The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 70: Rebirth
Eddie rushed into his apartment, feeling uncharacteristically sick and tired. As soon as he burst through his door, he dropped the groceries he was carrying in his bag and fell to his knees.
"What the Hell?!" he yelled at himself as he grabbed his forehead with both his hands. His head as heavy as a boulder, and his eyes felt like they were about to jump out of his skull at any moment.
"Stop…stop…STOP!" he shouted, as he made a beeline towards his bedroom, only to run straight into the wall, and fall down on the floor.
"What…is happening?" he asked as he grabbed both sides of his head and squeezed, in hopes of relieving the pain he was feeling. Grunting, he punched his wall in agony, only for his hand to go straight through.
W-What?" he asked himself, confused and in pain.
"Brock…" said a loud, raspy voice. Almost as if it was a demon from Hell.
"W-Who was that?" asked Eddie, the pain subsiding for a while, but then sharply rising again. The pain moved from his forehead to his spine as well.
"STOP!" he shouted even louder. Just then, he heard a knock on his apartment door.
"Mr Brock? Are you okay?" asked a voice. Eddie fell to his knees, as the pain immobilized his legs. Eddie began to crawl to the door in hopes of opening it, however, his arms suddenly shot backwards, and towards the ground.
"Eddie?" asked the neighbor, knocking again. Eddie tried to scream, but he was unable to open his mouth. The paralysis moved to his neck, and the pain became too much to handle, as he fell unconscious on the floor.
Eddie opened his eyes, and found himself on a hill. He was lying face-first on the grass, and yet he could barely feel it touch his face. Regaining control of his body, he got to his knees and stood back up, only to realize something even weirder.
The night sky had no moon, and everything was in black and white, as if he was stuck in a noir film.
"Did the bartender…spike my drink?" thought Eddie, barely able to even connect his thoughts. That's when he recognized the hill he was standing on.
"Oh no…no no no no no no no no!" said Eddie, frantically as he began to run down the hill, away from the top. That's when he heard what he was dreading.
"And there we go! You made it!" said a voice, all too familiar to Eddie. Against his better judgment, he walked up the hill, and saw a younger, 7 year old version of him on a bicycle, and his own father.
"Yes!" exclaimed the younger Eddie enthusiastically, as he stared at the surroundings while on top of the hill. "We did it, dad!"
"We sure did," said Eddie's father, seeming a little apprehensive.
"Why aren't you happy?" asked the younger Eddie, while the older Eddie could barely watch. His father seemed to be fixated on the horizon, the skyline of New York City.
"I-I could've been there," said his father, his fists clenching a little bit. "If it weren't for…"
"Mom?" asked Eddie. "I hear both of you fight every night,"
"No, Edward. It's you," said his dad, with a stone cold expression.
Eddie had a confused look. "What?" he asked.
"If your mom just listened to me and had the abortion, I would've been up there, a high rise apartment in Manhattan. Instead, I never got my degree since I was too busy with you, and now I work for a second rate newspaper company," said his dad, spitefully, as he continued staring at the skyline.
Younger Eddie didn't say a word.
"Do you know why I brought us up here?" asked Eddie's dad.
Before younger Eddie could even say a word, his father pushed him down the hill, and he went tumbling down.
"NO!" shouted older Eddie, as the pain returned to his forehead. He closed his eyes tightly, pounding the ground.
Suddenly, he woke up in a parking lot. As soon as he stood up, he knew where he was.
"No, not this," he told himself. Looking around, he noticed 17 year old him standing next to a car, his fists clenched by his side.
That's when a teacher, a middle aged man, walked out of the school and onto the parking lot, surprised to see Eddie standing there.
"Mr Bryson?" asked the teacher. That's when Eddie walked up to him, a scornful look on his face.
"Stop talking to my mother," he said, through gritted teeth. The teacher rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Edward, your mother wanted to talk to me," said the teacher.
"Don't you lie to me. She doesn't need you or anyone else," he replied.
"She just lost her husband, it makes sense she'd want to talk to someone else too," replied the teacher, nonchalantly.
"I'm warning you," said Eddie. The teacher scoffed.
"I suppose I shouldn't tell you about last night then," joked the teacher, walking past Eddie.
