Chapter Fifty-Three: Crime Wave Part One.


Seven years ago, a pair of limos pulled out to the water front. A withered looking old man with silver hair exited the limo. He stepped forward and edged forward, leaning on his walking stick. His name was Silvio Manfredi, but he was better known on the criminal underworld as Silverman. A rather large and imposing blond gentleman followed behind him, along with his personal assistant, a young attractive red haired woman. He had his gang of goons, but he backed off.

A third limo pulled up, this one was king sized. The limo door opened up and a large white man. At first glance, he looked to be a fat individual, but it was well known in the criminal underworld he transformed his bulk into solid muscle.

"Mr. Manfredi," he said. He extended one large hand forward for him to shake it.

"Mr. Fisk," he responded. The two men exchanged a nod with each other "The Big Man is no more."

"Yes, I'm sure a relief to both of us, and his depature leaves the seat for the commission open for the taking," Fisk said. "There is still the problem with the Russian Mafia getting into their territory, and Maggia is always a concern."

"It's time for someone with a bit more experience to take control of the city," Silvermane said in a rough voice.

"You've been running the south end for over forty years, and you've done it well, haven't you?" Fisk asked. He frowned when he looked at him. "But, don't you think the Commission is looking for someone who is more durable to run the city."

Silvermane looked towards Fisk. The man didn't have too much respect. He was a glorified thug, a leg breaker, what have you. He didn't have the sophistication Silvermane had during his time. He worked his way up, gaining territory. The Big Man pushed him out, but thanks to some skill and ability, he was able to get pushed back in.

"Watch yourself Fisk, I've seen people come and people go," Silvermane said.

"I wasn't threatening you, my friend," Fisk said. "And I believe we have something to exchange as well. Consider it an act of good faith."

Fisk held up a large briefcase full of money and Silvermane looked at it, greedy dancing through his eyes. He took it and he whistled. Two of his men lifted a large crate from the back of a truck. It had been sitting here for several days.

The crate opened to reveal several vials of a mysterious chemical. It glistened in the light. Fisk eyed it with interest.

"When I call upon you, you go beyond the call of duty," Fisk said. "It's perfect."

"I don't know why you want the junk anyway," Silvermane said.

His personal assistant dropped her hair pin to the ground. Suddenly, there were the clicks of several guns and several uniformed officers showed up.

"Everyone, drop your weapons!" one of them yelled. "No one move."

A young undercover police officer by the name of Jean DeWolff disguised herself as Silvermane's personal assistant. They planned this sting for weeks.

The fact they got Wilson Fisk, a man who they had been interested in nabbing for some time, had been an interesting bonus. Fisk was a leg breaker and a would be criminal kingpin.

Both sides started to fire at each other suddenly. There were loud screams and they were accusing the other side of betrayal. Whether or not either side was correct didn't matter.

Fisk made his way behind the vehicle and went for cover. Some of the bullets hit the case.

Chemicals leaked out into the water off the docks. It bubbled there. Jean DeWolff dodged one of the goons and knocked him out.

The large blond mobster scooped up Silvermane and tried to get him out of there. He half dragged him to the nearest limo. "Boss, we've been duped."

"Just get me in there!" Silvermane howled. A bullet barely missed striking him. "Bench, make sure they don't get me!"

Bench turned around and he stepped on the chemical spell. It stuck to his shoe, oozing. He pulled out a gun and started to shoot back at the cops.

Fisk and his men were already in handcuffs and Morrie Bench was going to join them. He took a step back when his bitch of a personal assistant made her way towards him.

He slipped and lost his balance. He fell off of the docks into the water.

A blood curdling scream echoed and Bench felt his skin become on fire. The cops made their way over to the side and watched in horror when Bench looked to be melting right before their very eyes.

"Stand back, this stuff will get you too," the senior member of the sting operation said. He frowned when he could see Bench's hand appear briefly, before slipping.

"We better call the lab boys in for this one," another cop said. The mob enforcer was down for the count, apparently melting within the water.


