Chapter 13 – The Devil's Due
Peter scooped handfuls of the nanites into the wrist device until it was full, after which he turned it on. It made a whining sound as it booted up and which he then then placed in his desk. He then scooped up the pictures that Felicia had given to him and inspected the data exhibited in the pictures before he continued construction of the portal gate.
Peter would sleep and then tinker for hours, absorbed into his work. Thoughts of Felicia weighted upon his mind but the work made it easier not to think about her. He fed the wiring into the structure, putting care into every action even when his back ached.
A beep sounded off from behind him, the Iron Spider suit called out. He put the pieces down on the floor and moved over to investigate. Once within an arm's reach he took the mask in hand and placed it over his face to receive the message that he had been waiting for.
"Foreign hardware has been purged. Optimal Functions have been restored"
Peter took off the red and gold mask and placed it back onto the table with satisfaction before taking a break. He picked up his duffle bag from the corner of the room and placed it over his left shoulder while on his way to the shower room.
The shower area looked like that of showers from the locker room of Empire University. They looked similar in design but the pipes over his head at that moment had quite a bit of rust. The small tile floor was chipped in some areas and missing whole tiles in others. In one corner was a pile of new tiles stacked on top of each other with a bucket of powdered cement. Two rows of personal one-man sized showers stood opposite to each other with five showers in each row. Already some of the showers were running by the time Peter had stepped inside of the room.
With a twist of the hot water knob the pipes rattled before spitted out the desired warm water and then gave a steady stream. He felt it wash over and cleanse him of the sweat and dirt which he let accumulate from his tireless work and surveillance of Susan Storm, which had ended not too long ago. The soap removed the grime and the water took away the stench and dirt into the drain in the floor. He repeated the wash multiple times to be sure that it was all gone. When he was just about done he heard voices talking, two individuals sounding unfamiliar and young.
"So did you hear?"
"Hear what?" questioned the other voice.
"DD's been in Hell's Kitchen trying to sort out the MGH mess but the stuff is still getting around"
"Really?"
"Yeah they're saying it isn't the Shadow Man's version but still powerful and that's not the worst part. They think it might be that Kingpit guy behind it."
Peter's muscles tensed up when he heard that name, Kingpit. It was off but it was enough to get his full attention.
"You mean Kingpin? I heard that guy was trouble way before we were around. Had cops and politicians in his pocket all of the time and anybody working for him were barely in jail."
"Yeah that's the guy, but it is only a hunch and horn-head has been going back there more and more. Some of us are worried Shield will catch him."
The spider stood in the running water, still as stone. The water from the adjacent showers stopped running and their occupants shortly cleared the room. He emerged from the shower, taking a slow walk toward his duffle bag and proceeded to get dressed slowly in silence.
He returned to his work area to find Luke standing before the product of Peter's labors which was now in the shape of a U. His large right hand rubbed against one of the metal support beams. His eyes were beaming as he turned around as the refreshed Peter returned with his bag over his shoulder. Peter dropped his bag onto the floor as he approached.
"Looking good, Pete" Said Luke with hope in his eyes.
"… Yeah we're almost there"
"How are Reed's notes helping?"
"I won't have much use for them until it's time to turn it on. By the way I'm going to need some able bodies around when that time comes."
"How much longer do you think it will take?"
"At least one more week and then we can test it."
Luke rubbed his goatee in an attempt to hide his anxious smirk as the Spider looked upon his Iron Spider armor. While Luke was still fascinated by the machine and thinking of the future, Peter took his suit in hand. Luke was a bit taken aback by this action as he thought Peter would continue working but instead bared witness to his exit.
"Where are you off to?" Questioned Luke.
"To get some fresh air. Contrary to popular belief not every egghead loves to be stuck in the same space all of the time."
Luke put his hands up in jest at Peter's words, not intending to overstep his bounds. "Whoa, I didn't mean anything by it. Just that if you're going out in that suit you should avoid the sky as much as possible."
Peter pulled his mask over his face as he made his exit "I'll keep my head down."
