Here he was once again, in one of the former headquarters of the dismantled Parker Industries.
Peter couldn't help but sigh, everything about this place was a bitter experience. At least before all this he could be himself when he wasn't patrolling as Spider-Man but now if someone came to recognize him, they would identify him as the guy who destroyed the possible rival of Stark Industries or to another degree, who had a doctorate that didn't belong to him.
'I have Otto to thank for that... Aaaghh, I don't even know what I'm doing coming to this place just because he asked me to.'
When Boomerang told Spider-Man about the supposed sighting of a man similar to Otto Octavius at the Bar with No Name 3 weeks ago, the disappointment he felt was horrible.
He had seen videos, heard testimonials from tourists coming to New York. Hell, Superior Spider-Man was becoming quite popular in San Francisco.
'Heh, I'm a little jealous and surprised. Otto was more beloved than I was at the time and I bet a lot more than I was at this very moment.'
Superior Spider-Man, an anti-hero on his way to losing the "anti" and... was thrown overboard.
All that disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Sadly, when he heard about Superior's disappearance, Peter didn't pay much attention to it, betting everything on it being some scheme of Otto's.
Shaking his head to try to get out of those thoughts, Spider-Man discovered that he was standing in front of an airtight door that had apparently been opened just recently surely for the Octo-bot to enter.
"Okay, I'm here now. There's no turning back."
... ... ...
... ... ...
"Teresa, were you able to talk to The Finisher?"
Teresa Parker, Peter Parker's sister and a member of the Agents of Wakanda. Her story to find out if she was really the daughter of Richard and Mary Parker was somewhat convoluted the truth, full of deception and false leads. I mean, she literally had to travel back in time in order to find out whether or not she was the daughter of the deceased agents, not to mention the most recent attempt at deception that she almost fell for.
"I did it Bobbi, and now I regret not taking your warning seriously."
The person sitting across from her was Bobbi Morse aka Mockingbird, SHIELD agent and part-time heroine.
The reason for her visit was due to Teresa's untimely meeting with The Finisher which to both of their misfortune, had occurred on the same day as that event in Central Park called "The Plague of Sins."
"We don't suspect you, but anything that helps us track down the whereabouts of the Chameleon will be helpful. Heck, Black Widow went out looking for him as soon as she found out he was able to escape so you can get an idea of how worried we are."
She understood perfectly, she also had business to attend to with the Chameleon. Specifically, she wanted to smash his face in.
She couldn't believe she was almost fooled by his shenanigans that would make her doubt once again whether Richard and Mary were her parents or if she was Peter's biological sister.
"... Well, he's the Chameleon, who do you think he'll turn to first in order to climb back up in the criminal world? Think about it, he should look for someone who has resources, influence and the same desire to destroy Spider-Man. And yes, Wilson Fisk is out, I don't think he can do much from his current position."
"Ugh, everyone but him...," Bobbi massaged her temples in frustration. "I don't want to see an alliance between Mr. Negative and him."
"The truth is, I wasn't thinking about Mr. Negative".
... ... ...
... ... ...
"Peter? Is it really you?".
Behind that door it was damp and dark, the only thing illuminating the place was an old monitor showing what the Octo-bot saw.
At the back of the place, blue crystal glasses were identifiable thanks to light from the monitor.
"... Yes, I'm here Otto, what are you looking for by bringing me here? An ambush or a party with the Sinister Six? Oh wait, you were at the Bar with No Name, does everyone already know I was at that place?".
"Huh? No, I don't have anything like that in mind... The truth is, I need your help."
Peter couldn't help but squint one eye showing his confusion.
"Otto Octavius, asking for my help? Oh God this is one of those days isn't it, what's next, another symbiote invasion only now they're coming from another universe?"
He didn't respond to Peter's provocation, he simply moved one of his mechanical tentacles to turn on all the lights in the place and immediately stepped forward.
'What. The. Hell?'
Behind Otto was a cylinder containing a nervous system. Glued to the glass of the cylinder were a bunch of notes written by Octavius himself but the sloppy handwriting gave an idea of how desperate he must have been.
The other part of the surprise was Octavius himself: his appearance was much the same as when he threatened everyone with frying him or when he took over the body.
"W-what? Is that you? But your body...".
"Yes, it has degenerated at a disturbing rate. I have no idea why, I suppose it's because this is the natural condition my body must be headed for."
"And I suppose that behind you is an attempt to create you a new body, isn't it?".
Him neither denied nor confirmed that idea.
Otto simply turned around and contemplated the nervous system lying there.
"I've tried everything, EVERYTHING. There's something here or someone," he pointed to his head. "That won't let me create a new body for myself, but I know I could do it, I feel it so, someone is blocking that knowledge from my mind."
"Wait a second, you don't remember how to create yourself a new body? But that... that doesn't make sense."
Peter was finally starting to see where this was going and if it was what he had in mind, then he wasn't amused by the idea at all.
