The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 69: Best of Both Worlds- Part 3
The hunters ran into the woods, and stopped until they were a few kilometers away from the lab.
"We should've stayed back and fought, like true warriors!" yelled Kraven to Sergio.
"We had no idea about the other Spider-Man's abilities. It would've been stupid to attack without knowing what we were going up against," said Sergio, sitting down and trying to fix his bionic arm.
"When a tiger stares down a hunter without a gun, it is the hunter's duty to oblige and face off against the tiger," replied Kraven, fuming.
"Jesus Christ, this isn't the 1800s! Get with the times, grandpa!" replied Sergio sarcastically.
"You are an insult to true hunters everywhere," said Kraven.
"Cry me a river. Wait no don't, or you'll start bathing in it!" shot back Sergio, as he managed to fix his bionics.
"There we go. Now, we can come up with a plan," said Sergio.
"We? So you can run away again at the first sign of trouble?" replied Kraven.
"Listen here, old man, I didn't run away. It's called strategy, though I don't expect you to understand," replied Sergio.
"You don't want to go against me, Kravinoff," replied Kraven, clenching his fists.
"You saying that to me or yourself?" asked back Sergio, getting back on his feet and staring down Kraven.
"We do not have time for such squabbles. You hunt down your Spider-Man, I shall hunt mine," said Kraven, as he walked away from Sergio.
"Good luck getting out of here without a GPS!" yelled out Sergio.
"A hunter needs nothing when in the forest," replied back Kraven, as he disappeared into the wilderness.
"Okay…test number 15. And go!" said Peter, as he moved out of the way in the alleyway.
Miles placed his hands onto the phone, and tried to charge it up. Sparks were flying from his hand, but the battery barely increased by 5%.
"Come on!" grunted Miles, but the electricity stopped. "Dammit!"
"Hey it's okay, we'll figure it out. I mean take it from me, it takes a while to properly hone your powers," reassured Peter.
"Did that happen with you?" asked Miles.
"Oh yeah. I barely knew how to use my Spider-Sense. I was in a fight with this group of idiots, one was big, one had a lasso, the other had a gun," started Peter.
"The Enforcers?" asked Miles.
"They didn't have a name, they were pretty much nobodies. Still, I could barely use my Spider-Sense, and nearly got my ass kicked," replied Peter.
"How'd you use it then? Like properly learn how to use it?" asked Miles.
"Truth be told, it just came to me. I never got a hand on it, but then over time it just became common practice for me. As soon as I feel that sting, I just instinctively act. Maybe it's something similar with you," suggested Peter.
"Yeah, maybe. Speaking of which, we better bust out Electro," said Miles.
"Ah, right," said Peter, unenthusiastically, as the two heroes began swinging out of the alleyway, and towards Ryker's Island. Peter nimbly dodged buildings, whereas Miles was still a little haphazard with his swing. He seemed to constantly be looking down instead of forward.
"Hey Miles! Try looking forward while swinging instead of down. It'll help you focus more," suggested Peter.
"R-Right, got it!" replied back Miles, as he looked at Peter swinging in front of him.
The duo made it to a building that overlooked Ryker's Island.
"Okay, so Electro should be kept in Maximum Security, which would be underground," said Peter. It was almost 3 am, as Miles began to yawn.
"Sorry, I normally don't stay up this late," said Miles.
"Get some Red Bull in your veins. Or G-Fuel, whatever the kids drink these days," said Peter, as he refilled his web shooters. Miles adjusted his lenses, as the duo jumped into the courtyard of the prison.
"Okay, I suggest we do this discreetly," said Peter.
"Yeah, I don't want to explain what Spider-Man's doppelganger is doing here to all the other guards and inmates," replied Miles, as they made their way to a nearby air vent. Peter pulled the vent down with his webs.
"You sure you know where these vents lead?" asked Miles.
"No, but I tend to improvise. Plus, it's just like Die Hard," replied Peter, as he crawled into the vent. Miles followed him in.
The vent was extremely claustrophobic, and there was barely any space to breathe. "I'm starting to think this is nothing like Die Hard," replied Miles, chuckling.
"Luckily, we've got something that Bruce Willis doesn't. Spider-Sense," said Peter, as he began concentrating it.
Peter looked back at Miles, and realized he seemed rather confused.
