Here is the second story of my Spectacular Spiderman Season 3 continuation, check it out!
If you haven't, I would first recommend reading 'Origin of Ghost Spider' before this, otherwise confusion is apparent.
Aside from that, Enjoy!
Spectacular Spiders: Playing with Lasers
BLAAARRR!
The sounds of fire engines echoed throughout the Brooklyn streets as they rocketed toward the burning tenant building in the borough. Reinforcements had arrived to contain the fire which appeared to finally start burning itself out. The firemen had already evacuated everyone earlier, unfortunately except for two. A pair of children remain trapped on the top floor while their parents panicked on the street outside. They were pleading aloud to the firefighters to save them, who were struggling to keep them from re-entering the burning building.
The father begged them, "Please help them!"
My mother cried out, "My babies! My babies are still there!"
Fortunately their prayers were heard, as 'Twhipping' sounds drew their attention. Above them, New York's designated friendly neighborhood spider duo swung onto the scene and flew into a top floor window.
They both landed inside in a spider stance, where the fire covered the walls of the room, and the rest of the interior. With the smoke limiting their vision, Spiderman thought it was best to stay together, and told his partner, "keep close to me, we find one we find both, at no risk of separation."
"Got it!" Ghost Spider agreed with a nod. They entered the top floor's main hall, looking out within the smoke.
Spiderman called out, "Hello! where are you?!"
"Kids!" Ghost Spider yelled after him. Their calls were heard, as the sound of crying came from behind a nearby door to their left, catching their attention. With a nod from Spiderman, Ghosty went and slammed the door down.
Smoke continued filling the room as Ghost Spider called again, "We're here! Kids, where are you?!"
Following the same sound, Spidey found where it was emanating from, pointing to a coat closet, "there!"
Ghost Spider followed his direction as he approached it. Spidey webbed up his hand to avoid burning it as he gripped the doorknob, opening it. Inside were a five year old boy holding his four year old sister, scared out of their minds. Both looked up in surprise at the spider duo here to save them.
"Alright, I gotcha big guy," Spidey said, picking the boy up and setting him on his shoulders, who in turn wrapped his arms around the hero's neck.
Ghosty picked up the girl, cradling her with one arm and the girl hugged the heroine's neck, as she consoled the poor child, "sshh, don't worry sweetie, we're getting out of here."
The spider duo headed for the door they entered from, only to be stopped by falling debris, blocking it off.
"Well that's just great, now what?" Ghost Spider asked.
Realizing they needed an alternate exit, Spiderman looked in the opposite direction to see a closed window. He turned to his partner saying, "since our exit's blocked, we have to make a new one, and jump for it right here."
"Jump right here?!" Ghosty gasped, reminding him of their precious cargo, "with them?!"
"Yes, and then we chute down, just like we practiced," Spidey reminded her of their training. Realizing now what he had in mind, Ghost Spider calmed herself and took a step back as Spiderman walked up to kick the window open.
SMASH!...tinkle...tinkle
The sound of breaking glass caused the crowd to look up, and were gasping as they saw the spider duo leap out of the burning window holding the kids! Spiderman shot two webs into the air and Ghost Spider shot another one with her free hand in the same direction, causing all three to collide. The collision morphed it into a large parachute the spider duo held onto at its three tendrils. Relief washed over the crowd at the sight of the slowly descending rescuers. They eventually made touchdown on solid ground, allowing them to set the kids down and their parents came running over. The father hugged the brother and the mother hugged the sister, causing both kids to weep at the reunion. The spider duo grinned under their masks at a job well done.
The fire was soon under control, and the fire department offered the spider heroes a quick breathalyzer. A grateful thank you from the parents was given afterwards as well as a hug from the children. Smiles were on their faces as the heroes patted their heads, and the spider duo swung away. Along the way, Spidey discreetly retrieved his hidden automatic camera he had set up earlier. They eventually swung themselves to a nearby vacant rooftop to regather themselves in conversation.
"Congrats on your first fire rescue partner!" Spidey congratulated her with a thumbs up as he put his camera away.
"Thanks," Ghosty replied with a nod back, "I'm guessing this wasn't your first then?"
He shook his head saying, "nope, remember the Colonel Jupiter incident?"
"All too well," she nodded back, remembering the news highlights of Colonel Jameson aiding Spiderman in a fire rescue during the time he was exposed to the alien spores. Those spores had increased his body mass exponentially and eventually ended up affecting his mind, forcing him to do battle with Spiderman before the webhead zapped all the spores out of his body. In the aftermath, the Colonel had to be treated for withdrawal symptoms the spores caused, and was presently still being treated at Ravencroft.
"Well it was just before that, it was an attempt at frameup by Venom," Spiderman answered Ghost Spider's question prior to unmasking, "in preparation for his attempt to expose me."
"Remember that all too well too, ugh," Ghost Spider added before pulling her hooded mask off, "a memory I'd rather forget."
Peter asked curiously, "really? Why? It wasn't your secret identity being exposed then."
"True," Gwen nodded, "but things have changed now, so it hits closer to home. Plus, there was the time the paparazzi ambushed us at ESU, along with that sleazeball." She finished in disgust as she recalled the reporter who had mocked her for kissing Pete on the ESU steps and calling him a freak.
"Oh yeah," Peter said dryly remembering the incident now and matching Gwen's discomfort. "Huff...well, I've always known holding a double life isn't easy, but at least now we have people in our corner, including each other," Peter said grinning at his girlfriend.
Gwen matched it with a loving smile back at him, before walking up to her boyfriend with a clear romantic vibe. Peter's face turned red and he could feel his heart speeding up as she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "all too true, and I couldn't ask for more, except a kiss from you."
Peter wrapped his arms around her waist and immediately replied, "gladly," and they gave each other a tender kiss still in their costumes, while still keeping their deal about doing it only when their masks were off.
BUZZ...BUZZ
Unfortunately for the two lovers, a vibrating phone from Gwen's costume pocket broke the moment as they released one another. Gwen groaned in irritation as she reached for her phone, with Peter wearing a look of frustration. It was buzzing 9:30pm, reminding the spider duo of another deal they had made.
"Nine-thirty?"
"9:30...Ugh! This spider curfew sucks! Mainly with the timing," Gwen vented.
"I feel you babe," Peter consoled, "but you heard your dad, keep the curfew…"
"...or lose the powers, I know," Gwen finished for him as she recalled the second of the new rules George Stacy had implemented since Gwen had gained spider powers. They were to be out of costume by 9:30 at the latest, and at home. If late, then Spiderman would swing her home in an emergency, otherwise she would walk. Should they attempt to break the deal, Dr. Connors gene cleanser would take their powers away faster then they could say 'Sinister Six.' Needless to say, her father's overprotectiveness was understandable, yet irritating to the spider heroine.
"I sooo can't wait until I'm of legal age to move out," Gwen muttered as she dialed her dad's number. As it went through and he picked it up, Captain Stacy said, "Gwen?"
"Hey dad."
"Hey sweetie, I assume you're calling to tell me your home?" He asked her.
"I'm actually calling to tell you I'm changing to civilian mode now, and on my way home, by foot," Gwen answered, while receiving another thumbs up from Peter who she smiled at.
Captain Stacy responded, "Good to know you're remembering all of the rules. I'll be picking up dinner on the way home, does Pete want anything?"
She looked to him, but Peter just shook his head, allowing Gwen to answer for him, "no he's good, he is just about to swing home himself now."
"Alright, see you at home sweetheart. No more playing hero tonight okay? Love you!" he said.
