The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 57: Canus
6 MONTHS AGO
Doctor Strange was arranging the shelves in the Sanctum Sanctorum, when all of a sudden he heard a loud knocking at the door. His cape immediately flew towards him, as Stephen started to walk down the main stairs.
He opened the door, to see Peter standing in front of him, his eyes red and dull.
"Peter?" he asked, slightly worried.
"Stephen, I need your help," replied Peter, his voice trembling as he walked in.
"What happened? No one's seen you…by that I mean Spider-Man, in months now," said Strange.
"Don't say that name," said Peter, taking in a sharp breath and squaring his jaw, much to Strange's surprise.
"What happened?" asked Strange.
"I need your…magic and stuff," replied Peter.
"Why? And are you okay?" asked Strange, raising an eyebrow.
"I need you to…revive G-Gwen…Stacy," said Peter, stuttering as the words left his mouth. Strange quickly offered him a glass of water.
"Peter, what do you mean "revive?"" asked Strange.
"Bring her back from the dead. Norman killed her," trembled Peter, sipping down the water.
"Oh God," said Strange. "I'm so sorry, if there's anything I can do-"
"You can bring her back. Get her back from the dead or something, anything!" pleaded Peter.
"Peter, bringing someone back from the dead has a lot of complications. Complications you don't want to encounter," warned Strange.
"I don't care, just please, please, PLEASE, do it!" begged Peter.
"I can't bring someone back from the dead, Peter. If I do, they'll either just be a husk, or worse, a slave of death," said Strange.
"T-Then…send me b-back in time! I can kill that son of a bitch before he lays a finger on her!" suggested Peter.
"I can't do that either," said Strange. The words hurt him as he said them.
"Why not?!" yelled out Peter, before hyperventilating and stuttering again. "S-Sorry,"
"Peter, changing something like that can have massive complications. The Butterfly Effect-"
"Is impossible when you look at the physics of it! Just trust me, nothing like that will happen!" said Peter.
"Peter, this isn't physics. It's magic. Magic that sometimes even I can't comprehend. It's too dangerous. For all we know saving her will cause you to die," explained Strange.
"At least she'll be alive!" cried out Peter. "She didn't deserve to die Strange, no one did! Not her, not Ben, not anyone!" he shouted out loud. Strange's cape started to get ready for an attack, but Stephen pushed it back down.
He walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Peter. But death…is something I can't reverse," said Strange. "I'm truly sorry," he said, as Peter continued weeping.
"The consequences don't matter. No matter how shitty they may be, I just need her…" sobbed Peter.
"Peter, I know it's hard. But think about the future,"
"It's meaningless without her," replied Peter.
"I'm sorry," said Strange. "You- No one deserves something like this," he continued. Peter continued as he wiped his tears and walked back towards the doors of the Sanctum, walking back out onto the street.
PRESENT DAY
The woman ran down the alleyway, hoping to lose her pursuers in the maze that was the alleys of New York. However, the chilliness of the night slowed her down a lot, as her assailants started gaining on her.
"Help! Help!" she yelled out loud, but one of the three men quickly tackled her to the ground. A second one picked her up and pushed her up near a dumpster, while a third one took a knife and held it at her neck.
"Try anything stupid, and your pretty little eyes will look even more lifeless," threatened the knife wielder, as one of the man gagged her with a handkerchief.
"Hlp!" she screamed, her voice muffled.
"No one's coming, now shut up!" said the third good, as he hit her on the back of her neck, as he started unzipping his pants.
All of a sudden, one of the goons felt a strong force tugging at him, and all of a sudden he was pulled back away from the woman, and sent flying through the air, hitting a wall.
The second goon stared in horror, as the attacker grabbed him and slammed him down towards the ground, his back hitting the pavement. The attacker repeatedly punched his face, when all of a sudden the first guy grabbed him and kicked him away.
The attacker regained himself, as he grabbed the arm of the first goon and punched the right side of his forearm so hard, that the bone started to jut out from the left side. The attacker kicked the guy's shin in and slammed him down on the ground.