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Hell's Kitchen had always been a strong part of Manhattan which cast a long shadow. Its pain had a habit of reaching out to the people who lived there. After many years of hearing this pain, the Daredevil was born in response and served as a blockade between the people and suffering caused by crime. For years its own resident Mathew Murdock gave his all to fight the kind of corruption that authority sometimes allows to slip through the cracks. As an attorney he defended the innocent from unfortunate circumstances. In darkness he brought criminals to light when the justice system wasn't enough.
In the era of regulated heroes, Hell's Kitchen surprisingly remained unchanged. The street corners had actually gained something of a defense against heroics.
Whenever somebody burst through an apartment wall (Which happened often in New York) some people didn't mind as much because the damages were compensated thanks to the new responsibility act which demanded the government pay for the damages done to the homes. Other people demanded that there be laws to restrict a hero's jurisdiction now that they had become actual fixtures in society they needed "boundaries." These boundaries forced paperwork to be processed before action could take place. In essence, crime lords saw them as nothing more than a glorified police force that still required probable cause. One might even say they were just puppets on new strings.
Eventually, as with many things, neighborhoods became prioritized, not officially but people notice when others receive help faster than others. A sense of trust had been lost in the system. People found themselves torn as the streets ran rampant and decided that registration was another way to collect taxes from citizens. Even teams like the Heroes for hire (who had street credibility) had lost some of their reputation once the people decided they were part of the problem. If they wanted to come into a community then they had to truly prove their worth to the disadvantaged like those the system had chased away. Even in the supposed new age the Devil of Hell's Kitchen had remained in his playground, acting as silent guardian.
Avenger or not people understood that once a drug gets on the street the only thing that could stop it was a drought of customers. Unfortunately there was another rule to that. No matter what you are selling there is always a customer and MGH had many.
The spider stayed within the shadows, leaping the distances in between the buildings and kept out of the office lights. His web-lines were cast in the darkness as he swung through the narrow spaces until he landed on to edge of a roof. While in his spider crouch he surveyed the alleys of Hell's Kitchen below him like a hawk.
In the dark space below lurked a group of youngsters wearing red hoodies. They were a loud bunch, howling in the night. Worn bandages covered their small knuckles, making them look like miniature boxers. Some of them were carrying red spray paint and tagging the walls while others practiced throwing jabs at one another. On their backs were the words "Devil's Spawn" spray painted in black lettering.
"What are you doing here?" said a familiar voice from behind. Matt Murdock was wearing his old red costume with a stern march toward an unwanted guest. The scarlet in his eyes made him appear more menacing. Peter didn't budge an inch, he just simply looked onward into the distance. He felt a slight urge to respond with a devil pun but there was no point in it.
"You can't be here" he said.
"I heard you were having trouble stamping out a fire. I needed to get away from work so I came here to help"
The Devil listened intently to every word from Peter's mouth, listening for the lie. He said nothing in protest. He knew there was a high chance that Peter had come for something else. If Wilson really did come back then the spider picked a hell of a time to show up. It wasn't news of what Wilson did to him and for that reason Spider-Man wouldn't be going anywhere. He couldn't force Peter into leaving and he wasn't sure if he was lying either. Luke told Matt to keep an eye on Peter, at least now he could do two things at once. He just had to keep Peter close by.
"You sure that's the only reason you're here?"
"It is"
Matt listened to the heart beat, sure that he had the proper response that he needed.
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Since the first encounter with the Shadow Man, the MGH drug trade was left with a power vacuum. The potent substance caused people to swarm Shamus's club for more than the dances and risked their lives to taste the extraordinary. Some time had passed since then and without it on the market, smaller dealers were stepping in to fill the void. What was left were either watered down or more deadly variants of the original.
One dealer was selling the next best thing, a young guy by the name of Samuel Diggs. After countless nights of searching, the Daredevil had a location which lead him one step closer to that man at the top.
Samuel was virtually a no name hack until recently. He was gaining influence between people who were both young and old. They were the type of people that he wouldn't have contact with otherwise. The name given to Matt was Johnny Stix, an ex-enforcer turned mob boss. Johnny owned a restaurant in the neighborhood and was big on the old tradition of family. Bonds of both blood and loyalty born in age old beliefs of stern solidarity. With luck he could lead Matt to Samuel.
