Part 8 - Gods and Wolves
Chapter 138 - The Great Weaver
With so little left of the spider army, things were looking pretty hopeless in the war with the Inheritors. In the days that followed Morlun, Bora and Brix's deaths, the surviving spiders learnt that Solus had returned. The father of the Inheritors was the toughest of them all, and had nearly defeated Miles in the 'Spider-Geddon' war even with a cosmic power. However, this time round Miles was spending as much time as he could by Gwen's side. Max didn't mind taking a break from guard duty, and it gave him a chance to give the Inheritors what they had coming for them. However, the fragments of the spider army hated the idea.
"Spiderman doesn't kill people." Said Peter B Parker.
"Speak for yourself." Replied Noir.
"And look where not killing has got you." Said Max.
"It's what makes us different from the bad guys." Said Peni.
"Not really. Some of the bad guys don't kill. But the Inheritors…they've cost you guys so many lives. The line has to be drawn somewhere."
"We won't support you if you do this." Said Miguel.
"I'm the fifth most powerful being in the omniverse. I don't need your support. And trust me, if any one of you had killed as many as the Inheritors, you'd go the same way they're about to."
"What about Noir?" Asked Peni.
"Noir kills Nazis. As someone who can claim to have killed Hitler, I support his work. Noir's, not Hitler's. Now do I have your support or do I have to go and piss everyone off?"
"You're a stubborn guy." Remarked Spiderham.
"If a God could be pushed into doing whatever someone wanted, we'd be in a whole different place."
"We support you taking down the Inheritors, but not killing them." Said Miguel.
Max crossed his arms and nodded. It was good enough.
The location for this fight confused Max. He made his usual overly dramatic entrance in a jet of energy and looked around: things were dark, but there was something green in the distance with strange plants winding up out of the ground all around. Something called Max, but not by his name or his God powers. Instead, it spoke directly to the spider part of him. After a few seconds of searching the omniverse for an answer, he realised this was the Great Weaver.
"Oh no." He muttered.
If the Inheritors killed the Great Weaver, they would kill all the spider people. Whether that included him, he didn't feel like waiting around to find out. He ran towards the figures gathered at the centre of this forest.
Solus, the father of the Inheritors, reached out his hand to start feeding on the Great Weaver. At last he would claim the greatest reward, and it was thanks to a spider person no less. Wolf Spider's plan had been to use it to control Dei Volente and force the God to give up his powers, but why play with food? Suddenly, one of Solus's children gave a shout of warning before being silenced by the sword of the young God Wolf Spider wanted dead so badly. As Daemos collapsed, his head rolling to a stop at his father's feet, Dei Volente put up his mask and hood.
"Hello ladies and gents. Would it be too much to ask for you all just to drop dead so I don't have to waste time doing this the old fashioned way?"
"You talk too much, God Spider." Solus replied, turning to face his enemy.
"Really? I spent one-and-a-half billion years in isolation on Mount Everest. I'd say I barely talk at all."
"As irritating as your father before you."
"Oh good. I always liked meeting that bit of his expectations. Anyway, if I talk too much, shall we have a dance?"
Naahmurrah and Verna were first to the slaughter. The former went left and the latter right, but Verna was slashed up the front by Furore Mortale, then finished off as Dei Volente spun round relieving her of her head. He caught Naahmurrah's hand with its knife and flipped her on her back. The action broke her wrist, but the pain was short-lived as Dei Volente drove her own blade through her skull. Thanis and Mortia came next, both suffering similar fates although Mortia had her throat ripped out. Hands now dripping with blood, Dei Volente shifted his grip on his sword as Daaroh, Malos and Jennix came at him all at once. Jennix struck out with a cane that was blocked by Furore Mortale and set alight. The God kicked Daaroh's feet out from under him and punched Malos across the face to focus on the first of the trio who had discarded the fiery stick. Dei Volente decided to have a little fun with this one: he paused time and drove Furore Mortale into the ground before resuming it and blocking the punches that came his way. Jennix ducked a returned punch and reached under his jacket for a knife which he slashed across his enemy's face with little success. The blow only made the God more furious, picking up the pace and throwing punch after punch. With one came a sickening crack as Jennix's jaw broke, then Dei Volente grabbed him by either side of the head and slammed it against his knee before kicking him away to deal with Malos. Daaroh had made the same mistake as his sister, Bora, and a Kate long before either of them: he had touched the hilt of Furore Mortale and been turned into nothing but a pile of ashes. Malos fought with a vengeance, but a fistful of lightning paralysed him. Dei Volente headbutted him before reaching out his hand; Furore Mortale flew into it and with a swift flick cut through Malos' body from the left shoulder to the right hip. Jennix tried to get up, but Dei Volente drove his foot into the back of the Inheritor's neck breaking the top of his spine. The God dragged him to his feet by the collar and stared him in the face.
"You can live, if anyone comes here and finds you to save you. Let it be a lesson."
He discarded the Inheritor's broken body and turned to the one he considered to be the boss at the end of the level. Solus stared at the gory remains of his sons and daughters.
"Are you not a spider person? Do you not know mercy?" He pleaded, knowing there was no defeating Dei Volente.
"I gave that up a long time ago. I'm not bound by old sentiments made for an age long gone. I was forged in the fires of the Scarlet King's reign, and I don't know mercy."
"Perhaps we can come to an agreement which benefits the both of us, or even you more than me?"
"You can't give me anything I want…except maybe that crystal that was once your soul."
Miguel, the Spider Gang including Miles, and the few scraps of the spider army looked round as there was a pop. Max dropped a red crystal on the coffee table. He wiped his sword on his leg then sheathed it on the belt of his blood-spattered suit. His eyes burned with the reflections of the souls he had avenged as he double tapped the side of his head to remove his mask and hood.
"The Inheritors are dead. Except Jennix, although he might bleed out soon. As for Solus, a crystal is a better Hell than the real one."
There was silence, then Peter glanced at Miles.
"You sure this guy's your kid?"
"I think so. Sometimes I wonder, though."
Max unsheathed his sword again and lay it against the table before pressing his hand to his chest to remove his suit.
"I do what has to be done. I never enjoy murder, although sometimes I'll admit it's good to take things out on people. Maybe I inherited that from my mum."
Miles looked irritated by the comment.
"Gwen would never do that."
"Wouldn't she? You might have been too dead to remember it, but I'd call to mind the GOC massacre. Over eight hundred dead, and it was all her own two hands. But hey, what can you do to change the past? Nobody can dictate what should and shouldn't happen, no matter how powerful they are. I'm sorry I'm not your perfect image, but I do what I've learnt has to be done to stop worse things."
Max sank into the couch, massaging his forehead as the spiders watched him. The God shrugged, realising they expected him to keep talking.
"I'm done. Anyone else got something to say?"
None of them spoke, so he sat back.
"OK. Fair enough."
Crossovers in this Chapter
None!