Seven long years have passed since the fiasco on the docks. Jean DeWolff was on the scene of a baffling crime and she thought about all happened. Silvermane was in prison, where he would live the last years of his life.

Wilson Fisk, on the other hand, got out of the entire mess, smelling like a rose. He served a year in prison, granted, but he was reformed. He paid for the college funds of the children of several city and state officials, so it was obvious they knew where their bread was buttered.

Officer DeWolff sighed and she focused on the situation. She was standing in the middle of a dripping carpet, which was making things even more insane. The manager of the jewelry store paced back and forth.

"I swear, only three people had the access codes to the vault, myself, my senior vice president, and the vice manager," the manager said. "None of us would have robbed the vault."

DeWolff took one look at the bank vault and she frowned. Curious, curious indeed.

She leaned forward and wanted to verify something. She did so in a matter of moments, there was not a single finger print on the vault. made these matters extremely suspicious to be honest.

"And none of the electronics in this place work at all," Jean said. She could see the security camera not working above.

"Well them not working, it might have to do with the extensive water damage."

Jean turned around in time to see Spider-Man lower himself to the ceiling. The manager clapped his hands together and looked excited.

"Oh, thank heavens, you're here, Spider-Man, now we can finally get to the bottom of this!"

Spider-Man had to admit it was still pretty jarring to be appreciated so much. Defeating the Green Goblin six months ago had got him a lot of good will. Jameson had found it in his best interest to back off. He was decidedly neutral in his Spider-Man coverage.

The good thing about the world is there was plenty more insanity for Jameson to rant about, so there were no shortage of topics to say the very least. So, Peter wasn't too sorry for him suffering by being deprived of his favorite topic.

"Let's see what we've got here," Spider-Man said. "You can't open the vault door, in any way?"

"No, Spider-Man, it's opened electronically," the manager informed him. "I tried to put the codes in, but nothing is working."

"So, how's your insurance?" Spider-Man asked.

"Some of the best in the business," the manager said proudly. He looked at the web slinger. "Take it down in any way you can."

Spider-Man decided the manager's permission would give him the license to kick the door down. He kicked it twice and on the third time the solid door bent enough for him to pry it open.

He stepped into the bank vault and he stepped knee deep into water. He looked around and looked around.

"So, the robbers found a way in, and flooded the vault?" Jean asked him.

The web slinger was completely baffled. He hated to be the type of person who rambled on about how something didn't make any sense. But, if he was perfectly honest, this entire situation didn't make any sense whatsoever.

He saw several gems sitting on the edge of the grate. "Cross reference for any crimes with a similar baffling pattern."

"Right," Kitty piped on. She was happy to get to do something, finally. Chloe or Gwen normally played the mission support role. She suffered a fairly unfortunate injury during a previous mission with the X-Men put her on the shelf. Not to mention embarrassing, but Kitty didn't want to go into details. "Well….there's one in Florida, then there's one in North and South Carolina….Virginia….seems like whoever is doing this, is working their way up."

Peter thought as much. He turned to Officer DeWolff, who responded with a frown.

"I don't understand," DeWolff said. "Are we dealing with some kind of mutant or something?"

"Something," Spider-Man agreed. "If this person can control water though, he could be hard to nail down."

He thought about it and took a sample of the water. It bubbled, almost like it protested being caged.

"Really, really curious," Peter muttered.

Jean frowned. She almost hated to ask this, but at the same time, she had no real choice. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what's curious?"

"It's almost like the water itself is taking a life of its own," Spider-Man said. "I'm not sure, I'm going to have to take a closer look. I'll get in touch with you."

"I'll see if I can find anything on my end as well," DeWolff said. She appreciated how much easier the lives of the NYPD were when they worked with Spider-Man and not against him. He could cross over some lines they couldn't. As long as he didn't cross too far over them, she didn't have a problem.


Helena Wayne had beach front property, because of course she did. And it had a crime lab, because it was Helena Wayne.

