Volume I: Tombstone
Note: This will be the eighth chapter of Volume I, this will feature the return of Lonnie Lincoln as Tombstone. Spider-Man will face negative publicly from Jameson but Flash as well as others will do something to change all that. Captain Stacy will face conflict about Spider-Man's secret.
Spider-Man is on the rooftop with Betty Brant, an intern at the Daily Bugle who asked her friend Peter Parker to ask on her behalf for the interview, though she doesn't know that Peter and Spider-Man are the same person.
"Are you serious? You want to do the interview?" Betty is surprised.
"That's right, and I want you to interview me." Spider-Man says to Betty.
"There's a lot of reporters in this city and I'm just an intern, why me?" Betty is wondering.
"Because you're one of the few who believes in me when not a lot of people do, that's why." Spider-Man explained to Betty.
"I do believe in you, you came to us during our time of crisis, me and my friends where held hostage until you came and risked your life for us, you gave us hope." Betty says to Spider-Man.
"Thank you. Shall we get started?" Spider-Man wants to start the interview.
Betty pulls out her smartphone and uses the app to record.
"Whenever you're ready?" Betty holding the phone.
"My name is Spider-Man, I've been given a great power and have a responsibility to use them to do good." Spider-Man tells Betty.
"How did you get these powers?" Betty got curious.
"By accident, can't give you all the details." Spider-Man won't say too much.
"Why use them for this? You could've used them for personal gain but instead you use them to help people. So why do this?" Betty asking the question.
"I lost someone, someone very dear to me, that day changed me and I swore never let that happen ever again." Spider-Man explained his reasons.
"Aren't you worried about the police and the politicians who are opposed to this and won't allow you to do this?" Betty says to Spider-Man.
"I do, but care more about the lives that are in danger than following the rules and obeying the laws that won't keep good people safe, like yourself and those who were endangered last month." Spider-Man says to Betty.
"I'd admit that I was scared that day, so was everyone else, but you changed all that when you came to rescue us, you even save someone from certain death, none of us would be here if you did come to us that day, thank you." Betty smiled at Spider-Man.
"You welcome Ms. Brant, but doing this isn't always about reward, fame, or even thanks, I do this because it's the right thing to do. This world needs heroes willing to do what's right, that's why I'm here, to let the people of New York know that they have a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man watching out for them." Spider-Man says to Betty.
"I think that the people of New York are lucky to have a hero like you who is brave enough to protect us, to give us hope." Betty finished her interview as she stopped the recording.
"Did you get everything you needed?" Spider-Man asking Betty.
"Enough, hopefully this will change the public's opinions on you." Betty has hopes for Spider-Man.
"Even if it doesn't, I'll still be there to help. Shall I take you back?" Spider-Man offers to return her back to the Bugle.
"Sure, let's go." Betty walked up to Spider-Man.
Spider-Man held her tight as she puts her arms around his neck, he jumps and swings away.
At the same night in the Bronx, the remnants of Lonnie Lincoln's gang are gathering at their new location since the lab got compromised last month and their leader presumed dead.
"Listen up everyone, with Lonnie Lincoln gone, this gang needs a new leader to carry on, I nominate myself."
"Hey man, you can't just become a gang leader just like that."
"Why not? I was Lincoln's top Lieutenant for years and I know this business and got connections to restart our operations in the Bronx. Trust me, we'll make more money than we ever did when Lincoln was alive."
They're all in agreement until someone came in from the shadows and clapped his hands.
"And I thought this gang could've done better, guessing I was wrong."
"Whoever you are! Show yourself!"
"Now, now, is that anyway to talk to your boss." Tombstone came out of the shadows.
The gang sees a man with grayish white skin, with sharp teeth and albino red eyes, he resembles Lonnie Lincoln before his 'death'.
"What's the matter? Don't you recognize me?" Tombstone says to them.
"Lonnie? My god, what happened to you?"
"Oh this? Last thing I remember was falling down the vat and waking up in a body bag, I found out that was presumed dead to everyone."
The Lieutenant pulled out his gun and points it at Tombstone.
"You should've stayed dead! I'm the boss now!"
"Are you gonna shoot me? The man who took you under his wing and made you who you are." Tombstone is curious.
"I waited a long time to take control and you're not gonna stop me!"
"Go ahead, shoot, or I'll kill you." Tombstone dared him.
Tombstone slowly walk towards him as the Lieutenant fires off some rounds as everyone watched, Tombstone is still standing as the bullets didn't penetrate his skin.
"Wow... I didn't feel that." Tombstone smiled mischievously.
The Lieutenant tries to shoot until Tombstone grabbed his wrist and twisted it, the Lieutenant screamed in pain. Tombstone still held his wrist until he uses his fist and punched him hard in the head, he kept punching and punching as the gang watches in terror. Tombstone stopped punching as the man is dead and he turns around with his fist covered in blood.
"Looks like I'm in charge again, anyone what to challenge me for leadership?" Tombstone looking at the gang.
"Uh, no boss, we're with you."
"Good... we got work to do... oh, and get someone to clean up this mess." Tombstone looking at the dead body.
"Right away Mr. Lincoln."
"Lonnie Lincoln is dead, call me... Tombstone." Tombstone calls himself.
Tombstone now has regained control of his old gang as there's much work to do.
The next day on a Sunday morning at the Daily Bugle, Betty showed a recording of her interview with Spider-Man as Jameson and Robbie listened.
"You're welcome Ms. Brant, but doing this isn't always about reward, fame, or even thanks, I do this because it's the right thing to do. This world needs heroes willing to do what's right, that's why I'm here, to let the people of New York know that they have a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man watching out for them." Spider-Man says on the recording.
"I think that the people of New York are lucky to have a hero like you who is brave enough to protect us, to give us hope." Betty says on the recording.
The recording ended as Betty awaited their reply.