Just then, the second goon jumped on the attacker's back, repeatedly pushing his elbow down. The attacked elbowed his ribs, before ducking under his arm and delivering one swift punch to the second goon's spine, with a loud crack.
The man with the knife quickly lifted up the woman and pressed the cold knife towards her neck.
"Come any closer and I gut her!" he threatened. The attacker stood still, holding the collar of the second goon. He let it go and stared at the third one. The attacker cocked his head to the right, and the goon started to tremble.
"Think about it," said the attacker.
"A-About what?" asked the goon.
"Even if you do kill her, I will beat the ever living shit out of you. So much so, that it'll make what happened to your pal's here look like a preschool scuffle. So much so that you'd be begging me to stop, pleading with every inch of your life. But I won't. Then you'll know what it's like to be a victim of such a crime that you were going to commit, won't you?" asked the attacker, in a gruff voice.
"And, if you do let her go, I will take you to prison, sparing you the beating of a lifetime," said the attacker, as he clenched his fist.
The third goon gulped, as the force of his hand on the knife started to dissipate.
"It's up to you to decide which is a better option," said the attacker.
The goon started to tremble, as he dropped the knife and fell to his knees. The woman limped out of the alleyway, as the goon started sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Please, I'm sorry!" he shouted out loud. The attacker walked closer, revealing his red and black leather jacket, light blue hoodie, and masked face with eye lenses and a beanie hat.
The attacker took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed him to the dumpster, before taking out a flip phone.
"911, what is your emergency?" asked the responder.
"I need to report an attempted rape. 250 52nd Street," said the attacker, as he pocketed the phone, and in one leap jumped on top of a nearby building.
He took off his mask, revealing the face of Peter Parker. Fumbling around in his pocket, he pulled out a pair of his web shooters. He stared at the view from the building, contemplating, until he pocketed the web shooters again and leaped towards another building.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE?!" asked Jonah, as he slammed the newspaper down on his desk. In front of him stood Ned and Eddie, their hands behind their back. Jonah pointed at the article.
"New vigilante." That's the name you've given him?!" yelled Jonah, prodding the article with his fingers.
"Well, we kind of wanted to wait until he himself gave a name. Remember when Moon Knight first came on the scene and we started calling him "White Batman?"" asked Ned.
"Ah yes, I do remember that," said Jameson, furrowing his eyebrows. "But whatever! I want a name for this guy by tonight!" said Jameson, slamming his fist on his desk.
Just then, there was a knock on his door, and John Jameson's head peeked in. Jonah's face went immediately from anger to happiness.
"Great to see you again, son! What are you two waiting for, a raise? Get out of here!" shouted Jonah, ushering for Ned and Eddie to leave. Jonah turned back to John with a beaming smile.
"Good to see you too, dad. I just wanted to ask about dinner tonight?"
"Oh yeah, I got us a reservation at Dorsia," said Jonah, rather proudly.
"Wait, what?! It takes years to get a reservation there,"
"Well, when your son is an astronaut, you can certainly pull some strings, especially to get a reservation," said Jonah.
"Well, about that, I think I'll take a rain check," said John, scratching the back of his neck.
"Wait, why? What's wrong?" asked Jonah.
"I don't know, I'm just feeling really really sick. It might be a side effect of the space travel, but I can't be too sure. Anyways, I think I'll stay at home for a while today. I'll let you know if I can come tonight in about a few hours," said John, as he started breathing more heavily.
Outside the office, Peter walked inside the bullpen, noticing John inside with Jonah.
"Peter, hey," said Betty.
"Hey," said Peter, a little melancholy.
"You doing better?" she asked.
"I went to therapy," replied Peter bluntly.
"That's amazing! I made you a sandwich, by the way," she said, handing him a BLT.
"Thanks," said Peter, still a little emotionless and stiff. That's when Eddie walked up to him.
