The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 60: #NotMySpiderMan
Peter's room was quiet as he snored softly. He was still wearing his new suit when he went to bed at around 5 am in the morning. He was out swinging the entire night.
Just then, the quietness of his room was rudely interrupted by a ringing of an alarm clock, whose sound cut through the air and assaulted Peter's eardrums. Without even thinking, in one swift motion, Peter's hand moved out of the blanket, grabbed the alarm clock and threw it across the room, all while Peter's eyes were still closed.
It felt like barely any time had passed, when all of a sudden Peter heard a person knocking at his door.
"Peter! Get up!" said the female voice.
Peter quickly jumped out of his bed and rushed to the door. As soon as he touched the handle, he realized he had his suit on.
"Shit!" cursed Peter mentally. All of a sudden, as soon as the door opened, the black suit recoiled itself into Peter's watch. Peter was back in his civilian clothes when the door swung open.
"Peter, you're like 10 minutes late to class!" lectured Carlie, as she stood in front of the doorway.
"Wait, what?! 10 minutes?" asked Peter, as he quickly took off his shirt and put on a hoodie, and that's when he noticed Carlie staring at his torso. As soon as Peter made eye contact with her, she looked away and blushed. Peter chuckled as he quickly ate a breath mint and rushed out of the doorway, with Carlie following him.
The duo eventually reached Dr Connors' class. Curt looked at Peter, then noticed that he seemed way more confident.
"Okay, good to see every bee has entered the hive. Now class, today we're gonna start Quantum Mechanics, at least the basics," said Curt. Peter quickly took a seat and grinned to himself. He had been studying Quantum Mechanics since he was thirteen.
"So, let's start with the basis of the topic. Starting with the Double Slit Experiment, which demonstrates-"
"Wave-Particle Duality," interrupted Peter. "It's what causes light to be an electromagnetic wave and also behave like a photon," he continued. Curt chuckled.
"Peter, I would appreciate if you didn't interrupt class, but thank you for the input. I hope that motivates the entire class to study," replied Curt, as he started to draw the experiment on the board.
Carlie glanced at Peter as he started to lay back on his chair, twirling his pen in his hand as his eyes darted across the board, while Dr Connors wrote different physics equations. Peter was acting different, she couldn't tell if it was a good different or a bad different.
That night, Peter stood on a rooftop that overlooked Central Park. He had his eyes fixated on a group of thugs that had cornered a couple at the south side of the park.
With one thought, the black suit started to raise out of his watch and started to cover every inch of Peter's body, until he was covered in the black suit. Smirking to himself, he shot two webs and catapulted himself towards the assault, landing in the shade of the tree.
"Ahem…" said Spider-Man, clearing his throat. The shade was covering him, and the thugs could only make out the outline of a person under the tree.
"The hell are you supposed to be?" asked a thug.
"What are you, Batman?" asked another.
"Do I look like Batman?" asked Peter. "Well, I guess I better change my suit once again," he continued, as he shot a web at one thug's face and pulled him down onto the ground.
He jumped out of the shade and landed on the fallen thug's back, using it as a trampoline as he flipped in the air and kicked another thug in the face. He then shot a web at the other thug's foot and aimed the other end of the web of a lamppost.
"Safe travels!" said Peter, as the thug flew up towards the lamppost.
The first thug got up and punched Spider-Man in the face. Peter barely flinched as he turned around and menacingly stared at the thug. His eye lenses seemed to turn more narrow, making it seem like he was scowling at the thug.
He grabbed the thug by the collar and threw him out of the park, sideways into a car door.
The second thug stared at him in horror and started to run the other way, but Spider-Man shot another web at him and pulled him towards him. He grabbed the thug and slammed his back down onto a wooden bench, destroying the wood completely.
He started to punch the thug in the face, till the criminal's nose was crooked and his left eye looked like it was painted over with black and blue paint.
"Stop!" pleaded the thug, through broken teeth and bleeding gums, as he started to weep. Peter lifted him up and raised him high in front of the onlookers.
"This is what happens when you break the law in my city!" shouted Spider-Man, as he threw him at the couple's feet. The couple stared at the thug and back at Spider-Man in horror.
"Not even a thank you? Sheesh, New Yorkers these days," thought Spider-Man as he swung away again.
As he started to weave past the buildings, a stray thought entered his head.
