The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 36: Bloodlines
Spider-Man raised his eyebrows underneath his mask. "Fisk?" he asked in disbelief, as Richard lunged at him, but Spider-Man swiftly dodged his attack. "Wilson Fisk is your dad?" asked Spider-Man.
"I'm surprised it took you this long to figure out," said Rose, shooting at Spider-Man, who webbed the gun away from him and jumped at Richard to kick him. However, Richard ducked and spin kicked Spider-Man away.
Spider-Man tumbled towards the edge of Central Park, but swiftly got back to his feet. Richard walked up, two knives in his hand. Spider-Man shot two webs, but then realized something.
"My web shooters? Wha-"
Before he could finish, he saw Richard smirking in front of him, holding the web shooters in his hands, as he threw them away. "Better if it's a fair fight," said Richard, as he charged at Spider-Man, who flipped over him with ease. However, Rose had a grappling gun in his right hand, and as Peter was in mid-air, he aimed the gun at Spider-Man and pulled him down to the ground.
Spider-Man landed on the ground with a thud, and he tried to kick Rose, but Rose managed to grab Peter's legs and push him back away. Spider-Man did a handspring and landed back on his feet.
"How did you beat my father?" asked Rose.
"I distracted him with cupcakes," replied Spider-Man, as he tried to punch Richard. However, Richard expertly moved out of the way and kicked Spider- Man's shin. He then threw one knife straight at Peter, who barely dodged it as the knife flew behind him.
"Eh, you can't always get it right," said Spider-Man. However, Rose pressed a button on his glove and the knife, just like a boomerang, turned around and aimed back at Peter again, lodging into the back of his right leg.
"AAAGHH!" groaned Peter, as Rose grabbed his head and kneed him in the face, before kicking him away with a backflip. Before Spider-Man could pull the knife out, Rose shot a grappling hook to a lamppost, and attached the other end of the wire to Spider-Man's back. Rose chuckled as he pressed the recoil button, and Peter went zooming out of Central Park and across the street, straight into a lamppost.
Before Peter could even get to his feet, a car came and slammed into him, sending him flying down the street. Rose walked out of Central Park and shot the driver of the car, before jumping in the driver's seat. He rammed into Spider-Man again, sending him into a pizza shop, and then drove away.
Spider-Man came to on a stretcher, outside the pizza shop, where Captain DeWolff was standing near him.
"Did he get away?" asked Spider-Man, as he tried to get up.
"Yeah. Rammed into 5 cars on the way too," answered Jean.
Spider-Man sighed as he managed to get off the stretcher, but his ribs were aching terribly. Jean helped him stand up.
"Take it easy, you've got a broken rib and two bruised ones," said Jean.
"Yeah…" groaned Spider-Man. "Also, I know who Rose is," he continued.
"I know, Ricardo Hisaka," said Jean.
"Not quite…Ricardo Hisaka must be an alias. Rose is Richard Fisk," informed Spider-Man.
"Wait, Fisk? As in Wilson "The Kingpin" Fisk?" asked Jean, her eyes going wide.
"Yeah, seems like being a criminal runs in the Fisk lineage," said Peter. All of a sudden, the sound of mechanical tentacles could be heard, as Otto started coming down a building. "Spider-Man!" he exclaimed, going towards him. Jean quickly took out her handgun and aimed it at Otto.
"Keep your hands in the air! All of them!" she ordered, cocking her handgun. Spider-Man quickly jumped in.
"No wait WAIT!" shouted Spider-Man, as he grabbed the gun. "He's not gonna hurt anyone," said Spider-Man, looking back at Otto, who nodded back in affirmation. He came back down to Spider-Man's heigh, retracting his tentacles.
"Doctor, what are you doing here?" asked Spider-Man.
"I came to see if Rose was still here. I may have an idea to track him," informed Otto.
"Look, Dr Octavius. I might consider you as…not a threat. But the police think otherwise, and honestly I don't wanna take any chances. Look, your intentions are noble, but this may get you hurt, or worse," explained Peter.
"I know the risks, and I'm not just some ordinary human. My mind is impeccable and these all powerful arms are at my command! Please Spider-Man, I care about this city as much as you do, please allow me to assist you in taking it back," pleaded Otto. Spider-Man thought for a while, sighed and then turned to Jean.
"Dr Otto Octavius is going to be assisting me in stopping Rose," he said, acknowledging Jean's bewildered expression. Eventually, she nodded.
"So, what's our plan?" asked Otto.
