The Extraordinary Spider-Man - Vol 2
Chapter 28: Round Two
Likenesses used
Garcelle Beauvais as Doris Toomes
December 21, 2027
Before Peter or Norman could react, a surge of flames struck the two as the entire wall exploded. As Peter was thrown against a wall by the blast, the ceiling and floor started collapsing as well. Peter fell off the now-cracked wall and into a forming crater in the ground. Too stunned to even do anything, Peter fell through the crumbling structure of the once-secure superhuman prison. His face collided with part of a collapsing floor before Peter finally shot out a web. He quickly swung out of the crumbling prison as flames came in and further blasted him out. Falling into the East River, Peter collapsed underneath the shallow waters. Panicking, Peter started swimming back up. Once he was out of the water, Peter swang back to the ground.
"Shit!" Peter exclaimed as he collapsed to the ground.
He watched as the Raft further exploded and collapsed. Peter quickly jumped out of the way to avoid falling debris, and rolled over to evade more. As Peter got up, he looked around for the source of the explosion, only to find nothing. He then took off his ruined business jacket, revealing the iconic spider emblem on his shirt. Peter quickly tapped the emblem twice, deploying nanotechnology over his entire body, encasing him in his Iron Spider armor.
"Hon. The Raft was just blown up," Peter explained as he talked to his wife through his communication piece. "The rest of the city is likely under more attack. You have to take-"
Spider-Man's Spider-Sense started severely tingling, and he leaped out of the way to avoid Norman jumping down. Wearing only his burnt shorts, Norman smiled evilly as he faced his longtime nemesis.
"You still think I'm behind all this? Well, I'm done convincing you otherwise," Norman decided.
"This ends right now, Norman," Spider-Man declared.
Yelling, Norman punched Spider-Man in the face, knocking him back a bit. In rage, Norman threw a few more punches, which Spider-Man dodged and deflected. Spider-Man returned with a punch to the chest and jaw, before shooting a web at Norman and yanking him over for a kick. Norman was knocked down by the impact, and Spider-Man jumped at him with a fist. Norman rolled over and Spider-Man's fist plunged into the ground. Norman then grabbed Spider-Man by the throat and slammed him into the ground. Norman then threw two punches at Spider-Man's face before the latter catched the villain's third punch. Spider-Man kicked Norman off, proceeding to shoot some web darts at Norman. Norman effortlessly blocked most of them, though Spider-Man proceeded to shoot two webs at him. Spider-Man then activated the taser webs, causing the webbing to electrocute Norman.
"Gahh!" Norman exclaimed as he ripped the webbing off and yanked Spider-Man over, punching him to the ground.
Spider-Man got up and jumped over Norman, sweeping his leg to knock him down. Spider-Man then picked Norman up and threw him against the demolished Raft, further breaking a wall. Norman grabbed a piece of debris and threw it at Spider-Man, who demolished it by simply shielding with his arm. Spider-Man swang over with a kick, only for Norman to smack him aside. Norman ran over to Spider-Man and threw a punch, though Spider-Man grabbed his fist and jabbed him twice in the ribs and once in the face. However, Norman smashed both of his fists into Spider-Man, knocking him down face-first. As Spider-Man tried to get up, Norman delivered another punch to the back of his head.
"Don't forget. I'm not even in my prime," Norman taunted.
"I didn't forget," Spider-Man revealed.
Norman looked down to see a web grenade attached to his chest. The grenade detonated, trapping Norman in various webbing. Spider-Man started assaulting Norman with various punches and kicks, only for Norman to break out and punch him back. Spider-Man then started blasting Norman with two energy beams concocted off his hand repulsors. Fighting his way through the beams, Norman punched Spider-Man across the face. Norman threw another punch, which Spider-Man grabbed. However, Norman used his other fist to punch Spider-Man in the chest, and proceeded to headbutt the hero. Spider-Man headbutted Norman back and delivered a spin kick, knocking him down. Spider-Man grabbed Norman and threw three punches and a kick at his face. Norman tried to lunge at Spider-Man, only for the latter to grab him, knee him in the chest, and throw him back down. Spider-Man proceeded to throw multiple rage-fuelled punches at Norman's face, spewing blood from the villain's face. Spider-Man then kicked Norman so hard that the villain was sent a couple feet back. Severely bruised and spitting out blood, Norman struggled to get up.