"There's a void in my mind, something I've barely been aware of for the last two weeks...".
"... Oh no...".
"That's right Peter, I've been aware of this void in my mind since 'The Plague of Sins' ".
... ... ...
... ... ...
"The Plague of Sins."
That incident was not reported until the next day and if the information was clear, it was because a badly wounded Spider-Man was still resting on the spot and told J. Jonah Jameson everything that had happened.
The same day that the Hellfire Gala took place, the Savage Six led by the Vulture attacked several warehouses and random buildings in order to get Spider-Man's attention.
When the wall-crawler started chasing them, they took him to Central Park where they fought a battle of attrition. Spider-Man managed to knock out 3 but unfortunately things are never that easy for the arachnid hero.
It turned out to be a trap.
The Savage Six took him to Central Park to be attacked by Kindred's followers who were nothing more than escaped patients from Ravencroft Institute after Knull's invasion.
In truth, they were very similar to the Sin-Eater followers with the difference that they were covered in bandages and didn't mind performing suicide attacks. Soon the battle escalated but the strange thing was that it remained unnoticed by anyone, not even the police. In fact, when he arrived, Peter noticed that there was no one around, whoever was behind this had planned it all, he had really created a death trap for himself.
It was hard but he succeeded. After an hour of fighting, the Savage Six were taken down as were Kindred's followers.
Spider-Man didn't even get a break before he was attacked by Kindred himself in person, an action that didn't square with the goals that demon had set for himself.
At the same time, he received a call coming from Ravencroft Institute; it was Norman Osborn, the current director. An erratic Norman told him that Harry Osborn and Carlie Cooper had arrived, both wearing tattered clothes and in a state that read only "incarceration".
Information was always welcome but not at that moment. Such a revelation caused Peter to lose all concentration and as a result he received a brutal beating.
"This is it Peter, in this place you will find out what all your sins were."
"... Yes, I know I have them 'Harry'. Don't think I think of myself as the good samaritan who deserves nothing bad in his life, but please, does making me pay for my sins give you the right to mess with the lives of other spider people, of my acquaintances? No... That's why I will stop you today, because you attacked foolishly and this is my chance to take you down, it's my responsibility to do so."
"You are right, this was a very premature attack."
Those words were enough to start the brutal exchange of blows. It was easy to notice that both were giving it their all, proving that Kindred's strongest point was emotional torture and not physical confrontation even though it wasn't that bad.
It was a very even fight but in the end Spider-Man emerged victorious over Kindred.
"Why?", Spider-Man asked with his voice low, he had no energy and was too sore all over to speak normally. "Why attack so foolishly?".
'Harry' told him, the reason behind his premature attack.
"Heh, someone has entered the game Peter. He knows, he can break you... And he's done it before. That someone is already way ahead of me, he's first in line to enjoy the suffering not only of you, Spider-Man, but of every spider people in the world... He will prove to you that you don't have one more day."
... ... ...
... ... ...
"When these fragments of memories began to come to me, I simply panicked and hid. I didn't want to accept it, I couldn't accept that I, Otto Octavius, really was superior to myself and somehow threw it away!", his tentacles crashed against the walls echoing all over the place as a symbol of his rage. "And the worst part is that that Kindred bug was somehow involved."
Peter's fists clenched in frustration.
He now knew that Kindred had also been targeting Otto in some way.
"So because of him you lost your memories as... Superior Spider-Man."
"... I don't know if it must have been Kindred's doing but yes, I lost those memories you say. Now I just have fragments that come and go louder and louder." Otto let out an exhausted sigh. "The story doesn't end there. When I realized my body was degenerating, I was attacked by a woman dressed in black, as if the shadows were her skin. Heh, she was screaming nonsense about how wasps eat spiders and told me that when I was so close to earning my place as the totem pole of The Faker I dropped everything."
It was pure instinct that May Parker's nephew recoiled, that description sounded sickeningly specific.
"No... It can't be her again, she hasn't been back for years...".
"Who are you talking about?"
"With that description only someone comes to mind... Otto, the woman who attacked you was Shathra, the totem of the Spider Wasp."
Final Words
I can only say... Wow, I didn't expect so much support just starting this fic. I admit that has motivated me to write faster.
Just to clarify, while this story follows the comics, it takes place after events like King in Black and Hellfire Gala but before Sinister War. In fact, Sinister War is an event that never happened.
Now that I address these words to you, I would like to clarify that this story will be developed in 3 stages, each one with different number of arcs.
Here is the number of arcs and their titles for the first stage of this fic:
01: Superior Problems.
02: Radiating Love.
03: The Wastelander and Noir.
04: Pursuit of Spiders.
05: The Union Jack.
06: Seven seas in hand.
07: Unshaken.
08: The Other(s).
09: The countless sins of the hunter.
10: No More One More Day.
And well, I guess that's it.
Really, I'm very grateful for the support you've given me just in the beginning of this story. I hope you like what I have planned.
-Mr: Sohru.