"So what do you think?" Betty asking them.
"This is not bad Ms. Brant, I think that this will change the public opinion." Robbie is impressed by the interview.
"If all this were true. How do we know that he's not lying to you and is just using us to get the public off his back?" Jameson isn't impressed.
"Are you serious Jonah? He saved me and Betty from Lonnie Lincoln last month." Robbie defends Spider-Man.
"And also killed a crime lord in the process, which he still hasn't held accountable for that crime." Jameson is still against Spider-Man.
"What happened that day was an accident! Lonnie was gonna kill me and Spider-Man." Robbie says to Jameson.
"That's your opinion, not mine. I'm gonna show the public that he's not above the law, tomorrow I'm gonna organize a press conference against Spider-Man. Let's see how long he'll stay free with the law coming down on him." Jameson is planning something against Spider-Man.
It's Monday in Midtown High as everyone is on a lunch break. The whole school is decorated for Halloween. Peter is sitting with Gwen and Mary Jane until he spotted Betty sitting with Glory Grant. He got up and walked over towards them, Peter could see that Betty doesn't seem too happy lately.
"Hey Betty, what's wrong?" Peter is worried.
"Remember the interview I did on Spider-Man?" Betty reminded Peter.
"Yeah, he came to see you and you finally got the interview. Is that why you're like this?" Peter is wondering.
"No, the interview is great, but Jameson won't print it on the headlines." Betty explained to Peter.
"What? Why?" Peter is surprised by this news.
"He thinks that everything Spider-Man said was a lie, and now he's gonna put pressure on the city for his arrest." Betty explained to Peter.
"Uh guy! You better look at this!" Flash is looking at the phone.
Peter, Betty, and Glory are walking to Flash, as did Mary Jane and Gwen. They all watched on the phone as Jameson is doing a press conference.
"For too long we've aloud this menace known as Spider-Man to swing around the city without consequence, last month he was involved in the murder of the Bronx crime lord Lonnie Lincoln and he's still hasn't been arrested, while the good citizens of New York obeys the law, he continues to break it. I ask this city and the NYPD to hold him accountable for his actions and demanded that he be arrested." Jameson says on the news.
"You gotta be kidding me? This guys still see Spider-Man as a villain and now he's crucifying him in public. This isn't right." Flash is against this.
"I agree, Spider-Man saved my life, he saved all our lives, he's a hero." Gwen defends Spider-Man.
"You're right, we need to do something." Glory agrees with them.
"But what?" Betty is wondering.
"I don't know." Glory doesn't have any ideas.
Peter is worried too, since Jameson just painted Spider-Man as a murderer in public, things are about to get harder for him.
At the same time at Fisk Tower, Wilson Fisk and his assistant Wesley are watching the conference as Jameson is asking the city to arrest Spider-Man.
"Well this is interesting. Looks like we're not the only ones who hate that Wall-Crawler. He may have provided a solution for us whether he knows it or not." Wilson Fisk smiles deviously.
"What are you suggesting sir?" Wesley is curious about his plan.
"We still have some city council members in our pockets, it's time that they do their work." Wilson Fisk devised a plan.
"Still, you need more votes to sway your way." Wesley explained to Fisk.
"Check into the other council members and see if they have any weaknesses to leverage them. We're gonna sit here and let the city that he so wants to protect so much turn on him." Wilson Fisk sits in his chair, smiling while rubbing his mischievous hands together.
Meanwhile at the 13th precinct, George Stacy saw the news on the computer as Jameson is demanding that Spider-Man be arrested for the murder of Lonnie Lincoln. Yuri came into the office as she already knows about the news.
"Captain, did you see the news?" Yuri asking Captain Stacy.
"Yeah, I saw it." George Stacy confirm to Yuri.
"What are we going to do? Arrest Spider-Man?" Yuri is conflicted.
"I hope not, but unfortunately as officers we must follow the law." George explained to Yuri.
"This isn't right." Yuri is still against this whole thing.
"I know, let's hope that the city doesn't give into Jameson's demands." George Stacy says to Yuri.
George already knows that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are one and the same. He never told anyone Spider-Man's secret, but everyone does know that he's been investigating Spider-Man for more than a month, if the city ask about his investigation he'll have to reveal the secret and possibly arrest Peter Parker in the process.
It's night time as Spider-Man kept on swing through the city still thinking about Jameson's anti-Spider-Man agenda, he hopes that the city or the police never have to go against him, but he consider that it will be a possibility at this point.
He lands on a rooftop still gathering his thoughts until the phone that's has been programmed to tap into the NYPD's frequency.
"Attention all units, there's a robbery at the storage depot at the docks, proceed with caution."
Spider-Man jumped off the rooftop and swings towards the docks.
(Meanwhile at the Storage Depot)
A group of gangbangers are moving around barrels of chemicals into the van, on the floor are a couple of security guards unconscious on the ground.
"Hurry up! Boss wants this done fast!"
Spider-Man jumped on top of the van as the thugs sees him.
"You guys really need to find another hobby." Spider-Man says to the thugs.
"Spider-Man! Get him!"
Spider-Man jumped down and does the hurricanrana on one of the thugs, he then sees another coming from his left as he did the side kick. Another thug came swinging a knife at him, he webbed the knife on the thug's hand, he finishes off with a helicopter kick.
"This was too easy." Spider-Man looking at the defeated thugs.
"You think so?" Tombstone came out of hiding and showed himself.
"Who are you?" Spider-Man is asking Tombstone.
"You don't recognize me? I'm hurt, I felt in the vat the last time we met." Tombstone gave hints about his identity.
"Lonnie Lincoln? It can't be, I thought you were dead?" Spider-Man is surprised.
"Yes well, rumors of my death has been greatly exaggerated." Tombstone says to Spider-Man.
"What happened to you? You look-" Spider-Man is surprised that he's alive and by his new appearance.