"Sigh, love you too!" Gwen said before hanging up and speaking to Peter, "I know he means well, but can I help it if an emergency comes up that needs us? You get it, right Pete? This stuff doesn't happen on a schedule, much less a curfew!"
"No it doesn't," Peter shook his head while agreeing with her, "certainly would have made things a lot easier from the beginning. But we have our own lives to live too Gwen, and I think we've done our part for today. Let's have someone else takeover now so we can get some rest."
Realizing he made some good points, Gwen nodded back in agreement, "Ok then, after all there's always tomorrow."
Peter said, "Exactly. Well, I'd better do what you said and swing home myself, or else Aunt May will call me the same."
He walked up close to Gwen before, "see you at school tomorrow," he kissed her on the lips, "love you."
Gwen smiled as he walked to the roof edge...only to pull him back and kiss him once more. Once they broke the second kiss, she replied, "love you too."
With that, a grinning Peter walked over to the edge of the roof, put on his mask, and jumped off the roof to swing toward Queens as Spiderman. Gwen watched him leave with a loving sigh, before walking toward her backpack's hiding place on the rooftop to change. Ten minutes later, Gwen was back in her civilian clothes and climbing down the building's fire escape to head for home.
Unbeknownst to her though, a streak of light instantly zapped itself past the rooftops above as she reached the ground. It continued jumping from one rooftop to the other until it had disappeared as soon as it had come. Whatever it was, it moved like lightning just like Electro...but this wasn't Electro.
Peter had emailed his photos to the Bugle after arriving home and having dinner with his aunt. Not surprisingly, all of them had both Spiderman and Ghost Spider present in the shot during their fire rescue. The next day, upon waking up he bid Aunt May a good morning and farewell after breakfast before leaving to catch the bus. Peter was left to his thoughts during the bus ride into the city. He had to admit, since their team-up began, he and Gwen together were definitely making the hero job work a lot faster than he did solo. The one silver lining to the curfew was getting home earlier, allowing him to get a good night's sleep, so he really couldn't complain there.
Arriving at Midtown the normal, non-spider way, Peter scoped out the school grounds, until he smiled as he set his sights on his blonde haired girlfriend speaking to her red-headed best friend on the left side bench. Walking up to them in a pseudo suave manner, he asked MJ, "pardon me miss, but may I have a moment with this lovely beauty right next to you?"
Mary Jane just chuckled as Gwen turned red blushing hard, giggling heavily at both his compliment and ridiculous voice altogether.
"Hehe, I don't know...you sure you're worth it to her?" MJ teased back.
"Don't know. But I try every day," Peter said, taking Gwen's hand.
"Like you need to," Gwen said, standing up to his level and ending the joke with a kiss.
MJ just rolled her eyes and said, "oohh...you two are so adorable it's a wonder you don't squeak."
"Hey, leave the jokes to me," Peter replied with a self gesture before asking, "so what did I miss?"
"Nothing much, except a congrats from our favorite fan," Gwen said before shooting MJ an impromptu grin.
"Like you don't deserve it, a fire rescue is nothing short of spectacular," Mary Jane said standing up.
"Yeah I guess so," Gwen said before changing topic, "though during it, I was reminded why I'm glad my dad's a cop, and not a fireman."
Her statement made MJ curious, "Really? Why?"
"Well, let's just say if I had to choose between facing all the low life scum of New York and chance choking to death from breathing ash and soot, I'd go with the former."
Mary Jane was baffled by what she had just heard from Gwen, "Really?...and what made you come to that decision?...not that either sounds like an ideal choice."
"She had asthma when she was younger," Peter explained, remembering one of many things he had learned about Gwen since they started their relationship, "and it apparently wasn't pleasant."
"That's an understatement," Gwen added with a shiver, "it got so bad at times I thought I was breathing sandpaper...so glad I grew out of it."
Before MJ could even try to respond to that, the school bell rang signaling Mod1 forcing her to say, "well that concludes the dark themed discussion of the morning, let's get to class and listen to a more cheerful lecture."
"Unless you're Flash and you tone it out," Peter jabbed, causing the girls to laugh as they walked up the entrance steps.
As classes went on, they each got their outlines for the upcoming final exams, and Professor Warren had them all break into study groups of their choosing. Flash, Sha-Shan, Randy and Sally formed a group, Kenny, Glory, Hobie and Seymour formed a group, leaving Peter, Gwen, and MJ to themselves, with one vacancy. Class ended after that, and the three of them discussed their plans for the day.
"Since you two need to head to ESU after school, can we schedule to meet up this evening for exam study?" MJ asked.
"Sure, that works for us," Gwen nodded with Peter nodding beside her, "and we'll update you if anything...holds...us..." she toned in surprise, as did Peter, shocked by who was standing behind Mary Jane. The redhead raised an eye to their sudden silence before turning around to see Liz Allen, her boyfriend's sister, and Peter's ex-girlfriend...oy vey...MJ now shared in their silence.
Liz knew her stepping up to their group would make them uncomfortable, especially Peter. Needless to say she wasn't feeling too comfortable herself, but there was a reason for this and she had to say it.
"Hey MJ," Liz spoke.
"Hey Liz, do you need something?" MJ asked keeping civil as the mediator in the middle.
"I...was actually hoping to join your group," she said, surprising them further, "and before you say anything, I know what I'm asking is highly awkward given our history…"
'That's an understatement...oh for sure' Peter and Gwen thought simultaneously.
"But if it wasn't for all of you, I wouldn't have my brother and my whole family back together, and even before this, Petey...uh Pete, was the best tutor I ever had. That said, I want to end this year on a high note all around, with good grades, so what do you say?"
Peter and Gwen looked at each other having a silent conversation. They had to admit Liz sounded sincere and showed real courage being the bigger person right now. Well, if she could let the past be past, then so could they.
Gwen finally said, "you know what? We'd be honored to, right Pete?"
His girlfriend's approval was enough for Peter, "sure, I helped you out during the first semester, and with all of us together you'll nail the second!"
"Thank you!" Liz gave a grateful nod while Mary Jane smiled with pride. All three of them had really matured since their junior year began, albeit in an abnormal way. Of course, what else could one expect around Spiderman?
Naturally, the A-listers were shocked to hear Liz asked to join her ex-boyfriends study group. To further shock them, Liz immediately told them off, reminding her old 'crowd' that without Peter, Gwen, and MJ, Mark would still be in jail. That fact was more than enough to silence them, even Sally. Teen drama aside, the rest of the day was spent covering test material. At the end of the day, the students were dismissed with all of their backpacks stuffed with study material. Mary Jane and Liz together parted ways with Peter and Gwen as they left Midtown, the former going to meet with Mark and the latter heading for ESU, by foot. Spider powers aside, the two super teens had to remember to act normal once in a while. They made their way up the lab steps while finishing their previous conversation…
"I'm glad to see Liz wants to move past everything. After all the insanity we've dealt with, it's a refreshing change," Peter said, which Gwen nodded at.
"I agree, I still hated how she had to get hurt before us to be happy. Who knows though, we might just start something brand…"
They had just arrived through the ESU lab double doors, until what they saw in front of them forced Gwen to stop. Peter and Gwen were surprised at what was currently present in the middle of the lab. It looked like a giant laser suspended in the air by a column stand.
"...new?" Gwen finally finished, the sound of her voice causing the Dr. Connors couple to stand up from behind it.
"Peter! Gwen! You made it at just the right time!" Martha greeted them.
Gwen set down her backpack before replying, "Heh, clearly...though for what? Dr. Connors, what is that?"