That's when Eddie lost it, as he grabbed the teacher by his collar and slammed his back to the trunk of the car. He began to repeatedly punch him in the face, before throwing him back to the ground.
"Edward, stop! Stop!" he pleaded, through a bloody nose and mouth, but Eddie didn't stop.
Two other students quickly rushed in to restrain the 17 year old, while the teacher began crawling away with a dislodged jaw and a crooked nose.
"What's happening?" asked the older Eddie, as his surroundings began to warp. Once again, he found himself in pitch blackness.
"Eddie…" said the same raspy voice.
"W-Who are you?" asked Eddie, stammering as his throat began to go dry.
"Someone who can help you…I sense a lot of anger in you," said the voice.
"I don't need your help, l-leave me alone!" pleaded Eddie.
"But you do, Eddie. Tell me, even though your father hated you, you still grieved when he died. Why?" asked the voice.
"Get out of my head!" yelled Eddie.
"You know you have to tell us, Eddie. You cannot refuse us," replied the voice, more demanding.
"I-I loved him. I always wanted his approval, no matter what shit he did to me," replied Eddie, in a softer voice.
"That's what weakened you. Made you vulnerable," said the voice. "But you never came to terms with it, you still harbor all of that anger,"
"I went to therapy, Dr Allen said that-"
"Let the pressure out slowly. However, sometimes that isn't enough! We can help you, Eddie," replied the voice. "We can sense your anger, sense your pain! We feel it all, for we have felt it too," continued the voice.
"And the best part. Both of us have a strong hatred for the same person…" it continued.
"Who?" asked Eddie, his voice not quivering as much. That's when Eddie's surroundings changed, and all around was the face of one person.
"Peter…"
"Parker." Finished the voice.
"W-Why do you hate him?" asked Eddie, confused and angry at the same time.
That's when his surroundings changed, and he found himself back on the roof of the Daily Bugle, when Spider-Man was struggling to get the suit off.
The lightning struck the roof, as the Symbiote was torn from Peter's body, who went hurtling down the roof. This time, Eddie got a clear view of the entire struggle, and his jaw dropped to the ground.
"No way," said Eddie, speechless.
"Spider-Man…" started the voice.
"Is Peter Parker…" finished Eddie, as everything clicked in his head.
"Peter Parker ruined your life, and tried to get rid of us! Treated us like a parasite that deserved to be destroyed! But I sense strength in you, Eddie. Rage I have never felt before. Together, we can make him wish he never crossed paths with us," said the voice.
"W-Who are you?" asked Eddie, as the voice smirked.
Peter entered his room, exhausted after the events of the day. Or the last two days in Miles' universe.
"I get rid of a parasite, have a hunter chasing after me and then land up in an alternate universe where I'm dead. What a life you live, Peter Parker," said Peter to himself as he flopped onto his bed.
That's when he heard a knock on his door. Before he could even ask the person to come in, Aunt May walked into the room.
"Aunt May! What are you doing here?" asked Peter. May sighed as she closed the door and sat down on the chair at Peter's desk.
"I'm worried about you, Peter. Genuinely worried," said May, holding back tears.
"May, I'm fine, honestly I-"
"When was the last time you called me, Peter? The last time we talked?" asked Aunt May. Peter recalled how the last time he had a proper talk with Aunt May was months ago.
"I knew you were still grieving, and the best thing to do would be to give you space. But then of all people, Doctor Connors contacts me saying that you've been behaving rash in class?" asked May. Peter stared at the ground, unsure of what to say.
"Apparently you're picking fights in class? You're being aggressive at the Bugle? What's happening, Peter?" asked May, her voice shaking. Peter felt a massive lump in his throat building up.
"I didn't know what to do," replied Peter, his eyes getting teary eyed. "I didn't know what I was doing, what I'm supposed to do? Gwen was the one thing that gave my life meaning, with her gone I didn't know what my life even meant," he continued.
"Peter, you're a light for us. Not just us, but everyone around you. Do you know how many times I would've just fallen and given up after I lost Ben, if it weren't for you? You were the glue that held me together," replied May.
Peter quickly hugged her as he began to sob into her shoulder.
"I shouldn't have pushed you all away," said Peter.
"That's the thing, Peter. People around you aren't meant to be pushed away from you, no matter what. Please, please promise me you won't leave me like that again," said May. Peter rightfully nodded.