Peter found himself busy at work. It was one of last weeks before Peter started another year at Empire State University. Mary Jane and Liz would finally be leaving the wonderful world of high school and joining them. Kitty had another year. Normally she would have two, but she was skipped forward a grade.

"You know, you've been staring at that for an hour."

Gwen popped up at the door. She was dressed in a nice black bikini and it looked like she did some serious tanning on the beach. She walked over and Kara joined her, along with Jessica. Kara was wearing a nice red bikini and Jessica had a green version which matched her eyes. The toned bodies of the girls were on full display.

"You have hot girls in bikinis, and you're staring at a blob of water?" Kara asked. "Are you sure something didn't get knocked loose during your last fight with Rhino?"

Peter opened his mouth and Kara placed her hand on his shoulder. It was Jessica who spoke. "We admire your dedication though."

"Did all the staring actually get you anywhere, though?" Gwen asked.

"There are similar chemical compositions in this water blob were in the samples we took from Sandman and studied when we encountered him," Peter said. The girls all nodded, they involved. "Only the chemicals appear to be different…..and based off of water. And mixed with….well whatever the hell is in the sea."

"There are things it's best not to think about," Gwen said. She brushed a lock of hair away from her face and chewed on her lip.

"So, in other words, either there's a sentient water monster, or someone has hydrokinetic powers," Peter said. He looked at the three of them. "Guess, I can't really do much more. The living cells in the water are getting weaker by the moment, and it's not like I can trace them."

"But you thought about tracing them, didn't you?" Kara asked him.

"Yes, I thought about tracing whoever was behind this," Peter said. "And for the record, I was almost done there, I'll be cleaning up."

"Good, because we are technically supposed to be on vacation," Gwen said. "I'm sure crime does take a holiday ever so often, you know."

She leaned forward and gave Peter a slight kiss on the lips. She pulled away from him.

Peter packed up what he was working on. This was a dead end. The other reports didn't yield anything.

"Police are baffled, by the sudden disappearance of STAR Labs scientist, Caitlin Snow, who vanished without a trace. Eye witnesses state she left from work, but never made it home. There was no signs of a struggle and no evidence of foul play at this time. This is the fourth mysterious disappearance of a scientist with the similar circumstances in the past three months."

Peter heard about this, along with the other disappearances of scientists. When he mentioned this to Chloe, she mentioned this was a matter SHIELD had people looking into. Chloe seemed as perturbed as Peter did with this though and if Fury knew anything, he sure wasn't speaking up.

Come to think about it, Peter hadn't heard from Fury since the defeat of the Goblin. He was out there, one thing Peter could bank on.

Peter walked outside and he heard a voice. "Oh, Peter, do you think you can get my back, I think I missed a spot?"

Liz Allan's extremely tantalizing voice beckoned him . He could see her sprawled out on the beach. Peter took the suntan lotion and cupped it on his hand. He gently ran it down Liz's back.

"Oh yeah, a really good spot," Liz cooed when he worked the lotion into her back. "I like it, just like ."

He smiled and ran his hands over her, cupping her hips. The white bikini she wore contrasted with her dark skin.

"Hey, give me some of the action," Kara said.

"Do you really need suntan lotion?" Gwen asked her.

"No, but, I do need Peter's sticky fingers feeling all over my body," Kara said. She looked over her shoulder with a cheeky grin on her face.

Jessica looked up and she frowned.

"Don't worry, Jess, I'll get to you in a minute," Peter told her.

"No, there's something, I…."

No sooner did Peter hear her words, his spider sense went off completely. He lifted Mary Jane and Liz off of the ground and passed them off to Kara, who got them out of there quickly as possible. Jessica, Peter, and Gwen stood and eyed a rather large tidal wave lifted up over the sea and crashed down to the ground.

A fully formed man appeared. Chloe, who had just shown up to join them, stood behind them. Her brainy SHIELD agent looked at him. She got a scan of his face.

The man walked over and disappeared through a sewer vent.