"Hurts, right? That's for all the pain and tragedy that you've inflicted over the years," Spider-Man affirmed. "How's it feel to taste your own blood? To understand what it means to be beaten to the ground. Realizing you failed despite your strongest efforts."
As Norman got up, his furious eyes turned green as he started mutating. Yelling, he allowed his physical structure to further transform. An unsurprised Spider-Man put on a fighting stance, only for his Spider-Sense to start immensely tingling.
"Shit," Spider-Man muttered as he ran over to the mutating Norman.
Norman noticed last minute that a missile was headed towards him. He tried to jump out of the way, only for the missile to blast the ground near him and Spider-Man. The two were thrown back by the blast, with Osborn receiving most of the impact. Spider-Man cracked the pavement as he collided with it. Struggling to get up, Spider-Man looked up, only for his eyes to widen.
"Oh my God!" Spider-Man exclaimed.
August 16, 2015
In an alley, two meth dealers, Scott and Richie, were meeting with two buyers, Ben and Henry. Scott brought out a bag and handed it to Henry. Opening the bag, Henry looked inside, pulling out some of the crystal meth. Snorting it, Henry laughed.
"Shit, man! That stuff right there is fire. Just bring me more of that and we'll be good," Henry declared.
Ben took out three hundred dollars and handed it to Scott and Richie. However, Scott found himself getting yanked away by a web. The remaining three men looked up to see Spider-Man jumping down.
"S'up, guys? Not doing anything illegal, I hopel!" Spider-Man joked.
Henry threw a punch, only for Spider-Man to duck. Spider-Man kicked Ben in the chest, knocking him down. Henry managed to tackle Spider-Man to the ground, only for Spider-Man to easily kick him off. Spider-Man got up to see Richie running away.
"Not on my watch, buddy," Spider-Man said as he shot a web at Scott, yanking him over. "That better have been Pokemon cards you were dealing."
Spider-Man's Spider-Sense started tingling, prompting him to jump over a bullet shot by Ben from behind. Spider-Man yanked the gun over with a web and punched Ben across the face, knocking him down. Henry repeatedly swung a pocket knife at Spider-Man, who dodged the waves and kicked him in the chest, knocking him down. Webbing up the criminals, Spider-Man leaned against the alley.
"Alrighty, guys. Let's cut to the chase. What do you know about the Kingpin AKA Wilson Fisk?" Spider-Man asked.
The criminals all looked confused.
"Huh?" Richie asked.
"The hell are you talking about?" Scott followed. "Fisk?"
"Yeah, him! What the hell's he up to?" Spider-Man interrogated. "You better answer me or-"
"Dude, we legit have no idea what you're talking about," Ben admitted.
"Yeah. Wait, Wilson Fisk is a criminal?" Henry asked.
Sighing, Spider-Man could see in the criminals' eyes that they were all telling the truth. Sirens were then heard, and Spider-Man waited as three cops ran into the alley.
"Those two over there are the dealers. And the other two are the addicts," Spider-Man explained.
"Thanks, Spidey," one of the cops said.
Nodding, Spider-Man swung off, retrieving his camera that he had webbed to a nearby building. Swinging back into his house, Peter sighed as he took off his mask and sat on his bed. He pulled out his phone and went into his notes.
NOTES: Leads on Wilson Fisk: - Nothing
"This sucks," Peter sighed.
The next day, Peter waited at an empty table in the cafeteria during lunch. He was reading some articles on Spider-Man as he waited.
"Peter!"
Peter looked up to see Gwen. Smiling, Peter got up and hugged his best friend.
"My God, it's great to see you in person again!" Peter exclaimed.
"Same with you! It honestly feels crazy that we're sophomores now," Gwen admitted.