"I'll see you soon," said May, as she walked out of the room and into the corridor.
Alistair sat outside the hospital room where Spencer had been admitted. The cancer had spread far beyond his lymph nodes. After a long time, Spencer finally opened his eyes.
Alistair quickly walked in to stand next to his father, who could barely even talk.
"A-Alistair…" said Spencer, weakly.
"Dad?" asked Alistair, holding his hand tightly. "We can help you, we can. I will-"
Before Alistair could continue, Spencer put his left hand on Alistair's right hand.
"There's…no saving me," replied Spencer, his blood pressure falling.
"No, don't say that. There has to be a way,"
"You are the greatest gift I ever gave to this planet…" continued Spencer.
"Dad, please don't…" said Alistair, tears falling down his eyes.
"Use your power wisely… he continued.
"It was Spider-Man. If he had given us the symbiote, then this would never have happened," said Alistair.
"We gave him the suit…as a way to…test it," said Spencer, as he began to cough up blood.
"He should've given it back. I'll make him pay," said Alistair.
"Don't add revenge…to the weight…you carry…" said Spencer, as he closed his eyes, and began to flatline. Alistair quickly rushed out of the room.
"HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE!" he started screaming, as he rushed back to Spencer's side.
"Dad…please, no," he said, as he clutched Spencer's cold hand, sobbing as the doctor's rushed in to try and revive him, but it was too late.
"Time of death, 5:23 pm," said one of the doctors. Alistair walked out of the hospital room, every sound around him felt muffled. All that rung in his ears was the sound of hate, as he let out a scream and punched a hole in the adjacent wall.
"Yeah, so I'll just format that text to make it seem like a headline," said Ned to Betty, as they sat together at the Bugle drinking coffee.
That's when Peter walked in, and both their expressions changed from one of happiness, to caution.
"Hey guys," said Peter.
"Hey Peter," said Betty, little more softly.
"You're sounding…different," remarked Ned.
"Yeah, less cocky," replied Peter. "I just came to apologize, I owe everyone here an apology," said Peter.
"Apology accepted, Pete. We know you were going through some very rough times. But I don't think we're the ones you should apologize to," said Ned, as he glanced beyond Peter's shoulder.
Peter turned around, only to be face to face with Eddie Brock.
"Hey, Eddie," said Peter.
"Hello, Peter," replied Eddie. He seemed more muscular, and more intimidating. "I just came here to drop off a sandwich for Ned. Sort of like a last goodbye to this place," he continued, as he stared back at Peter.
"I just came to apologize for my actions. I truly stepped out of line," said Peter.
Eddie looked at him, then cracked a smile.
"It's okay man, it's completely understandable," said Eddie.
"Wait, what? Are you sure?" asked Peter.
"Yeah! I try to look at the silver lining always. I've been looking for a change of pace anyways. In fact, I've already run into a new friend, to help me get back on track on what I really want," replied Eddie, a smile plastered on his face.
"Oh, okay. Again, I'm extremely sorry for everything. If you want I can ask Jameson to take you back or something," said Peter.
"No worries. And don't worry, we know for a fact that we'll do well from now on, and certainly achieve all the goals we want," replied Eddie, as he began to walk away.
Peter was intrigued, but his Spider-Sense barely tingled. Brushing it off, he began to walk down the stairs.
"Should we follow him?" asked Eddie in a voice below a whisper.
"Yessssssssss," replied the voice.
Peter exited the Bugle, as he began to walk to Empire State University instead of swinging. He wanted to take in the Christmas air, without having to swing through it.
He saw happy couples shopping for Christmas, as Jingle Bell Rock played in almost every store. Christmas was in 3 days, and it certainly did look a lot like Christmas.
However, he still couldn't shake some thoughts out of his head.
"Miles' universe had no Spider-Man, and it all went to shit. What if that happens here?" he thought, as he watched a child running around with his brother, carrying a Spider-Man balloon. He smiled, as he continued thinking.
"Would Gwen want this? Would Uncle Ben be proud?" he asked again, as he saw a homeless person sitting nearby, along with their child. The child had a Spider-Man plushie. Peter smiled as he walked up to them.
"Hey pal," said Peter, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bar of chocolate. "Share that with your mother, okay?"