"Okay, talk strange," Gwen muttered. They saw a man made of water.

"So, I guess he solves your problem, doesn't it?" Kara asked.

Peter nodded, it sure did. Things were going to get really intense in a hurry.


"Morrie Bench," Chloe piped in.

Spider-Man was swinging on the webs, on his way to where he thought his mysterious water bending perp would strike next. He nearly stopped short in mid air.

"Is Morrie Bench supposed to be a name I should know?" Peter asked.

"He was a low level mob hitman for Silvermane's mob," Chloe explained. "Seven years ago, there was a sting operation, a partially botched one. Chemicals found their way into the water and Bench fell into them. Because, you know falling into random always ends well."

Peter frowned. He knew all too well how bad anything involving chemicals ended.

"I'm confused, why would he return after all of this time?" Kara asked.

"Maybe it took him tis long to figure out how to pull himself together or use his powers," Chloe suggested. "Are you sure he's going to be here? I mean, I know it's one of six possible locations I pulled up, but it's a pretty big shot in the dark."

"Shot in the dark is the best shot we have right now," Spider-Man said. He stuck to the wall and climbed inside. "This processing plant is owned by Wilson Fisk, isn't it?"

"Yes, and Bench must have a mad on for him," Chloe said. She recalled something instantly. "And one of the cops in the sting operation was Jean DeWolff, when she was just a wet behind the ears rookie."

Peter was intrigued by this even more. The plot was thickening by the moment. He climbed inside.

"What are they processing here, anyway?" Peter asked her.

Chloe sounded grim when she spoke. "Bottled water."

seemed to be just about right. It went without saying Peter needed to play this one carefully. He walked down the aisles. Shelves and shelves of bottled water was as far as the eye could see.

He could see a large vault. His curiosity rose. He didn't mean his curiosity to rise, but a crime lord like the Kingpin might be keeping something rather valuable down there.

He passed a faucet, and it started to drip. The dripping didn't catch Peter's attention straight away.

At least until the dripping set off his spider sense. The sink cracked and a large hand reached out of the sink, smacking him in the face.

The water bottles started firing like corks in the air, spraying Peter. He dodged the attacks and rolled forward. The full form of Morrie Bench appeared. He turned from clear like water and gained color. "So, if it isn't Spider-Man. I was wondering when I'd run into you."

"We haven't met, have we?" Spider-Man asked.

Spider-Man wouldn't forget a face, especially one was ugly.

"It's the first time we've met," Bench said. "But, I've heard a great deal about you, and how you're some kind of do-gooder. And I don't like you already."

"Ah, you'd like me, if you'd get to know me," Spider-Man said. He fired webbing at his enemy.

"Somehow I doubt it!" Bench said. He twisted his arms into miniature vortexes of water and he smashed them into Spider-Man. He was sent flying down onto the ground and landed hard onto the ground.

"Okay, Bench, you've asked for it, this time," Spider-Man said. He webbed up a bucket and jumped into the air.

"You're going to defeat me with a bucket?" Bench asked.

Spider-Man jammed the bucket over the head of the former mob enforcer. It trapped him underneath it and he grumbled when he tried to get out.

"Oh, really, the big weakness of the water based villain is a bucket!" Spider-Man yelled. There was a bubbling sound which came from the ground. "Yeah, too easy."

The floor drain next to him shot a blast of water and knocked Spider-Man loose from the bucket. The bucket rolled over and Bench got to his feet. He created a hard water hammer with one of his arms and swung at it Spider-Man. He dodged it and smashed the shelves on the backswing.

Peter flipped onto his feet and dodged water tendrils. "You and Sandman should get together sometime."

The tendrils slammed down onto the ground and the water bottles continued to shoot him like corks. He dodged them frantically, also while avoiding being made an extra in a hentai.

Spider-Man saw a water heater behind him and he had an idea. And it was a better idea than the bucket thing.

"Come on, Bench, take your best shot!" Spider-Man yelled. He dodged out of the way at the last second.