Daredevil was on his way there when he spotted Peter, now he was leading the way to Johnny's place of business. The two watched a large man as he guarded the back door with his arms crossed while wearing a black suit.
The sound of a whistle had broken the silence, at which point he stumbled to investigate. A Billy club ricocheted from the wall behind him collided with his head and knocked him out before he could see anything. Daredevil caught his hefty body before he collapsed on the ground.
He pressed his left hand against the metal door. In the back toward the kitchen was a poker table with five body's playing cards. He could almost taste the alcohol seep through the crack in the doorway.
"Would you do the honors?" said Daredevil as he invited Spider-Man to kick in the door
"Why not"
The door was hit so hard that when it fell to the door there was a bit of recoil. The men at the table jumped at the sudden strike. A whole second passed before they reached for their guns but two web-lines yanked the weapons away. Another two pulled out syringes filled with emerald liquid. The scarlet Devil leaped across the room and stopped one man but not the other.
Johnny Stix sat at the poker table with a smile like he was about to win a game of chess.
"Ya know, pop always said nevea do pills when needles work fasta" said Johnny in a thick Brooklyn accent.
Green coursed through the man's veins and his eyes changed. He gripped the Devil's red skin like steel and gave a hard punch to the face. Blood dripped from Daredevil's nose and was tossed into the Spider-Man.
"What do ya think DD? It's nothin' like dat Harlem stuff, but I stand by my product" said the mob boss as he straightened up his tie and put on his blazer.
While lying on the ground, a web-line was shot to the ankle of the grunt and made him slip with his back slamming flat onto the ground. The last three henchman had the breathing room to draw their needles.
The two of them stood up at the same time, collecting themselves
"Put them down fast" insisted the Matt with a Billy club in each of his hands.
"Yeah, sure thing."
It happened so fast that the enemy was overwhelmed by the sheer speed and experience. They attacked the common weak points of the human body like ankle joints, knees and dislocated arms left their leader bear with a single bead of sweat trickling down from his temple.
The devil reeled in the mob boss like a fish on a line and bared his teeth while growling. "Where did you get the MGH to start selling it?"
Johnny chuckled "I don't know what you're talking about"
Peter was losing his patience already. If he had gotten a dollar for every time that a bad guy started off with that line he could have made his rent in advance without selling pictures to the Bugle.
"We don't have time for this" Spider-Man took the Johnny from Daredevil and struck the shoulder blade. "Where is the person supplying you with the drugs?"
"Ha ha, ya think I'mma give up my contact to you? Ya guys ain't in charge no more"
"Then you better reconsider. We already know about Samuel Diggs" he squeezed the man's biceps, cutting off blood flow.
"I can't hold my friend back for much longer" said Daredevil as Spider-Man was in the motion of cocking back his arm and drove it through the tables green top. Cards and chips catapulted into the air and to every direction
"A'right a'right, not like tha guy's family anyways. This kid comes to me, says he can give me a way into the new age drug trade and make me money. He only contacts me when the next drop is ready and I got a call for anotha drop coming in. I sent two a my guys ta pick it up at Pier 92"
"Thanks for being such a good citizen" said the spider as he tossed Johnny onto the floor, before a strike to the temple, knocking him out.
"You must really like hitting people"
The spider rubbed his right temple and said with a bit of strain in his voice "It's a gift"
The two heroes exited to the back alley. The large bodyguard was still propped up against the wall, groaning in pain and on the verge of waking up. A Daily Bugle newspaper with the caption Vigilantes rally gangland for support sitting on top of a trash can. The return of Spider-Man seemed to put J. Jonah Jameson back in rare form with his outrageous rants.
A little boy wearing a red hood was standing on the opposite end of the alley. He fanned his hand while looking to the street. Matt took the sign and looked upwards to the fire escape of a neighboring build and proceeded to leap. Peter still stood over the old paper, his gold spider eyes transfixed by it and the boy who was now looking directly at him. His face was cast in shadow but he was looking at Peter until the sounds of sirens forced him to look elsewhere.