Dr. Curt Connors answered while gesturing to the machine, "this...is our hoping attempt at finally curing Max."
Peter was stunned, "Electro? You think you can finally cure him? At the risk of sounding stupid, can you really do that by shooting him with a laser?"
Martha explained, "this is no laser Peter, despite the apparent likeness. It's actually an energy siphoner, designed specifically for targeting certain areas of contained energy, absorbing them, and converting it into passive inertia."
"Like an energy drainer?" Gwen asked in interest which Martha nodded at.
"Wait…" Peter said, giving the device a second, more thorough look, "that's right, I've seen this before, in some science articles posted online last year about a new way to convert and transfer dense forms of energy. Sort of an upgrade on our old electrical grid from the Current Wars. From what I read though it was experimental and still in development, though the research was groundbreaking. No surprise considering it's designer was…"
"Stark Enterprises?" Peter's sentence was finished by a new voice with a hint of narcissism.
All four of them turned toward Dr. Connors office, where the Doctor's Connors faces plastered amused smiles, whereas Peter and Gwen jaw dropped at the sight of who was currently present. Standing outside the office with his trademark goatee and overly expensive suit was the self proclaimed billionaire tech genius Tony Stark.
"Your read was good kid, though incomplete," Stark complimented Peter as he walked up to the group. "Everything you said was true, though it went without saying that it was re-innovated from an old Stark weapon design. Though since leaving that biz, I've gone over old specs and made some changes for more, humane purposes. Nice to know it's first test will be of good use."
"Much obliged Tony," Curt said with a nod.
"Mr. Stark, these are the two star interns we told you about," Martha said, gesturing her hand to Peter and Gwen.
"I noticed from their first impressions, and please Martha, like your husband, call me Tony."
The two doctors could only roll their eyes at Tony's charismatic remark as he acquainted himself with the two teenagers, who were still gobsmacked from his arrival.
"So...Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy right? Heard good things about you," Tony said, holding his hand out, causing Gwen to somewhat recover and shake it, "Uh...Thank you Mr. Stark! Coming from you, that's an honor."
"It's well deserved," Tony said before turning to Peter, who was still gaping in silence. Needless to say his stunned speechless state was now making Tony feel uncomfortable, and Gwen both worried and embarrassed.
"Uh, is he okay?" Tony finally asked, coercing Gwen to elbow Peter in the ribs knocking sense back into him.
"Oh! Sorry...Mr. Stark, I am just such a big fan!" He finally shook his hand, though with enthusiastic vigor, something the Connors could only snicker at. "I've read so much on all your designs, from the repulsor tech, the arc reactor, and of course Iron Man! At least the stuff about it that isn't confidential."
"I see, and you understood all of it?" Tony asked.
Peter finally broke the handshake saying, "yes sir, all of it. It's even inspired some of my...after school projects."
"Heh, nice to meet a kindred spirit from the next generation. Guess you work in your garage?"
"Bedroom really, I...don't have a garage," Peter said sheepishly, causing Gwen to silently groan with embarrassment over her boyfriend's fanboy episode, something she never expected and clearly wasn't enjoying.
Tony shrugged, "hey to each his own."
"If we can get back on topic," Martha interrupted, "Tony was kind enough to not only lend his siphoner to ESU, but also offer his expertise with it. If we are going to cure Electro, we'll need the experts on all fronts." Her explanation was sound, since the Connors expertise was in biology and not mechanics.
Tony finished by saying, "my pleasure, you supply the data on your patient, and I'll make sure my tech is tuned. So, are we gonna do this?"
"You're kidding?!" asked a flabbergasted Mary Jane with a just as equally surprised Liz Allen sitting next to her. Both sat on the opposite side of Gwen at their chosen table at the local coffee shop they had set as their group study location. Peter was currently getting their refreshments while the girls prepared their study materials. Of course, Gwen had to fill them in on what occurred earlier at ESU, and who of all people showed up.
"Nope...all true," Gwen replied point blank.
"Tony Stark?...The...Tony...Stark offered his help at ESU today?" Mary Jane finished her question, still utterly shocked.
"Yup, certainly made for my surprise of the day," Gwen said with a nod, before adding with a dry tone, "Although Pete was more surprised than me, given how he went all fanboy."
Mary Jane rolled her eyes while Liz couldn't help but cover her mouth while laughing, "really? I never took him for that type."
"Yeah, well apparently he can still surprise you," Gwen replied with a sweat drop, "though this one was somewhat embarrassing."
"I bet," said Liz, who paused for a moment before saying, "you know, now that I've had the time to think on it, you really are better for him Gwen. I mean, given how both him and Flash are fanboys in their own way, I've realized now they really aren't my type."
"Thanks...I think," Gwen asked with an eye raised, "sooo...what is your type if you don't mind me asking?"
"Not sure right now," Liz said with a shrug, "these past few months have been crazy for me, and I'm still waiting for things to settle down. Honestly, I'll figure that out later, right now I just want to freely live in the moment."
"That's the spirit girl," Mary Jane commented, "I should know, it worked for me, so I know it can work for you."
Liz gave a small smile until they saw Peter walk back with a four cup carrier in his hand with all their refreshments. He sounded them all out as he gave each of the girls their drinks before sitting down next to Gwen with his own. Sensing he had come back at the end of another discussion, he had to ask…
"So, did I miss something while waiting in line?"
"Gwen was just telling me how much of a Stark fan you secretly are," Liz said in a teasing tone.
Peter ran his hand down his face before asking his girlfriend as he sat down, "really Gwen?"
"Hey they asked first, and it took off from there," said Gwen lightly shrugging, "besides you weren't exactly professional earlier."
"Oh come on...well seriously guys, we're talking about Tony Stark...Iron Man!" Peter argued with vigor, "the guy is practically the modern day standard for cutting edge technology and science! I've followed his work for years to know that much. Where do you think I get my inspiration from? I mean sure, I have a big brain and all as its been proven, but what's intelligence without inspiration to drive it? It's like...well...Mary Jane and Shakespeare, she's a natural talent, yet Shakespeare remains the inspiration."
"Ok Tiger, you've made your point," Mary Jane said, putting up a ceasefire gesture with her hand.
"Yes I believe I have," Peter said before turning to Gwen who wore an unimpressed look, "what? Come on Gwen, surely there's someone out there who's inspired you that you would like to meet?"
Gwen let out a breath before saying, "actually there is...and I've already met him."
"Really? Who?" Liz asked curiously, though Peter and MJ had a feeling where this was going.
"Spiderman," Gwen's answer confirmed their suspicions. Peter was doing his best not to blush in embarrassment and make Liz suspicious.
"Aahh, I guess I shouldn't be surprised granted all the times I've heard he's saved your life," Liz said remembering all the past news on her abductions, as well as certain memories involving herself, "though I guess I can fall into that category too, after how he saved me at Coney Island, and when he helped Mark after he was experimented on."
"You forget sister," MJ put in saying her own name for Liz, "he saved all three of us at Coney Island, not at the same time, but still…"
Liz laughed at that fact, "Haha, yeah...guess that makes us the spider damsels or something?"
"Ahem...If I can change the subject here," Peter interrupted, who was clearly uncomfortable about the discussion between the girls and the fact that it was about him and the apparent connection of how he had saved all three of them at certain times in the past year, "I believe we had final exams to study for?"
All three girls looked at him in silence before Mary Jane said, "right, sorry Tiger. Hope our girl talk didn't make you too uncomfortable." Gwen and Liz couldn't resist shooting a teasing grin in his direction after that comment.
'I so need more guy-friends,' Peter thought, before saying, "maybe a little."