"Should I return this suit to Oscorp again? What, no! I mean, it's not exactly stealing if I didn't mean to take it. Besides, this suit is really helping me make a huge difference, especially when I'm being Spider-Man. Returning it would just be stupid, I've never felt so…alive," he thought to himself, as he dove down towards the ground, and launched himself forward, knocking down a man's hotdog.
"Any units in Midtown, a perp in a black suit just robbed a bodega near Times Square, backup requested," said the police scanner.
"Guy in a black suit? Could be Chameleon again, I should check it- WAIT A MINUTE!" exclaimed Spider-Man, as he swung down back to the ground, towards the window of a comic book store.
"Limited edition sale on the Real Life Tales of Squirrel Girl?!" he exclaimed, rushing to the comic book store and entering it. He rushed to the stands and to the window and picked up the comic book.
"Squirrel Girl gets a Real Life Tales series…before me? And why the Hell is she fighting Shocker, that's my enemy!" protested Spider-Man.
"Last week they got into a very intense battle! Spider-Man didn't show up, but Squirrel Girl sure did!" said a customer, as he was wearing a Squirrel Girl shirt.
"She's got merch too? What in the actual Hell?" Peter asked himself.
"I mean, if Spider-Man hadn't disappeared he probably would've had his own merch too. Speaking of which, cool cosplay, but Spider-Man doesn't wear black, he isn't Batman," commented another fan.
Spider-Man's eyebrow twitched, as the logo on his chest looked like it was swirling a little.
Peter took a deep breath and calmed himself down, moving out of the store and towards Midtown.
Spider-Man arrived at the scene, only to see the police firing at a guy dressed in a skin-tight black suit, sliding down the street and dodging the bullets.
"In case you didn't get the memo, black is more of my thing now," said Spider-Man.
"You!" said the man, as he slid towards Spider-Man, who jumped above him.
"Sorry pal, but there aren't any ice skating rinks here. Speaking of which, are you using non stick frying pans to slide like that? I mean what do I call you? "Slip n Slide?"" mocked Peter.
"Call me Slyde. And no, I'm not!" retorted Slyde, as he rushed at Peter. Spider-Man simply jumped over him, shot a web at his back and pulled him back down. Slyde landed on his back and Peter webbed him up.
"I mean, where do you guys come from? I can understand a guy who can control sand being a career criminal, but a guy whose name comes from a playground? Seems like a Squirrel Girl villain to me," commented Peter, as he swung away.
"WHO THE HELL IS THIS NEW SCHMUCK?!" shouted Jameson, when he pointed at a picture that Peter took of Spider-Man's new look.
"I'm pretty sure that's Spider-Man, sir," said Eddie.
"Are you colorblind? Where's the blue and red? And the atrocious webbing design? And the exaggerated swagger people from his generation try to emulate, emphasis on "try". Wait no, he got that last part right!" commented Jameson.
"Well, he was calling himself Spider-Man," replied Betty.
"I could grow a small mustache on my face, does that make me Hitler?" asked Jameson.
"I don't think you want that answer," muttered Ned. Before Jameson could go off on him, Betty interrupted.
"Well, many people on social media also don't believe he's Spider-Man. Especially after what happened last night," she said.
Peter's curiosity was intrigued. "What happened last night?" he asked.
"There's this video of him beating up this thug that's circulating around the internet. It was quite brutal," replied Ned.
"What video?!" asked Jameson, as Ned pulled up a video of Spider-Man punching a thug's face in.
"They all have the #NotMySpiderMan in the caption," said Betty.
"Oh no…I SHARE THE SAME OPINION WITH THE PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA?!" yelled out Jameson, while Ned tried his hardest to hold his laughter in.
"What have I become? I share a brain with those millennials who won't stop posting about food and clubs..." said Jameson, as he retreated back in his office.
Not even 5 seconds later, he emerged out again with a smile beaming on his face.
"Which is perfect! This is exactly what I need to turn the city against that wall crawling, web spinning menace, especially if so many people are against him already! Brock, I need you to write an article on this guy. Call it, "Spider-Man: Fiend or Foe!" said Jameson. "And Peter, if you're up for it, I'm going to need pictures," he continued, as he rushed back into his office.
"Well, we better get to work," said Eddie, moving back to his desk. Peter quickly ran up to him.
"Eddie, wait! You're not actually going to write that article, are you? I mean you obviously don't believe that Spider-Man is inherently evil, right?" asked Peter.
