Chapter 24
Octavius sipped on his coffee. After the morning's not so pleasant encounter, he hoped to use the crowd as a cover. He would savor the coffeehouse experience. From the looks of things, he might even get some great music out of the deal. Still, he felt some in the crowd watching him. He'd seen Parker heading for the restroom but keeping him in sight. He knew his victim's daughter glared from her seat. He turned toward the coffee bar.
Only Miranda remained back there. She talked with Dubois and some other woman.
Dubois' face curled into something lower than feral. His open left eye glowed bright green. He slapped his right hand on the counter so that the villain could see the glowing scar casting that area in emerald light. He sniffed and motioned toward the door.
Octavius knew a challenge when he saw it. He smirked. As a scientist, he didn't believe the half-baked legends surrounding that building or that the old man at the counter was really possessed or some such nonsense. He glanced around to see if any of the town's infamous meteor metahumans lurked clearly in view. He gulped down another caffeinated mouthful. He waited for Adams to approach. "Good evening, Officer."
"Evenin', Mr. Octavius, ain't it?" Adams squinted. Her mouth twisted into a frown. "Long way to run. Comin' to our town an' all. Let's jus' make this real easy."
Octavius coughed. "Officer. This is harassment. I am doing nothing but drinking my coffee. What ever is the matter?"
"You're wanted for murder back in New York. Just get up and come with me. You ain't runnin' no further, Chief!" Adams drew her gun. She aimed at him. "Just be smart."
"Good advice. Pity you didn't follow it." Octavius sent a mental command to his arms.
Three of the metal appendages stabbed out grabbing her arms and neck. They held her up in the air.
"Now who's threatening who?" Octavius snarled. He raised his remaining arm to do mortal harm to the bumbling official. "Last words?"
And then his glasses turned dark.
"What in?" Octavius flung Adams into the crowd. He grabbed at the lenses. His fingers felt the familiar sticky substance on them. "ARGH! That accursed webbing! That can only mean…"
"Go ahead, Ock. Say it loud and say it proud!" Spider-Man swung down from the ceiling. "So this is where you hid yourself? Not bad. Kinda nice! SEE YOU IN THE FALL!" He kicked his adversary into the counter.
Octavius slowly rose from the floor. Two of his arms had somewhat cushioned his impact. He wavered on his feet. "You'll pay for that, Insect!"
Spider-Man shook his head. Anger burned into him. "Let's not do this again, Ockie. I mean really?"
"Then DIE!" Octavius winced. He sent his arms forward while missing the hero wide left…
…and right toward Gwen….
Fear slowed time down for the Wall Crawler. Heartbeats echoed in his ears. He jumped after the menacing arm and pincer. Tragedy would not repeat itself…
Then a blur zipped across the back of the room. It snatched his beloved and disappeared.
The arm smashed into the wall leaving an impact crater.
"What the Hell?" Spider-Man shook his head. "Where did…?" Then his Spider Sense went off again. "INCOMING!" He executed a quadruple flip.
Three more arms stabbed into the area.
This time, Spider-Man didn't hold back. "Bad boy, Ockie! Nightie Night!" He launched himself over the extended metal arms. Before his enemy could order them at his back, a webbed fist broke his nose and loosened more than a few teeth. "That's for Captain Stacy!"
Octavius slumped to the floor.
The Web Slinger webbed the unconscious enemy's hands, feet and arms together. "Now maybe you'll stay put." He shook his head at the crowd. "Okay, Guys! Show's over!"
"Ah 'gree, Bug Boy." The Child considered the hero's handiwork. He drank the rest of his coffee. Then a loud belch escaped his lips. "Ya might wanna split. Sher-reff Num Nuts won' like ya. T'anks."
Spider-Man nodded. "Thanks…umm…Dubois, right?"
The Child frowned. "Ain't Big Bro. Gonna let ya slide. Tha's the Fraud tellin' ya tha' crap! Ah got 'im." He flicked his open left eye.
Octavius floated in the air.
"Hey, Lexie! Ah got this crap! Bug Boy, yer w' me." The Child grabbed Spider-Man's arm and Octavius' collar. He teleported them away in a dark flash.
The crowd stared at the now-vacated spot. Their phones snapped pictures. They texted their friends and families.
"What in Tarnation?" Adams pulled herself to her feet. Disorientation made her wobbly on her feet.
"Hey, Sheriff. Let's get you to sit down," Pete urged.
Gwen staggered back into the room. Nausea from the super speed move across the room rippled through her stomach. "Is everyone all right?" She rubbed her forehead.
"From that greenish complexion, I'd say you need to relax." Angie guided Gwen to a chair. "Miri, Lana, do you have any ginger ale back there?"
"Coming right up." Lana poured the requested drink. "There you are, Mrs. Dubois."
"Thank you, Lana." Angie handed it to Gwen. "Slow sips now. Okay? Let's take a break from the coffee."
"All right. I can't believe it. That killer had me dead to rights. Then I'm across the room? What happened?" Gwen scratched her head.
"Worry about it later. If nausea's all you're worrying about right now, then we'll count our blessings." Angie eased Gwen into a chair.
Lex took the phone out again. He dialed the number. "Williams, stand down. Situation dealt with. Will need assessment done. Out." He disconnected and stuffed the phone back into his pocket. He looked about the room. "HEY, EVERYONE! ATTENTION! DRINKS ARE ON THE HOUSE! HOPE YOU ALL ARE ALL RIGHT!" He rushed over to his friends. "Everyone all right here?"