"Yeah, seriously. Anyway, you wanna go get food?"
"For sure."
Peter and Gwen started walking towards the line for Mexican rice bowls.
"So how was that science camp? Was it great?" Peter asked.
"Honestly, yeah! I didn't really make any friends, but that doesn't matter. We did a lot, specifically chemistry and physics. It was a bit weird being away from home for three months, but it was nice. In a sense, it kind of helped prepare me for college," Gwen explained.
"That's great. Makes me wonder if Harry feels the same," Peter wondered.
Gwen clenched her teeth. "I'm not sure about that. While I was out conducting experiments, poor Harry was getting therapy in Paris."
"Yeah, seriously."
"He's been pretty vague with me. Do you know if he's been okay or?"
"He told me that he's fine, but I don't fully know if I believe him."
"Neither do I," Gwen sighed. "That must've been super traumatizing."
"Yeah, I'll never forget being stuck underneath that debris with Harry and his mom. Them screaming for help. Thinking they were gonna die. Sends a chill down my spine," Peter recounted.
"I can't even imagine. I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"It's fine. But I just really wish Harry would be more open with us."
"No, I get you. It's still so fucking crazy that his dad was responsible for Gargan becoming the Scorpion, though."
"Right? Like, if he hadn't done that, that would've created much less problems for a lot of people. Me, Harry, his mom, Mac and his wife, your dad and the cops, Hammer, we all got screwed over in some way," Peter vented.
"I know, right? Let's just say I'll never be the biggest fan of Harry's dad after all this," Gwen declared.
"Same. Plus, don't tell Harry this, but the guy's always given me the creeps since day one. I can't explain why."
"I doubt he would care if you said that. Also, I've been thinking about it. I know we agreed not to say anything, but do you think we should tell Harry the truth eventually? That his dad was responsible for Scorpion's creation?"
"I don't know. I obviously want to, but I also feel like we gotta spare him that pain. I know there's already rumors going around about Harry's dad's role, but Harry doesn't believe them. I can't tell if it's denial or faith. Plus, I feel like there's a chance of me getting exposed if I say something," Peter pointed out.
"That's fair."
"Man, to say freshman year was a crazy one would be a severe understatement. If only I had the Avengers with me when some of that Scorpion shit was going down."
"Given that the Avengers are stationed in San Francisco, that'd be pretty tough," Gwen chuckled.
"True. I also really have to figure out what I'm gonna do about Fisk. It really sucks because I spent my whole summer trying to find more information on him, and I literally made zero progress."
"Well, you still kept bad guys off the streets. And that's what matters."
"Thanks. The cops have been really helping with that too, and it's less of a pain dealing with them given your dad supports me now," Peter admitted.
"Yeah, thank God he finally is. After that huge fight with Scorpion, it wouldn't be right if he didn't."
"Since that fight, I haven't had to deal with any huge supervillains, so thank God for that."
"Let's hope it stays that way."
"I doubt it will."
The two friends laughed.
"But yeah. My summer pretty much consisted of facetiming you and Harry, taking out criminals and trying to learn more about Fisk, hanging out with Aunt May, and working at the Bugle," Peter recounted.
"That's eventful. What about Tombstone? You learn anything about who he is?" Gwen asked.
"Nope. Not even a name."
"Damn."
"Honestly, I'm excited and unexcited to be back in school again. I just gotta make sure to balance it all with fighting crime," Peter said.
"We'll see what happens," Gwen responded.
Nearby, Liz was angrily walking away from Flash.
"Liz. Babe, come on!" Flash pleaded.
Liz ignored her boyfriend.
"Come on already, just talk to me!"
"I don't want to," Liz responded as she walked into the girls bathroom.
Sighing, Flash walked away to go meet Kong back at their table.
"How'd it go?" Kong asked.
"She's not talking to me," Flash sighed.
"Ouch. Sorry, bro."
Walking into Jameson's office at the Daily Bugle, Peter handed his boss an envelope with pictures.
"Let's see what you got today, kid," Jameson said, taking the envelope.