"Different? I have you to thank for that. I guess it's true what they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Tombstone says to Spider-Man.
"Alive or not, I'm gonna stop you again." Spider-Man says to Tombstone.
"Take your shot!" Tombstone smiled as he dared Spider-Man.
Spider-Man fired off a web line at Tombstone as he blocked with his arm, he then pulled the line and Spider-Man towards him as he executes a roundhouse kick, Spider-Man got kicked hard at the crates. Spider-Man recovers himself as he's surprised by Tombstone's strength level.
"Is that all you got?" Tombstone taunts him.
Spider-Man got up and runs towards him, he executes some punches at Tombstone as it did no effect, Tombstone didn't even feel the punch. Spider-Man tries to punch at the face until Tombstone caught it and strikes a punch to Spider-Man's face, he then picked Spidey up and tossed him hard onto a car. Spider-Man was getting bested by this new villain.
"To be honest, I'm quite disappointed. I expected more from you." Tombstone says to a defeated Spider-Man.
Tombstone then heard sirens coming closer as the cops are on their way.
"Looks like it's your lucky day, till next time Spider-Man. Alright boys, let's head out!" Tombstone orders his men.
Tombstone and his men got inside the van and left Spider-Man behind. Spider-Man is still too injured from the fight with Tombstone, he looked around and sees that Tombstone is gone.
In Forest Hills at the Watson Residence, Mary Jane is still looking over articles on the campaign against Spider-Man that Jameson has started. She then heard a tap from her bedroom window, she got up and sees Spider-Man outside hanging, she opened it as he came inside not looking too well.
"Peter, are you alright?" Mary Jane is concerned.
Peter took off his mask as Mary Jane sees a black eye on his face, she became shocked.
"My god! What happened?" Mary Jane is shocked to see him like that.
"I was defeated." Peter admits his defeat.
Peter laid down on the bed as he took off the top part of his suit and he still felt the bruise on his body that Tombstone inflicted on him.
(Later)
Mary Jane came back as she got a bag of ice for Peter's face, she hands it to him.
"Thanks MJ." Peter puts the ice pack on his face.
"What happened out there?" Mary Jane is waiting for an answer.
"It was Lonnie Lincoln, he did this to me." Peter revealed the truth.
"Lonnie Lincoln? That drug dealer you were accused of murdering? He did this to you?" Mary Jane is confused.
"Apparently he's not dead, it's gonna sound strange but he looked like a... zombie." Peter says to Mary Jane.
"A zombie?" Mary Jane is more confused.
"I know, it's sounds crazy." Peter says to Mary Jane.
"Well we live in the city that has a spider guy swinging around, so nothing surprises me anymore. So any idea on how he ended up this way?" Mary Jane says to Peter.
"Last month, he fell into a vat and the chemicals he bathed in must've altered his physiology." Peter explained to Mary Jane.
"Altered? What exactly are talking about here?" Mary Jane says to Peter.
"So far superhuman strength and enhanced durability, I gave him all the punches and it did nothing." Peter explained to Mary Jane.
"So what are you going to do?" Mary Jane asking Peter.
"I don't know, not like I already have enough problems on my hands, Jameson accusing me of being a killer and turning the whole city against me." Peter explained his situation.
"Maybe this is a good sign." Mary Jane thought of something.
"What do you mean?" Peter is confused to her meaning.
"Think about it, you were accused for murdering Lonnie Lincoln, but that's not true since technically he's not dead. If you can bring in Mr. Lincoln, you might be able to clear your name and that might change the public's opinion on you." Mary Jane explained her idea.
"That might work, though that's not going to be easy since he's stronger now and he just bested me in combat." Peter tells Mary Jane.
"Most of the bad guys you faced were normal, right?" Mary Jane says to Peter.
"Yeah." Peter replied to Mary Jane.
"So you were holding back when you face Lincoln, that's why you were defeated. So the next time you see him, don't hold back." Mary Jane says to Peter.
"That makes sense. Thanks MJ, what would I do without you?" Peter smiled at Mary Jane.
Peter is happy to have Mary Jane in his life as his best friend and confidant, he trusted her with his secret.
"I should get going, though I might have to explain the black eye to Aunt May." Peter is worried about the black eye.
"Wait, I have an idea." Mary Jane thought of something for Peter.
At the Thompson Residence, the door bell rang as Jessie when to the door and sees Betty Brant and Glory Grant outside the door.
"Hi Jessie, is your brother here?" Betty asking Jessie.
"Sure, Flash! A couple of your classmates are here!" Jessie calls out to Flash.
Flash came downstairs to see Betty and Glory here at his home.
"Betty? Glory? What are you two doing here?" Flash is surprised by their visit.
"Could we talk?" Betty telling Flash.
Later, Betty and Glory are inside Flash's room as they see some articles from the newspapers about Spider-Man and his heroic deeds.
"I see that you're quite the fan." Betty smiled as she looked around.
"Better believe it, so what brings you two to my house?" Flash is asking them.
"It's about this injustice being committed against Spider-Man." Betty explained to Flash.
"I know, it's not fair that he's painted as the bad guy, he saved our lives and saved Gwen from certain death, doesn't really sound like a villain or a menace to me." Flash defends Spider-Man.
"That's why we need to figure out a way to show everyone the kind of hero he really is." Betty says to Flash.
"How? Your boss just turned the whole city against him and we're just a couple of high schoolers with very little resources, do you really think that they'll listen to us?" Flash is asking Betty.
"Look, tomorrow is Halloween, maybe we can do something tomorrow to show support for Spider-Man." Betty says to Flash.
Flash kept thinking until he got an idea. "I got it. Glory, does your aunt still make costumes for plays and all that stuff?"
"Yeah, why?" Glory says to Flash.
"I got an idea, though it might not be enough. Betty, do you still have that recording from your interview with Spider-Man?" Flash says to Betty.
