The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 37: Vicious Visions
Richard got up from his desk, and walked up to his makeshift laboratory in the warehouse. He had a certain liquid collected in a flask. He gently picked up the flask and a syringe, as he collected the liquid to the syringe. His right hand man, William walked in.
"Mr Fisk, what is that supposed to be?" asked William.
"This, William, can numb Spider-Man's senses. After analyzing his tactics and taking note of his pre-cognitive sense, I have mixed two thousand milligrams of Xylazine with Water Moccasin Venom. Essentially, this would slow him down, and possibly numb his sixth sense," explained Rose. The smell of smoke was also filling the room. William looked around the dark room to see a certain mixture in a saucepan.
"Are you cooking something?" he asked inquisitively.
"Not exactly. Oxidized sugar and Potassium Nitrate is being heated in that pan. I'll pour the mixture in pellets. With enough force they'll combust and give out a smokescreen, disorienting Spider-Man. Also, I've studied how he's fought other enemies too. I've also managed to isolate what chemicals Quentin Beck used: Salvinorin A, Substituted Cathinones and Carbinogen as a propellant. Basically, it's a hallucinogen. And I'm upgrading my body armour to the material Tombstone used on The Rhino," replied Rose.
"Impressive, sir," said William, who barely caught on to whatever science jargon Richard was speaking.
"Now all I need to do is bait him," said Richard. "I've plugged his movements into an algorithm I extrapolated, and it looks like his movements all lead back to Queens, though I'm not sure where. William, I need you to pull out records on every single resident living in Queens, males from ages 16 to 23. I need to know exactly who I'm up against," ordered Richard, as William nodded and walked away.
"Now all I need to do is lure Spider-Man…" thought Rose.
Spider-Man and Otto, or in this case Doctor Octopus were sitting on a rooftop. Otto seemed to be contemplating while Peter was eating a pretzel.
"So, Spider-Man. Yesterday, I managed to stop a bank robbery and a diamond store. But, when can I start going after the…bigger threats?" asked Otto. Peter raised an eyebrow, under his mask."
"What do you mean "bigger threats?"" he asked
"I mean like how you have fought superpowered individuals, and now Rose. When can I start going after him?" asked Otto.
"Whoa doc, we're gonna need to slow down there. It took me like 6 months till I fought my first super criminal, that being the Shocker, of all people," chuckled Spider-Man. "What I'm trying to say you need to learn to walk before you can run. For now, focus on petty crimes," suggested Spider-Man.
"Right. It just feels like…I'm not doing enough," lamented Otto. Peter put his hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry doc, it takes time to get used to this stuff," explained Peter. Just then he got a call from Aunt May. Spider-Man excused himself as he walked away for a bit.
"Hey Aunt May, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Peter, it's 8 pm. Where are you?" she asked, worriedly.
"Oh don't worry, the subway took a while," explained Peter.
"But…haven't the subways been shut down now?" asked May, raising an eyebrow.
Peter cursed under his breath. He has forgotten that the subway had shut down, at least until the NYPD regained control of the city.
"Oh not the train subway, Aunt May! Gwen and I had gone to get a sandwich at Subway. We were starving after school!" replied Peter, laughing nervously.
"Hmm…I trust you, but I'll ask Gwen too just in case. Come home quick, Peter. Love you." Said May, as she cut the call.
Spider-Man walked back to Otto, whose robotic arms were dangling off of the roof as he sat down.
"A loved one?" asked Otto. Peter nodded as Otto smiled sympathetically.
"Doctor, I need to tell you something. Or I, might as well just show you," said Spider-Man, as he took off his mask. Otto's eyes went wide.
"P-Peter?! It's you…of course…all the tardy slips issued, were issued to Spider-Man?" asked a bewildered Otto, who had clearly been taken aback.
"Yeah…it's kind of the reason to my lateness, and my constant deadline-breaking," chuckled Peter.
"So for 3 years…its been you…Oh my God. You mean, the person who beat Norman Osborn, who stopped the Kingpin, defeated all of those supervillains, was a high-schooler, that too a high schooler I've been teaching?" continued Otto, in disbelief.