The girls giggled together before Gwen said in a serious tone, "that aside, Pete's right. Let's get to the first topic."
"Sure," Liz said before adding one more thing as she reached for her backpack, "though I'm surprised Gwen you actually aren't more inspired by Ghost Spider then Spiderman."
Liz's statement surprised the Midtown Trio, though they did their best not to show that they knew more than what Liz knew, especially Gwen. "After all, it's not every day a female superhero our own age shows up, I have to admit even I'm inspired."
Silently, Gwen felt both flattered and uncomfortable from Liz's compliment, given that her alter ego had now entered the discussion. Peter and MJ noticed this and were unsure of how to proceed. Gwen made the first attempt, "yeah...well, I'm not denying that, but I guess I see her more as a kindred spirit than just a superhero, being a police captain's daughter and all. Like her, helping others seems to come naturally to me, albeit in a different way."
Liz listened to her words and took a moment to contemplate them. She then nodded in understanding before she reached for her study material inside her bag. The trio felt relieved that discussion was over and turned to their study session.
For a half hour they spent looking over their notes of the first semester topics, until out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw a flash of light streak across the adjacent buildings, redirecting his focus. Gwen noticed this and asked, "Peter what's wrong?"
"Uh, nothing really...just thought I saw some light flash above the skyscrapers. There was no forecast for a storm today was there?"
Mary Jane shook her head with Liz saying, "not that I heard."
"Huh, weird," Peter said, raising an eye to the sky, with Gwen following his direction. They soon concluded it was probably just a trick of the New York streetlights and continued their study session. None of them however, were aware of the source of the light flash standing atop the building across from the cafe. It was a humanoid shaped being with a pink lightning like aura surrounding him and a purple helmet over his head. The eye slits glowed blue momentarily as the being hissed a certain name momentarily, before the being disappeared in a flash of light again resuming his search for said individual.
"...Stark…"
The next day at ESU, the usual foursome were hard at work in tuning the energy siphoner, with professional assistance from their special guest. Stark had already gone over all the notes the Connors had given him courtesy of Ravencroft, as well as their own research into Electro's condition and was busy with adjusting parameters directly on the siphoner. Despite his genius, Even Tony had to admit this was tricky, he knew one miscalculation outside their tolerance window could result in an even worse outcome for Dillon. Fortunately, his mechanical genius combined with their biology knowledge made him confident enough that this would work, and it was a feeling shared by his current assistant standing next to him who still hadn't run out of questions to ask him.
"So just to clarify, you really were able to make the repulsor function with a small electrical current igniting it to plasma as opposed to using a certain frequency?"
"Pretty much," Tony answered.
"Huh, like turning on a common fluorescent lightbulb…if you don't mind the metaphor," said Peter.
"Mind? Hah, I never run out of them, drives my buddy Rhodey crazy all the time," Tony joked.
"Haha, I bet! Though I'm also curious about how you…"
"Peter," Martha interrupted while walking up with a raised eye, "as much as I know you have an unlimited amount of questions to ask Tony, need I remind you he is here on a schedule? And that we need that time to prepare the siphoner for Max?"
Peter sheepishly silenced himself until Tony said, "no worries Martha, I get it, believe me, and I assure you I'm quite the multitasker. Wouldn't be where I am if I wasn't. Answering questions from promising young minds while working on current projects classifies as a usual day for me."
"I also passed on all the data you gave me to him prior to asking questions Dr. Connors, and I assure you nothing was left out," Peter added.
"I have no doubt there...but still, save the QA until after we have cured Max," said Martha with a stern look.
"Yes ma'am," Peter answered nodding, before asking something he was curious about that was relevant to the case, "though speaking of Electro, how are we even going to use the siphoner on him? Isn't he under lock and key at Ravencroft right now?"
"I've already made arrangements with Captain Stacy and Dr. Kafka to have him transported here with maximum security. He should arrive when we are ready within the hour," Martha said.
Hearing that made Gwen enter the conversation, "really? Dad is bringing him here? He never mentioned anything to me before-hand."
"He wouldn't have, seeing how we had just made the arrangements this morning." Martha said before continuing, "and I assure you Gwen, we've planned for every contingency, no need to worry."
"You know I've always been curious about this, and I hope you don't mind me asking Ms. Stacy," Tony cut in before asking Gwen, "but what's it's like having a police captain for a father, compared to the rest of the crowd your age?"
Gwen thought on the proper answer for a moment, "well...if I had to describe it in one word...it would be overprotective."
"Hehe, so true," Peter agreed while sharing a grin with Gwen.
"Guess that means you're always on the radar for dating his daughter?" Tony said wryly, which made Peter and Gwen go wide eyed with surprise.
"What?" Tony shrugged, "I was young once too, still am in some ways though not like you two. I can easily pick out two hearts in love and you two were among the easiest to see."
"Uh...thanks Mr. Stark," Peter stuttered.
"No prob...though I sense I've overstepped my bounds, so let's get back to why I'm here right now...let's see…" Gwen and Martha shared an exhausted look with each other from dealing with the usual Stark wit while he continued typing until, "one last code there...and a final tweak in the frequency...annnd...got it."
Pushing one final button, he announced, "ladies and gentlemen, she's ready for her first patient." All the present company looked at the siphoner with proud smiles, until...
...CLICK…
All the lab lights suddenly shut off, stunning them into silence. After a few seconds, emergency power kicked in, with only a few lab lights illuminating their area.
"Ok, for the record, I'm pretty confident that wasn't because of me," said Tony.
"Did we just have a power failure Doc?" asked a bewildered Peter.
Curt replied, "Apparently, but the chance of that is rare since the lab has been upgraded to withstand standard fluctuations…"
...CLICK…
The lights cut out again as the emergency power failed, silencing them again. From the quiet, they could now hear an echoing eerie laugh through the lab. It was enough to coerce Gwen to get closer to Peter who put his arm around her, and Dr. Connors did the same with his wife as the laugh continued.
'Whatever this is, it isn't standard,' Peter thought while holding Gwen close.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Dr. Connors demanded.
"...be careful what you wish for, doctor…" a bodiless voice answered in a dark tone.
Suddenly the whole lab ceiling was illuminating in a light purple aura, shocking them. Aura like streaks of the same color were funneling through the lab vents approaching the area they were working in. They appeared to group together, and then suddenly, in an instant they were blinded by a flash of light, which ebbed away with a purple tone allowing them to slowly open them again. When they did, Peter, Gwen, Martha, Curt and Tony looked up in shock to see a humanoid figure in the shape of a man hovering over them, emitting a pink aura from his body, and blue eyes burning at them from beneath the purple helmet.
the figure finished his earlier taunt, "...you might just get it…"
The humanoid body of light that had shocked the ESU group into horror spoke directly to their guest, "Tony Stark...been a while."
Out of the five of them, only Tony knew who or what this being was as he muttered out in a glare…"Laser."
Holding Gwen in his arms, Peter blurted out, "Wha...what are you?! Electro's twin brother?!"
"HAHAHAHA! Please kid...don't insult me by associating ME with that lightning bolt amateur! I'm the REAL, TRUE, flash of light!...the Living Laser," the helmeted villain introduced himself.
"Still as dramatic with your entrances as ever, aren't you Parks?" Tony asked dryly.
"Wait...you know this guy Mr. Stark?!" Peter asked, with Gwen just as surprised next to him.
"We have a history," Tony answered.
Living Laser bitterly replied, "if by that you mean outdone me, beaten me, imprisoned me, and upright humiliated me?!...yes we do." His eyes glowed in anger.