"Hey pal, you doing good?" he asked.
"More or less. I need to give these photos to Jameson," said Peter, showing Eddie the photos of the new vigilante.
"Hey, these are photos of that new vigilante! How'd you get them so early?" asked Eddie, stunned at the high quality.
"It happened to be near…the cemetery, so I managed to get some snapshots," said Peter, as he walked past Eddie and inside Jonah's office.
"Mr Jameson? I got photos of the new vigilante," said Peter, as he handed Jonah the photos.
"You're Peter Parker, right?" asked John.
"Yeah. You're John Jameson, the astronaut?" asked Peter.
"Yours truly," said John, as he shook hands with Peter, whose Spider-Sense lightly tingled.
"These are some candid shots, not gonna lie. Good to have you back, Peter. I assume Jane helped you?" asked Jonah.
"Oh, you visit my mother for therapy?" asked John.
"Yeah. I'll be going again in like a couple of weeks I guess," said Peter. Just then, John started to cough rather violently.
"John, are you okay?" asked Jonah, as Peter managed to steady John, making sure he doesn't fall.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," said John, his voice sounding a bit like a growl. "I think I'm gonna go lie down, and I'm not sure I'l be able to come to Dorsia, dad. I'm so sorry," said John.
"I'll help you walk out," said Peter, as he helped John walk out of the bullpen and towards the elevator.
"I think it's a...side effect…of the space travel," said John.
"Possibly. But I don't think travelling at high speeds causes coughing. Although changes in atmospheric pressure would result in lung compression," said Peter, as John smirked.
"You're a smart one, aren't you?" asked John.
"I try," said Peter, as they got off the elevator on the ground floor. John was able to walk back to his car. Just then, his teeth started to ache.
"Ah! What the Hell?" he asked, as he grabbed the right side of his jaw.
"I'm pretty sure toothaches aren't caused by anything interstellar," said Peter.
"Maybe Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation may have caused something. I'll have to check in with NASA," said John, as he entered his car.
"Thanks, Parker," he said, smiling at Peter. Peter noticed his right canine seemed to be a little larger, but he dismissed it, as John drove away.
Just as Peter was about to re-enter the Bugle, he got a call on his flip phone. Peter picked up, but didn't say a word.
"Hello?" asked a voice. Peter instantly recognized who it was.
"We got a call from this number two nights back. If you must know, I am officer Jean DeWolff, and right this moment, we have police cars tracking you down. So come clean about your identity now, and we won't have to use any extreme action," said Jean, through the phone.
All of a sudden, Peter heard three police cars, and their sirens approaching.
"Shit!" he cursed, as he thought about crushing the phone right then and there. Instead he pocketed the phone and quickly put on his hoodie, running in the opposite direction.
"We have visual on the suspect. Dark blue hoodie, and running down 39th street and Second Avenue!" said a policeman in the dispatch.
Peter continued running as the car started to gain on him. He quickly ducked into an alleyway. However, just as he started to run towards the end of the alleyway, a second cop car blocked him off.
"Hands up!" shouted one of the cops.
Peter sighed, as he quickly leaped up and started running up the wall.
"What the Hell?!"
"Is that Spider-Man?!"
Many onlookers stared in shock as the hooded figure ran up the wall and onto the ceiling.
"Get the chopper after him, now!" said Jean, via police dispatch. Peter continued running across the roof in the afternoon heat, as he leaped between one building and another. That's when a helicopter started to come after him.
"Stand still, or we will have to open fire!" said the cop in the helicopter. Peter continued running, and that's when he reached a wide gap. A gap he wouldn't be able to jump across.
"Shit, shit, shit!" he cursed, as he put on his web shooters, as he jumped off of the ledge and shot a web, propelling himself forward.
"Holy shit! Captain, I think that's Spider-Man!" said the cop in the helicopter.
"I don't know, he's missing a lot of red," replied Jean.
"He ran up a wall and shot out one of those webs of his," said the cop.
