The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 41: Nine Lives
A car was speeding down the road, almost ramming into civilians as three police cars chases after it.
"You are going way over the speed limit! Pull over, now!" shouted a cop through a megaphone.
"Hey man! That Einstein guy said speed was relative!" shouted one of the thugs as they stuck their head out the window, firing a machine gun.
"That was time, not speed! Just stop firing and pull over now!" shouted the cop, who instantly ducked his head back into the car when the thug continued firing.
"Get the Hell outta the way!" shouted the driver, who mounted the curb, trying to avoid pedestrians. The second thug was laughing hysterically as he aimed the machine gun fire towards the car's tires.
Two of the first car's tires blew out, causing the car to skid towards a nearby coffee store.
"Shit shit shit!" yelled the cops inside, as the car spun out of control and flipped over in mid-air, about to crash into the store.
All of a sudden, a nimble, red and blue figure jumped in front of the car and grabbed it in mid-air, preventing it from hitting the shop. The figure lightly put the car down, as the cops got out.
"All right, seems like no one's hurt. Guys, I'm late to an event but keep the usual ready! I'll be here in a couple of hours!" said the man hurriedly, as he pointed at the barista, who gave him a thumbs up.
Waving goodbye, Spider-Man quickly started swinging towards the speeding car, as he webbed the machine gun out of the thug's hand and landed on the roof of the car.
"Guys, guys! Where did you learn to drive, GTA?" said Spider-Man, as he headed to the windshield and punched it in, pulling the gunman out of the passenger's seat and webbing him to a lamppost. He turned around and saw two children playing in front of them.
"Crap, crap, crap!" shouted Spider-Man, as he leaped off of the hood of the car and grabbed both the kids, carrying them both to safety, before going after the car again, heading into Chinatown.
"I'm sorry sir, do you not understand that I am late for a certain event?" he asked sarcastically, as he ripped the roof of the car and hopped in, sitting in the backseat.
"If I'm being honest, this is a pretty sweet ride," said Spider-Man, as he webbed the driver's face, and then webbed his foot to the brake handle, causing the car to stop.
Spider-Man got out the car, with the driver all webbed up. The police officers got out of the car as they escorted the driver away. Spider-Man opened the trunk of the car, which had a duffel bag, with blueprints.
"What is this? Nanotech Energy?" thought Spider-Man, as the cops came in.
"Thanks, Spidey. We'll take it back to Oscorp," they said, as they rolled up the blueprints and took them away. Spider-Man nodded and swung away. That's when he got a call from Harry.
"Hey, Harry! Yeah I am literally only a few blocks away," he said.
"Come quick, they're starting. You're the freaking Valedictorian!" said Harry worriedly.
"Give me 2 minutes, I'll be there!" said Peter, as he quickly swung away. "Man, who'd be late to their own graduation?" he thought.
"And, we would like our finest student to give the Graduation Speech. For the class of 2014, our Valedictorian…Peter Parker!" announced the principal. Everyone in the audience started clapping, but no one showed up on stage.
"Is Mr Parker not here?" asked the principal, to which the other teachers shrugged.
Just then, Peter came running onto stage in his Valedictorian uniform, and took the microphone.
"Uh…hello everyone. My name is Peter Parker, but most of you already know that," joked Peter, as others lightly chuckled.
"I have to say, being at Midtown High for the last 5 years, has been quite an experience. There were ups, there were downs, but most importantly, there was us. All of us, together, helping each other throughout these years. I won't lie and say the first year was amazing, but then something happened in the second. And that, I would say is what defines me, defines all of us, as people. That being, responsibility. Each of us are responsible for our own lives, for our hardships and our feats. I learned very early on that you can't have someone speak for you, or fight your battles for you. It's always going to be you. I know we all feel that we're on the top of the world, and that's how we should feel today. I just want to say that, and this goes to each and every one of you, that it doesn't matter whether you're a football star or a nerd, whether you're a loser or a winner. What matters is, we're all only human. No one is some Godlike entity. I know it may not feel like it, but we are all in this together. Even today, we are all graduating together. And yet, we are all different in our own way. Some of you may be great with English, others with sports, with art! And that's what makes you different, and worthy of accomplishing 5 years of hard work. I know, for a fact that you all have people who believe in you. I believe in you. And remember, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." Concluded Peter.