"Something wrong?" he asked, and Miles nodded, an embarrassing look on his face.
"I'm not sure how to properly use my Spider-Sense…" replied Miles. "Like it just sort of happens, I'm not sure how to concentrate it," he continued.
"Okay. Try to drown out any other sound, any other feeling. Focus on just that tingle in the back of your head, feel it come over to your forehead," said Peter slowly, as Miles closed his eyes and began focusing.
"There's two guys below us right now, right?" asked Miles.
"3 actually. But you're getting there!" said Peter.
"How'd I do that?" asked Miles, in awe.
"Well, your Spider-Sense allows you to sense danger. If you can concentrate it enough, it can enhance other senses too, like your sense of hearing. Learned that from a certain horned friend of mine," said Peter, smiling to himself, as they continued crawling through the vents.
Eventually, they reached a junction, where they could either go left, right or forwards.
"Alright Miles, time to put those Spider-Sense skills to the test," whispered Peter, as Miles began concentrating.
"Maximum Security would have more guards, aka more danger for us. I say we should head right," said Miles, his senses tingling the more he turned towards the right.
"Lead the way," said Peter, as Miles moved ahead of Peter, towards the right.
All of a sudden, Peter's Spider-Sense tingled like crazy, as he heard a creak coming from the vent.
"Oh shit, Miles-"
Before he could warn Miles, the bottom of the vent gave way, and Miles fell down into the prison.
"Miles! You okay?" asked Peter.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good," said Miles, dusting his suit off. That's when he heard footsteps. Before he knew it, a guard had turned the corner, to investigate the noise.
"What the- the vent's broken!" exclaimed the guard, as he rushed to the place and stared up at the vents. Little did he know that Miles was right next to him, only that he was invincible.
Before the guard could alert anyone else, Miles quickly webbed him up and pulled him to the ground, knocking him out. He gave a thumbs up sign to Peter, who crawled out from the hole in the ventilation shaft.
"You did it on command!" said Peter.
"Sort of, I just got super terrified, and it worked!" said Miles, ecstatic.
"And wouldn't you know, our friend here has an access badge," said Peter, `as he pulled the badge that was attached to the unconscious guard's shirt pocket. "This should make our life much easier," he continued.
The Spiders walked made their way through the corridor, Peter stealthily crawling along the ceiling while Miles walked down the corridor, invisible.
"So then, she actually made me choose between her and the PlayStation 4!" said one guard to another.
"Well, what'd you do?" asked the other guard.
"I mean, I was online yesterday, wasn't I?" said the first guard.
"Damn man, you did her like that?" asked the other guard.
Before the first guard could answer that follow up question, Peter webbed him up and pulled him to the ceiling, while Miles took out the other guard before he could say anything else.
Eventually, they made their way to the Maximum Security wing, separated by a massive large door.
There was a keypad to the right of the door, as Peter moved forward to examine it.
"It's gonna take years for us to brute force our way through the keypad, there's gotta be some other way," said Peter.
"What about the wiring behind the keypad. It's not a digital keypad, so maybe I can help?" suggested Miles.
"By all means," said Peter, as he stepped aside, letting Miles approach the keypad.
Miles gently held the edges of the keypad, trying to slowly pull it out.
"It's stuck, I can't remove it," lamented Miles.
"Try using your powers. Stick your hands to the keypad," said Peter. Miles placed his palms, and nothing more, on the sides of the keypad, as he slowly began to pull. Sure enough, a gap began to open between the keypad and the wall, revealing a connection of wires.
"Boom!" said Miles.
"How'd you know to do that?" asked Peter.
"My uncle Aaron taught me how to hotwire stuff. Now all I need to do is change the outlets for the red and…oh boy," said Miles.
"What happened?" asked Peter.
"The wires are all the same colour," lamented Miles, as Peter walked to his side.
"You know, I dabbled in a little bit of electrical engineering myself back in high school. Maybe I can help?" suggested Peter, as he took a look at the keypad. Before Miles knew it, Peter switched the outlets for a couple different cords, and the Maximum Security wing began to open up.
"How'd you do that?" asked Miles, in awe.
"You can thank Electro for that. After fighting him for the first time, I decided to learn all about electricity in case I had to face him again," explained Peter, as they cautiously walked in.
