The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 13: Aftermath
"Okay, is it ready?" Asked Norman, to Mendel Stromm.
"We're still just halfway through. It'll take time since it is still in its gaseous state." Explained Mendel.
"Oh great!" Groaned Norman.
All of a sudden, they felt a huge tremor in the ground, as the shelves started to vibrate. Few things fell off of the shelves. Explosions could be heard in the distance.
"What the hell is happening?" Asked Mendel, terrified.
"I don't know. Forget it! Make it ready faster!" Grumbled Norman.
That's when an explosion went off in the laboratory, and Norman was flung into the experiment chamber due to the explosion, getting soaked in Globulin Green. Mendel was thrown across in the room and hit his back on the floor. Before he could get up, however, 3 huge shelves fell on top of him.
Norman inhaled a large portion of the Globulin Green, as vials of it in its liquid state were all over him. His legs felt tingly, and then his arms felt heavy. He saw Mendel buried under all of the rubble, unable to move with his eyes closed.
His head felt like it was exploding too, and he fell unconscious.
"May? MAY WHERE ARE YOU?!" Shouted Spider-Man as loud as he could as he swung to his neighbourhood in Queens, his suit half torn after his brutal confrontation with The Kingpin.
She wasn't at home, which just worried Peter more.
"Spider-Man! There are people trapped under rubble in the street!" Shouted a civilian upon seeing Spider-Man.
Kingpin's bombs had gone off all around New York, and a really big one in Queens. Peter swung to the streets, only to see EMTs on the scene, with 3 civilians, and a wounded Aunt May stuck under a pile of rubble and dust.
The EMTs were trying their best but they couldn't lift the rubble.
"Oh God!" Thought Spider-Man, as he quickly rushed to the scene, completely ignoring the EMTs telling him they have it under control, and he lifted the rubble as high as he possibly could, allowing the EMTs to free the trapped civilian.
May was unconscious and bleeding from the forehead as she was wheeled into the ambulance, leaving Peter extremely worried.
He swung up to a rooftop and took his mask, nearly starting to cry, when he got a phone call from Harry. He guessed it was about him ditching Harry, and especially Gwen, at Homecoming.
"Hey Harry."
"What the hell, Peter?!" Asked Harry, in anger. "You just ditched and left Gwen alone at Homecoming! And now everyone's worried about the explosions, so they've locked us in Midtown High for now." He continued.
"Harry, I'm so so sorry for ditching you guys, it's just that-"
"Just what, Peter? You always need an excuse for something! Are you doing drugs or something?"
"What? Of course not!"
"Then why are you never there?" Asked Harry. "You know what, forget it. We're cooped up in the gymnasium for now." Said Harry, angrily as he cut the call.
"Great." Muttered Peter. "Aunt May is injured and my friends are mad at me. And every part of me hurts." He groaned, looking at his bloodied outfit.
Suddenly, his phone started to ring. It was Captain Stacy.
"Captain Stacy?"
"Hey Peter. Just wanted to thank you again for taking down Wilson Fisk a few hours ago, and for saving my life."
"Doesn't feel like a win, to be honest."
"I'm sorry you had to miss the dance. I just need a favour."
"Sure, what's that?"
"An explosion, bigger than the others, occurred in an Oscorp lab in The Bronx. Think you could check it out?"
"An Oscorp lab? This just got interesting. I'll head there and see what's up."
"Thanks Peter. Glad I can count on you." Said George, as he cut the call.
Spider-Man swung to The Bronx, only to see a huge fire at the site of the lab.
"Oh my god. This is bad." Thought Peter.
There was no one injured at the scene, but Peter heard cries for help
"I'm coming!" Shouted Spider-Man as he headed into the fire.
He entered the experimentation chamber, where he saw a man, who was presumably screaming, trapped under bookshelves. Spider-Man went to check for a pulse, but realized that there was none. He was dead. That's when he turned around, and saw Norman Osborn lying unconscious.
"Oh god!" Shouted Spider-Man, as he quickly grabbed Norman and swung out of the crumbling lab.