"Let's go, Parker!" cheered Flash, as he stood up, and everyone stood up clapping.
Everyone threw their caps in the air, as Peter walked up to Aunt May, who was a little teary eyed.
"There's my Valedictorian!" said May, embracing him, teary-eyed.
"Still can't believe it," chuckled Peter.
"Ben would've been so proud," she said, as she hugged Peter again.
"Yeah," said Peter, losing himself in thought. He quickly snapped back to reality. "Right, today we're hosting a surprise party for Flash and Harry since they're leaving soon. So could you tell them to stop by Mick's in the evening?" asked Peter.
"Oh sure. Sure he won't get suspicious?" asked May.
"Let's hope so!" said Peter, as he walked up to his friends.
Everyone was hugging each other goodbye as Peter came up to them.
"Killer speech man!" said Hobie, as he fist bumped Peter.
"Seriously. You really know how to inspire a crowd! Ever thought of being a businessman instead of a scientist?" asked Liz jokingly.
"Yeah, right. "Parker Industries" or "Parker Enterprises?"" laughed Peter.
"So, what's next for Harry Osborn?" asked Gwen.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow, so it's kinda bittersweet," replied Harry. "What about you Flash?"
"I'm leaving in like a week. Military Academy basically means always being there on time," replied Flash.
"Well for Peter and I, we go to Empire State University in about two weeks. They're starting the year early this time," lamented MJ.
"Wait, what? No vacations?" asked Hobie, shocked.
"Yeah, it sucks. But hey, that means the year will end quick!" said Peter, trying to remain optimistic when Gwen tugged at his sleeve.
"Can I talk to you for a second? In private?" she asked. Peter shrugged and followed her out of the crowd of students.
"What's up?" asked Peter.
"How are you gonna sneak out of ESU? When you're being Spider-Man, I mean?" asked Gwen.
"I'll find a way. Probably sneaking out of my dorm window or something," replied Peter. "Speaking of which, I'm kind of worried about something. But I guess we'll talk about it later? After Flash and Harry's party?" asked Peter.
"Yeah sure. Be there, okay?" asked Gwen, kissing him on the cheek.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," said Peter.
Putting on his suit, Peter put on his mask and swung towards the coffee shop which he had saved, and that he regularly went to.
Spider-Man went through the door as everyone sat shocked.
"Hey everyone," said Spider-Man shyly as he walked to the barista, who handed him his hot coffee.
"Thanks!" said Peter, as he gave her the money and walked out of the shop, everyone just staring at him. Spider-Man held onto his coffee and swung to the roof of a building, where a billboard said "The Spider-Man Debate. Tomorrow, 6 pm!"
Spider-Man sighed. "Four years and they still debate on me. Fun," he said, as he started to think about the day.
"What was Oscorp doing with that Nanotech Energy? Last I checked that shouldn't be available till at least 2023, a whole 8 years from now," thought Peter. "Those idiots definitely weren't stealing that for themselves. They were probably working with, or for someone. But who? I should try and find out more about this, luckily the going-away party isn't in a couple of hours," said Spider-Man, as he started to head towards Oscorp.
Peter walked through the doors and walked up to the receptionist, Felicia.
"Miss Hardy, right?" asked Peter.
"Parker? I'm guessing you're here to meet Mr Smythe?" asked Felicia. Peter nodded.
"I'm so sorry, but I think you've heard about today's break-in. Mr Smythe is currently in a meeting regarding Oscorp Security, so he's not available today," replied Felicia.
"Right. Also, quick question: Those robbers walked in during the day right? How exactly did they get past security?" asked Peter, curiously.
"I didn't exactly see them enter, and they definitely weren't using the front door, otherwise I would've seen them," said Felicia. "They must've gotten in some other way, evading security," she continued.
"From what I hear, those guys were complete idiots. Think they had inside help?" asked Peter, as Felicia shrugged.
"Maybe. I'm sure Mr Smythe will find out," she replied, as Peter looked at his watch.
"Oh shoot, I'm late again. Thanks for the help!" said Peter, as he rushed out the door.