"Well, a high schooler with the proportionate strength and speed of a spider," added Peter.
"But how? Where did your powers come from?" asked Otto.
Peter sighed, as he remembered that memory. "Do you remember the field trip to Oscorp in tenth grade, and one of those genetically modified spiders was missing?" asked Peter. Otto's jaw dropped.
"You ate it?!" asked Otto.
"What, no!" laughed Peter. "It bit me on my wrist. Since then I've been able to crawl up walls with super strength and speed," explained Peter.
"And…and the webs?" asked Otto.
Peter showed him his small web shooters. "I designed the web fluid myself. It has a very high tensile strength and is adhesive. It undergoes sublimation after about 2 hours," said Peter. "Guess who I learned Organic Chemistry from?" asked Peter. Otto chuckled.
"No wonder you were so enthusiastic," he said. "I remember when you were just twelve and came up to me, asking about Benzene Rings." chuckled Otto, as Peter smiled, reminiscing about that memory. He remembered how life was so much simpler back then.
"So wait, who else knows?" asked Otto.
"Gwen, and Norman," said Peter.
"Norman knows?" asked Otto.
"Yeah. I met him a couple days back when I went to go talk to Wilson Fisk," said Peter.
"Peter, you have to be careful. I mean, don't get me wrong, you have superpowers, but that doesn't mean you're invincible," cautioned Otto.
"Yeah. Although "The Invincible Spider-Man" is pretty catchy, isn't it? Maybe I'll live up to it someday," said Peter.
"I'd say "The Extraordinary Spider-Man sounds great too," suggested Otto.
"Ah yes, adjectives that Jameson will never use to describe me! It's a shame his son's return to Earth got delayed," lamented Peter.
"Exactly why the city needs to go back to normal. Anyways, I should go. You never know when another person needs help," said Otto, as he shook Peter's hand and left.
Peter stood up and put on his mask, before shooting one web to his right, another to his left, and catapulted himself away.
Otto got back to his makeshift laboratory, and he immediately smashed a pillar.
"DAMMIT!" he yelled. "No, I can't do it! I won't!" shouted Otto, as he slammed a tentacle into the wall. He stood still, as if he was thinking something, or talking to someone.
"No…no I can't…not anymore…" he said, slumping down to the ground on his knees.
"No you don't understand. YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!" he shouted even louder.
"He's…Peter…I can't hurt him…" said Otto, in a lower tone. "I don't care if Spider-Man sabotaged me…he's Peter Parker! I can't hurt him, I won't!" he continued. He slammed two arms to the ground.
"No…please…" whispered Otto.
"You never had what it takes!" said a voice. Otto was startled, as he sat upright, and saw himself. A much more menacing reflection of himself standing before him. He wore black glasses, and a green suit.
"Who are you?" asked Otto, trembling.
"I am you, Octavius. Well, the version of you whose intellect was unmatched. The version of you whose never afraid to do what needs to be done to ensure success. The version of you, who isn't a failure!" Spat out the reflection.
"I'm not a failure…" replied Otto, as the vision chuckled.
"Look at yourself for once! You're obsolete, a very poor man's Tony Stark. All of that power in your brain, and you squander all of that potential chasing some…amazing fantasy! Pathetic," replied the vision. "What's stopping you?! Use that intellect of yours for something worthwhile!" scolded the vision.
Otto thought for a minute. "Like what?" he asked, trembling.
"Like, for example, squandering your potential trying to be a super hero. Spider-Man sabotaged your experiment, remember?" asked the vision.
"But he's Peter! I can't hurt him," reasoned Otto.
"THAT IS EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE A FAILURE! Sentiment, such an obstacle to superiority. Don't you want to be better, Otto? Don't you want to be superior?! No, you're a failure. That's what you are, and that's what you always will be!" shouted the vision.
"NO I'M NOT!" shouted Otto, as he lashed an arm at the vision, which suddenly disappeared.
Otto stood there, his tentacles active, as something snapped in him that night. He picked up a newspaper, which read "Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus save the day", and he tore it apart with his tentacles.