"Doctor Octavius, I'm going to need you to try and stop as much crime as possible, try and bring Midtown under control especially. I'm going to go talk to an old friend," said Spider-Man, as he looked at Jean.
"I'll let them know you're coming," said Jean, as she headed back to the police car.
"So, Spider-Man, I was thinking that I might need an alias too," said Otto.
"See, the thing is, I keep my identity a secret to make sure my loved ones aren't in any danger. You're identity is already public, doctor," explained Spider-Man.
"I know, but for my own gratification, I was thinking: Octopus-Man! Or maybe Tentacle Man!" suggested Otto enthusiastically. Spider-Man chuckled and swung away.
Peter landed on a rooftop overlooking Central Park and the Upper West Side.
"It's almost 6 am…I haven't talked to Gwen in a while…" thought Peter, as he called her up.
"Hey Gwen," said Peter, trying his best to sound enthusiastic, despite his extreme exhaustion.
"Hey Peter, what's up? Heard you had quite the run in with Rose tonight?" she asked
"Yeah. Man I have to fill you in on a lot. Stuff has honestly gotten crazy," mentioned Peter with a chuckle.
"If you want you can meet me on my building's terrace? We can talk there then," suggested Gwen.
"Cool, see you there!" replied Peter, hanging up and putting his phone away.
Rose drove his car to a chemical factory in West Harlem, where the rest of his men had gathered. He slammed the car door in frustration as he entered the factory.
"Boss, why are you so mad?" asked one of them cluelessly.
Rose sighed in frustration. "Because, HE KNOWS WHO I AM NOW!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Everyone in the room was quiet.
"The whole plan hinged on that freak and the NYPD NOT KNOWING WHO I AM! And I can't even beat Spider-Man myself!" continued Rose. The place was as quiet as a graveyard at midnight, with everyone terrified of what he would do next.
Instead of angrily erupting like a raging volcano, Rose simply chuckled to himself, puzzling the men in the room.
"Rule Number One of defeating your enemy, gentlemen. Always be prepared," said Rose, as he took out a small nano-camera stitched into the fibers of his suit. His right-hand man, William walked up to him.
"I can analyze this footage and extrapolate information on how he fights. If I can find a pattern, I'll be able to predict his moves before he even thinks of them," smirked Rose, as he gave the camera to William, who took it to another room.
"And if I'm correct…soon Spider-Man is going to go meet my asshole of a father…" thought Rose.
Spider-Man swung onto the terrace of the 28 floor building. Gwen had been waiting for him.
"Hey, you came," she said, as Peter took off his mask, revealing his bruised face.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" she said, startled as she jumped off of her chair.
"Had a very unfriendly meeting with Rose. And guess who he is?"
"Who?"
"Richard Fisk,"
"Wait, Fisk? Like, "Fisk" Fisk?" asked Gwen, just as puzzled as Peter.
"Yep," said Peter, as he took a seat next to her. The terrace was overlooking the Upper West Side.
"And if that wasn't enough, I found Doctor Octavius…or well, he found me," continued Peter.
"Wait, what? Is he all right?"
"He's fine, at least I think so. When the accident happened, and the doctors had to operate on him, they removed the inhibitor chip, which made sure that Otto could be in control of the arms. Without it, it may have many side-effects," explained Peter.
"And is he exhibiting any of these?" asked Gwen.
"Well, he came to me with a newfound purpose: He wants to help me keep the city safe," replied Peter.
"Wait what? What are the side-effects again?" asked Gwen.
"Shifts in personality, change in inhibitions, and at worst it'll alter his personality," explained Peter.
"Oh no. But, are you gonna take him up on his offer?"
"I honestly don't know. On one hand, I want to make sure he's safe and nothing bad happens. But at the same time, he has the power to do something good, and he wants to use that power for helping others," explained Peter.
Gwen sighed heavily, as she knitted her eyebrows in frustration, as if to think of an answer to such a morally heavy question. Eventually, she sighed and responded.
"The whole reason you became Spider-Man, was because you wanted to use this power gifted to you responsibly. The way you've described Otto, with his drive to using his new abilities to help others, it reminds me a lot about you. 2 years ago, if you told me, Harry or Aunt May that you were going to be Spider-Man, all of us would've stopped you. But you took it upon yourself to do so. Now Otto wants to do the same thing, and if you, a then 15 year old could make such an impact, then I personally believe, that with the right guidance, your guidance, Otto can be great too," explained Gwen, putting her hand on Peter's shoulder.