"I never deleted it, what are you suggesting?" Betty is wondering.
"You'll see but first we need to make a large order and find some fellow students to help." Flash has got a plan.
It's morning as Halloween is today. At the Stacy Residence, George is still conflicted about turning in Peter Parker if the city and the department demands it. His phone rang as its Yuri Watanabe calling.
"Captain Stacy here." George answered the phone.
"Captain, bad news, city council has voted in favor of arresting Spider-Man." Yuri tells George over the phone.
"So soon? I thought that the vote would take time, I never seen one happen so quickly." George is surprised by the answer.
"Neither did I, but those are the orders. I'm sorry Captain." Yuri says over the phone.
"Thank you Lieutenant." George hangs up.
George is surprised that city council has voted against Spider-Man so fast in a short amount of time. He's even more conflicted now that he's been ordered to arrest Spider-Man on sight, though he's the only cop that knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man for now.
At the Parker Residence, Peter is in his bathroom looking at the black eye he got from Tombstone, he applied some makeup that Mary Jane gave him to hide the black eye.
"There, that should do it." Peter smiled looking at the mirror.
The doorbell rang as he exited the bathroom and went downstairs. He opened the door and sees George Stacy outside.
"Captain Stacy? What brings you by?" Peter is surprised.
"I came to see you." George gave his answer.
"Me? Why?" Peter is confused.
"I want you to know that city council has issued the orders to have Spider-Man arrested." George explained to Peter.
"And you're telling me this, why?" Peter says to George.
"Because I know that you have a connection to Spider-Man, cause I think it's best that you distance yourself for him." George gave an excuse.
"So you're going to arrest Spider-Man, just like that? After he saved Gwen?" Peter asking George.
"I don't like this either, but I'm a police captain, I have rules to follow, I must uphold the law, I have no choice." George Stacy explains to Peter.
"I understand, but we always have a choice. Spider-Man could've stayed away and let the police save those hostages, but he chose to risk his life to save them. He chose to be a hero." Peter says to George Stacy.
"Look, I'm only here to give you the heads ups. Please, be careful." George said what he need to say.
George then leaves the house as he didn't even arrest Peter yet, hopefully no one will ask him if he knows who Spider-Man is.
Peter is now even more worried that it's not just Tombstone that he needs to worry about, it's the NYPD.
Back in the Bronx hideout, Tombstone and his men successfully stolen the chemicals from the depot and even managed to do so with Spider-Man's intervention.
"Not bad boss, defeating Spider-Man was no easy feat."
"But it's still not enough, he's still out there. But this is a great opportunity." Tombstone smiled mischievously.
"For what?"
"When I was in prison years back, I learned that best way to be top dog was to take that top dog down hard. Now who is the top dog of this city?" Tombstone asking his men.
None of them have an answer until Tombstone holds up a paper with Spider-Man's picture in the front page.
"Everyone in New York worship this bug, if I'm going to be taking over this city, Spider-Man has to die by my hand. After that, I'll go after Fisk and become the New Kingpin of Crime." Tombstone explains his plan.
"But how are we gonna find him?"
"There this kid in Queens that works as a freelance photographer at the Daily Bugle, his name is Peter Parker. He'll lead us to Spider-Man or even bring him to us." Tombstone is now on the hunt for Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
It's after school as some students are meeting in a classroom, Flash and Betty called them here, Mary Jane, Gwen, Harry, Kong, Liz, Randy, Sha Shan, and others attended the meeting.
"Okay Flash, what's this all about?" Harry asking Flash.
"I'm sure that most of you know about the predicament that Spider-Man is facing." Flash explains to them.
"Yeah, we know that he's being painted as a murderer and a menace." Kong says to them.
"That's not true!" Mary Jane speaks up.
"Why not?" Harry asking Mary Jane.
"Because Peter got in touch with Spider-Man and he told me that Lonnie Lincoln is still alive, he's no murderer." Mary Jane explained to them.
"I believe you, I was there when Lonnie had me and Robbie Robertson kidnapped. He wanted to kill Spider-Man but he fell down the vat by accident, Spider-Man saved us." Betty tells them.
"If he wasn't there that day, my dad wouldn't be alive right now, I'm thankful to him." Randy tells them.
"He saved my life when I was drowning, he's a hero." Gwen tells them.
"He saved all our lives." Liz speaks up.
"We're all in agreement, we need to show our support to Spider-Man and show this city that he's a hero." Flash says to them.
"How?" Kong is curious.
Glory came in and carried a box as she sits it down on the floor, she opens it. Everyone is surprised by what's inside.
"Wow!" Kong smiled in excitement.
"I know. But listen, what we're doing is to show support, we might face trouble but if any of you want to walk out, now is the time." Flash tells them.
The group still stayed in the room, none of them walked out as they want to help out.
Flash smiled back at them. "Okay, let's get to work."
May has returned back home after a day working in the hospital, she looks around the streets and sees kids in costume going door to door celebrating Halloween. She sees the door is already opened, she assumes that Peter is home.
"Peter? Are you home?" May calls out but nothing.
May continues to walk inside the house until she spotted men inside that never seen before.
"Sorry ma'am, your nephew isn't home yet. We're just waiting for him." Tombstone sitting on the couch.
May is shocked as bad men are inside her house looking for Peter.
Back at the 13th precinct, George Stacy has already issued orders to have Spider-Man arrested on sight. He can't believe that he's going against the very guy who saved his daughter's life, not to mention that he's her friend and that she's in love with him.
Yuri came into the office. "Captain Stacy, the mayor and the commissioner is here."
"Send them in." George told Yuri to bring them into his office.
The mayor and the police commissioner are here in George Stacy's office.
"Your honor, sir, what brings you both here?" George Stacy salutes them.
"We understand that you've been doing an investigation into Spider-Man."
