gone," Silver reported.
Kid Arachnid and Beetle look at where Mister Negative lied a few seconds ago. He had just vanished with no trace of where he ran off to.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ SPIDER-MAN ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Spider-Man was about to look for Rhino, only to get tackled out of the air by someone in red and yellow. It was her again. The mysterious Spider-Woman. She appears to fire something electric out of her wrist and it shocks him. The Anti-Ock Suit's material made him a bit more resistant, but the brief "shock" gave Spider-Woman the window to kick him down with force.
"You again?!" Spider-Man complained.
"Yeah, me again," said Spider-Woman. "Nice suit, by the way. Everyone looks good in black, don't they. Maybe I'll take it off you and make it my own."
Spider-Man gets back on his feet and jumps high to avoid Spider-Woman next Electric Web shot.
"You like?" Spider-Woman bragged, referring to her own web shooter. "I have your sidekick's gift as well. Bioelectric manipulation. Fascinating, isn't it? All I need was a way to control it. Now, I do."
"Electrifying discovery," Spider-Man quipped.
"Oh, I can do more than just shoot simple electro-shocks," said Spider-Woman.
Spider-Woman accesses the other function of her web-shooter, which is turning her own bio-electricity into a whip-like weapon.
"Great. Another woman with a thing for whips. Just what a Spider-Man needs," Spider-Man complained.
Spider-Woman shows off by whipping the floor left and right before going for a whip attack at Spider-Man. The web-slinger dodges the whip attack, if barely, and then fires a web line at Spider-Woman. He pulls her closer, slides on the floor, and double-kicks her in the stomach, sending her flying a dozen feet high in the air. She, however, lands safely. Cranking up the web shooter's function, she whips the floor again, but the bio-electric whip unleashes an electric shockwave that shocks Spider-Man. She springs herself towards him, wraps her whip around his mid-section, and slams him to the nearest wall. She goes for overkill and slams his face to the wall again, this time with her boot.
"I may have only been doing this spider powers gig for a short time, but I have more experience than you," said Spider-Woman.
"In the superhero business, experience doesn't mean everything," said Spider-Man.
Spider-Man fires a Web Bomb a few feet behind Spider-Woman and the detonation webs them both. Being covered in less webs, Spider-Man breaks out easily and webs Spider-Woman's left boot. He leaps high, dragging her with him, swings over and then under a damaged beam, and then kicks her to the next room. As she escaped his webbing, Spider-Man quickly sucker-punches her before landing two spin kicks to knock her down. Not giving her time to get back up, he fires a Suspension Matrix that suspends her in mid-air.
The aerial combat between the two was evenly-matched. Spider-Woman quickly adjusts to the suspension effect and blocks Spider-Man's attack. Being the quick-witted superhero he is, Spider-Man uses Web Strike to kick her down to the ground.
"Nine years on the job, and I've fought a lot of tough customers, even those who are supposed to beat me easily," said Spider-Man. "The thing about me, I learn."
"So do I," said Spider-Woman.
Spider-Woman amplifies her web shooter's power again and punches the ground, sending an even bigger shockwave that electrifies Spider-Man even longer than the last one. Just as she was about to attack with an electric construct that looks like a knife, someone swings out of nowhere and kicks the new spider-themed vigilante away from the original.
It was Black Cat.
"Felicia?" Spider-Man was definitely surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Black Cat already had a lie in mind. "I thought you could use some help," she said.
"So, you came here just for me, not to help innocent people," Spider-Man surmised bluntly.
"I'll help them if you ask me to," Black Cat teased.
"Well, you might wanna get out," said Spider-Man.
"Rude much, Spider?" Black Cat scolded.
"No, Li is about to blow up this entire prison. We have to get everyone out of here. Everyone," said Spider-Man.
Suddenly, Spider-Man and Black Cat get hit by two electric blasts, courtesy of Spider-Woman. Instead of capturing or killing them both, she chooses to leave.
"Guess the blowing-up news alarmed her," Black Cat guessed.
"Hey, you!"
One prisoner seeks Spider-Man and quickly approaches him with the lead pipe he holds as a weapon. Spider-Man and Black Cat stand casually, just waiting for him to come after them like the idiot he is presenting himself as with the ridiculous battle cry.
Unexpectedly, Rhino comes charging in and stands in the way of the prisoner. The prisoner gulps with fear as Rhino growls in front of his face.
"Uh, nice suit?" The prisoner said nervously.
Rhino responds by punching the prisoner in the face, knocking him out.
"Uh, thank you," Spider-Man said.
"Gooey liquid worked," Rhino reported. "One plate removed from armor."
Rhino gestured to his left bicep, which was a bit more exposed because one plate was indeed removed.
"I knew it would work," Spider-Man cheered.
"You said you have more," said Rhino.
"I do," said Spider-Man. "And I'll give the rest if you don't escape."
"Not a nice deal," said Rhino.
"No, but you're still a criminal, Rhino," said Spider-Man. "On the bright side, you'll finally be out of that suit. Isn't that all you want?"
"I suppose so," said Rhino.
"Wow, trying to redeem another criminal, huh, Spider? You are such a cinnamon roll," Black Cat said flirtatiously, stroking his cloth-covered nose.
"Do not be kissing in front of me, pauk," said Rhino.
"Oh, that's not happening, Rhino. She and I are not a thing," said Spider-Man.
"You sure your girlfriend won't mind sharing?" Black Cat teased.
Spider-Man facepalmed.
Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, two thugs and a brute were robbing a businesswoman. She was on the ground and the thugs were threatening to beat her with a crowbar if she doesn't give up her purse.
"One more time, lady. Hand over the purse and we'll leave," said Thug #1.
"Hey, leave her alone!"