"For once, I agree with Jameson. This new guy seems way too reckless," said Eddie.
"Reckless? Reckless?!" exclaimed Peter, and the entire office stared at him.
"Look Peter, can we talk about this later?" asked Eddie.
"No, I say let's do it right now, Brock," hissed Peter.
"Dude, what's gotten into you?" asked Eddie. Peter just stared at him for a few seconds, till he seemingly snapped back to reality.
"Right…sorry," he said, in a lower tone as he walked towards the elevator and descended down the building.
Spider-Man swung over to another building, still confused over his interaction with Eddie.
"What was that all about? I don't think I've felt that angry in a long time…" he thought to himself. Shrugging it off, he leaped off of the building and flipped backwards, falling into a headfirst dive as he shot another web and continued swinging.
Just then, he got a call from Jean DeWolff.
"Captain, what's up?" asked Peter.
"I might have a lead on the Sin-Eater. Meet me at the usual place," she said.
"Will do!" replied Peter, as he continued swinging, this time towards the precinct.
Once he reached the precinct, instead of landing on the roof, he strolled right through the front door.
"Hold it! Freeze!" yelled the cops inside, as they all drew their guns.
"Woah woah woah! Lay off the hostility, will you?" said Peter, as he jumped to the ceiling.
"Hold your fire!" yelled Jean as she rushed to the scene. "You're Spider-Man?" she asked.
"The one and only! Why is everyone so doubtful about me?" asked Spider-Man. Jean raised an eyebrow, while the cops put down their guns.
"Can you blame them? After last night, and not to mention other several crimes you stopped," said Jean, as she walked towards the investigation room, followed by Spider-Man.
"Yeah, exactly. I "stopped" those crimes. Maybe you need to retrain your squad about what makes someone a criminal," remarked Peter.
"That's not the issue. You left those thugs with more than just a few broken bones. And yesterday all of New York saw what you did. You almost killed that guy," explained Jean.
"Emphasis on "almost." That pathetic shit-sack of a human being is still breathing," scowled Spider-Man. Jean sighed as she walked up to the board, which had the picture of the Sin-Eater. The picture had a number of red strings that connected to 4 of his victims.
"Guessing you found a connection?" asked Peter.
"Exactly. Neveah Lucas, Candy Smith, Desiree Luna and Mazikeen Grant," replied Jean. "They are…were prostitutes," she said.
"A modern day Jack The Ripper. Except this one's not as theatrical," replied Peter.
"Judging by how the Sin-Eater keeps screaming about God when he attacks these women, he might have a Christian background," said Jean.
"I would make a joke here, but that may be offensive. Would it be offensive?" asked Peter to Jean, who ignored his question.
Taking the hint, Peter turned back to the board. "I did come across this guy once, and helped one of his victims," said Spider-Man.
"Wait, what? What'd she look like? Did you get a name?" interrogated Jean.
"Calm down, calm down. And I can't really recall much, it was during a snowstorm…" said Peter. All of a sudden, something seemed to jog his memory into hyperdrive. He was able to recall every small detail from his one encounter.
"Blondie, green eyes. She had a tattoo of a bird…a raven, on her upper arm," recalled Peter, at lightning fast speeds.
"I'll run that description through the database," said Jean, rushing out of the room.
"Holy Hell! Was that the suit…making my neurons fire faster? This seriously is a miracle," thought Spider-Man to himself, as he followed Jean.
"We got a match. Angel Foxx," said Jean.
"Yep, that's her," confirmed Peter.
"I'll have my people find her. I'll let you know when something comes up," said Jean, as Spider-Man left the precinct, going back to ESU.
It was almost 4 pm, and as Spider-Man swung towards ESU, he noticed Mary Jane walking down the street. She seemed to be furiously texting someone in a hurry.
"Wonder what's up with that?" thought Peter, as he stuck to the surface of a building and focused his eyes on her phone.
MARY JANE: I told you to stop following me. If you keep doing shit like this I'm going to tell the cops.
"What the Hell?!" asked Peter out loud, as the suit quickly recoiled into his watch and he jumped down the building, directly behind MJ.
"Hey MJ," said Peter. MJ let out a squeal as she turned around.
"Oh, it's you," she chuckled nervously.
"Who were you texting?" asked Peter.
"Ah, no one. Just some random telemarketer," she replied.
"You seem a little too worried for it to be a telemarketer," remarked Peter.
