The Invincible Spider-Man

Chapter 48: Stretched Too Thin

Peter walked out of his dorm after getting ready, and limping to Dr Connors' class. It still hurt every time he tried to walk, nonetheless he managed to get to class. It was rather small, with a large laboratory desk in the front, with a whiteboard.

Peter took a seat, and almost immediately it seemed like Carlie materialized out of thin air next to him.

"Peter, explanation." She said affirmatively, pointing to the bruises on his face, and how he clutched at his chest in pain.

"Carlie look, I was mugged, and that's it. And also my girlfriend and I are going through a…rough time," confessed Peter, sighing heavily as he rest his head on the desk.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. Honestly, it feels like the whole city turned upside down overnight. I'm just hoping that my dad is all right," said Carlie, adjusting her spectacles. "Also, I didn't know you had a girlfriend," she chuckled nervously.

Peter smiled a little. "Yeah, only MJ knows. At least at ESU," replied Peter, sitting back up and adjusting his back straight as Doctor Connors walked in the class.

"Good morning class. Peter, glad to see you decided to join us today…are you okay?" asked Curt, taking note of Peter's condition. Peter half-heartedly nodded, flashing a fake smile.

"Okay then. Who can tell me what bonds are formed by reducing sugars?" asked Curt. Before Peter could even think about answering, Carlie raised her hand high.

"Glycosidic bonds. Alpha in disaccharides like Maltose and Beta type bonds in Galactose," she answered. Curt seemed duly impressed.

"Very good!" he replied, as he started drawing the structural formula of disaccharides on the whiteboard.

Otto was sitting at his desk, working on ways to improve his armor and the entire Sinister Six. That's when Mac Gargan walked back in.

"Spider-Man's body wasn't found. He's still out there," said Mac.

Otto grunted. He hated being distracted by his work. "We need to make sure he's down for good. If he got away, it's certain he will try and fight us," explained Otto. "We need to make sure he's actively discouraged,"

"I heard something in prison. You know who he is," said Scorpion, folding his hands and looking at Otto.

Otto stopped his work and scoffed. "Preposterous! Who the Hell said that?" asked Otto.

"Doesn't matter. Tell me now if you're holding back on us?" asked Mac, almost interrogatively.

Otto walked up to Mac. "You think I don't want him dead? Especially when I went through the trouble of assembling six of us to defeat him? We all want him dead, especially me. If I knew who he was, we would be at his doorstep right now," affirmed Otto.

Mac looked him up and down, then nodded. He walked around Otto and back to the desk, looking at the blueprints.

"So what's the plan?" asked Mac.

"We need to lure him out. Spider-Man is kept up by the public. If the public loses faith in him, that's most of our job done. We nee to show everyone that Spider-Man isn't strong enough to stop us," replied Otto.

"Okay. I'll have Quentin lure him somewhere in public. You think he'll show up?" asked Mac.

"Certainly." Replied Otto.

"About new armor. I know a guy who could help. He's been helping Spider-Man though," suggested Mac. "His name is Phineas Mason, The Tinkerer,"

"I'll look into it," said Otto.

Peter walked back to his room at the end of his room and took out his suit. It was ripped up at the chest and arms. He thought for a while, and then put it back. That's when he got a call from Jean.

"Captain?" asked Peter.

"Spider-Man? Thank God," she sighed in relief. "No one knew what happened to you. I need you to come back to Ryker's," she said.

"I…don't think I can. I can't walk properly, let alone swing," he replied.

"Dammit. We're stretched thin, half the police force is focusing on the Sinister Six, and others are focusing on other small timers on the loose," said Jean.

"Small timers? Like who?" asked Peter.

"Well, Shocker decided to make a comeback for one. And ones like Basilisk and The Ringer are back at it, though my men can handle them. It's Doctor Octavius and his team I'm worried about," explained Jean.

"Yeah," sighed Peter. "I'll try to get to Ryker's soon. Wait! What about Norman Osborn? Did he escape?" asked Peter.

"Luckily, no. Apparently he didn't want anything to do with the Six. Although that is still suspicious,"

"Yeah, sure is. Okay, I'll be there at Ryker's tonight," said Peter.

"You sure?" asked Jean.

Peter looked at his suit, then to a framed picture of him and Gwen, then back to his suit.

"Yeah," he said, as he cut the call. He put on his suit and then his hoodie, walking out back into the hallway. He decided to go to the garden and clear his head.

Walking down to the garden, he sat on a bench, massaging his temples. Just then, MJ sat down next to him.

"What. The Hell. Happened?" asked MJ, looking half concerned and half furious.

"I'm guessing Gwen told you?" asked Peter, as MJ nodded.

"She said that you got mugged and when she expressed concerns and that you should go to the cops, you refused?" inquired MJ.

"Something like that, yeah," replied Peter.

MJ looked perplexed. "But…why?! You need to go to the police about this. You're barely walking right!" she said, her voice getting a little higher.

Peter looked back at her. "The police are already on the edge with this whole villain invasion thing. I can't burden them, or anyone else with this," countered Peter.