Jameson opened the envelope and took out the pictures of Spider-Man busting the drug deal.
"Of course that little punk is getting his hands dirty," Jameson scoffed.
"Oh, gee. Let me guess. 'Spider-Man in cahoots with drug dealers?'" Peter sarcastically suggested.
Jameson shrugged. "Not bad actually."
"Great."
"How the hell did you get these shots?"
"I was hiding… at the top of the alley," Peter lied.
"Uhhhh, sure. Listen, kid. Do me a favor and don't get yourself killed out there. I don't think that'd look good for us," Jameson advised.
Peter sighed. "No it wouldn't."
"Anyway, I'll give you $250 for the shots. Now scram."
Peter left Jameson's office and went over to Betty and Ned.
"What was it this time?" Ned asked.
"Busted drug deal. Apparently, Spider-Man's going all Breaking Bad and dealing meth," Peter chuckled.
"I can only imagine what the headline's gonna be," Betty wondered.
"That might be my fault," Peter admitted.
That night, Peter and Aunt May were having dinner at Empire Tianlong.
"Talk about top-tier Chinese food," Aunt May commented.
"Yeah, seriously. As always, the egg rolls never get old," Peter declared.
"It's also just crazy to think the last time we were here was last October. You were rambling on about playing football, and that was when Uncle Ben and I finally told you about how we met."
"Dang, that was almost a year ago."
Owner Richard Zhao came over. "Peter! May! I haven't seen you guys here in awhile! How's everything been?"
"Hey, Richard! Things have been better. Taking it one day at a time," Aunt May answered.
"Yeah, it's a bit tough, but we've been pulling through," Peter agreed.
Richard nodded. "I'm glad. I really am sorry about what happened to Ben though. He was a great man."
"Thank you," Aunt May thanked.
Peter smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Zhao."
"Remember, Peter. Call me Richard. And I'll have the caramel ice cream dessert out for you soon."
"Oh, thanks, but we didn't order that," Aunt May said.
Richard smiled. "It's on the house. For my favorite customers."
"Aww, thank you, Richard," Aunt May thanked with a smile.
"Thanks a lot, Richard," Peter followed.
Richard nodded and walked off.
"Well, we have people supporting us. Great to always be reminded of that," Aunt May said.
"Yeah, this would've been much harder if we didn't have Lilly. She's helped us out a lot," Peter remarked.
"Tell me about it. It's still painful, but I definitely have gotten better."
"Same. Harry and Gwen have really helped a lot with that as well. And you and I have helped each other."
Aunt May quickly wiped away a small tear. "Yes we have."
"May-"
"So, how's Harry and Gwen doing? You didn't see them at all over summer."
"Not in person. And they're doing fine. I got to see Gwen again at lunch today, and Harry's coming home soon," Peter answered.
"Is Harry doing better? Poor kid must be dealing with a lot of trauma," Aunt May commented.
"He's been vague, but he seems to be doing okay."
"I hate to admit it, but usually, whenever someone's acting reserved and saying they're okay-"
"I don't even want to think about that," Peter interrupted. "I just really hope he's fine."
"Me too. He has such a nice family. I just can't believe those false allegations Gargan spat out that Harry's dad, Wilson Fisk, and Lonnie Lincoln were all responsible. They're such nice men."
Peter gritted his teeth. "Yeah, real nice."
Aunt May smirked. "What about Gwen? Anything new?"
"What? Oh, no. Nothing new."
"Do you still-"
"Yeah. Well, kind of."
"What do you mean?" Aunt May asked.
"Obviously, I'd still like something to happen between us, b-but I'm just not sure she wants anything. She hasn't shown any signs, at least," Peter explained.
"How so?"
"Well, she literally hasn't said or done anything that would show any interest. Sometimes, she'll leave me on open on Snapchat and apologize later for being busy. Other times, I'll bring up my crushes on Liz Allan and Sally Avril from back in middle school, and she doesn't even seem a tiny bit jealous."
Aunt May laughed. "Teenage guys."