Most of the inmates were asleep. Peter noticed a couple familiar places like Vulture, Chameleon, and many others. However, there were some that he didn't recognize.
"Cletus Kasady? Malcolm McBride? Those names sound familiar," thought Peter, as the duo walked to Electro's cell.
Max seemed to be asleep in his insulated glass cell. There were scribblings on the walls of various electricity equations.
"Max?" asked Peter. Dillon jolted up out of his sleep. Strangely enough, he was bald in Miles' universe.
"What the-" started Electro, as Peter quickly took his mask off.
"You're alive?" asked Electro, too shocked to say anything more.
"Long story short, I'm Peter Parker from a different universe, and I need your help to get back home," said Peter.
"You're lying. This is Mysterio, isn't it?" said Max, backing away to the wall of his cell. The inhibitor collar around his neck prevented him from using his powers.
"No Max, he's telling the truth," replied Miles, as he did the same trick he did with the first keypad, opening the cell doors.
"No, no you're lying. I watched him die. You're not Peter Parker," said Max, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Max, we don't have much time, you have to believe me, please," replied Peter, a desperate look in his eyes.
Max looked down at the ground, clenching his fists.
"Ever since I became this…this freak of nature, no one's called me Max. All they call me is "Electro." The people in this shithole, my "friends", hell even my own damn mother would treat me like a freak. The only Spider-Man who ever understood what I was going through, was Spider-Man, he treated me like I was Max Dillon, not a freak," said Max, a tear running down his cheek.
"You're not a freak, Max. You were a victim of circumstance. Believe me, I know what that's like," replied Peter.
"That's exactly what he told me. What Spider-Man told me," said Max, smiling as he looked at the duo.
"Okay, we don't have much time Max. If we're gonna go, we better go now," said Miles, as he heard guards approaching.
"Okay, but you have to bring me back here, promise me," said Max.
"We promise," said Peter, as he pulled the collar off of Max's neck, whose eyes began glowing a bright blue.
"Hold on tight!" he said in a raspy, electronic voice. Miles held onto Peter's hand, who held onto Max's. Almost instantaneously, Max erupted into a being of pure blue electricity, as the trio burst through the ceiling and through the prison.
Max flew far from Ryker's Island and back to Times Square, at about 4 am in the morning.
They landed on a rooftop, as Miles stumbled onto his feet. Max stared at the blinding lights below him, almost every electronic billboard in Times Square mourned Spider-Man's death.
"Must be pretty weird for you, huh?" asked Max.
"It's like seeing your own obituary before your death. Kind of unnerving, and I still don't know how I died," said Peter, as he stared at the billboard.
"It was all over the news. You were fighting some monster at your house. You died saving your aunt and fiancé," said Max.
"Oh man. Well I'm glad that even if I died, I went down fighting. What about you?" asked Peter.
"What about me?" asked Max in response.
"Well, my Max Dillon is a little cuckoo in the head. You seem way different. Less homicidal," said Peter.
"Yeah, I guess. I never wanted to hurt anyone with these "powers." I just wanted them to go for good. Peter was actually one of my closest friends, one of my only friends. When I got the powers, I almost killed Dr Connors, the person Peter and I interned for," said Max, sorrowfully.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I couldn't control my powers. Everyone called me a freak of nature, a monster. Electro. Peter was the only one who saw me as Max, and not what I had become. It's good to see that another Peter Parker is almost just like mine," said Max.
"About that, the other Spider-Man and I ran into Tombstone a couple days back. He says that I basically ran with my tail in between my legs after the first time we fought," said Peter. "Was it true?"
Max chuckled a little bit. "Yeah, you were a little notorious for that. Once you got beat, you never really faced them again for a long time," said Max.
"Oh wow. That's…good to know," said Peter. All of a sudden, Miles screamed.
"PETER!" yelled out Miles, and Peter knew why he was shouting. All of a sudden, his Spider-Sense began to go haywire. Peter quickly jumped to the right, as Kraven landed right between him and Max.
"Ah not you again!" sighed Peter. "What happened to the T-800 Kraven? Malfunctioned?"
"I can recommend the nearest Radio Shack for repairs," replied Miles, readying himself.