Peter nodded, as he looked at the mask in his hands, and was reminded of what he stood for. "Anyone can wear the mask…but the mask represents who you are…" he said out loud. Gwen nodded in agreement.
"Anyways, that's enough about me. What about you?" asked Peter, with a smile returning back on his face.
"Well, in good news, seems that Harry was able to convince the others to forgive you. School is reopening today, so hopefully everything goes smooth," said Gwen, chuckling as they both laughed.
"Yeah, that was honestly something really stupid I did, lashing out like that when they just wanted to help me," said Peter, remorse in his tone.
"Hey, don't worry. I don't blame you, especially after the whole Tombstone fiasco you went through that day," said Gwen. "And, I took your advice and decided to give therapy another try,"
"Oh! How's it going?" asked Peter.
"Honestly, I feel much better. He said that everyone grieves in their own way, and that it's like an open wound. Eventually, it's gonna heal. But if I keep thinking about it and guilt myself, it would be like scratching that wound open more and more. So yeah, I've decided to stop overthinking about dad, and try and move on. He may not be here anymore, but the impact he's had on our lives, and this city will be unforgettable," said Gwen.
"Amen. He was a really good man, one of the best I knew. And hey, everyone does grieve in their own way. I'm glad you didn't become like me and make yourself a pair of web shooters and a spandex costume!" joked Peter. Both of them laughed, as the Sun rose.
"Okay, school starts in like an hour. I should get back home," said Peter, putting on the mask and getting ready to jump off of the terrace.
"Wait, I sort of have an idea!" said Gwen.
"I'm all ears," replied Peter.
"Seeing as how your suit always seems to get damaged, have you thought of a new suit? Like from a stronger material?" suggested Gwen.
"Not really. But you're right, I'm not bulletproof, especially with spandex," joked Peter. "But…I think I know a guy who could help me," said Peter, as he waved goodbye to Gwen and swung away.
Rose sat in the factory, behind a dual monitored computer. He was busy analyzing the footage of him fighting Spider-Man, which had been captured by the small camera in his suit. William walked in.
"Have you figured it out yet, sir?" asked William.
"Almost. Come here, look at this," said Rose, calling William over.
"When I threw that knife, and every time I've attacked him from behind, look at him. It seems like somehow, he always knows if something's going to hit him, as if he has some pre-cognition…Look! Before as I was about to hit his back, his muscles twitched and he dodged. I need to find a way to nullify that sense of his…" said Rose.
"But how are you going to do that?" asked William.
"About a year ago, a man named Quentin Beck, or as The Daily Bugle called him, Mysterio had attacked New York. I managed to pull up footage from the bank he had robbed when Spider-Man confronted him a year back. Beck sprayed him with a certain hallucinogen, causing him to go berserk. If I can isolate its neurogenic properties, I'll be able to recreate whatever he used, and fight Spider-Man using that," explained Rose. "I've also noticed that he favours kicking over punching, and he is rather impulsive with his fighting skills. I can use all of that against him," said Rose, tabulating his results on the second monitor.
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, our original target was going to be Venezuela. So why did you choose New York City?" asked William.
"My father neglected me and instead spent years building his criminal empire, only for it to be destroyed by an adolescent kid. I'm here to prove that I have what it takes to be better than my father," explained Rose.
William nodded and left him in peace, as Rose continued analyzing the footage.
Midtown High had finally reopened, although the second floor had been closed off, which meant that classes were no cramped up. The chess club was now sharing a classroom with the debate club, and the French class had been merged with the Spanish class.
Peter walked into the school, as he noticed the second floor under construction. The young 17 year old was anxious to meet his friends, and hence was trying to distract himself with the minor changes in the school.
Eventually, he saw Liz, MJ and Flash in the cafeteria. With a heavy breath, he walked up to them.
"Hey," he said, his voice barely a squeak.
"Hey Pete," said Liz. MJ seemed to just flash a quick smile, and Flash seemed happy to see Peter too.
"Listen, I actually have to apologize. That was honestly quite scummy of me to say that stuff to you guys, and there's honestly no excuse for my irrational behavior," apologized Peter.
Mary Jane chuckled as he placed her hand on Peter's shoulder. "Relax, Tiger. Stress gets to us all the time. Besides, Harry explained everything, so we don't blame you," reassured MJ, which seemed to lift Peter's spirits.
"But seriously bro, you gotta stop jumping into danger. You're not Thor, you know?" chuckled Flash, as he lightly punched Peter's arm. Peter very convincingly winced at the action.