Peter quickly reached Mick's Diner, where Liz, Hobie, MJ and Gwen were waiting.
"You sure took your time. Come on, they're reaching in like 5 minutes," said Gwen.
"What excuse did Aunt May give?" asked Peter, taking a seat next to Gwen.
"Apparently she said there was a 60% discount on fries," laughed Hobie.
"So, we've got a chocolate cake for Harry, and a red velvet one for Flash. Is that good?" asked MJ.
"Perfect. Harry loves chocolate. I remember when we were kids we raided his kitchen looking for chocolate," said Peter, as he looked out the window, reminiscing. There was a bit of an awkward silence.
"So, Liz. What're you doing after university?" asked Gwen, breaking the ice.
"Oh, well I wanna be a fashion designer!" said Liz. "Although I haven't worked out everything yet," she continued.
"Ah, you'll be great. I kinda wanna work at like a homeless shelter for a while. Maybe that new F.E.A.S.T shelter that opened up?" said Hobie.
"Oh yeah, Aunt May is gonna start there soon! I'll tell her to let you know how it goes," suggested Peter.
"Sure man. Oh, Harry's car just pulled up," said Hobie, looking out the window.
"Guys, HIDE!" said Gwen, as they all hid behind different seats. The restaurant was mostly empty.
Harry was talking to Flash as they walked in. "So yeah, one of my friends is also going to Military Academy, Flash. Her name is Andrea-"
"SURPRISE!" said everyone, jumping out of their hiding spots. Flash let out a squeak.
"Ahh! What?!" said a startled Harry.
"We wanted to give a proper goodbye to you guys!" said Peter, as Flash looked like he almost had a panic attack.
"No way, you guys did this?" asked Harry, surprised.
"Can't let you go away with a proper goodbye, buddy!" said Peter, as he hugged Harry.
"All right, cake!" exclaimed Flash, as they sat down.
The two goons who robbed Oscorp were sitting in a detention cell, when a cop came and unlocked the jail door.
"Someone paid for your bail," said the cop.
"What? Who?" asked the first goon.
"Don't know." Replied the cop, coldly as they walked out of the cell.
After signing a bunch of paperwork, the duo walked out of the precinct, completely confused.
"So, who let us out again?" asked the first one.
"No idea. Think it was that lady who hired us?" asked the second.
"Yeah, speaking of which I wanna have a word with her. She said after stealing those blueprints we should meet her behind Cal's Bar, right? That's nearby,"
"Maybe let's pay her a visit,"
The duo walked over to the alleyway behind Cal's Bar, only to see no one there.
"She ain't here. Meaning she probably didn't bail us out," said the first one. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, they heard a sound coming from near a dumpster. Both of them turned around, only to see a black cat walk out from behind it.
"Hey…what'd she say her name was?" asked one of the thugs.
"I dunno, Catwoman or something. Why?" asked the second. All of a sudden, they heard someone land behind them. They turned around and saw a woman in black clothing, and white hair. She seemed to have claws on her gloves, and she was wearing a mask that covered the borders of her eyes.
"Hey lady, I dunno what you want from us, but we couldn't steal those blueprints, or whatever. The Spider got us," he said. "I'm assuming you bailed us outta jail?" he continued.
The woman chuckled. "You think I care that you idiots got caught? I just wanted to test how tight Oscorp's Security is. I used you both to…test the waters, in a way. And now, I know exactly how to counteract Oscorp security,"
"Wait so we were supposed to get caught?" asked the first thug, enraged.
"You don't think I could steal the plans myself? Besides you brought to light another threat to my…employer's plan," replied the woman.
"Why you little-" said the first one as he charged at her. But the woman flipped over him and kicked his back, before kicking the second one in the face, sliding under his legs and tripping him, making him fall face-first to the ground. The woman then jumped off of his head, did a flip and landed her leg on the first person's head. Both of them were knocked out.
"Now, time for a heist…" she thought, extending her retractable claws.
"And then I told the guy that I'm the cousin brother of the bride…and he let me in!" laughed Harry, narrating about how he and Peter crashed a wedding once.
"And then you got us chucked out of there when you started talking to her actual cousin brother!" continued Peter, unable to hold his laughter. Most of the cake was finished, and it was almost 9pm.