"All Units, all units! We have a…man driving a large wheel down Grand Avenue. Requesting backup, over." Said the police scanner.
"A man in a big wheel? Just when you think you've seen it all!" thought Spider-Man, as he swung to Grand Avenue.
A man wearing a green costume in a large yellow wheel was driving down the street, laughing maniacally, as citizens managed to dive out of the way. Spider-Man landed on the lamppost, completely bewildered.
"Hey dude! The circus left New York like two days back. You and your Big Wheel are a little late!" shouted Spider-Man, as the wheel stopped and turned to face him. "Spider-Man! My nemesis!" he cackled.
"Eh, I wouldn't say you're a nemesis. More of a nematode!" joked Spider-Man. Big Wheel charged towards him, but Spider-Man jumped out of the way and webbed the wheel. But the wheel easily broke through the webs.
"Your puny webs can't stop me!" laughed Big Wheel.
"Yikes, you're straight out of a comic book!" laughed Spider-Man, as he jumped on top of the wheel and tried to pull the man out. Instead, the man started charging headfirst into a building.
"Oh no no no!" thought Spider-Man, as he shot two webs on either side of the wheel and started to steer it away from the shop, and down the street. Spider-Man continued to steer the wheel down the street, avoiding cars and other buildings.
"What are you doing! I am in control!" shouted the man driving it.
"I don't think you have a license, sir!" mocked Spider-Man, as he steered the wheel, and tried to slow it down.
"What's wrong? Getting "tyred?" Oh man, that was a good one!" joked Spider-Man, as he grabbed the webs on either side of the wheel and jumped behind the wheel. He pulled at the webs and dug his feet into the concrete street, like an artificial brake.
The wheel eventually came to a grinding halt, as cops all surrounded the yellow wheel, guns trained on it.
"It's okay, officers! The man here is docile, he's not gonna hurt anyone!" chuckled Spider-Man, and that's when the man pulled out a revolver.
"Well, I've been wrong before," muttered Spider-Man, as he webbed the gun's muzzle and knocked out Big Wheel. The cops managed to pull him out and put him in a cop car.
"Well that was embarrassing…you'd never see The Avengers fighting these bozos. Sheesh. Then again, I guess that's the "Friendly Neighbourhood" part of "Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man," thought Peter, as he started to run up a building towards the roof.
All of a sudden, there was a huge explosion in Midtown, which seemed to rock the entire city.
"What the heck is that?!" said Peter out loud, as he was able to see the explosion.
"Midtown…that's Grand Central Terminal!" said Spider-Man, as he rushed towards GCT.
Rose's men made quick work of the place, spraying lead into the crowd, who tried to escape amidst the chaos. Spider-Man quickly swung in and yanked away their guns.
"Seriously, can't your boss go ten days without an attack?" asked Spider-Man. He shot two webs at 2 goons' feet and pulled them to the ground, before flipping in the air and kicking another one in the face.
All of a sudden, a dart hit Spider-Man on his neck.
"What the- oh no…" thought Peter, as he pulled out the dart from his neck.
Just then, out of nowhere a truck came into the scene and rammed straight into Spider-Man, sending him flying into GCT. Rose got out of the truck, prepared with knives.
"My Spider-Sense…what?" Peter asked himself, completely bewildered.
"Guess you don't have your sense to protect you?" asked Rose, smirking as he entered the terminal, facing Spider-Man, with fire all around them. Spider-Man shot a web at him and lunged at him, but as soon as he punched his chest, he heard a sickening crack from his knuckles, as he pulled away in pain.
"Didn't think I'd come prepared?" asked Rose, as he kneed Spider-Man in the chest, brought his elbow down on his back, and threw him back. Spider-Man got to his feet, but his senses were out of whack.
As soon as Peter was about to fight back, Rose took out a small pellet and threw it to the ground, releasing a smokescreen and disappearing. He quickly got behind Spider-Man and kneed his back.