EMTs were on the scene as Peter quickly handed Norman to them and he was rushed into an ambulance.
"What about Harry?" Thought Peter, worriedly.
Spider-Man stood on a rooftop, thinking of everything that had happened that night as the sun came up. Him fighting The Kingpin and The Owl, alongside Daredevil and Elektra, Aunt May being injured, Norman almost dead, his best friends hating him and New York having experienced its worst attack in a long time.
"You okay kid?" Asked Daredevil, as he landed on the roof next to Peter.
"No. Just feels like every time I win, I still lose." Said Peter, his eyes welling up.
"I'm sorry things didn't work out well for you. Me and Elektra need to go back to The Chaste and finish up our training." Explained Daredevil. "I came to say goodbye."
"For how long will you be gone?"
"Hard to tell."
"Okay. Thanks for your help, Matt."
"Anytime, Peter. You helped make this city a better place."
"Thanks." Said Peter, as he shook his hand, and Daredevil leapt off of the rooftop and left.
"I won, but at what cost?" Thought Peter, as the sun came up.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Peter headed back to school, his leg almost fully healed and the school finally fixing up any damage caused by the attack by The Hand. Peter was overjoyed to return, but this also meant that he'd have to face his friends, whom he had ditched to fight The Kingpin.
He spotted Gwen and Harry, hanging out with…Flash?
Peter was so confused as he walked to them. "Hey guys."
"Hi Pete. How's your aunt?" Asked Gwen.
"She's doing okay. Harry, how's your dad?" Asked Peter, trying to change the subject.
"He's getting discharged today." Replied Harry.
Things were awkward between Gwen and Peter.
"Okayyyy…I just remembered, I had to go for French, so bye guys!" Said Flash, as he hurried away.
"Yeah! And I've got…excuses!" Chimed in Harry, as he hurried away too, leaving only Peter and Gwen.
"Gwen, look. I'm so sorry for leaving you. I didn't mean to-"
"Peter, it's okay, my dad told me everything." Said Gwen, chuckling.
"He-He did?" Asked Peter, flabbergasted.
"Yeah. Did he really say he'd arrest you if I hung out with you too much?" Asked Gwen, stifling a laugh.
"Yeah, yeah! He was scary." Said Peter, going along with it.
"Haha! Don't worry, nothing's keeping me from you." Smiled Gwen, as she took his hand and rushed to their class.
Doctor Connors and Max Dillon were working on a new project, when Peter finally came.
"Peter! You're 3 minutes late." Chuckled Max.
"Haha. Very funny. So, what are we doing today?" Asked Peter.
"Today, Peter, we start a project that is very close to my heart. Limb regeneration." Said Curt.
"Woah. Like, re-growing damaged limbs?" Asked Peter.
"Yup! Well, we'll officially start in two days, just until we get the right equipment." Said Max.
"Using Cross-Species Genetics to do so." Continued Curt.
"Cross-Species Genetics? Like, merging the DNA of two different species?" Asked Peter.
"Precisely! Using the bio-electricity we get from the eel tanks, handled by yours truly." Said Max.
"Great! We're gonna change the world, Doc." Said Peter, extremely enthusiastic.
He could barely breathe, let alone stand up. Mendel somehow managed to open the door to another Oscorp Lab, which he only, and one other person knew about.
"Must…get…the bionics…" Grunted Mendel, a bone sticking out of his ankle, and his breath becoming more and more heavy.
He punched in a code, and a steel container opened up, revealing a cyborg bodysuit, capable of sustaining life to whoever was wearing it.
"This…gaunt body of mine…cannot sustain me. I must…do this…" Groaned Mendel.
He punched in another code, and the bodysuit extended two mechanical tendrils, which attached themselves onto Mendel's back.
"AAAGHH!" He shouted, as the body suit got pulled onto him, latching onto his body. Metal covering half of his blood-soaked face.
Mendel shouted louder as the bodysuit got tighter and tighter. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
That's when the entire bodysuit latched onto him completely. He was able to stand up, stronger than before.
"Project Gaunt is a success." He said, as he smiled.
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