"Peter why do you insist on carrying the world on your shoulders? I've known you for like 3 years, and Gwen has known you for longer! Tiger, you have to accept that you can't do everything yourself. Everyone needs help sometimes, you included," explained MJ.

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Thanks MJ," he said, as she fist-bumped her.

"You know, I'm going to the cops right now," he said, standing up.

"Great! Good luck," wished MJ. Peter nodded and walked out of campus and into an alleyway, taking off his civilian clothes and putting on his mask. "Well, to be fair, I am going to visit the cops," said Peter, reassuring himself.

He crawled to the top of the building, and started to slowly swing from one building to another. "Yeah, this really is painful," groaned Spider-Man.

Phineas entered his workshop, only to see Mac standing in front of him. The room was extremely dark, and Phineas could just make him out from the darkness.

"Mac? It's great to see you," said Phineas, a little afraid. He staggered back a little, only to be blocked by a wall of sand. "Oh no," he said. All of a sudden, a light started to flicker. It was coming from a third man. Electro stood next to Mac, glowing yellow sparks of electricity.

"We need your help, Phineas," said the wall of sand, as it revealed the face of Sandman.

"No, I promised I won't do this again!" said Phineas.

"Well, unfortunately Phineas, you have no choice. I need you to design better suits for us. Or else, well…" said Mac, cracking his knuckles. The next thing you build will be your own casket," he threatened, as they walked towards Phineas, backing him towards the Sandman wall.

Spider-Man made it to Ryker's, his suit more or less in tatters. Jean took one look at him and her eyes went wide.

"You sure you could come here?" asked Jean. Spider-Man nodded as they walked back in the broken prison.

"The damage is this bad?" he asked, and Jean nodded.

"It took us barely a few hours to lose control of the city. The mayor may announce a lockdown too. Stuff's never been this bad," she said.

"Goddamnit," said Peter. "Octavius knows how to coordinate a team, that's for sure," said Peter.

"He's been planning this for a long time, apparently. Can't believe we let him get away. Next time we should keep villains in The Cellar," said Jean.

"The Cellar? What's that?" asked Spider-Man, curious.

"It's a prison built specifically for super villains. Apparently it's endorsed by The Avengers. Though we'll have to see how it works," said Jean, as Spider-Man nodded getting his answer.

"This is a mess," lamented Spider-Man, when he heard clapping coming from a nearby cell.

Norman slowly clapped his hands upon seeing Spider-Man.

"Welcome back, Spider-Man. From the looks of it you haven't had that good of a day?" asked Norman.

Peter clenched his fists tightly. "Don't test me today, Norman," he threatened. Norman simply chuckled.

"You know, Spider-Man? Maybe sometimes you should be careful with the battles you choose," replied Norman.

"I can assure you Norman. After I'm done with the Sinister Six, I'm keeping an eye on you," replied Spider-Man, walking away.

Just then, Jean got a ping from her comms.

"Requesting backup at Greenwich Village. Quentin Beck and Adrian Toomes present," said the comms.

"Greenwich Village…that's near ESU!" thought Peter, as he quickly swung towards Greenwich Village, as fast as he could. He didn't care about the pain, he had to stop Mysterio and Vulture.

Vulture was swooping across the streets, as Mysterio was spraying his hallucinogen everywhere on the people.

"Why'd Otto tell us to attack here specifically?" asked Quentin, aiming his lasers towards the streets.

"Who knows? We need to lure Spider-Man out, those were Otto's orders!" said Toomes, continuing his assault.

Back at ESU, all the students were running back indoors.

"Everyone get back to your rooms and stay there! Do not come out!" shouted the headteacher.

Spider-Man showed up just in time, landing on a rooftop and shooting a web at Mysterio, before zipping towards him to attack him.

However, Mysterio seemed to be made of thin air, as Spider-Man went straight through him, and landed on the streets below.

"Come on!" he yelled out, as Vulture squawked, laughing.

"Otto really overestimates you!" said Vulture, swooping down to him.

"Is that even a word?!" asked Spider-Man, as he dodged to the side, although stumbling a little. He shot a web at Vulture, and pulled him down. Just then, his Spider-Sense tingled, and Mysterio slammed into him, before disappearing again.

Vulture threw his feather knives at Spider-Man, who managed to dodge most of them. One grazed his left leg, and the other hit his right arm. Mysterio's drones appeared and grabbed Spider-Man's limbs, lifting him into the air.

"Back in my day, robots had manners!" said Peter, slamming the drones against each other as he fell back down to the ground. He webbed a building and managed to swing at the wall.

"Hey Vulture! You done circling around, or are you gonna attack for once?" asked Spider-Man. Vulture angrily swooped towards him. Peter leaped off of it, causing Vulture to slam into the wall. Mysterio aimed his laser towards Spider-Man. However, Peter managed to dodge them, and they hit Vulture's back.

"You idiot!" yelled Vulture, turning around and aiming the feather knives at Spider-Man. Peter webbed up all of them and threw them back at Mysterio. Beck went flying into another building.