"Well guys, today was fun. And thank you so much for everything," said Harry, as he hugged everyone.
"I'm gonna see you off at the airport too man. Hell I'll pull an Ethan Hunt and hang onto a wing of the plane!" joked Peter.
"Buddy, I just gotta say, I'm sorry for everything I've done to you before man," said Flash, giving Peter a hug.
"All in the past, Flash. All in the past," said Peter.
Everyone said goodbye as they left Mick's. Soon enough, Peter was left with Gwen.
"So…graduation. What do you think?" she asked Peter, as they both started walking down the footpath.
"To be honest, It feels…amazing. I can't wait to start at ESU. I can't help but feel it's a new beginning," said Peter.
"Yeah, although it does suck that all of us aren't gonna be in the same place. Especially both of us," said Gwen.
"What's that song? "Ain't No Mountain High Enough?"" sang Peter awkwardly, as Gwen laughed. That's when he got a ping off of his police scanner.
"Break-In reported at Oscorp. Backup requested," said the officer. Peter sighed, as he looked at Gwen.
"Go quick. Can't let the criminal get away," smiled Gwen. Peter nodded, as he ran into an alleyway to change. Luckily, Oscorp was nearby.
10 MINUTES EARLIER
The woman landed onto a balcony on Oscorp's 115th floor, in front of the balcony door to Alistair Smythe's office. She extended her claws and unscrewed the hinges, causing the door to lightly fall off.
"Okay then, Smythe. Reveal your secrets," said the woman, as she opened his drawers, hoping to find what she was looking for.
"Dammit. Blueprints aren't here. Maybe…" she said, as she took out a pen drive and inserted in into Smythe's laptop. The laptop switched on and immediately unlocked itself.
"Where is it…Special Armors…Venom Project? There! Nanotech Energy Project…Floor 93, Room 7D…" she said, as she installed spyware onto Smythe's laptop via the pen drive. She quickly switched off the laptop, took out the pen drive and walked out of the office.
Aware of the security cameras, she took out a small EMP, and put it on the ground. The EMP let out a noiseless blast, frying anything electronic on the next 20 floors, including security cameras.
Smirking, she made her way to Floor 93, Room 7D. The door was locked behind a keypad. The woman tapped a certain button on her right forearm, as digitized fingerprints showed up on her gloves. She hovered her gloved hand over the keypad, with the projected fingerprints of Alistair Smythe.
The door opened up, revealing a lab. There were large robots lining the walls, and they were just about a human's height. In the middle of the room was a cylindrical device, about the size of a person's palm, encased in a glass box.
She extended a claw and cut a hole in the glass, before taking the device. All of a sudden, she saw a line of wire, moving from behind the box, and into the wall. She knew exactly what it was.
"Silent Alarm. Shit," she muttered, as she ran out of the building and took out a grappling hook, aiming for the 115th floor. She pressed the trigger and a strong cord retracted itself, latching onto the railing of the 115th floor. She pressed the trigger again, and pulled herself up to the floor as the cord recoiled.
She hurriedly rushed towards the balcony of Smythe's Office.
Spider-Man quickly swung to Oscorp, and noticed something suspicious.
"The balcony door to Smythe's office…oh no!" said Spider-Man. And that's when he saw a woman dressed in black running out of the office and jumping off the balcony, before grappling to another rooftop.
"Hey!" shouted Spider-Man, as he followed her. The woman came to a stop on another rooftop, as Spider-Man landed a few feet behind her.
"I don't think that belongs to you, lady," said Spider-Man, pointing at the device in her hand.
"The name's Black Cat. And I'd back off unless you want me to cross your path," she said, extending her claws.
"Oooo so threatening. How about you just give me what you stole, and turn yourself in?" suggested Spider-Man.
"You'll have to catch me first," said Black Cat, as she leaped off of the building and landed on another rooftop. Spider-Man swung after her, but she was too quick.
Black Cat started running up the side of a building, with the help of spikes on her soles to increase gripping. Peter zipped up to the top of the building, but she managed to reach the top and jump over him, before diving off of the roof and grappling to a different rooftop, and she continued running.