"That is correct." George Stacy says to them.
"We like to know if your investigation has revealed the identity of Spider-Man."
"I'm still not following you?" George Stacy trying to stall.
"We'll get to the point... Do you know the identity of Spider-Man? His name?"
George is obliged to follow the law as he's about to reveal Spider-Man's true identity until he hesitated as he saw a photo of Gwen Stacy on his desk. He remembers that Peter saved her life and that he's very thankful to him, he couldn't bring himself to betray him.
"No... I don't know who Spider-Man is." George Stacy lied to them.
"Are you sure?"
"My investigation hasn't gotten anything concrete. I'm so sorry if I wasted your time." George Stacy is withholding information.
"Thank you Captain, that'll be all."
"Sir." George Stacy salutes them.
The mayor and the police commissioner left the office as Yuri stayed behind as she could tell that he knows more than what he's saying.
"Anything to say Lieutenant?" George Stacy is asking Yuri.
"You lied to them, you know who Spider-Man is, don't you?" Yuri says to George.
George sighed. "Yes."
"Why? Why are you keeping important information from them? If they find out that you known who Spider-Man is and told no one, you could be suspended and stripped of your rank." Yuri explained what could happen to George.
"I'm very aware of that Lieutenant." George is well aware of the situation.
"Why Captain? Why risk yourself and your job for him?" Yuri is curious.
"Remember that day last month, the school was held hostage and we were ordered to stand down?" George asking Yuri.
"Yeah, it was the hardest thing to do." Yuri remembers that day.
"We couldn't do much to save them, but then Spider-Man came and rescued everyone, he even saved my daughter from certain death. I owe him, how can I repay him for what he'd done if I betray him by revealing his secret. If they find out that I withhold information on Spider-Man, then I'll deal with the consequences." George is willing to take responsibility.
"Okay, then as far as I know, you don't know anything about Spider-Man." Yuri agrees with George Stacy.
"Thank you." George Stacy says to Yuri.
"For what?" Yuri smiled as she left the office.
George Stacy decided to keep Spider-Man's identity to himself and never to reveal it to anyone, he's willingly to take this secret to the grave with him.
Peter came by Midtown High as he got a call from Mary Jane about a surprise for him.
"Okay MJ, what's the surprise." Peter enters the classroom.
Peter is surprised to see most of Midtown students wearing Spider-Man costumes for Halloween.
"What the...?" Peter is surprised.
"Like it Tiger?" Mary Jane came wearing a Spider-Man costume.
"What is all this?" Peter is confused as to what's going on.
"It's called a show of support. We're gonna go out there wearing these for Halloween to show our support to Spider-Man." Flash is wearing a Spider-Man costume.
"Wow... I'm quite surprised that you would go so far as to do all this for Spider-Man." Peter says to Flash.
"Yeah well, Spider-Man saved our lives last month and the people deserve to know the kind of hero he really is." Flash explains to Peter.
"It's a brave thing you're doing Flash." Peter smiled at Flash.
"You can thank Spider-Man for that, he gave us hope during our darkest times." Flash is inspired by Spider-Man's actions.
Peter smiled as he can see that he made a big difference in everyone's lives as Spider-Man. He remembers what Madame Web told about him becoming a great hero and that he will change the world, looks like she's right.
"Come on, we need a photographer to take photos of us." Flash now leads the group.
Everyone started to walk out of the school with Peter following them. A lot of people are surprised to see teenagers wearing Spider-Man's costume. Each of them goes to house to house trick or treating, some people are pleased to see Spider-Man at their doorsteps as they hand out candy.
Peter takes photos of the event as some people are actually starting to support Spider-Man, though there are a few that are still afraid of Spider-Man after Jameson made an accusation against him.
"Trick or Treat Tiger." Mary Jane smiled in her Spider-Man's costume.
"You look great MJ." Peter smiled as he likes what he sees.
"Take a picture please." Mary Jane posing in her costume.
Peter stepped back as he aims his camera and took a picture of Mary Jane in her Spider-Man costume.
"How'd I do?" Mary Jane is wondering.
"Amazing!" Peter smiled at Mary Jane.
Peter's phone rang as its Aunt May calling him.
Peter answered the phone. "Hey Aunt May, I'm out with MJ."
"Sorry kid, your auntie isn't available." Tombstone says over the phone.
"Who is this?" Peter not looking too happy.
"Lonnie Lincoln, but you can call me Tombstone." Tombstone introduced himself.
"Where is she?" Peter is getting worried.
"Don't worry, she's alright... for now." Tombstone informed Peter.
"What do you want?" Peter demands Tombstone.
"That's easy kid, Spider-Man. I know that you two are tight since you take photos of him so you must be in touch with him. Send him a message on my behalf, tell him that I'll be waiting in Forest Hills at the Parker Residence, oh and no cops or the old lady gets it, understand?" Tombstone hangs up.
"Hello?... Hello?!" Peter got cut off.
"Peter, what's wrong?" Mary Jane got worried.
"It's Lonnie Lincoln, he's got Aunt May." Peter says to Mary Jane.
"What? Why? What does he want?" Mary Jane is more worried.
"Me, as in Spider-Man. He wants me to come to my house or he'll kill Aunt May." Peter explained to Mary Jane.
"Unbelievable, it wasn't enough that he was involved in the school attack, now he's holding a defenseless woman hostage." Mary Jane is shocked.
"I know, apparently these criminals don't have any limits, they're willingly to go far to get what they want. I have to go." Peter is leaving.
"Peter... don't hold back this time, save May, take down this son of a bitch." Mary Jane encourages Peter.
"I will." Peter left the area.
Peter found a place to change into his suit.
Meanwhile Mary Jane is getting worried for Peter and May as the trick or treating continues. She got an idea that might help Peter. She walks over to Flash.