"Must be an impostor, or it could be the Chameleon again. Get the squad cars after him!" replied Jean. Peter quickly rappelled down the building and landed back down on the street, as he started to sprint away, doing a flip over a taxi as he continued running.
A police car came crashing down an alleyway, almost hitting Peter, who armed his web shooters again.
The car was right on Peter's heels. Taking a deep breath, Peter did a backflip, jumping over the car as he shot two webs towards the bonnet. As he landed behind the car, he pulled down on the webs causing the car to come to an extreme halt.
Just as he got ready to run again, the cops got out of the car and tased him.
"AAAAAGHHH!" he yelled out loud, gritting his teeth as he tried to fight off the cops, who pulled back his hoodie. Peter quickly shot a web towards his own face, covering the front part of his face.
Trying to concentrate his Spider-Sense, he jumped on top of the cops as he shot another web towards a building and pulled himself forward, and began to swing away.
He quickly swung away and landed near a building near the Hudson river, tearing off the web mask from his face.
Peter quickly rushed the flip phone in his palm, and threw the contents into the river. Almost exactly at that moment, he got a call from Alistair Smythe, on his normal phone.
"Mr…Smythe?" asked Peter, panting heavily.
"Peter? I need to discuss something with you, regarding an old project of your father's," said Alistair.
"Sure…which one?" asked Peter, as he lay down on his back, breathing slow and painfully.
"Project V3-N0M. Have you heard of it?" asked Alistair. Peter immediately sat back up, and thought for a second.
"Peter? Are you there?" asked Alistair.
"Uh…yeah. Yeah I have heard of it. My father left an entire folder on the Project. Why the sudden interest, may I ask?" asked Peter.
"Most of it is classified information, but Oscorp is planning on continuing his research. Of course, giving most of the credit to your late father once we complete the project, of course," said Alistair.
"Okay. I can get you the folder by tonight, at Oscorp?" asked Peter.
"Yes. And thank you Peter. Truly, it means a lot," said Alistair, as he cut the call.
Alistair turned to his father, who was sitting with a handkerchief to his mouth. A handkerchief stained with blood.
"We might be able to save you, dad," he said to Spencer.
"Alistair…I forgot to…tell you…" he coughed out.
"What was it?" asked Alistair.
"The symbiote…isn't possible. We can't create it," said Spencer. "At least, we couldn't before,"
"What do you mean? Why not?" asked Alistair.
"The biochemical reactions inside the symbiote take a long time to finish. It needs a enzyme, one that doesn't…or didn't exist back then, 20 years ago. Without any enzyme to catalyze those reactions, the symbiote's as good as dead," explained Spencer. "Are you sure this can work?"
"You answered your own question. All of that was 20 years ago. Oscorp has exponentially improved its Biotech division. Don't worry, we can save you," reassured Alistair, with a slight hint of doubt in his voice.
That night, Peter made his way to Precinct 52, where just as he suspected, Jean DeWolff was waiting.
"I've been waiting for you to show up," said Jean, as Peter stood behind her in his new suit.
"I need you to stop looking for me, Jean," said Peter.
"I'm curious though, why the new getup? Whatever happened to the red and blue?" asked Jean. "Your new outfit doesn't really scream "Spider-Man" to me," she continued.
"It's not supposed to. I'm not Spider-Man, not anymore at least," said Peter.
"No offense, but changing your suit and name isn't going to change who you are, or what people think of you. Especially since you're still swinging on webs and crawling up walls," remarked Jean.
"That was because your men came after me,"
"They thought you were someone else. And they were working on my orders,"
"Well thanks to you the Spider-Man stigma is going to stick to me. No pun intended," said Peter, as he started to walk away. Just then he stopped, and turned away.
"If you could use a phone to track me, then for the last two years, why didn't you ever do that? Even when I disappeared," inquired Peter.
"Trust. It's because I trust you, to do the right thing. Even if you do go 8 months without an appearance, I trust you had some valid reason," said Jean.