"I have no quarrel with both of you. I only want my prey," said Kraven, directing his speech towards Miles and Max, as he stared down Peter.
"Fair enough, Dostoyevsky," said Peter, as he gestured for Miles and Max to stand aside. "Time to send this hunter back to the Aesop's Fable book he crawled out of,"
"Peter, are you sure-" started Miles.
"Trust me," said Peter.
Kraven lunged at Peter, who successfully dodged. However, Kraven unleashed a second kick, knocking Peter off of his feet.
Kraven took out a blade and stabbed Peter in his leg.
"AGHH!" yelled Peter, as Kraven pulled it out and kicked Peter in the chest, before grabbing his arm and throwing him off of his back.
"That's it!" said Electro, as he charged up and rushed towards Kraven. However, Kraven took out a pellet and threw it to the ground. The pellet let out some purple smoke, and Max began choking on it.
"Miles…get Max out of here!" exclaimed Peter through gritted teeth, as Kraven tried stabbing the blade into Peter's chest.
"What about you?" asked Peter.
"I'll be…right behind you!" replied Peter, kicking Kraven off of him, as Miles grabbed Max and swung away.
"Just you and I now. The predator and the prey," said Kraven.
"If you keep calling yourself a predator I'm gonna have to call Chris Hansen!" replied Peter, running towards Kraven and sliding underneath him, webbing up his ankles.
However, Kraven grabbed the web and pulled Peter, causing him to tumble towards Kraven. Before he could get back on his feet, Kraven kicked him off of the roof.
"WOAAAAAH!" exclaimed Peter, as he quickly shot a web towards a building, eventually continuing into a haphazard swing and tumbling onto the red stairs.
Kraven took out another blade and jumped off the roof. He stabbed the blade into the walls of the building, slowing down his descent as he landed on the ground.
"Ow…" groaned Peter, as he stood on the red stairs.
"Is that him?" asked a bystander.
"It can't be,"
"Is that Spider-Man?"
Peter ignored them as he adjusted his webbing mask, as Kraven approached him with two blades, each of which seemed to be laced with some chemical.
Peter quickly webbed up a half filled coffee cup that was on a near table and launched it towards Kraven, who dodged it at the last second.
"My reflexes are faster than yours," boasted Kraven. However, he didn't notice that Peter used his left hand to web up Kraven's right leg, as he pulled on it, causing Kraven to fall onto one leg.
Peter kicked Kraven's face, as he flipped on top of him and jumped onto his back. However, Kraven shook Spider-Man off, as he grabbed his leg and threw him into the crowd of bystanders.
"Everyone, move!" yelled Spider-Man, as Kraven picked up a small car and hurtled it towards Peter. Peter rushed towards the car and deftly jumped through the open left side door, and exited out through the open right side door in mid air, like a torpedo.
Kraven tried to throw a few left and right hooks, but Peter dodged them all and managed to uppercut Kraven. Just then, Kraven took out the blade and sliced Peter's right bicep.
"Good luck, Spider," said Kraven, smirking, as Peter began to feel woozy. Kraven roundhoused him aside, as Peter tumbled onto the street.
"What…what the…" said Peter, feeling lightheaded. He looked at the place where Kraven cut him, and there seemed to be a green ooze leaking from the site of the wound.
"Night night, Spider-Man!" said Kraven, as the last thing Peter saw was Kraven's boot connecting onto Peter's face.
Miles swung Electro to the laboratory in the woods, where the portal was situated.
"Max? Max, wake up!" said Miles, trying to wake up Max.
"S-Spider-Man? Wait, where's Peter? And where am I?" asked Max, looking around and finding himself in a pitch black room.
"Peter got taken by Kraven, though I bet he made short work of him. In other news, this is why we needed your help," said Miles, as Max's eyes adjusted to the darkness. He began to glow blue, and hence illuminated the whole room.
"That can't be what I think it is. Is it a gateway between different D-Branes in the Multiverse?" inquired Max, admiring the device.
"Something like that. We need you to power it up, so that we can get Peter home," said Miles.
"Such a device, it's gonna take a lot of energy. I don't even know if I have it in me…" replied Max, as he shot out electricity to the wires in the room, bringing life to the laboratory once again.
"We need your help, Max. Do what you can, please," said Miles, when he began to get a call from Peter.