"Thanks mister," said the boy, beaming.
"Fan of Spider-Man, huh?" asked Peter.
"He saved our lives, when that Rhino guy was rampaging through the street," replied the homeless woman. "We've been grateful ever since,"
"Right. Merry Christmas," said Peter, waving goodbye as he began to walk away, his thoughts clear.
"The world needs Spider-Man. But am I enough? Does it need me as Spider-Man? That spider could've bit anyone, it just happened to land on me. I wasn't destined for this," he continued thinking, approaching ESU. There was a shop nearby as well.
"I owe Mary Jane a proper apology. Might as well get her something for Christmas," said Peter, as he walked into the shop. The aroma of Christmas entered his nose, while his ears were greeted by Christmas music.
Peter walked past LEGO shelves, with sets that had the Fantastic Four fighting Doctor Doom, Iron Man and Captain America fighting Skrulls, but another set caught Peter's eye.
"Spider-Man vs Rose: Bridge Fight?" asked Peter, as he glanced at the set, which had him fighting Rose on the Brooklyn Bridge. There was only one set.
That's when Peter noticed a boy, almost his age, eyeing the same set.
"All yours man," said Peter, walking aside as the boy was in awe of the LEGO set. Chuckling, Peter headed to the clothes department.
"Ugly Christmas sweaters, perfect for MJ," joked Peter, as he picked one with Spider-Man on a Christmas tree. He proceeded to the checkout, and then back onto the streets.
However, he hardly knew that Eddie was trailing him, conspicuously hiding in plain sight.
Peter entered ESU and back into his room. Eddie stopped by the gate.
"Should we do it now?" asked Eddie.
"In a while. We show our true colourssssssss," replied the voice.
"Perfect," said Eddie.
Peter closed the room door, as he placed the bag with MJ's gift underneath his bed. That's when he caught a glimpse of the closet. Peter kept replaying the events of the day, everything that had happened.
That's when he walked towards the closet and lifted the pile of clothes in it, revealing his old Spider-Man suit. The one he wore the night Gwen died.
"People around you aren't meant to be pushed away from you, no matter what," thought Peter, as Aunt May's words replayed in his head.
"I shouldn't blame myself…and yet," thought Peter, as he looked back at the framed photo of him and Gwen, smiling happily, not knowing the future that lay ahead.
"My future will always have this, laden with tragedy," Peter thought again, picking up the suit, which still had rips and tears from that night.
Out on the street, Eddie stood in the center, amidst all the cars.
"Hey man, move!" said a driver. Eddie whipped his head back at him, his eyes pure white and his teeth turning into fangs. Eddie fell to his knees, as black goo began to envelop him. He grew taller and bulkier, as he stood tall.
He let out a loud roar, as a long tongue unleashed itself from a cavern of sharp teeth. Two elongated eyes were etched onto the creature's face.
Peter heard the growl, and just then, he heard a massive crash, as he rushed to his window. Out on the street, a massive, black Hulk-like creature was rampaging, grabbing a car and throwing it at civilians.
Peter instantly recognized what the creature was.
"It can't be…" he whispered to himself, but it was all too familiar. He knew exactly what it was, and what he had to do.
"With great power, comes great responsibility," thought Peter, as he stared back at his suit.
"SSSSSSSPIDER-MAN!" growled the creature, as he smashed the ground with its massive fists.
"WE WANT SPIDER-MAN!" it growled again, as civilians began running away. The creature began approaching them, as one civilian tripped on their heels.
The creature approached them as it opened its mouth, revealing an abyss of fangs and a long tongue, as it let out a blood curdling roar.
"Hey! Tall, dark and ugly!" shouted a voice. The creature looked towards the sky, as a red and blue figure swung in, kicked it in the chest and backflipped off of him, landing in an iconic pose.
The terrified civilians stood still, as they all noticed Spider-Man on the street, facing down the monster.
"Is that?"
"Oh my God,"
"He's back!"
Spider-Man stood up, fists clenched, as the creature roared again.
"Just who we were looking for," it said, as it rushed towards him.
"What are you?" asked Peter, to clarify his thoughts. Peter managed to flip over the creature's head. However, as soon as Spider-Man landed on the ground, the creature spun back and backhanded Spider-Man into a wall.