The water heater smashed and released steam into the air. It staggered Bench back. He was too busy holding himself together. Bench's struggle allowed Spider-Man to nail him with a series of punches, knocking him down.

"No, no, no!" Bench howled at the top of his lungs. He closed his eyes.

Bench's next action triggered his spider sense. Spider-Man could see the sprinkler systems rattle. He reached his hands up to web them shut, only to see the sprinklers break open and nail him extremely hard in the face.

Bench decided to leave now and he went down the drain. Not before Spider-Man slipped a tracer device on him, just when he slipped down the drain. He saw someone turn off the sprinklers. He turned around and saw Jean DeWolff standing there.

"Are you okay?" the officer asked. She extended her hand and helped Spider-Man up.

"It's Morrie Bench," Spider-Man told her. DeWolff looked at him skeptically. "I know, a pretty wide longshot, but he survived what happened to him."

"He slipped and fell into the water, after it had been contaminated by chemicals," DeWolff said. "It was a hazard for weeks, and several people who drank the water from area got sick."

"How sick?" Peter asked. He could tell by Jean's tone already the prognosis wasn't really good.

"They all died within months," Jean informed him grimly. He whistled. "Seven years, and he's back."

"Not for long," Spider-Man said. He had to figure out how he can defeat someone was made out of water and could control it. He had a few ideas, but the problem was getting Bench in position.


The second generation spider tracer Peter created, with generous assistance from Kara and Alura, was functioning to perfection. It was practically microscopic, made out of the best nano-technology possible.

The web slinger crawled on the roof of the tunnel. The spider-empowered hero had a feeling he was getting rather close.

After his last encounter with Bench, he might not be as held together as he would have liked to be. Therefore, it would be time to strike and strike hard.

Bench was heading towards the direction of the water works. The water works was a perfect place for him to reconstruct himself. Spider-Man just had to keep on top of him, but he was in pretty good shape. He knew of a short cut and all he needed to do was get around it.

It was too quiet to be honest. The web slinger turned his head to the left side and slipped down the tunnel.

Bench stopped her. He wanted to know why. A dusty lock prevented Spider-Man from going any further. It was the old school kind, so hacking it would be a bit of a problem. He would just have to break it the old school way.

He smashed the door. He entered a room and he could feel the cold air. He stepped in a puddle of water which triggered his spider sense.

Peter tried to jump, but found the water freeze around his foot. He tried to remove it, but the water crept up from the frozen block of eye, forming a cage around him. The web slinger gasped when he tried to get out, but he couldn't. He was stuck, without anywhere to go.

"Well, well, well, Spider-Man, it looks like I've got you now!"

He was trapped in a dome of water, which was a bad thing. It got even worse when he went face to face with Morrie Bench. Bench looked at him like he captured the top prize at the fair.

Spider-Man raised his hand and he punched the water dome Bench captured him in. All he had to do was strike at the right angle.

"You're trapped, without anywhere to go," Bench said. "I've got you now, web slinger."

Spider-Man kicked and punched his way through. One of the times he hit the water, he recoiled in horror. His hand was burned and his suit protested at the contact.

"One of the things you learn when you get powers, when you get turned into a freak, is how to adapt," Bench said. "And you better believe I'm adapting, I'm adapting perfectly."

Bench closed his eyes and the water around Spider-Man started to bubble and then it started to boil.

It was getting really hot in there and Bench had figured out how to boil water with his powers.

'Well, at least I should be thankful he hasn't learned to control the body fluids in someone's body and slowly kill them by dehydration,' Spider-Man thought. He felt faint and light headed. The ice his feet were in began to melt, the fat lot of good would do. 'Not this is any better.'

Bench watched the slow boiling of Spider-Man. He would gain his revenge on Silvermane, Fisk, and the bitch of a cop next, but the web slinger was a danger. The sinister individual who helped put him back together and taught him his powers told him much.


To Be Continued on 9/20/2015.