"Hey Peter, I just brought Max to the laboratory-"
"Itsy bitsy spider, climbing up the wall," said a bionic voice from the other side.
"Kraven, or at least my Kraven. Where's Peter?" asked Miles, trying his best to put on a brave voice.
"With me and his Kraven. Did you know that spiders liquefy their prey from the inside? We're thinking of doing the same to Mr Parker himself. Unless of course, you show up here," replied Sergio, mania in his voice.
"I'm messaging you an address. Better get here fast," he continued, before cutting the call. Miles put the phone down, and contemplated for a second.
"I-I have t-to go," stuttered Miles, towards Max, who seemed to be examining the gateway.
"You know it's a trap," replied Max.
"I know, but Peter needs me. And I can't let him down," said Miles, determination in his voice, as small sparks of lightning began to illuminate his pupils. He tightened his web shooters and rushed out of the lab.
"Bronx Zoo? What an appropriate place," said Miles, as he reached the address. He swung into the zoo and onto the highest point of the place, focusing his Spider-Sense.
"Good thing this place was shut down a while back, allows me to concentrate much more," thought Miles, as he began to sense danger towards the East side of the zoo.
"That must be where they are. This is a suicide mission, Miles. Can't turn back now though, I've got to help Peter," said Miles.
As soon as he reached the East Side, he found a gigantic, 30 foot tall web extending from two large trees. In the middle of the web was Peter, unconscious and with his arms out.
"Peter!" exclaimed Miles, as he swung onto the web, next to Peter.
"M-Miles?" asked Peter, weakly.
"I'm gonna get you out of here," said Miles, freeing him from the web. All of a sudden, his Spider-Sense went manic, as he turned around, only to be met with a punch by Sergio's metal arm, sending Miles flying off of the web and onto the ground.
"Looks like the spider took the bait," said Grim Hunter, as Kraven came out of the shadows and kicked Miles away.
"It was kind of obvious, guys! Like any bad plot twist from a movie," quipped Miles, as he got to his feet. Kraven charged at him, but Miles flipped directly over him. As soon as he landed on his feet, however, Sergio managed to kick him in the chest.
Miles staggered back and dodged Sergio's attacks, however Kraven grabbed Miles' shoulders and slammed him into the ground.
Miles did a backflip and landed on his legs, only for Sergio to sweep kick him, and make him fall down again.
Everything was happening too fast, and it was too much for Miles to register, as he began to get overwhelmed. Grim Hunter stabbed Miles in the leg, which was met by a painful scream. Kraven slammed Miles' face into the ground.
"What's wrong, Spider-Man? Can't SHOCK us again?" laughed Sergio, kicking Miles towards a tree.
Miles struggled to get up, as Kraven picked him up, punched him left and right across the face, and threw him towards the web.
"AGHH!" grunted Miles, his right lens cracked and mask half torn.
"Miles…" said Peter, weakly from above him.
"I can't do it, Peter. I can't!" said Miles, barely able to get up. As soon as he did, however, Sergio slammed his bionic arm straight onto Miles' back, while Kraven grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him into the bark of a tree.
Miles went limp, as Peter struggled to stay awake.
"And that's…how you squash a spider," said Sergio, cracking his knuckles.
"Now…for the true Spider-Man," said Kraven, throwing a rope and wrapping it around Peter's back, violently pulling him off of the web and face-first onto the ground.
Sergio got him in a chokehold, as Kraven held a blade to Peter's neck.
"For decades, I have looked for the ultimate hunt. Someone who could push me to my limits, and you should be proud, Spider-Man. You are a species of prey that managed to evade me for far longer than any other that I have encountered," monologued Kraven, slowly pressing the knife deeper and deeper.
All of a sudden, Miles began to feel something. Something powerful, uncontainable. Something electric.
He got onto his palms and knees, and then onto his legs, as he stared the two Kravens, getting ready to execute Peter. Miles' fists began to glow yellow electricity.
"Uh, Kraven?" said Sergio, pointing behind Kraven, to where Miles was standing.
"Ugh, wait a few seconds," groaned Kraven, dropping the blade and walking towards Miles. "Sometimes prey cannot stay down," he said, as he charged at him.
However, instead of doing anything, Miles jumped high up into the air, and began to crash down into the ground. His fist glowed a eye-blinding yellow, as he pounded the ground, letting out a surge of electricity.