Peter nodded, when all of a sudden, both their police scanners went off.
"All units! A hybrid, Man-Wolf creature is attacking 19th Street. Heavy backup requested!" shouted one of the cops in the police scanner. Jean turned around, only to see Peter had disappeared.
Peter landed on a nearby billboard, only to see a large, 7 foot tall white wolf, standing on two legs and roaring out loud as the police shot at it.
"Okay, what in the actual Hell?" asked Peter, as he jumped down.
"Hey, new guy! Get out of the way!" shouted one of the cops.
"Hey! You! Man-Wolf!" shouted Peter, trying to get the creature's attention. Man-Wolf turned around, its eyes bloodshot red as he stared at Peter and growled, as he foamed at the mouth. He got on all fours and rushed towards Peter.
Peter quickly jumped over Man-Wolf's snout and landed on his head. Man-Wolf grabbed Peter and slammed Peter back to the ground. He pointed his snout and large canine teeth towards Peter's face.
He growled as saliva dripped onto Peter's mask, as he lifted up Peter and threw him into a police car. Peter quickly got back onto his feet as he webbed up Man-Wolf's two hind limbs that he stood on, and then jumped onto his back and webbed up the two front limbs. He then webbed up his snout and jumped off of him, pulling Man-Wolf down.
"Now, what in the Hell are you?" asked Peter. Just then, Man-Wolf growled as he broke out of the webbing and grabbed Peter by the leg, slamming him on the other side of the ground. He opened his jaws wide, ready to swallow Peter's head.
However, just as his jaws began to clasp, Peter held up both ends, and managed to push them away long enough for him to roll out of the way and get to safety.
Man-Wolf looked up and roared loudly, before leaping onto a side of another building and jumping over it, escaping.
"Where do these guys come from?" asked Peter. Just then he noticed something a strand of fur on the ground.
"I could use this as evidence," said Peter, as he pocketed the strand of hair. All of a sudden, he noticed something else. A small badge, that had the NASA logo on it.
"This place is near a space museum, so I wouldn't be too surprised-"
Before Peter could even finish, he noticed what was across the street that had been attacked.
"Dorsia. Why would Man-Wolf attack here?" asked Peter, as he walked up towards an officer.
"Officer, how did the creature even get here?" asked Peter.
"No idea. Apparently a few people at the restaurant claimed that all of a sudden, a wolf creature stated to attack the place," replied the office.
Just then he remembered the events of that day. John Jameson being sick, the NASA badge, Dorsia being attacked, right where Jonah Jameson was supposed to have dinner.
"Holy shit." Said Peter out loud.
Well that was a fun chapter to write! As you can see, Peter still isn't sure on whether he wants to be Spider-Man or not, and we'll see that play out in the season! It was pretty fun to have Man-Wolf play a part in the season, and he will directly tie into Venom's origin!
Also, quick announcement! I will be starting The Invincible Doctor Strange SEASON 2 and a new series: The Invincible Fantastic Four! Be sure to check them out when they release!
In other news, I finally saw the movie "Parasite" and holy shit it's in my top 5 movies of all time. Truly a masterpiece. Other than that, nothing really new, except that I might be shifting from my grandparents' bungalow to our old penthouse. Basically since 2018 I've been living at my grandparents' thanks to renovations at our old penthouse, so I spent 8th, 9th and 10th grade here. But we might be moving back soon!
CT311998: Yessss you guessed correct! Fun fact, "Venom: Birth of a Monster" was actually the first comic I ever read. It basically depicts the entire Black Suit saga, and I will certainly be taking inspiration from that, particularly the "Original Sin" storyline.
SmybioticSpidey: It sure will! In fact, a large part of this season will be dedicated to the Black Suit saga, which is coming soon!
Marvel Nerd: Not exactly. He wants to stay away from the whole "Spider" side of things. If you have any ideas for names, do mention them, and I'll make sure to include them!
Aydin: Thank you so much! Hope you stick around!
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.