"Mary Jane, what is it?" Flash asking Mary Jane.
"We need everyone to go to Forest Hills at once." Mary Jane tells Flash.
"Forest Hills, why?" Flash is curious.
"Something big is about to go down that everyone needs to see." Mary Jane says to Flash.
"It is about Spider-Man?" Flash is wondering.
"Yes... don't ask me anymore questions. Can you help me?" Mary Jane asking Flash.
"Very Well. Listen up everyone, we need to get to Forest Hills as fast as we can!" Flash tells everyone.
Tombstone is still at the Parker Residence waiting for Spider-Man to come. May Parker is tied up to a chair as Tombstone and his men are waiting.
"He's late. Looks like your dear nephew couldn't deliver the message?" Tombstone says to May.
"You're despicable. Threatening lives to get what you want, just like you did to the school last month. You have no morals, no conscience, no honor." May tells Tombstone.
"Unfortunately lady, that's the world we live in. Only the strong will survive it." Tombstone says to May.
"You call this strength, it isn't. These actions you criminals show is how much of a coward you all really are." May dared tells Tombstone.
The door came busting in as Spider-Man showed himself to Tombstone.
"Spider-Man, you're just in time." Tombstone is glad that Spider-Man showed up.
"Get away from her!" Spider-Man said not looking too happy.
"Alright." Tombstone moves away from May. "It's just you I really want."
"What do you want from me?" Spider-Man is demanding answers.
"That's easy, you. You're big news to everyone in New York and I'm calling you out." Tombstone tells of his intentions.
"So you did all this just to challenge me?" Spider-Man says to Tombstone.
"I just need something that can get everyone's attention and see that I'm the top dog, but right now that's you. After I'm done with you, I shall rally all the crime families under one banner and no one will dare go against Tombstone." Tombstone explained his ambition.
"Let's get this started, step outside." Spider-Man says to Tombstone.
"Gladly... men, leave the woman and this place now." Tombstone orders his men.
Spider-Man and Tombstone steps outside into the streets as did his men.
"Don't interfere! He's mine." Tombstone tells his men to stay out of this fight.
Spider-Man and Tombstone are about to face each other in combat on the streets of Forest Hills.
"You're not running away even after I beat your ass? You're either brave or stupid." Tombstone says to Spider-Man.
"I was holding back, I won't make that same mistake again." Spider-Man says back to Tombstone.
"Like I said before... take your shot!" Tombstone smiled as her dared Spider-Man.
Spider-Man when charging in as Tombstone got is fists ready and throws the first punch. Spider-Man dodged the jab and strikes with a hook to the face. Tombstone felt the pain as he spits out blood, he could see that Spider-Man isn't holding back anymore.
"That's more like it, make it a challenge." Tombstone smiled in excitement.
Spider-Man and Tombstone continues to fight in the streets until a crowd came towards them, it's Flash and the rest of the group in their Spider-Man costumes, along with some people.
"Everyone pull out your phones and start recording!" Flash tells them.
Everyone pulled out their smartphones as they start to record the fight happening between Spider-Man and Tombstone.
Spider-Man does a roundhouse kick until Tombstone caught and trap his leg, he grabbed Spider-Man by the throat, he picked him up and tossed him hard onto a car. Tombstone is getting the best of Spider-Man as he picked up a shard of glass to be used as weapon.
"It's time to end this Spider-Man." Tombstone is about to strike at him with the shard.
Tombstone got hit by a can on his head, he turns around to see a crowd yelling at him in Spider-Man costumes.
"Get away from him!" Flash yells at Tombstone.
Tombstone chuckles. "You kids can't be serious."
"We're done being intimidated by you!" Flash speaks up.
"You're gonna pay for what you've done!" Betty speaks up.
"No one should have to be afraid of you!" Gwen speaks up.
"Get out of here!" Glory yelled out.
"Get out!" Randy yelled too.
Tombstone chuckled. "Oh how I'm gonna enjoy mopping the floor of all of you!"
"Tombstone!" Spider-Man yelled out.
Tombstone turns around to see Spider-Man standing up.
"We're not done yet!" Spider-Man says to Tombstone.
"Fine... let's finish this!" Tombstone is about to fight again.
"Take your shot!" Spider-Man dared him.
Tombstone steps forward and throws the first punch but Spider-Man blocked it and does the hook punch to the face again.
"You can do this Spidey! Kick his ass!" Flash cheered for Spider-Man.
Tombstone is recovering from the punch as he charges in and Spider-Man runs up and does the hurricanrana, he flipped Tombstone down hard as everyone cheer for Spider-Man.
"You got him!" Mary Jane smiled in excitement.
Tombstone gotten back up on his feet barely standing as Spider-Man sees him.
"Time to end this." Spider-Man is about to strike again.
Spider-Man runs up and jumps, he swings his elbow downward onto Tombstone's head and hits it. Tombstone is losing consciousness and faints as he fell backwards onto the ground. Spider-Man emerged victorious as he defeated Tombstone, everyone in the crowd cheered for Spider-Man.
"You did it!" Flash smiled cheerfully.
Spider-Man walks up and webs Tombstone up as to not let him get away again. Tombstone is still a bit conscious as he looked up at Spider-Man.
"Good fight... Enjoy your victory while it last, you may have defeated me, but you already made a powerful enemy and don't even know it. He'll come for you." Tombstone still trapped in the webbing.
"Who? Who'll come for me?" Spider-Man is curious about this enemy.
"The Kingpin." Tombstone smiles as he closes his eyes and rest.
Spider-Man is wondering who this Kingpin is, he's starting to suspect that he made be the one behind all the crime that's happened in New York, including the attack on Midtown High.
The crowd heard police sirens as they moved as the police are here. Some of Tombstone's men sees the police is here as they run away.
Spider-Man is inside the house to free Aunt May from the ropes.