Sergio was sent back, as Kraven got knocked off his feet.
"Impossible," said Kraven, as he threw a knife towards Miles' back. However, Miles' Spider-Sense worked much faster, as he effortlessly dodged to the right, missing the knife.
He turned towards Kraven and shot a web at his face, pulling him and electric punching him straight in the chest.
"AAAGH!" exclaimed Kraven, as he tumbled back. Sergio tried to attack Miles with his metal arm. However, Miles dodged and grabbed his metal arm. Before he could do anything, Peter jumped in and kicked Sergio back towards Kraven.
"You back on your feet?" asked Miles.
"I could ask the same to you," said Peter.
"All that and more," replied Miles, readying his fists, as the Spider-Men stared down The Hunters. Peter rushed towards Kraven, sliding to his side and webbing up Kraven's face, pulling him to the ground.
Peter then shot a web to a tree in the distance, and connected the web to Kraven's back. He pulled Kraven a little bit, enough to slingshot him away.
As Kraven tumbled away, Peter shot a web towards Kraven's pouch, and pulled out a green sachet.
"Here's a taste of your own medicine!" replied Peter, as he threw the pouch straight onto Kraven's face. Almost instantly, Kraven began to feel dizzy.
"NOOO….No…" groaned Kraven, falling unconscious.
Meanwhile, Miles dodged Grim Hunter's attack, as he kicked himself off of his chest. He then shot a web to Sergio's metal arm, and did nothing.
"Missed shot?" mocked Sergio. Just then, Miles lifted his electrified left hand and grabbed the web. The electricity travelled along the web and towards Sergio's arm, shorting it out.
"NO!" exclaimed Grim Hunter, as Miles went invisible. Before Sergio knew it, he was being attacked by all sides by an invisible Spider-Man. Out of nowhere, Miles channeled in electricity and punched Sergio straight in the face, knocking him out.
Peter walked up to Miles, dragging Kraven's unconscious body.
"Well, that was certainly impressive!" said Peter, to Miles.
"Yeah, I think I can control it now!" said Miles, staring at his hands. "Let's head back to the lab," he continued.
"Yep. Along with dumb and dumber here," said Peter, gesturing towards the Hunters.
"Ah, there you guys are!" said Max, standing near a fully powered gateway.
"We ran into some acquaintances along the way, but other than that, we're good," said Peter, as he took Kraven towards the portal.
"So, I guess this is it?" asked Miles.
"For now, let's hope. Who knows, maybe sometime in the future I'll run into you again," said Peter, as Miles hugged him.
"Thanks for everything man, I mean it. You showed the world what it's like to have a Spider-Man again. Let's hope that never happens to yours," said Miles.
"Yeah," said Peter, thinking about how he had abandoned being Spider-Man for months. "At least this world has got you. The Ultimate Spider-Man," said Peter, as he walked up to the portal, along with an unconscious portal.
"And listen Miles, a great person once told me, that with great power, comes great responsibility. Use those powers wisely," said Peter.
"You can count on me," replied Miles.
"Good luck, Spider-Man!" said Miles, as Peter waved goodbye, stepping into the portal and going back to his universe.
Well, there you have it! Now of course, we shall lead into the Venom saga, which will go on for the next 4 episodes, until the conclusion of Season 5. I plan to get them out before New Year's, but knowing me I probably won't be able to lmao. I apologize if the ending felt a bit rushed, but I had to publish this quick lol.
Apologies for the massive hiatus, but I just got super busy with exams and stuff, but my grades came out well! I got an overall of 88%, which is pretty good for Term 1! Rest assured, I will definitely try and upload more frequently!
C4rd1ak: Thanks man, it really means a lot! Can't wait for your full review!
Fate-Be Changed: I doubt they will, I'm trying to stay away from organic webbing for the time being.
Geek4Life: Other than Max, nobody else!
SpideyXBC: I tried to do a bit of a twist with Electro, I hope it worked!
Teller-Story: I feel it would've made more sense for them to be at odds. Modern vs Antique!
I am the Voice: Yeah, just another difference between universes!
Guest: I didn't really have much time to add that, but I can assure you that this isn't the last we shall see of Miles Morales!
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.