Rose spin kicked him in the face, before slamming his shoulder into his chest, and kicking his shin. Spider-Man fell to one knee, but managed to flip out of the way of the next hit. He then shot a web to the roof of the terminal, and swing kicked Rose.
Rose dodged out of the way, and took out a grapnel gun. He aimed it at Spider-Man's back and pulled him down. Before Spider-Man could even hit the ground, Rose slashed his back with a knife.
Rose took out another knife, and sliced the tendon at Peter's Achilles Heel, immobilizing him. Peter gritted his teeth as he fell to his knees.
"You see Spider-Man, even with all of those powers, a human could beat you. That just goes to show…you're no hero," said Rose, as he uppercutted Peter, knocking him out.
Gwen was frantically trying to call Peter, but to no avail.
"Peter, where are you?" she asked herself, terrified after seeing the News. Witnesses had noticed Rose walk out with Spider-Man's body.
"Dammit!" she said, as she threw her phone on the bed, and looked out her window. That's when she had an epiphany, as she grabbed her phone, and called up Dr Octavius.
"Doctor Octavius? It's me Gwen!" she said hurriedly. "Spider-Man's been taken," she continued.
"I know he's Peter. And I've been trying to find out where they went, but I haven't found any leads," informed Otto.
"Okay. But please let me know if you find anything!" she said.
Otto cut the call, as the vision reappeared.
"Don't you see? This is perfect! The saboteur is out of the way, and now there's nothing holding you back!" said the vision ecstatically.
"This is wrong…I have to save Peter…" said Otto, turning back towards the door, but the vision stopped him.
"That's enough Otto. You're intellect is free now, and this city is your laboratory. Use it to its full advantage. Tell me, when you killed those doctors, you didn't mean it did you?" asked the vision.
"No I didn't. It was an accident," replied Otto.
"Exactly. But then, what lazy, avaricious editor slandered you?" asked the vision.
"Jonah Jameson…" said Otto, through gritted teeth.
Spider-Man came to, his mask still on. He was tied to a chair, with a metal cable, in a dimly lit room. Rose finally walked into the room, through a concealed door.
"Gotta say, I really hoped that you'd put up more of a fight…" said Rose. Peter tried to break free of the cable, but it was all in vain.
"Fisk…or should I say Richie Rich? It's gonna be confusing with the original Fisk in jail," replied Spider-Man, as Rose laughed.
"Come on, Parker. We both know that the time for jokes is forgone…" said Rose.
"You took off my mask, didn't you?" asked Spider-Man, a little worried.
"Oh definitely not. I analyzed the routes you normally take, and they almost always converged at a certain borough, in a certain neighbourhood, in a certain house…The Parker's. I'm guessing Ben Parker's death is what gave you your Hero Complex, huh Peter?" asked Rose, raising an eyebrow. Peter didn't answer.
"Don't worry. I personally don't care about who you truly are. But all of New York sure does…" said Rose. Instantly, the lights switched on, and a tripod was set in front of Spider-Man.
Instantly, in Times Square, every screen went black. It started again, except this time Spider-Man was on screen, tied to a chair. Rose walked up behind Spider-Man.
"Ladies and gentlemen…today you will all witness…who is behind the mask…" said Rose.
Hey everyone! Sorry about the hiatus that I took, but don't worry, I will be publishing chapters usually again! And yes, Peter is definitely in danger now. Stay tuned to see how he gets out of this sticky situation… but fear not, for Peter Parker has the exaggerated swagger of an American high schooler (If you get that reference then I applaud you!)
I also hope you loved Big Wheel's inclusion in the chapter lol. One of Spider-Man's goofiest villains and I forgot to include him in the last two seasons.
JPrime: Yep, and I can assure you, that's not gonna be the last you'll see of Norman Osborn…
Spidey: Those are actually some good ideas, I might take inspiration from them
Rollerparty: Yeah, the fight scenes between Rose and Spider-Man can be hard to write, but I'll try and improve them. (Especially since Season 4 is gonna be PACKED)
chiripa012: Don't worry, Flash's view on Spider-Man will hopefully be positive again.
epantoja521: I have no clue what that means haha!
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.