"Here you go, you're free." Spider-Man helps May.
"Thank you... what about my nephew Peter?" May is curious about Peter.
"Don't worry, he's safe. I'll let him know that you're okay." Spider-Man tells May.
Spider-Man steps outside as he sees Captain Stacy with the police force.
"Captain Stacy, there's your criminal, Lonnie Lincoln, he's still alive and breathing." Spider-Man showed him Tombstone.
"Captain, what are your orders?"
George Stacy had his orders from the mayor and police commissioner for Spider-Man's arrest but he has a change of heart.
"Take Lonnie Lincoln into custody." George Stacy orders his men.
"Yes sir."
The two officers went over to pick up Tombstone who is still trapped in the webbing.
"Lonnie Lincoln, you are under arrest for conspiracy, selling narcotics, number of murders, and the holding May Parker as a hostage, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have a right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one them one will be provided to you." George Stacy read the Miranda Rights.
Everyone is looking as Lonnie Lincoln AKA Tombstone who sells drugs and was involved in the attack of Midtown High has finally got arrested, justice had been served against one of the conspirators, though they are others still out there.
George sees Spider-Man still here watching as Tombstone is arrested.
"Thank you Captain Stacy, for believing in me." Spider-Man thanks George.
"Your welcome, as someone once told me, we always have a choice." George referring to Peter Parker.
Spider-Man ran out of the scene as everyone watched him go, no one even tries to stop him. Everyone is happy that Spider-Man saved the day.
Back at the 13th precinct as Tombstone is still in the interrogation room awaiting to be questioned, he's left alone with one police officer watching him.
"Hey, what's taking so long?" Tombstone asking the officer.
The officers phone rang as he answered it.
"Hello?... Yes, he's still right here and hasn't said anything yet."
Tombstone is curious as to who is calling, though he has some suspicion of who it is.
"It's for you."
Tombstone grabbed their phone and listens to who's on it.
"Should've figure you got a man inside the precinct... Kingpin." Tombstone knows that Kingpin is pulling the strings.
"Just one of the few I've implanted to keep me informed of George Stacy's movement since that raid last month." Kingpin says over the phone.
"If you're calling to kill me, then you're wasting your time, Unlike Silvermane I'm not that easy to kill. But mark my words, if I go down then you go down with me." Tombstone threatening Kingpin.
"Oh I'm very aware... by the way, how is your daughter?" Kingpin says over the phone.
Tombstone is shocked to hear that Kingpin mentioned his daughter.
"Janice, is it? Still studying abroad I'm guessing. Check the photo on the phone." Kingpin says to Tombstone.
Tombstone got a text with a picture of his daughter in boarding school, very recent.
"I could sent her a rose on my behalf." Kingpin is intimidating Tombstone.
"Don't you dare mess with my daughter." Tombstone says to Kingpin, not too happy.
"Then say nothing about me and keep your mouth shut, confess to being the mastermind of the Midtown incident. If you say anything about me or attempt to warn anyone, then your daughter will pay for it, she will suffer slowly, I'm a man of my word." Kingpin threatens Tombstone and his daughter Janice.
The phone hanged up as the officer took it back. Captain Stacy and Lieutenant Watanabe enters the interrogation room to question Lonnie Lincoln.
"You're excused officer." George Stacy says to the officer.
The dirty cop exited the room as George and Yuri sat down to interrogate Lonnie Lincoln.
"Lonnie Lincoln, back from the dead, and now you call yourself Tombstone." George Stacy says to Tombstone.
"It's flamboyant, but I like it." Tombstone says to George.
"We know from Robbie Robertson and Betty Brant that you were involved in the attack on Midtown High, we know that you have associates. Tell us who they are and maybe we can make a deal." George Stacy asking for his cooperation.
"There are no associates, because it was me, I'm the mastermind of this whole operation, I ordered the Enforcers to take your daughter Gwen as hostage, and I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for that Meddling Spider." Tombstone lied as he confessed to being the mastermind.
Tombstone confessed to being the mastermind of the Midtown incident, to protect his daughter Janice from Kingpin. Despite being a criminal and a monster, his daughter Janice is the only one he loves and cares for in this world.
Peter and Mary Jane are in Peter's bedroom after the whole incident this night ended. Both of them are wearing the costumes, though his is the genuine article.
"That went well, Tombstone is finally in police custody and Aunt May is safe." Peter says to Mary Jane.
"It's gets better, a lot of people saw your heroic actions tonight, they even recorded your performance, that should sway public opinion on you." Mary Jane says to Peter.
"I don't know if that's gonna be enough." Peter says to Mary Jane.
"By the way, Flash and Betty posted your interview online through their website." Mary Jane says to Peter.
"Website?" Peter is confused.
"Let me show you." Mary Jane grabbed Peter's laptop.
She types in the page, and shows a social media page that Flash and Betty created together, the Spider-Man Fan Club.
"Wow! The Spider-Man Fan Club, that's catchy." Peter is impressed.
"There's more than just your interview, watch." Mary Jane types in.
She shows a video that Flash made for Spider-Man.
"My name is Flash Thompson, I was one of the students that got held hostage on the day of September 7th, 2021, it was a dark day for all of us, all would've been lost if Spider-Man hadn't come to our rescue and saved our lives. I want to say thank you to Spider-Man for all the good he had done." Flash says on the video.
"Wow." Peter is surprised by Flash's video.
"There's more." Mary Jane switches to the next video.
"My name is Gwen Stacy, I was the one that got held hostage and nearly died at the hands of those thugs, but Spider-Man came to my rescue and gave me a second chance at life, I'm thankful to Spider-Man for saving my life." Gwen says on the video.
(Next Video)
"Last week these two men tries to rob my store and emptied the cash register until Spider-Man came and stopped them."
(Next Video)
"My apartment was on fire with me and my daughter trapped in the inferno, he came to our rescue and pulled us out of danger, he's a hero."