"Can you slow down for a second!" asked Spider-Man, following her.
"And let you catch me? Fat chance," she said, flipping onto another rooftop. Black Cat saw an open window and quickly jumped into it, landing into someone's living room.
There was a little kid watching a cartoon, who shrieked when she crashed through the window. Black Cat raced across the living room and to the kitchen, leaping out of that window.
Spider-Man also jumped into the living room, but he made a ball out of his webbing and gave it to the boy. "Enjoy the toy!" he shouted, as he jumped ot of the window in pursuit of Black Cat.
As he went into free-fall, he started to shoot webs at Black Cat, and one of them hit her foot, stopping it in place. However, she broke free quick and jumped down the building, landing nimbly on the roof of a car.
"Can we stop now?" asked Spider-Man, now swinging from the lampposts, as Black Cat jumped over cars. Before Spider-Man could web her up, she leaped off of one of the cars, did a gymnast's swing off of a lamppost and dove straight into a subway entrance.
Spider-Man followed suit as he chased her down into the subway, as she ran across the railway tracks in the tunnel. Spider-Man started running on the walls, trying to web her up.
What Spider-Man didn't notice was a train heading his way.
"Oh shit!' he said, as he quickly lay flat on the wall as the train zoomed past him, inches away from his face. When the train whizzed away, Black Cat had disappeared. Peter turned around and saw her holding onto the side of the train, blowing him a kiss.
"Can't let her get away," said Spider-Man, as he shot a web at the back of the train and pulled himself forward, sticking to the back of the train. Once the train got out of the tunnel, Spider-Man crawled to the top. Only to see Black Cat on the top too, waving him goodbye and grappling towards another building.
Spider-Man zipped up above her and shot a web which stuck to her back, and he yanked it, causing Black Cat to fall on her back. Spider-Man rushed to her and webbed her down on the roof of the building.
"Dammit!" she grunted, trying to break free.
"Well, looks like cat's back in the webbed up bag," said Peter, as he reached for the device in her hand. However, she quickly extended a claw and cut the webbing, before scratching Peter's face.
"AAGH!" grunted Peter as he staggered back and fell on his back. Black Cat got back to her feet.
"Think I chipped a nail. Well, Spider…this was fun. We should do it again sometime. Well, if the next job my employer gives makes us cross paths again," said Black Cat. Just then, she pulled Peter's mask up to his nose and kissed him, before pulling away and jumping off of the building, grappling towards another building, smirking all the way.
And that is the start of Season 4! I hope you guys enjoy this season, especially with the introduction of The Black Cat! This season is gonna be great to write, and I'm gonna have a lot more character moments in this season. I may take some time off due to personal reasons, but other than that expect one chapter per week, mostly every Thursday. But if I'm free I might upload two chapters per week! So expect the next chapter soon! And yes, The Sinister Six is coming. And who is Black Cat's mystery employer, I wonder? Let me know who you think it is.
Oh also, Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping 2021 is at least 0.5% better than the last year. 2020 was honestly a truly terrible year, both for the world and for me personally. Honestly the best thing that happened in 2020 was me planning and writing this story. Other than that, 2020 can go fuck itself.
JPrime and Guest: Oh yes, they are! Although they'll show up around halfway through the season, since this is gonna be another long season
chiripa012: I can see you love Flash Thompson a lot, haha! And yes I do have an arc planned for him, although that'll be sometime in Season 6, so you're gonna have to wait :)
Guest (2): Oh wow, I have no clue how that slipped past me! Tell me if you can find any more errors like this and I'll rectify them. Thanks!
redbirds12: Thanks! I wanted the finale to be the best one yet, and the repercussions of Wilson Fisk helping take down Rose will certainly be present in this season! Also, which season was your favorite? 1,2 or 3?
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.
Alright let's cut the crap! Yeah it's me, the only Marvel character who can actually talk to you guys. Well don't worry, I am gonna show up soon! And guess what, don't tell Shadow I told you this but I'll just give you a tease regarding this "Marvel's Invincibles" Universe:
The Totally Awesome Invincible Deadpool, written by my main man Shadow Strike.
The Invincible X-Men, written by one of Shadow's helpers, or as he so humbly puts it, friends: Rollerparty.