"Guys!" shouted Harry, as he came rushing into the cafeteria clutching a newspaper. "Spider-Man…and Doctor Octavius…working together!" huffed Harry, as he panted heavily. He seemed to have run a marathon, as he placed the newspaper on the table, which was edited by none other than Jolly Jonah Jameson.
"Spider-Menace and "Doctor Octopus" in cahoots! The menace to society calling himself Spider-Man has started to corrupt and train Doctor Otto Octavius, a former teacher, into a partner in crime! The police have assured that Spider-Man and "Doctor Octopus" are doing the right thing, but can we trust Spider-Man? Spoiler Alert: NO! And now, the juvenile seems to be trying to brainwash Dr Octavius into working for him, no doubt to commit more crimes!" read out Peter.
"This is bullshit!" he complained. "Why would Spider-Man "brainwash" Dr Octavius? And who the hell named him Doctor Octopus!" continued Peter.
"Honestly, Doc Ock is more catchy, but you're right! What the Hell was JJ smoking when writing this?" laughed Liz.
"Forget Jameson. He's probably one of those guys who thinks that the Internet is a virus," joked MJ, as everyone laughed."
"I don't know…I sort of agree with Jameson. About the Spider-Menace thing, not of Dr Octavius being a criminal," said Flash, a little cautiously.
"Whoa what? Why?" asked Peter, taken a little aback.
"Well, he beat up my dad and put him in jail…or technically a rehab center," protested Flash. Peter recalled that Alex O'Hern, Flash's father was The Rhino.
"In Spider-Man's defense, he was trying to stop your dad from hurting anyone, wasn't he?" replied Peter, in a calm, sympathetic tone.
"Yeah but, it wasn't his fault! It was that Tombstone guy, but he's dead too!" said Flash.
Peter didn't want to argue, and he instead nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure Rose will be brought to justice," reassured MJ, as Flash nodded.
That night, Spider-Man thought about the idea Gwen had suggested.
"A new suit…I wonder who could help me with that?" he thought, as he headed to Tricorp, where Phineas Mason, aka The Tinkerer worked. Spider-Man discreetly followed Phineas to his workshop, which also doubled as his house.
Spider-Man quietly entered.
"Tinkerer," he said.
Phineas let out a yelp as he turned around, terrified to see Spider-Man. "AAH! D-Don't hurt me!" he begged. Spider-Man put his hands up.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, but I do have a request," said Spider-Man.
"W-What?" asked Phineas, still trembling.
"Look, I can tell you have a good conscience, and you were sucked in by Tombstone without knowing what you were getting yourself into. So, I was hoping you could help me," said Spider-Man.
"Uh, sure…" said Phineas, a little more cautiously.
"I need you to make me a suit. Something more durable than spandex, but also light enough to keep me flexible. Can you help me on that?" asked Spider-Man.
"Yeah…Y-yeah sure," said Tinkerer. "I'll uh…have the suit ready in like a week then…" said Tinkerer.
"Thanks Phineas." Said Peter, as he swung out of the window.
"Now that that's taken care of…" thought Spider-Man, as he called up Jean.
"Captain, tell the guards at Ryker's that I'm coming to pay a visit to Maximum Security. I need a long chat with Kingpin," said Spider-Man.
"One question: Are you sure you wanna head to Maximum Security by yourself? It houses some of your more…superpowered enemies," informed Jean.
"Glad to know I'll have a welcoming committee then," said Spider-Man, as he swung towards Ryker's Island.
He reached the gate of the prison, as the guards let him in, as Jean had radioed them in advance, that Spider-Man was coming.
Peter made his way through processing and the general security ward, where the inmates all stared at Spider-Man.
"Check it out! Spider-Freak!"
"Imma rip your head off when I get outta here!"
"You're screwed, Spider!"
Ignoring their childish threats, Spider-Man made his way to Maximum Security, which was guarded by a Titanium door. One of the guards scanned their palm on a pad, and the door opened. Spider-Man walked in, with baited breath.
Huge cells were lining the walls, as a certain bald old man stared at Spider-Man.
"Well, look who it is!" squawked Adrian Toomes, as he grabbed the bars.
"Good to see you too, Vulture," said Spider-Man, as he continued walking forward.
"Lookie here! I can't wait to fry a spider!" said Electro. He had a collar around in his neck which negated his powers.
"You're gonna sink in quicksand!" threatened Sandman, with the same collar around his neck.
"Ready for another round, freak!" taunted Herman Schultz, as he pointed at Spider-Man. The cells became more and more secure as he walked ahead.