(Next Video)
"My son Randy was one of the hostages that got held in the school last month, Spider-Man came to his rescue and he even saved my life from Lonnie Lincoln. The people of New York should know that he's a hero." Robbie says on the video.
Peter watched the videos that the people he saved made videos on his behalf, thanking him for his heroic actions.
"This is really amazing." Peter is more amazed by this.
"It's gets better, there's a lot of followers that supports you, more than hundreds of thousands and counting." Mary Jane says to Peter.
"Hundreds of thousands? That's spectacular." Peter so quite surprised.
"You made quite a big difference in everyone's lives, you gave them hope." Mary Jane says to Peter.
Peter smiled as his actions changed a lot of lives, including Flash Thompson who used to bully him in his youth and now has changed so much, he's become a better person, even Captain Stacy who always follows the law and chose to do what's right no matter what anyone says.
It's November 1st the next day, at Fisk Tower, Wilson Fisk and James Wesley are watching Captain George Stacy speaking on the news.
"Approximately at last night, the criminal known as Lonnie Lincoln who is believed to be involved in the Midtown Attack, has finally been arrested and will be facing charges from distributing narcotics, kidnapping, extortion, and a number of murders." George Stacy says to the press.
"What about that Wall-Crawler Spider-Man? What's the police going to do about him?" Jameson speaks up.
"Unfortunately since Mr. Lincoln is still alive and breathing, we will not be pursuing charges against Spider-Man, as of right now they are dropped and he is cleared." George Stacy says on the news.
"Like Hell! He's still out there breaking the law! You're gonna let him swing around out there?" Jameson still protest.
"I don't let him do anything, but I can't deny that he's done a lot of good in these past months, I'm sure that the people of New York also agrees with me. He's the kind of hero this city needs and deserves." George Stacy says on the news.
"As you can see Captain Stacy and the police department are going to support Spider-Man for his actions as a hero, and the people of New York also shared their support, including the students of Midtown High who stepped up to show their support for Spider-Man."
Fisk is watching as he fails in his fight against Spider-Man again, he slams his fist down as he lost this fight.
"Damn it! Those kids will pay for this, ruining my plans!" Wilson Fisk is angry as he lost.
"Sir, now is not a good time to retaliate. The police already has Lonnie Lincoln in custody and he confessed to being the mastermind of the incident. If you try anything, all eyes will point your way." James Wesley tries to keep Fisk from retaliating.
"Fine, I may have lost this battle, if Spider-Man wants a war, then I'll give him war, and this time I'll come at him with everything I've got." Wilson Fisk remained calm as he plans his next move.
At the Parker Residence, Peter and Mary Jane watched the news as Captain Stacy dropped the charges against Spider-Man thanks to having Lonnie Lincoln in custody, Lonnie Lincoln took the responsibility for the attack on Midtown High but he knows that there's someone else pulling the strings on all the crimes that happened in New York, this Kingpin.
"It's over, Lonnie Lincoln is finally locked up." Mary Jane says to Peter.
"But this Kingpin isn't, this isn't over. He's still out there and I'm going to find him." Peter says to Mary Jane.
This Kingpin is the one who orchestrated the attack on Midtown High and came after his friend Gwen to hurt George Stacy. He's not gonna stop until he finds out who this Kingpin is and bring him to justice.
Peter stopped by Thompson Residence as he rang the doorbell, he sees Jessie opening the door. Jessie sees Peter here at the door as she blushed as she got a crush on him.
"Oh, hi Peter." Jessie blushed a bit.
"Hi Jessie, is Flash here?" Peter asking Jessie.
"Sure, come in." Jessie invites Peter inside.
Peter followed Jessie upstairs as they reached Flash's room. The door opened as Flash sees Peter here at his house.
"Parker? What brings you to my house?" Flash is surprised.
"Just wanted to chat, if that's okay?" Peter says to Flash.
"Sure... Jess, can you leave us please?" Flash saying to his sister.
"Sure, nice seeing you Peter." Jessie smiled as she left the room.
Peter and Flash are alone as Jessie closed the door behind them, Peter noticed how Jessie is acting around him.
"What was that all about?" Peter is curious about Jessie's behavior.
"Don't ask... So what do you want to talk about?" Flash asking Peter.
"About last night, it's a brave thing you did, standing up to Tombstone and helping Spider-Man, he really appreciates it." Peter says to Flash.
"I kinda owed him that, last month me and a few others were trapped in the school with our lives threatened until he came and saved all of us. When I first saw him going back to saving Gwen, it was the first time I saw heroism in any person. He inspired me to become a better person, something more than the guy I used to be." Flash says to Peter.
"I admire you Flash Thompson, back then I just thought of you as a bully and a glory hound, now you've changed so much these past months." Peter says to Flash.
"Well... I like to apologize to you for all those times I've treated you, can you forgive me?" Flash is apologizing to Peter.
"I already have, you're forgiven." Peter extents his hand.
Flash took it and shake hands with Peter, they've gone from rivals to friends.
"Thank you... Puny Parker." Flash says to Peter.
"You too... Eugene." Peter says to Flash.
Jessie came into the surprising both Peter and Flash.
"Jessie, what are you doing here?" Flash says to Jessie.
"You're not gonna believe what's on the news." Jessie says to Flash.
Flash picked up a remote as he turned on the TV.
"Approximately ten hours ago, CEO of Stark Industries Tony Stark who went missing three months ago has finally been found alive and well after he escaped from captivity by a group of terrorists called themselves the Ten Rings, he is currently in route to his home in Malibu as we shall await his return and hear what he has to say about his escape."
Peter and Flash watched as the news shows a recent footage of Tony Stark at the air base after his escape from captivity. Peter is glad that another life was saved though he's not sure what the return of Tony Stark could bring to this world, only time will tell.
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