In his basement, Adrian was working on his flight project with a chisel. Specifically, he was putting the finishing touches to his mechanical wings, as well as the limb gauntlets and helmet.
"Dad! Dinner's ready!" Valeria called from upstairs.
"Coming, Valeria!" Adrian called back.
Adrian got up to go upstairs. He walked over to the dinner table, where Valeria was sitting. His wife Doris was taking the lasagna out of the oven.
"Hey, hon," Adrian greeted as he kissed his wife on the cheek.
"Adrian," Doris responded as she set the lasagna on the table.
Doris started clenching her chest in pain, groaning as she stumbled and sat down.
"Mom!" Valeria exclaimed as she went over to her mother.
"Honey, you okay?" Adrian asked.
Doris waved her hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine."
"That's the fourth time in three days," Valeria pointed out.
"Don't worry. I'm feeling better," Doris insisted.
"Okay, but don't sugar coat anything to us," Adrian requested.
Doris started serving the lasagna. "I won't. Anyway, how was the first day of school, Valeria?"
"It was alright! I've been told senior year goes by super fast, so I'm pretty excited," Valeria answered.
"Man, it feels like yesterday we were dropping you off as a little freshman," Adrian chuckled.
"True. Like, my friends and I are all gonna have prom and graduate this year. That's so crazy," Valeria agreed.
"Speaking of friends, how's that Osborn kid doing? Harold?" Adrian asked.
"Harry. And hopefully he's fine. I talked with him a decent amount this summer, and I'll probably see him when he gets back."
"It's terrible what that poor kid went through," Doris said.
"Don't get me wrong. It is, but Norman Osborn's always struck me as a pretty sleazy man," Adrian remarked.
"Dad!" Valeria scolded. "Stop with that!"
Doris rolled her eyes. "Adrian."
"What? Just expressing my opinion."
"Yeah, but I've heard a lot about Norman from Harry. He seems difficult, but I guarantee you, he's a great man," Valeria defended.
"You're an interesting man, Mr. Osborn," Wesley said to Norman in Fisk's office.
"I'll choose to take that as a compliment," Norman said.
"Coming from James Wesley, it is," Fisk confirmed as he sat at his desk. "I have to admit. Even with all the allegations coming out about your role in Scorpion's transformation, you've been awfully calm about this."
"Because I am. I don't care what they all think of me out there. What matters is we have everything under control. Not a lot of people are gonna believe Gargan after all the shit he pulled. Hell, nobody's definitely gonna believe that idiot Hammer. In all the interviews and conferences, I've kept my image well," Norman stated.
"As far as the city knows, you're both just trying to keep everything in New York stable," Wesley mused.
"Because it's true," Fisk reminded.
"Believe me, I know. Unfortunately, not many people are gonna take it that way," Wesley pointed out.
"We'll deal with that when we get there," Norman insisted. "On the other hand…"
Fisk showed Norman and Wesley a YouTube video on his laptop. Specifically, it was of Spider-Man swinging through the city and fighting criminals on the street.
"It's pretty obvious he tried to learn more about me over the summer. From what I've heard, he hasn't gained any leads. Hell, he hasn't been a threat to our operation at all. In all honesty, we just have to keep him distracted. Until then, I'm gonna keep observing him," Fisk commented.
"What about the banks? We gonna address that?" Wesley asked.
Fisk growled in frustration. "Five banks run by me. The past two months. All robbed. Yet those lousy cops can't do anything about it."
"Any candidates for who this mysterious thief could be?" Norman questioned.
"I'd be lying if I said the list wasn't long. Regardless, we have to narrow down our most likely suspects and figure it out. Once we do, there'll be hell to pay," Fisk declared.
In his dining room, Tombstone ate chicken alfredo as he read a newspaper on the recent robberies.
"You looking into all that again?" Hammerhead asked as he walked into the room.
"Yeah. For the past few months, the wealth has specifically been targeted," Tombstone observed.
"Maybe we got a little Robin Hood situation here."