"Hurry up and go!" shouted the little Devil Spawn as he took off down the street and out of sight.
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The trip to the Pier took five city blocks all the way on the west side. The air smelled of foul water from the Hudson River as well as the Horse feces from a neighboring stable. These scents wreaked havoc upon Matt's senses, a constant assault that made him sometimes wish that he had a filtration mask. His ears had a way of making a solid outline to represent structures and objects to his mind. Slight disturbances in the air created waves to be set in motion and allowed him to "see" that person or object but right at that moment there was nothing. Nothing moving besides the churning water and car motors whizzing by.
On the roof top of a gentleman's club they waited in silence. The goons were already taken down after they retrieved the newest batch of MGH. Their money sat just beyond a gate under a pile of rocks. Daredevil insisted that the MGH be left for the police to collect both in one go.
A bit of wind made the air cool with the contact of Matt's skin. The Spider had a steady heartbeat, in constant rhythm as he said nothing. In the old days, on a night like this Peter would get so nervous that he would break the silence with some random comment to attempt at humor. His heart would beat like a trombone as he tried to compensate for the void that took place but not now. Now it was Matt that felt the void needed to be filled.
"How is your head?" asked Daredevil.
"…Better. The pain seems to come and go"
"You know, it feels so weird not walking down the street" said Daredevil. "I was in the courthouse when I heard a woman in distress. Given my situation I knew I couldn't change just anywhere. I had a spot on the roof that I thought was safe but I was wrong, someone was waiting for me. Someone who was went to great lengths to expose me and waited from a considerable distance to catch me changing on the roof. They sent those pictures to every paper and burned me. All of my denial and the lawsuits I filed against the papers who previously accused me of being a vigilante backfired, a devil thrown into the light. After that Shield had to come after me and I went underground."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're thinking of one thing when you should be focused on the other. You should be working on that gate, our second chance. I can take over from here on my own."
"I'm not going anywhere… not until I see this through"
"Seriously Peter, take a break."
"Matt, you really need to stop patronizing me"
The tone in Peter's voice was stern and earnest. His blood began to pump faster. Perhaps Matt could now get to the heart of the matter "Fine, but there is something about you that's unsettling. I don't know what it is but I don't want you to go passed to point of no return. I want to help you, we all do!"
"What makes you think I haven't passed it yet? You can try to stop me if it makes you feel better."
"You understand that you might hurt our chances to derail registration right? You're making a conscious decision to stop a chance at regaining social balance."
"Then you need to distance yourself. Nobody knows if they can trust me anymore anyway and this was never a permanent situation for me."
"We can't do that! You're our friend Peter, we're not just going to abandon you!"
"Then you have a problem. In politics, gray areas don't exist and everyone's efforts will be wasted because you didn't do what needed to be done."
Daredevil hung in silence. What do you do when a man who was once a friend goes down a dark path? As far as he could tell Peter was nothing like his past self who bore heavy burdens while remaining a kind hearted comedian. This Spider-Man was cold, a polar opposite and not about to change, the pact with Venom was a key indication of that. He clenched his hands tightly and after another moment he released his grip.
There was movement on the outside of the warehouse, a person of small stature skulking around in a crouched position wearing a hoody. A fast heartbeat and a little bit a sweat. The rocks were tossed off and a personal bag was unearthed. They watched as the individual treaded down 52nd street. Constantly looking over their shoulder and crisscrossing until reaching an abandoned apartment building barely standing, three stories high.
The interior was so disfigured that radar sense couldn't make out a clear picture. The windows were partially boarded up with a condemned sign posted up on the front door. The red Devil took point, slipping in through the top floor. Old newspapers scattered about with the strong smell of urine. Thick layers of dust covered every surface and the wooded floor was so weak that it could squeak with just enough pressure.
Peter stuck to the ceiling as Matt treaded lightly as they went down the stairs until they reached the first floor. Sweat carried in the air like a thick haze and heat came rushing from between the floorboards.