Spider-Man jumped back in front of Mysterio. "Wait for it…" he said. As soon as Mysterio regained his senses, Vulture was swooping at Spider-Man.

"No WAIT WAIT!" shouted Mysterio, as Spider-Man flipped out of the way, causing Vulture to slam into Mysterio.

Both of them fell down to the ground, along with Spider-Man. Gasping and panting for breath, he stood back up and walked towards them. Just then however, he stopped in his tracks.

He felt warmth pooling at his right side, and noticed blood staining his suit. Fresh blood, as the stitch had opened.

"Shit…" he said, feeling dizzy as soon as he noticed the injury.

Before he could even react, Vulture slammed back into Peter and into the ground multiple times, throwing him into a tree.

"Wait, wait a second!" said Peter, clutching his wound, but the two villains wouldn't let up. Mysterio aimed his laser at Spider-Man, sending him flying through the trees.

Spider-Man tried to get up, but he was losing a lot of blood. Vulture attacked him again, but Spider-Man webbed up his face and kicked him away. He then webbed Mysterio's helmet and pulled it down to the ground.

His vision started to get blurry, and Spider-Man quickly got away before Vulture and Mysterio could get up.

Spider-Man swung to his room in ESU, and managed to sneak in stealthily, locking his door. He took off his shirt and grabbed a sewing kit.

"This is gonna hurt like a motherf-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" he yelled internally, stitching his wound shut.

After he was done, he started to rest again, when he got a call from Gwen.

"Hey," he said, sounding exhausted.

"Just wanted to say good job on fighting Mysterio and Vulture," said Gwen.

"Yeah, but they got away," said Peter.

"Still. Good work," she replied.

"Thanks," said Peter.

"So, how are you holding up?" asked Gwen.

"Not good, the stitches opened up again during the fight. And I have no clue what Otto's plan is, but it's somehow connected to The Altruist. He's running everything," said Peter.

"Any idea who?" continued Gwen.

"Well…it can't be Otto, or Norman, since they were both in prison. Fisk was on parole, but he seems just as frustrated with The Altruist as I am, but that doesn't completely rule him out…wait a second," said Peter, having an epiphany.

"Gwen, I'll call you back in a while," he said, cutting the call and putting his suit on, leav

ing out of his window.

Spider-Man went back to Fisk Industries. He crashed through the window behind Wilson, who was just finishing up his work.

"It's you, isn't it?" asked Spider-Man, standing in front of his desk.

Fisk sighed. "Once again, it is most certainly not me-"

Spider-Man pulled the entire desk away. "Don't bullshit me right now, Fisk! Today is not a good day to piss me off," he said.

Fisk stood up again, towering over Spider-Man.

"If you're looking for a fight, Spider-Man, now is not the time for me either. What made you think it was me, anyways?" asked Fisk. Peter took a few steps back. He sighed again.

"I…don't know, I'm sorry. It's just a lot's been happening, and I just…dammit," said Peter.

Fisk looked sympathetic for once. "We have our differences, but we both have a common goal. To stop The Altruist," said Fisk.

"Yeah except you want to take him down so you can extend your own empire," snapped Peter.

"The point still stands. We have a common enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I understand your actions," replied Fisk.

"Yeah, sorry. I just have to find out who this is," said Peter, leaving again.

Peter swung to a building, and screamed at the top of his lungs, before punching the ground, making a dent in the roof. He then started to cry, the pressure crumbling all over him.

That's when he remembered MJ's advice.

"You have to accept that you can't do everything yourself. Everyone needs help sometimes, you included,"

He stood back up and called up Jean.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Jean.

"I need to know where you're keeping The Spot," replied Spider-Man.

Looks like Peter is under pressure! Wonder what's gonna happen next with the Sinister Six! Next chapter will be soon! Also, yes, I did borrow the idea of involving Spot from a certain review by Fate-Be Changed. So Fate-Be Changed, if you are reading this, thank you for the idea!

So my Preliminary Exams are going pretty well so far! Computer Science was meh at best, but Math was pretty good, and Biology was a breeze. I had English today, which was also really good! I've got Chemistry on Monday now, which is my favorite subject of all time! But then I've got French, and well…je ne suis pas tres bien dans francais. I might upload again in about a week or two.

In other news, prom is in a few weeks, and I'm certain that I'm not going, thanks to recent events. I know you can go with friends, but I barely have 2-3 friends and at the same time it's gonna suck when everyone has a date except me lol. I think I'll just spend my night reading a book or writing Fanfiction haha!

redbirds12: Thank you! I wanted to focus more on characters in that chapter, and delve into what makes Peter Spider-Man, and if Uncle Ben would want Peter to keep risking his life like that. Peter does seem to be nearing his breaking point, isn't he? Also, quick tease, Season 5 is gonna be much more character based, with many more introspective scenes like the one in Chapter 47

Geek4Life: Hahaha I'll ignore it. But to answer your question anyways, yes I am very familiar with Bronze Tiger! Ben Turner is one of my favorite members of the Suicide Squad.

Guest: Not a bad idea, haha! I'll definitely think about it!

Yours Truly,

Shadow Strike.