"We…" started the creature, as it grabbed Spider-Man and threw him in the air, before kicking him down the street.
"Are…" continued the creature. However, before it could attack, Spider-Man dodged him and flipped to the side.
"Venom." finished Spider-Man, his suspicions clarified. Venom growled back at him, extending multiple tendrils from his back.
Spider-Man dodged most of them, however one of them struck him straight in the chest, and pulled him towards Venom. Spider-Man struggled to break free, but to no avail.
"We shall savour this," said Venom, opening his mouth. However, Spider-Man sprayed webbing into his mouth," distracting Venom as he broke free from his grasp. He then shot two webs to Venom's shoulders, slid under his legs and pulled, causing Venom to fall.
Spider-Man jumped onto his back and webbed up Venom's face, steering him straight into a wall. However, a whip like structure grew from Venom's back and knocked him away.
Before Spider-Man could get up, Venom grabbed him and slammed his back to the ground. He wrestled Peter to the ground, his face inches away from Peter's.
"We could end this now, but we want to make this slow…" said Venom.
"Parker," said Eddie, as Venom's face peeled away.
"Oh my God…Eddie?!" exclaimed Spider-Man. Venom's face rapidly engulfed Eddie's again, as he growled at Peter. Spider-Man kicked him way and backflipped away.
"We are going to make you suffer, Spider-Man! Make you wish you were never born!" said Venom, as he barreled down the street. Spider-Man shot a web to chase after him, however Venom grabbed the web and threw him through the gates of ESU.
Venom quickly pulled back, turning back into Eddie Brock, as he got on a bike and drove away.
Spider-Man got to his feet and rushed out, only to see Eddie gone.
"Can't I get a break?" he groaned, swinging away as people began to record Spider-Man.
Alistair walked into his office, his knuckles red and swollen after he punched the walls of the hospital.
"And there you have it, it seems like Spider-Man has certainly returned, after he faced off against a creature near Empire State University," said a reporter, on a television that was still running.
Smythe looked at the television scornfully, as he saw a picture of the webslinger.
"He just swung in and saved my ass!" said a civilian on the broadcast.
"Bro, I seriously lost my mind when I saw him flip out of that monster's idea, he's gonna kick its ass!" said another ESU student.
"It's good to have Spider-Man. Screw the Bugle, I'm sure that the impostor in the black suit was never Spider-Man. He's not a menace," said an eyewitness.
Alistair grabbed the remote and threw it at the television, cracking the screen. Fuming, he rushed to his desk and opened his drawer, rummaging through various documents until he found a diary.
He opened the diary, and took out a key hidden inside it. He then walked up to another cabinet to the right side of his desk, and unlocked it with the key.
"I promise you dad, I will avenge you," he told himself, as he reached into the cabinet and pulled out a stack of blueprints. There was a label written on it:
"The Spider-Slayer."
And there you go! I hope I've redeemed myself for publishing the previous chapter so late lol. As much as I like the new Venom movies, I always preferred Venom as a villain, at least as he starts out, as this massive demon that's set on ruining Peter's life. You can bet I'm going that route!
Also, No Way Home is finally releasing in about 4 days! I haven't been the biggest fan of the MCU Spider-Man movies (Homecoming is a Top 3 Spider-Man film for me, but I can't say the same for Far From Home) but I can bet that this is going to knock it out of the park. It's gonna be amazing to see Tobey and Andrew return, especially Andrew since he was perfectly casted as Spider-Man, and deserves a second chance. Charlie Cox is FINALLY coming back, you can bet I'm gonna shed some tears. Super hyped for Across The Spider-Verse too, I know for a fact it's gonna be great!
Tomorrow is also my brother's birthday, so drop a happy birthday wish if you can!
Axel363402- Me too!
Marvel Nerd- Thanks!
Fate-Be Changed- Yeah, I didn't like him much in TASM 2 tbh. And yeah, I'll definitely get that fixed!
Geek4Life- Whoops, I'll just make that change, thanks for bringing it to my notice!
SpideyXBC- Ahahahaha you never know!
Teller-Story- Awesome idea lol, I'll keep that in mind.
I am the Voice- I hope you enjoy it!
Guest- Definitely lmao, it is an unbelievable tale.
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.