"Oookay…" Peter said, sharing a stunned look with Gwen.
"You have no right to break into this lab! What do you want?!" Dr. Connors shouted. Laser turned to glare at the Connors, making them more nervous, and causing Curt to hold Martha closer to him.
"First...I would be more careful about your tone towards me...doc. Though to answer your question, why I'm here...is right there."
His gaze turned toward the siphoner in the middle of the room, prompting Tony to ask, "the siphoner? What could you possibly want with my tech now Laser?"
Laser crossed his arms before explaining, "come now Tony, we're both innovators aren't we? You should be aware of the possibilities such a device can provide one such as myself. Fortunately, my imagination isn't as limited as yours."
Clearly not liking the sound of Laser's plan, Tony discreetly pressed a button on his watch sending a silent signal, and said in rebuttal, "take your imagination elsewhere, because you're not getting it."
"Big talk from one who doesn't have his suit," Laser taunted.
Tony merely smirked, "Wait for it…"
All the present audience looked at him curiously, until the sound of jets from above caught their attention. Laser looked to the skylight above, with his glowing eyes emitting a sign of panic at what was coming at him.
SMASH!...WHIIIRRR….POW!
A large red blur crashed through the lab skylight, showing its true man-shaped form and the yellow mixed in with the red color scheme. A light blue beam fired from its right gauntlet at the Living Laser, sending him into the lab wall, leaving an indent.
Peter, Gwen and the Connors watched in astonishment as Stark's patented Iron Man MKVII armor landed right in front of him and opened itself up. Tony literally walked right into it, allowing it to close up, and Iron Man to activate.
Turning to the Connors, the iron clad Avenger said, "sorry about the skylight, I'll cover the bill."
Iron Man turned his attention back to the Living Laser, who was airborne again, sneering at his old enemy.
"Suited up? Good...picking your armor apart before turning you into ash will be more than satisfying."
"Better idea, we skip the snappy banter...and get right to this!" Iron Man fired a double repulsor blast at Laser again, only for him to zap out of sight dodging it, causing them to blast through the skylight...again.
Then, in a bright flash of light, the Living Laser propelled himself at Iron Man, knocking him back past the team and into the air where he hovered. The Laser then went on a mini-blitzkrieg, zapping himself in a repeated unison of attacks at Iron Man all around him, eventually knocking him to the floor, making an indent. Laser then zapped himself right over the tech hero as the ESU team watched in horror.
"Enjoy the ride?" He taunted.
"Not as much as you'll enjoy THIS!" Tony ended playing possum and pulled himself in an instant, blinding the Laser with his Unibeam searchlight, before hitting him with a double repulsor blast which sent him out through the ruined skylight.
"Stay here!" He told the ESU team before engaging his boot jets and taking off after Laser. The Connors and the teenagers had a moment to recollect themselves, before Martha turned to Peter and Gwen.
"Are you two alright?"
"A little shell-shocked, but yeah, Gwen?" Peter asked her, who nodded back. "How about you guys?"
"Just fine, though I don't know how I'll explain this to the board," Dr. Connors said dryly, looking around at all the damage to the lab.
Before that, Martha intercepted, "What are you two waiting for? Shouldn't you go and help him?"
"What?" Peter gasped with Gwen equally surprised next to him. "but Tony said…"
"He said for the two of you to stay, not Spiderman and Ghost Spider...right?" Martha asked again. Since learning their superhero secret, the Connors were more than supportive of the hero work they did. Especially considering everything they had done for them prior to now.
Once again, her explanation was sound, and determined looks flashed on Peter and Gwen's faces before looking to each other to nod. Gwen advised the Conners to stay in the lab, and then she and Peter ran in opposite directions. Peter climbed up the adjacent wall and jumped up through the broken skylight before running off toward the fighting duo as he undressed to his Spiderman suit underneath. Gwen ran over to her backpack and picked it up, before running for the nearby enclosed office shutting the door behind her. She opened her pack up to pull out her Ghost Spider suit and began dressing. After a few seconds, the Connors saw the door open, and they saw the pink and white themed spider heroine step out and nod to them, before shooting a web up and swinging through the open skylight.
Alone with her husband, Martha said, "I suggest leaving that out in your next report to the board."
Living Laser had regained his bearings and was hovering over the ESU grounds, ready to re-engage Iron Man who was flying towards him. Laser zapped out of sight to attack again, while Iron Man's suit automatically activated a new feature as his foe went lightspeed. Laser hit him again, only this time to be bounced back!
"OWW! What?! What was that?" he yelled in pain, frustrated how he couldn't touch him like before.
"New feature," Iron Man began explaining, showing how he was known for learning something new everytime he fought one of his adversaries, "I've coated every one of my armors now with a special chromium coating. Given the element's natural mirror-like properties it's the perfect repellent against you Laser. Although it's not thick enough on its own to instantly repel you, hence why you got a few early shots, but now that I've activated my built-in electrical field...well, you get the idea."
Laser's eyes appeared to burn with fury, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! NO SIMPLE TRICK LIKE THAT WILL STOP ME!"
He zapped out of sight again to propel towards Iron Man, only to be rebounded just like before. Seeing the Laser rollback in pain gave Iron Man the opening he wanted as he spoke to his built in A.I. "JARVIS, modulate the repulsor frequency to match him."
*Modulation complete* the A.I. program replied.
Iron Man flew above and hit the Living Laser with another double repulsor blast which sent him into the ESU grounds near its gymnasium. Dust and dirt was kicked up upon impact before the supervillian picked himself back up, his body arcing with discharge at the pent up rage he was generating. He zapped himself into the air again, circling around Iron Man a few times trapping him. Soon he reappeared a few yards away from his armored enemy, before he surprised him with a mocking taunt.
"You always think yourself so clever...well then let's see how much of a punch you can really pack," Laser spread his arms out as he finished by saying, "HIT ME"
While suspicious of his momentary cessation, Iron Man knew he would have to take the chance and charged up his strongest weapon, the Unibeam. Living Laser appeared stagnant as the Unibeam chest arc glowed as it reached its highest intensity. Finally, Stark released it yelling, "FIRE!"
The Unibeam appeared to envelop the Laser as the blast let loose. As soon as the energy was released, it faded away...surprisingly, with Living Laser still in the same spot not having been affected at all!
"What?!" Iron Man gasped to himself. Sensing his frustration, Living Laser merely snickered. The armored Avenger then started a continuous rapid fire of his repulsors at the Living Laser, who to his surprise, now seemed to be immune to the blasts as they were passing through him!
"JARVIS! Why aren't my repulsors working anymore? They're supposed to automatically compensate for whatever frequency he's emitting in a given second!" Tony asked his onboard A.I.
*I'm afraid the Living Laser appears to be altering his state at an even greater rate than the repulsors can modulate.*
Tony now realized his earlier successful blasts were just the Laser misdirecting him, and groaned, "great."
"Aww...not so fun when your favorite toy can't touch me anymore, is it?" Laser taunted, having turned Stark's tactic against him.
THWIP!..."Aagghh! What the?!" The Living Laser suddenly found himself ensnared in a web shot from below, also catching Iron Man's attention.
"Yeah, and not so fun when the jokes on you now, is it?" Spiderman quipped as he swung onto the scene and landed on the building near the duo, causing them to turn toward him.
Spidey continued, "wouldn't you know that I'm swinging through the neighborhood, until all of a sudden I see a flash of light, and I think, oh great Electro's escaped again…Only to find out it's some purple helmeted pink tinted knockoff, so I have to ask, what's up with that?"