"Perhaps, but we don't know if this little thief is giving away the money or hoarding it all for themselves. I'm willing to bet there's a vendetta."
"What do you mean?" Hammerhead asked.
Tombstone put the newspaper down. "A majority of the places robbed are owned by Fisk. And if this thief has as much of a hatred against Fisk as us, we could have a useful ally in our hands."
Well, I'm back with the premiere of the second volume! I know I initially promised a Dec-Feb release for the premiere, but here's why I'm early. Truth be told, there's been a lot going on in my life recently. Until I reveal that, let me take a moment to look back and reflect on my first volume. I still remember drafting out ideas for Vol 1 of my Spider-Man story back in February, and it went through a few different versions. Eventually, I started posting my story in weekly updates, and a lot happened in that time. Like everyone else, I went through a pandemic and quarantine, where I managed to get closer to some friends, learned more about being thankful for what we don't have before having an awesome summer, and overall learning so much about storytelling and narrative and character development. Writing and updating this story weekly really helped, as I always looked forward to seeing the reviews and thoughts you guys had! So thank you again for all of the endless love and support. Also just letting you guys know now that I did go back to Vol 1 and correct grammar errors, as well as to touch up some minor pieces of dialogue. Consider it my remastered edition in a sense lol.
Flash forward to August, and I started my junior year at a four-year college, which was my first time moving out of the house. If you want me to be brutally honest, and not to start a pity party, but I struggled a lot mentally, going through depression and loneliness due to my friends being away at different schools and my own insecurities. It got super bad at times, but keeping in touch with my family and friends, as well as outlining Vol 2 still kept me going. I'd like to give a special shoutout to ShadowStrike234, who's shown nothing but endless support since he started reading, and I've been keeping in touch with him outside of Fanfiction. As of now, I'm hope for break, and I just finished 99% of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
I've also decided that my story will take place in my Marvel universe dubbed Earth 0709! Vol 1 of 9 of "The Extraordinary Spider-Man" was always meant to chronicle Peter Parker's freshman year of high school and his fateful bite, the famous loss of his beloved uncle, making his first real friends, and overall him learning that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. I also provided the arc of MacDonald Gargan as a parallel, specifically him trying to redeem himself from his war-torn past, the fateful experiment granting him powers, his deteriorating marriage, and his overall descent into criminal activities and insanity. Thus, here I am giving you Vol 2 early, and I hope you'll continue to be with me to follow Peter Parker's journey until the very end.
Spidey - You'll see what further happens between Peter and Gwen next volume! Expect interesting futures for Flash and Norman, though expect Lilly to stay normal lol!
ShadowStrike234 - Thank you so much! I'm really happy you recognized how much depth I tried to give the story, and I'm especially ecstatic that you love the chemistry between Peter and Gwen! Their friendship was one of the parts of the story I care about developing most. I appreciate how you recognize how much I've grown as a writer since "Along Came a Spider-Man!"
Rollerparty - Thanks a lot! I'm glad you really enjoyed the ending, and definitely expect to see Vulture and Black Cat next volume! Definitely expect Venom and Mysterio to appear at some point in the future though! Thanks for the advice!
Fate-Be Changed - Thank you! And who knows in terms of a second confrontation ever…
Marvel Nerd - Lol your bald comments I'll never forget! I'm so happy you recognized that Spider-Man and Scorpion were indeed meant to be the light and darkness.
Teller-Story - Jameson can't be pleased lol! And as for John, who knows…
SpideyXBC - You'll get that soon!
Geek4Life - Thank you! I'm glad you're interested in seeing where the story goes!
Guest - Maybe they do somewhat enjoy their encounters lol! Expect a return in the future…
Guest - Interesting ideas, but Spider-Man and Scorpion will likely remain enemies from here. Who knows where they'll go from here?
ShadowNinja77 - Thank you, that means a lot! I really did try developing the story and humanizing Scorpion, and I especially love how you noticed Peter's inner struggles. Especially since I tried to make him relatable. And good advice, I'll definitely keep it in mind!
-redbird12