The thugs and the businesswoman turn their heads to look at who just shouted. They see a woman in a White Spider hoodie, fingerless gloves, and a Spider-Man mask that was probably bought from a costume store.
"There is already a Spider-Woman, lady. I guess that makes you the Spectacular Spider-Girl," Thug #2 mocked.
"You asked for it," the masked woman said. "Ma'am, get behind the crate next to you. Trust me, this is gonna be ugly."
The masked woman's hands suddenly start glowing. She raises both arms higher and then pushes her hands forward, unleashing a wave of negative energy at the three thugs, hurting them badly and knocking them out cold. Fortunately, the businesswoman was unharmed, as she hid behind the nearest crate, which was partially damaged from the blast. When she peered around the crate to see if the masked woman was still there...
She was gone.
But then an explosion from The Raft caught all of New York's attention. One explosion at a time, The Raft crumbles. Even Wraith can see the damage from Ryker's. The supermax prison designed to hold the worst of New York's underworld... gone.
Question is, who survived and who didn't?
"This is Just the Facts with me, the most reasonable person in the fair city of New York, J. Jonah Jameson," Jameson said as he started his latest podcast episode. "Today is a catastrophe, folks. The Raft, the maximum security prison designed to house super-powered lunatics that threaten our beautiful city, has been destroyed. No one knows the reasons behind the how, but the how is obvious. Explosions. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! EXPLOSIONS, PEOPLE! So far, casualties of both the innocent and the guilty have been confirmed, although the number of casualties has not been reported. Thoughts and prayers to the innocent caught in the explosion. Worst thing is... THOSE SUPER-POWERED LUNATICS I MENTIONED ARE FREE ONCE AGAIN! FREE TO DESTROY OUR CITY!"
Wilson Fisk is currently being escorted to his cell in Ryker's Island, which is where he'll be held since The Raft is clearly no longer available. As usual, he takes this in strides.
Jameson started enumerating. "Doctor Octopus! Mister Negative! Scorpion! Electro! Vulture! Shocker! The Lizard! Mysterio! Mr. Bee Nazi! Rhino... oh, wait, I forgot. Rhino didn't escape. He's in Ryker's. BUT YOU GET THE POINT! Dangerous criminals are on the loose on our fair city, plotting who knows what, hurting who knows who, scheming that knows when... okay, losing my vocabulary there for a second. While we don't know who to blame for this escape, but we do know who to blame for failing to stop it. SPIDER-MAN!"
Peter returns to Stark Tower's secret lab to sulk about his failure and to let Jameson's podcast hit him hard.
"Oh, and apparently, he got help from other lawbreakers of the law... breakers of the law... lawbreakers... never mind!" Jameson continued rambling, too angry to construct his words and sentences correctly.
Miles arrives at Janice's apartment and knocks on the door, desperately waiting for her to answer. Mrs. Connolly answered and said that Janice is not here.
"... that devilish feline the Black Cat..."
Black Cat, in her new apartment, had just received a text message from Ophelia Sarkissan, telling her that she did a terrible job doing recon at The Raft.
"... that international menace of a mercenary Silver Sable..."
Back at the Symkaria Embassy, Silver lies down on her bed, feeling exhausted from all the fighting and the physical toll of too much mobility while pregnant.
"... the killer-killing killer Wraith..."
Yuri pounds a table in frustration over her failure to contain the situation at The Raft, as the number of escapees are much higher than the number of failed escapees.
"... that winged pest Beetle..."
Janice, still in her Beetle suit but with the helmet off, visits her injured father Tombstone in the hospital, where she had to incapacitate security just for a visit.
"... and the new spider in town Spider-Woman."
Jessica is waiting outside the mayor's office, waiting for a scolding from her "mother" Ophelia over her failure to stop the chaos at The Raft.
"And in unrelated news, there is now this woman wearing a Spider-Man mask, who seems to possess the same powers as Martin Li..."
The masked woman who saved the businesswoman earlier returned to her apartment and takes off her mask as she listens to the podcast. The new super-powered vigilante is Mary Jane Watson, who decided to use her powers to help that poor woman since there were no cops or heroes nearby to help. The mask is so no one would know it was her. She had to take a second dose of Dr. Michaels' medicine out of fear that her recent action would worsen her condition.
"But back to the important topic," said Jameson. "With those psychopathic criminals out on the streets, none of us are safe. It's like Devil's Breath all over again, except there's no disease this time. That doesn't mean this is less worse. Think of the death and destruction that will come in the following days caused by these super-powered freaks, all because a certain webhead can't get it through his head that this city does not need him. YOU HEAR THAT, SPIDER-MAN?! You have once again turned New York into a f****** war zone!"
Thank goodness for Jared, who saw that curse word coming a mile away and censored it.
"For those who are now planning on leaving New York to get away from the incoming chaos, I don't blame you. Go on. Save yourselves," said Jameson. "But as for me, I am staying right here. In the city that I love. Speaking the truth for all to hear and showing these criminals that I AM NOT AFRAID! I would tell all of you to not be afraid as well, but fear wakes you up to the danger and that is just fine. Protect your loved ones, folks. Hold them tight and do whatever you can to protect them. Once again, New York is at war. So, thank you a lot for that, Spider-Man."
To think, I thought jumping right into the action - starting the chapter off with the breakout itself - would help me shorten the length of this chapter. Turns out I was wrong. There was so much action that I wanted to include here that you just read over 10,000 words worth of what I promised since Chapter 15. The Raft Breakout has passed... and it's not looking pretty.
The current date in the timeline is early November 2019 in this story, and the reason I'm telling you this is that I am time-jumping to December in the next chapter. I wanna get to the Christmas part as soon as possible. This story is getting too crazy even for me.
So, what do you think of the chapter? Don't be afraid to give me your full, honest opinion.