Needless to say, Laser was furious at this minor interloper, as he altered himself again to allow the webbing to phase through him falling to the ground, before yelling at him, "you shouldn't have done that little bug...now YOU'LL FRY!"
'Wow...he even talks like lightning butt,' Spidey thought to himself. But he didn't have long as Laser zapped out of sight again, triggering his spider sense, coercing him to jump out of the way where he was standing and Laser ended up impacting the ceiling rather than the webhead. Laser then stared Spiderman down, separated by a few yards, before zapping himself again toward him. Except he ended up being rebounded away again by the armored Avenger landing right in front of the webhead, his charged chromium armor shielding him from the Laser's attack, and giving them an introductory moment.
"Spiderman, right? Huh, and here I was hoping our first meeting would have been under different circumstances," Iron Man said, his head turned around to face him.
"Yeah, I'm lucky that way...still much obliged Mr. Stark!" Spiderman replied.
"That's Iron Man," he corrected the younger hero, before turning to face forward again, "when I'm on the job."
"Got it," Spidey gave a thumbs up. Looking ahead, the two heroes saw the Living Laser regather himself, hovering in the air above them. He sneered at the both of them before saying…
"fools...I've faced you and your fellow Avengers before Stark, so teaming up with this...child...will do you no good. I'll turn you two to ash in an instant!...Aaaggh!" Laser found himself caught in another web, causing the two heroes to turn to its source.
"Two?" Ghost Spider asked as she landed on the ceiling edge in a spider stance, and finished her taunt, "count again laser head."
Spiderman couldn't help but smile under his mask thinking, 'she is learning.'
"Ghost Spider too? Well well, nice to meet both new kids on the block today," Iron Man said, earning a nod from the spider heroine.
"Well technically she's new, I've been around for nearly a year," Spiderman said, earning a Spider-LOOK from his partner, forcing him to correct himself, "of course that doesn't make her any less a valuable asset."
"Nice save," Iron Man commented seeing their interaction, until the Living Laser brought their attention back to him as he phased through the second web trap.
"I will not tolerate any more interruptions! NOW I'LL FRY YOU ALL!"
"You sure you don't know Electro? Cause you talk just like him!" Spiderman quipped.
"RAARRGGHH!" Laser zapped again towards forcing Iron Man and Spiderman to split to opposite sides. But that didn't stop the Laser as he redirected his light form in open air back towards the roof, this time heading for Ghost Spider who jumped away just in time. Laser halted in midair over the hero trio on the building roof.
"The lot of you can dodge me all you want, eventually you'll tire out as flesh and blood does...me?...I'm pure living energy...my time is UNLIMITED!"
"Wow, arrogant much?" Ghost Spider asked dryly.
"What do you expect from one of my villains?" Iron Man added before boot jetting toward Laser again. He attempted to punch with his coated armor only for Laser to zap away and dodge and reappear a yard away instantly. His eyes glowed blue, before they fired a beam of the same color directly at Iron Man sending him flying with yell of pain.
"Hah! I don't need to touch you Iron Man...to beat you!"
Thwip!...Thwip!...Laser suddenly found himself coated in webs again from the resident spider heroes.
"Looks like we can say the same thing, Laser butt!" Spidey quipped.
"I said Laser head, not Laser butt," Ghost Spider corrected.
"Hey, given the resemblance to our man, it works," Spiderman said, before looking up in horror to see the Living Laser phasing through their webs, again.
"I came here for the siphoner, and to eliminate Iron Man. But if you children insist on interfering...I'LL FRY YOU FIRST!"
He zapped toward them again coercing the spider heroes to dodge in opposite directions. Laser redirected toward Ghost Spider first catching her upon landing with a literal blinding tackle that sent her flying off the roof, and then toward Spiderman doing the same thing on the other side of the building. Ghosty was able to regain some sense by firing a web at a nearby lamppost, slowing her rapid descent but not stopping as she made impact and rolled on the ESU grounds in pain. Spiderman wasn't as fortunate and ended up hitting the backside of a ground based sign, knocking it off its post as Spidey rolled on the ground himself.
Seeing he had disposed of the teenage heroes, Laser hovered again as he scoped out his archenemy. Said armored hero was rocketing right toward him with a repulsor blast, which he phased through again. Realizing his repulsors were useless, Iron Man decided the best way to fight was close up and flew right at him. Laser merely dodged again by zapping out of sight and firing another blue eye beam which sent Iron Man into the ground below him.
Picking himself up, Tony said in a groan, "Ok...this could be going better."
Meanwhile, back with Spiderman "Ok...Oooowww!...ugh, I don't remember even Electro's attacks hurting that much." He struggled to pull himself to his feet before realizing, "wait...Gwen!"
"Ooohhh," Ghost Spider groaned, still in a daze from her fall, not yet used to the physical punishment that Peter had endured from his months as Spiderman, and this wasn't even one of his villains! She slowly picked herself up, "man, now I'm understanding why Pete walks around cringing a lot."
As she stood up, she kept trying to clear the stars from her head until she heard her partner's voice, "Ghost Spider!"
Spiderman swung over and landed right next to her, "you ok?"
"Sure, just my first real nasty fall, it'll take some getting used to," Ghost Spider assured him before asking, "where's Iron Man? And Laser head?"
ZAP! A flash of light over their heads drew their attention up. They could clearly see a pink tinted streak firing across the sky while projecting blue beams at his red armored opponent, chipping away at him.
"Apparently real close," Spidey concluded.
Iron Man continued being batted away by the Living Laser's blue eye beams. He continued to stay airborne despite the damage, as JARVIS said…
*Shields at 32% and still dropping*
"Great, so that probably leaves me with only a few more hits to figure something out before he fully breaks through," said Tony.
*Indeed sir* Tony strongly refrained from rolling his eyes. His glowing foe in front of him delighted at his current turmoil.
"Hehehe, you know I'd enjoy continuing this all day," he said before zapping again, and tackling Iron Man into the ground. Laser then stood up with his light emitting foot still pressed against the armor chest plate and arc reactor. "However, I still have an errand to finish."
He pressed his foot against Iron Man, feeding the surge into the suit and its pilot as he cried in agony. While enjoying getting his payback, Laser couldn't resist giving a quick snippet of his real plan to use the energy siphoner as a literal drainer for every power source in the city, and then feed that energy into himself. Believing he had the upper hand now, Laser said, "be honored Stark. Your siphoner is going to help me become the most powerful being on the planet."
"Wow," a familiar voice sounded out as he and his partner surprised Living Laser by wrapping him up in web strands from behind, "Apparently Iron Man and I have more in common than science and selfless heroics...we also have power hungry villains with the same generic speeches!"
Laser turned around to see Spiderman and Ghost Spider on their feet again shooting their webs with both hands. He angrily yelled, "Why do you insist on interfering?!"
The spider duo finished spinning their webs before Ghosty stanced and answered, "It's what we do best."
"and this...IS WHAT I DO BEST!" ZAP! Instead of phasing. Laser let out a massive discharge burning the webs away, and then propelled himself to his new target.
"GHOSTY!" Spidey yelled, but it was too late. In a flash of light Ghosty was flown back before being batted away again by a return hit from the lightspeed moving Living Laser. That second hit caused her to fly into a nearby bench, crushing it, while her momentum carried her into a roll along the ground where she came to a still halt. Seeing her take yet another severe hit prompted Spidey to rush the Laser in a silent rage. Laser merely zapped away before he could land an ill-fated punch and hit him back from behind, and continued with a one-two-three attack that threw the original spider hero into a tree trunk, out cold.