"It's nothing, Peter," she said, with conviction this time. Peter sighed, as he reached for her phone and snatched it out of her hands.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" she yelled out loud, but Peter turned around and saw the name.
"Morris Bench? Who's that?" asked Peter. He backed out of the chat and saw group chats that Mary Jane was a part of, including one named "Helping Peter." Before Peter could ask anything, MJ quickly snatched her phone away.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"I'm just looking out for you!" protested Peter.
"I don't need you to! Seriously Peter, you can't just do something like that!" retorted MJ.
"Do something like what? Try and make sure you're okay?!" shouted Peter.
"There's a difference between making sure someone's okay and destroying a person's privacy," replied MJ. Peter scoffed.
"You know what, screw this. I'm just trying to help but no, you all just have to pick apart everything I do!" shouted Peter, as he walked away from MJ, fuming.
"Who's "all" of us?!" shouted out MJ, but Peter ignored her and walked ahead.
"I need to find out who this Morris Bench person is, and what this "Helping Peter" group is," thought Peter, as he walked back to his room.
As soon as he closed his door, he started to feel dizzy, as his eyelids got heavier and heavier.
"What…the…" muttered Peter, before he collapsed on his bed again.
"Mr Parker!" shouted a voice, followed a loud rapping of a fist on the door.
"Woah!" said Peter, as he quickly got out of his bed and walked up to the door, opening it and coming face to face with the Headmistress of the school.
"Mrs Kent?" asked Peter, rubbing his eyes.
"Mr Parker, where were you the entire day today? You missed every class of yours today," she informed him.
"What?" asked Peter groggily, as he stared at his clock, which read 6 pm.
"I attended class today. I fell asleep at around 4 pm, it's 6 now," replied Peter.
"Check the date," said Mrs Kent. Peter looked at the clock and his eyes went wide.
"It's a new day…I slept for 26 hours?!" exclaimed Peter internally, as he turned back to his teacher.
"I…was asleep," mumbled Peter, unable to come up with an excuse.
"You can't convince me that someone can continually sleep for more than a day. You're going to have extra classes with Dr Connors, starting tomorrow," said Mrs Kent, as she walked away from his room, leaving Peter confused as he closed the door.
"What the actual Hell? 26 hours, how is that possible?" Peter asked himself, as he looked back at his watch that housed his black suit.
"Was it the suit? Or was I just exhausted?" thought Peter. He then scoffed at his own thought.
"Of course it wasn't the suit! How would a suit affect my circadian rhythm? Think, Peter," he said to himself as he looked out the window. With his improved eyesight, he was able to see things a lot clearer.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a newsstand, with a paper from The Daily Bugle. He was able to make out the title and the by line.
"Spider-Man: Fiend or Foe?" By Eddie Brock.
"Son of a bitch," muttered Peter, as his palms tightened around his window sill, crushing it.
And that's Part One of the Black Suit saga! If this chapter felt a little short, it's because it was mainly set up for the next few chapters with the Black Suit. I took some inspiration from Todd McFarlane's run on Venom, and of course from The Animated Series and the Spectacular Spider-Man!
In other news, 11th grade (or Junior Year, depending on where you're from) starts from July 16th, and I'm equally terrified and excited for it. Hopefully these next two years will be great! I've also started taking guitar lessons, and started studying Astrophysics as a side thing, so that's fun!
Also, do check out the other stories in this universe (all on my profile) and be sure to be ready for the latest installment, The Invincible Fantastic Four!
JPrime: Is he truly Spider-Man though? I guess we'll see…
SymbioticSpidey: You sure will! I'm gonna make sure to do Venom justice!
redbirds12: Thanks! And believe me, a lot more is coming this season! Venom is definitely gonna be amazing.
Marvel Nerd: Hahaha, I did take some inspiration from the movie lol.
Fate-Be Changed: I'm most likely not going to have Man-Wolf return in this season, but I definitely have plans for him!
Geek4Life: Not a bad idea, it definitely makes sense, but I don't think I'll have Peter go bald lol. Maybe for a future story arc!
SpideyXBC: She'd probably love the black color scheme lmao.
Teller-Story: The Black Suit will generate its own webbing, but as for normal Spider-Man, I probably won't give him organic webbing. Maybe in the future if I ever do Spider-Island or something.
I am the Voice: Hahaha, I doubt I have space for any more symbiotes though lol.
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.