Spider-Man walked past Mysterio and Scorpion, but he stopped at one cell.
"Peter Parker. It's been a while," said Norman Osborn with a smug smile, behind a high density glass. His voice was low enough that the others couldn't hear him.
"Norman," said Spider-Man, anger in his voice.
"I must say, I underestimated you last time. That was my mistake. Of course, I always rectify my errors," threatened Norman.
"You're gonna stay here for a lifetime, Osborn. Keep dreaming of breaking out," retorted Spider-Man.
Norman simply chuckled. "All that brain power, and yet you're foolish. Don't worry, Peter. I'll be sure to try and make your death painless," he said, as he turned back to the wall in his cell.
Spider-Man shrugged off Norman's baseless threat, as he walked to the Maximum Security Interrogation Room, where Wilson Fisk was waiting for him.
Peter walked in where Fisk was sitting at a metal table, handcuffed to it.
"Big Willie! So good to see you again," said Spider-Man, taking a seat at the table.
"I can't say the feeling is mutual," said Fisk, in a deep, yet non-threatening voice
"Wow, you slimmed down in prison! They've been feeding you your Keto Diet?" asked Spider-Man.
Fisk scoffed as he ignored his joke. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Straight to the point, okay. Rose is, Spoiler Alert: Your long lost son that none of us knew you had!" said Spider-Man.
"Richard?" asked Fisk.
"Yeah. You mind breaking the ice on your whole secret son thing?" asked Spider-Man.
Fisk sighed. "Twenty years ago, my criminal empire was rather small, and I was up against Sylvio Manfredi, the then Kingpin of Crime. My…ambitions got my wife, Vanessa, killed. So I sent my 5 year old son away to boarding school in Switzerland," said Fisk, rather remorsefully.
"And I'm guessing he grew up to hate you for abandoning him, and he's here for revenge?" asked Spider-Man.
"I always had an eye on Richard. In fact, his right hand man, William James is one of my men. Throughout these twenty years I made sure to know everything my son was up to. Apparently he mastered 5 different martial arts, Psychoanalysis and Behavioral sciences, as well as Applied Chemistry," informed Fisk.
"Impressive. Any idea why he wants to assert his dominance on New York so badly?" asked Spider-Man.
"He always spoke of proving himself to me. To prove that he could do what I failed to do. Take over New York," said Fisk.
"Great. Now I gotta go beat up someone else from the Fisk Bloodline. Bye, Willie!" said Spider-Man, as he left the room and walked out of Maximum Security, ignoring the threats of his enemies.
Now that was a fun chapter to write! I want to make Rose one of the smartest villains Spider-Man has fought, even though he doesn't have powers. I also wanted to add more Peter Parker scenes, as there haven't been many of them recently, especially with Gwen. And I loved giving previous villains cameos too! Also, I hope you caught that Spider-Gwen easter egg (though i have no plans of having Gwen become Spider-Woman anytime soon).
Also, I want you to try and guess who the villain of Season 4 will be, you can leave it as a review or PM me. Think of it as a fun game!
JPrime: Friend, in this case. I can see you love Doc Ock a lot! Which makes sense, he's one of Spider-Man's best villains. (Along with Venom and Green Goblin too!)
Rollerparty: Yeah, it kinda sucks that his identity was just one Google search away, lol. And Alistair Smythe will have a role in future seasons, and maybeeeeee as Spider-Slayer. As for Daredevil, I am planning for him to return, but it's for a special project that I'm not revealing just yet…
redbird12: Gotta be honest, I definitely didn't think of Arkham Knight while writing it, haha. (Although looking back, the parallels are quite striking). And yeah, I love B99 lol. And who said Otto will have a downfall…
SuperSpider18: That's great! I think one of the biggest things you have to get right is the division between Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Make sure to give both sides equal importance, as every great Spider-Man story should show both sides of Spider-Man's world. Another thing you should focus on are the core fundamentals of the character. Spider-Man is meant to represent the average citizen. He doesn't have to be a billionaire in a suit of armour or a literal God. He could be anyone you say Hello to while on your way to work, or he could be the barista who makes your morning coffee. So make sure to get that right. Also make sure you get his sense of responsibility in place (which is something I tried to emphasize in this chapter). One fundamental rule I try to follow (though you don't always have to) is that every positive for Spider-Man, will result in a negative for Peter Parker. Hope your story does great! (And this advice goes to anyone who wants to write a Spider-Man story)
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.