The Living Laser sneered at the two of them before mocking, "this is the potential of the so-called next generation? Pathetic...all the more reason for me to take full control of everything."
"OWW!..." He was sent flying again by a repulsor from his right, which actually made contact!
Iron Man had righted himself before realizing it, "hey, that hit him. He must only be able to keep accelerating the change when he's focused on me...that gives me an idea. But I need their help," he said as he looked at both teenage heroes now unconscious, "but first they need mine. JARVIS, send out the mites, give them a wakeup upon contact."
*On their way sir* Two miniature sized robots resembling bugs expelled themselves from a baseplate behind Iron Man's helmet. They took flight, each one heading for a respective spider hero. Iron Man then re-engaged the Living Laser as his mites did their thing.
Each mite had attached themselves to the back of one of the spider duo's heads. Upon gripping the skin, they sent an electrical jolt into their nervous systems through their spines.
"Aaahhh!" They both cried upon waking up.
"Ooohhh…" Spiderman groaned, "Ok...WHAT was that?"
*I jump started your nervous system with an electrical pulse, freeing you from your catatonic state*
"Who said that?!" Spidey looked around seeing no one.
*I am JARVIS, Mr. Stark's personal artificial intelligence program.*
"Woah...really? A real A.I.? Hah! I heard rumors about you, but this all confirms it...WOW! Uh...nice to meet you...I'm uh, Spiderman."
*I know, greetings Spiderman, though perhaps we should get acquainted after we attend to your partner*
"Gw...Ghost Spider? Where is she?"
*10 yards behind you*
Ghost Spider pulled her senses together to stand up again, although with a dull body ache now, "ow...sheesh, felt like I got a literal shock through the system."
*You are correct Miss Ghost Spider.*
"Woah! Who's there?!" she asked, hearing the bodiless voice.
*No need for concern, I am called JARVIS, Mr. Stark requires your help and asked me to awaken you*
"Jarvis?" Ghosty asked, before noticing the accent, "are you some sort of British computer program?"
*In a way yes, though I was merely programmed with the accent.*
"Hey Ghosty!" Spidey caught her attention as he jumped over next to her, "you alright?"
"Yeah, save for the fact that I have…"
"... a voice in your head?" Spiderman finished for her, "yeah I hear him too. A real A.I. program, how cool is that?"
An exhausted look wore on Ghost Spider's mask before she responded, "yeah...very cool. Though he was telling me Iron Man needs our help."
*Indeed, Mr. Stark has a plan to incapacitate the Living Laser, and he requires your assistance.*
"Then what are we waiting for?" Spiderman asked confidently.
As his A.I. was attending to the revival of the spider duo, Iron Man was busy himself engaging in close combat with the Living Laser as it was the only way he could fight him right now. Unfortunately, Laser had no intention of being hit directly by Iron Man's chromium coated gauntlets and kept zapping out of the way in a spherical pattern while hitting the armored Avenger with his blue eye beams, batting him around. Laser fired another beam from the front knocking his enemy away again, and prompting JARVIS on the shield's status again.
*Shields now at 3% sir, one more hit and they're gone.*
"Fantastic," Tony said dryly.
"You may as well surrender, you can't beat what you can't touch!" Laser taunted.
*Sir, I've successfully re-awakened Spiderman and Ghost Spider, they are presently 125 yards behind you*
Tony smirked, now was the time to enact his plan, first was throwing Living Laser a retort, "your right I can't touch you...but I can still DO THIS!"
His Unibeam searchlight feature flashed in at its highest setting, blinding the Laser…"AAGGHH!" allowing Iron Man the opening to take off in the opposite direction.
"Patch me through to the spiders JARVIS," he said.
*Already done sir*
"Spidey, Ghosty, this is Iron Man do you read me?"
"Yes we hear you," radioed Ghost Spider.
"Loud and clear Iron Man sir!" Tony refrained from rolling his eyes before continuing, "I need you two to pay close attention…"
Living Laser's sight soon returned to him, only to find Iron Man had fled. A clear coward's tactic, or perhaps the armored dimwit flew back to the Connors lab to defend his precious siphoner. Fine with him, it would save him some travel time, not that it mattered to him anyway, and took off again with a ZAP.
Within a few seconds Laser had reached the lab, and as he predicted Iron Man was hovering over it waiting for him.
"I figured you would come back here, so protective of your precious technology aren't you?" Laser quipped.
"Well I figured we'd finish this fight where it began and all, guess we had the same idea. Too bad we're enemies Laser, if not, I might have even considered taking you under my wing," said Iron Man.
Living Laser was livid, "I WOULD NEVER stoop myself to such an insulting position, AS YOUR FLUNKY STARK!"
"Yeah figured you would see it that way," Iron Man replied, "I'm guessing this means you won't surrender?"
"HAH! Why would I need to? You can't even touch me, but I can touch you, and the next time I do, you'll be burnt ash within that pitiful shell you call armor!" Laser threatened.
Iron Man held out his hands in a welcoming manner, "or, I can just let my friends do THIS."
THWIP!THWIP!..."AH! WHAT?!"
Living Laser was caught again in yet another spider web fired from the resident spider duo perched on a lamppost behind him. Ghosty taunted the guest villain, "Miss us?"
"I THOUGHT I ELIMINATED YOU BRATS!"
"Yeah I've heard that from many supervillains before," Spidey said as he and Ghosty finished web shooting, "but I guess we're just tenacious."
Laser phased through their webs again before threatening in a low tone, "I shall…"
POW!..."OOWWW!" His threat was interrupted as Iron Man's repulsor blast made successful contact, sending him into the ground.
"Ugh...what?!" Laser gasped in realization the repulsor blast had hit him.
"What's the matter? lose your focus?" Iron Man taunted back as his theory was now proven about the Living Laser unable to split his focus between fighting three heroes at once. Laser seethed at Stark's retort, and zapped himself at him again, until Stark braced himself for the impact which hurt them both. Both of them were sent flying in opposite directions before righting themselves.
"You will…" THWIP!THWIP!
Laser was snarling at Iron Man before being interrupted once again by the spider duo ensnaring him in another web, and Spiderman said, "you know, one would think you've learned to avoid this by now."
"That's what happens when you're a blabbermouth...that unlike you, can't multitask," Ghost Spider quipped.
"Hehe...yeah," Spiderman chuckled before realizing the context, "hey!"
Shhooommm…
The strange sound caused them to look up again and see that Laser was charging himself again for another discharge. The repeated attacks on him had pushed his rage to the breaking point, and decided to fry them all, then and there. The glow from Laser's body had enveloped him and his web trap as the spider duo gaped with wide eyes.
"ENOOUUGGHH!" The light exploded with his shout, sending out a shockwave which cracked if not shatters all nearby windows, and blew the spider duo back nearly a hundred yards, but fortunately we're still able to land on their feet.
"THIS ENDS NOW!" shouted the Living Laser.
"Darn right it does!" The voice of his archenemy redirected his sight to look above him, only to see in horror, Iron Man having fully charged his Unibeam once again. With the chest piece glowing, he shouted one more thing…"LIGHTS OUT!"
The Unibeam hit a stunned Living Laser directly, plowing him into the ground below in a deep crater. The dust kicked up from the blast prompted the spider duo to shield their faces as it settled. After a good minute, they made their way through the dust cloud, coughing a bit as they made their way to the edge of the crater. Looking down, they could see the glow fading in and out from a semi conscious Living Laser laying at the bottom.
"I...will...not...be...de-"
"Save it Parks," Iron Man said as he landed next to the crater by the spider duo, "like you said, we're innovators, so act like one and face the facts...you're done."