"It was most fortuitous," Byron assessed. "We had nary a scratch."
"Yeah well whoever that was, I'd say cool to him. We're safe at least." Pete took a drink from his mug.
"That was incredible!" Sam gasped. "He moved so fast! At least he kept that guy from hurting anyone."
Clark staggered from around the corner. "Wow. Is it over?"
"I think so." Peter came out of the Men's Room. He glanced back in there. Disbelief over what had just happened muddled his thinking. He just teleports us to New York and back. Then he drops me off for the Hell of it back there? And gets my clothes too? Don't complain, Parker. That Dark Guy's just saved your secret identity. He shook his head. Even if he knows it himself. His eyes scanned the area. Desperation sped up his heartbeat. "Gwen? GWEN?"
"Peter!" Gwen bounced out of the chair. "You're all right!"
"I'm right as rain now!" He grabbed onto her. "Are you okay?"
"It was close. One second, I'm about to get beaten by those terrible arms. The next I'm across the room." Gwen shook her head. "We're wondering where Spider-Man, Dr. Octopus and Mr. Dubois went."
"I'd like to know too. My camera's missing." Peter shook his head at the lie. "That's going to cost me!"
"We can replace a camera. We can't replace you." Gwen touched foreheads with her fiancé. "At least Dad's killer is in custody. Spider-Man made up for what happened in New York." She sighed. "I heard him yell at that guy before he knocked him out. The last shot was for Dad. Here I was blaming him. Tonight though, I heard the pain in his voice over what happened."
Relief warmed Peter's heart. At least I'm really out of the doghouse!
"Don't worry about the camera. I'll definitely get that replaced." Lex walked over to them. "I'm just glad you two are all right. Meantime I'm bringing everyone back to the mansion."
Peter felt his Spider Sense going off again. Now what? He looked around the floor and then up toward the second floor. "Lex! Up there!"
Lex followed the pointing finger. His eyes alighted on the glowing ghost yet again. "Let's go. I want everyone out here now. Pete, Samantha, Chloe, sorry but we're done for tonight. Clark, can Byron and you wait for Lana, Miranda and Sandra?"
"We'll be right here," Clark agreed.
"Meantime, I want a word with you, Lex, about what happened. I'll be speaking to your guests later," Adams pressed.
"Absolutely, Sheriff. Maybe you might want to get some deputies over here to talk to folks? Glad you're all right. Taking that creep on by yourself was really stupid." Lex shook his head. "I was calling in my security to back you up."
"And that guy in the costume? I sure want a piece of him. I don't do vigilantes in my town! This here's my place! And you tell your buddy, Dubois, that I want to know where he took that guy." Adams scowled.
"He won't know to be honest. You can ask but…" Lex started.
"Sheriff?" Lana held the phone out. "There's a call for you long distance!"
"Long distance? What the heck?" Adams stalked over to the counter. "Thank you, Miss Lang." She put the receiver to her ear. "Yeah? This is Sheriff Adams of the Smallville PD. Who's this?"
"Sheriff Adams, good evening. This is Captain Jean De Wolff, NYPD. Just wanted you to know about Otto Octavius." De Wolff struck a match and lit the cigarette in her mouth.
Adams stared at the receiver. Her mouth dropped aghast. "Did you say NYPD? As in New York?"
"That's correct, Sheriff. Octavius was dumped here just a few minutes ago. Spider-Man told us what happened," De Wolff reported.
"Did he? You tell that boy I owe him for helping to bust up a café!" Adams snapped.
"He saved your life, Sheriff. Take that into consideration." De Wolff sighed. "And the Feds will be there to talk with you. Thanks to him and…his friend…this case just got kicked way upstairs." She puffed a terse smoke puff. "Evidence was found for something bigger."
"Is that so?" Adams slapped the counter. She ground her teeth. Frustration over being robbed of her quarry burned at her ego.
"I don't like it either. There's a Federal agent and his CI questioning Octavius right now. Nothing like a dead guy just popping up and throwing my whole precinct in an uproar. Then he vanishes again. Damn unbelievable!" De Wolff groused.
"You should have been down here. Yeah I'll be waitin' for that call. Thanks for letting me know. Saves me the extradition paperwork. See ya." Adams hung up. "Least we know where Mr. Fancy Arms went."
"Yeah?" Lex arched an eyebrow. "Did I hear you say New York?"
"That was a Captain De Wolff from the NYPD. Your buddy sure knows how to move fast. He dropped Octavius in her precinct. Then he vanished. Unbelievable she says! Yeah it's a load of horse chips! That's what it is!"
"With due respect, Sheriff, you should be grateful. There was no way you were going to hold Octavius here. Even my security wouldn't have been able to do that. Look, nobody got hurt. Octavius is behind bars where he belongs. And 'my buddy' didn't get involved except to make sure Octavius was put in the hole he belongs in. Where were you going to hold him? The city jail? Nearest task force is in Metropolis and that's three hours from here. Even Spider-Man didn't get involved until you were over your head. If I get out of this with a couple of broken tables and a hole in the wall, I'll take it. You might do the same," Lex pointed out. "I'm glad you're all right."
"Thanks, Lex, for nothing." Adams stormed out.
"That woman's impossible!" Lex watched as the patrons filed out. "Lana, start closing the register down. I'm closing."
"We'll get this place cleaned up." Lana agreed. "Just lock us in. All right?"
"That'll be fine." Lex led the others from the café and toward the cars outside.
Some days were just going to be too weird for words….