"Yeah? And now what?...no jail can hold me Stark...you know that," Laser groaned as he struggled to pick himself up.
"Agree to disagree," Iron Man retorted as a small red box was expelled from the middle of his right arm gauntlet. Spiderman and Ghost Spider observed it for a moment before he tossed it into the crater at the Laser's feet.
Tony gave the command, "JARVIS, activate containment."
*Done*
The box opened up and a small blue node extended out of it and glowed an intense light similar to the sun. There was another effect, unfelt by all of them, save for the villain being imprisoned.
"What?!...NO!...NOOOO!" the Living Laser cried out in terror as the photons of his body were absorbed by the node and he slowly faded away. Soon enough his echo died out as his body was fully absorbed into the box, which closed up.
"Wow," said an astonished Ghost Spider.
"Compact supervillain prison...sweet!" added Spiderman as Iron Man walked over to pick up the box.
"Photon dampening containment cell, comes in handy for bodiless, Laser themed foes," Iron Man explained.
"Man you're lucky! The villains I deal with are always kept in super sized prison cells, yet they seem to break out every other week!" Spiderman said in jealousy which got a chuckle out of the Avenger. Ghost Spider could only huff in exhaustion.
Soon after the fight first broke out, the police arrived to contain the situation. A barricade had been set up in place around the fighting area by Captain Stacy as students and faculty were evacuated. Having received a report of a supervillain on campus, George had called Dr. Kafka at Ravencroft on the drive over to cancel their intended rendezvous for Electro, saying something dangerous had occurred at ESU. It was a good thing he did, otherwise the risk of two supervillains running rampant on campus was likely. Eventually, the light shows and dust clouds had stopped, and Captain Stacy's unit along with an ESU crowd looked over the barricade trying to catch sight of anyone.
Dewolff even said, "any sign of anything sir?"
"None, though whatever was going down appears to have stopped," said Stacy.
Carter standing next to Dewolff looked up in astonishment to see who was approaching, "I think I know why sir."
George looked up to see what Carter was pointing at, along with everyone else reeling in shock, and said, "son of a gun."
Iron Man descended from above as his boot jets propulsion died down, eventually coming to a landing near the barricade.
"It's Iron Man!...No way!...Awesome!" was heard among the crowd as the armored Avenger walked up to speak to the captain.
"Captain Stacy I presume?"
"Iron Man, to what do we owe this surprise?" George Stacy asked as people behind him were snapping pictures.
"Unfortunately it was one of mine," he began explaining while holding up the containment cube, "a villain called the Living Laser tried to steal a piece of my tech I lent here. Good news is...he was stopped, bad news is...there's quite a bit of property damage."
"Huh, just another supervillain day," said Dewolff with an unimpressed tone, "though according to city damage laws, I hope you don't expect to walk away from this for free Mr. Stark."
"Now Dewolff…"
"No Captain, she's right. Though the other good news is nobody was hurt, and you have my word the Stark Relief Foundation will pay for the college repairs, it's the least I can do," Iron Man stated.
"Then I guess we're done here, seeing as you handled it all yourself," said George.
"Not all myself," Iron Man said before turning around to look behind him, "I had help from your friendly neighborhood resident spider duo."
Everyone looked ahead to see Spiderman and Ghost Spider perched on a lamppost, with Spidey on top of the lamp head and Ghosty on the post itself with one hand and both feet. They all cheered out loud at the hero team up which saved their lives and their college (most of it). Spidey and Ghosty could only wave to the crowd before jumping off to swing away.
Watching them swing away, George could only give a small grin unnoticed by most, before Iron Man turned back around to say one more thing, "well now, I have a supervillain to detain back at Avengers HQ...see you round Manhattan!"
With that, his boot jets reactivated as he took off, leaving the cheering crowd in his wake as they snapped some last minute photos. Captain Stacy could only think to himself, 'this will definitely be a story to tell one day...hehe...that's my girl.'
"Thanks for your help today, I doubt I could have done it without your aid," said Iron Man, who had caught up with Spiderman and Ghost Spider atop a building several blocks from ESU.
"Really?" Spidey asked incredulously.
"Ehhh...it was possible...but not likely," Iron Man wryly said.
"Huh, I guess we'll take that as a compliment...this time," Ghosty replied with a slight Spider-LOOK.
If Iron Man was fazed he didn't show it, "Haha...though seriously you did great. Everything I've heard about you two was confirmed today, despite the Bugle's apparent bias against you."
"Yeah, of all the people in this city, we know Jolly Jonah Jameson is the one we can never please," Spiderman said with a head shake.
"Ain't that the truth," Iron Man replied.
"So...what have you heard about us?" Ghosty asked in curiosity.
Iron Man explained, "In a nutshell...that you two save lives, and you do it because you're there and you know you can. That you never ask for any recognition or reward. That all combined with the skills and intellect you showed today, you two could definitely make Avengers material someday."
Ghost Spider and Spideman together went wide-eyed in shock, before Spidey gasped, "Wow...seriously?!"
"Sure...when you grow up of course, don't get too big a head early on. Trust me, it can backfire, hard," Iron Man stated.
What he said triggered something in Gwen's mind. She remembered how her father told her to remember that she was currently still a teenager, and not lose sight of that. At first she thought he was still treating her like some little kid, now she realized it may have been something different. He wanted to ensure she wasn't too rash in her decision making when backing Pete up on the hero job, or it could prove fatal, just like it did for the Living Laser today. A humbled Ghost Spider listened to the Avengers last comment.
"All that aside, you two keep up the good work, and always watch one another's backs. After all, it always pays to have a helping hand when you need it...and you will, just like me."
"That we know all too well," Spidey said, nodding at Ghosty who nodded back smiling under her mask.
Iron Man then concluded, "Gotta go, but first...JARVIS?"
*Indeed. Farewell until next time, spider duo.*
Both spider heroes heard him before the mites released themselves from the spider duo's necks and returned to Iron Man.
"Until then Jarvis," Ghost Spider said for the both of them.
"Hope my A.I. buddy wasn't too much to handle," said Iron Man.
"Not at all! He was actually quite charming...as one would expect from a proper Brit...Hehe" Ghosty cheekily replied, with Spidey now huffing in exhaustion this time.
"Right...well see ya," Iron Man took to the air, and said one more thing, "oh and Ghost Spider? You got yourself a great dad and Police Captain, a refreshing change over the Cap I deal with regularly." Iron Man took off, leaving a stunned Spider Duo behind. Did he just say what they thought he just said?!
"Did he just call Captain Stacy your dad?" Spidey asked a stunned Ghosty who merely nodded.
Leaning toward each other they exclaimed, "HE KNEW?!"
"Wha...but but...How did he figure it out?!" Ghosty gasped.
"Well...he is Iron Man," Spidey scratched the back of his head before shrugging, "and he can keep a secret!...right?" Ghost Spider could only groan. Her first month as Spiderman's partner, and already more people than before she knew Pete's now knew her identity! Clearly keeping a secret identity wasn't her strong suit. She could only pray if anyone else found out, they weren't villains. The sun had begun to set on a flabbergasted spider duo to conclude an otherwise shocking day.
THE END
How's that for an episode? Knowing how I tagged the Avengers in the first story, I couldn't resist writing one with one of them and one of their villains as a guest star! Iron Man was my first choice, as well as the Living Laser, who I always thought was Iron Man's version of Electro. I went with the Earth 616 version of Laser since it hadn't really been used in television. Hope you enjoyed it, and until next time!