Two men walked along the floors with guns in hand. They were all dealt with in silence, clearing the way to the basement.
There was a track pattern on the floor from where the child entered and led to a basement. The sound of bubbling liquid was close. Steel clapped together. Glass beakers creaked from hot flames. The sound of rustling fabric was close by along with a tense voice "were you followed?"
"I'd say so" interrupted Daredevil from the bottom of the steps.
"Oh sh-"
"Hey watch your mouth. You must be Samuel Diggs, you were really hard to find. And this must be where the magic happens."
The basement was broken into aisles by tables and the tables were covered by beakers, test tubes and Bunsen burners. Fuming chemicals filled the room, causing Matt's sense of smell to flair in protest. People were lined up along the tables had stopped tending to their areas to look upon the intruder. Each of them unclean, unshaven and seemed to be poorly fed.
"I want everyone to clear out" bellowed Matt.
"No! Stay where you are!" retorted Samuel.
"Sorry but from what I can see you have no muscle, as for me? I couldn't get rid of my help if I tried."
The spider dropped behind Samuel, seizing the man's wrists and at the same time freeing the child. Everyone made a stampede for the doorway and slowly funneling up the stairs. There was only three of them left now. The still boiling beakers were knocked onto the floor, fumes drifting in the air.
"Wow Sam it looks like you have, oh sorry, hadquite the operation" said Daredevil as he took a few steps around the lab. "I mean all the people in the right positions. Suppliers, distributers, a bunch of bad people from opposite worlds. What I want to know is how did you make those contacts?"
"What can I say, I have a magnetic personality"
"I doubt that, when a too bit pusher turns into a drug lord by making connections with people out of his circle I call that a red flag."
Samuel struggled to break free while grunting as he feebly jerked his arms in the vice grip. His operation had come down in the blink of an eye. In an instant he became a liability to a number of people and somebody would be coming for him at some point.
Several throwing stars crashed through the glass and three embedded themselves into Samuel's body. Blood gushed from a gaping wounds. The life seized from his eyes on moments. Spider-Man took a step backwards as if he were dizzy and let go of the lifeless hands.
Matt made a dash up the stairs and through the front entrance to find a slaughter waiting for him. The bodies of all the workers were spread out on the pavement, lifeless. The concreate splattered with crimson. Some still fidgeting until the last ounce of life left them. Pieces of metal penetrating flesh. The devil of Hell's Kitchen knelt down to a body and felt the six sided shuriken inside of its target.
The angle from which the object came from was steep, so steep that it had to come from a rooftop. Using his athleticism he used a couple of leaps to reach the top in time to catch a shadow outline of someone making a run for it. After looking back for his scarlet and gold partner, Matt decided to press forward.
The echoes of the assailant's sounds were almost out of his range. He or she took a back while hurling a throwing star at Matt, which he deflected with two Billy clubs connected together. His breathing grew hoarse, putting in more effort to make up the distance. The killer disappeared over the ledge with no heartbeat. Matt rested his hands on the ledge, trying to slow his breathing, to focus his mind and widen his radius of hearing and nothing but a single beat. It came from in the direction of a cemetery.
Only one man stood among the headstones. Large in proportion, draped in a deerskin trench coat and Armani shoes. Decadence found on every part of the body. A person who demanded the best of everything.
"…Wilson?" Questioned Matt as he stood on top of a crept. Looking done at a man from his past.
"Feels like a lifetime since anyone called me that"
"What, what are you doing here? We had a deal, I get you acquitted of all your crimes and you never come back. That's what Vanessa wanted."
"Very true. That was the deal but I am no longer Wilson Fisk, Mathew. That obligation is no longer my concern. I am a new man, one with a new destiny to be the criminal underworld."
"As if you weren't so full of yourself that you couldn't let go"
"On the contrary, what you see as arrogance is actually a necessity. After all, you did walk in my shoes for a time and why not? Crime needs a guiding hand not just for New York but the entire United States and in extension, the world."
"I will never let you win, Fisk."
"A shame about Johnny Stix passing but don't worry though" said Wilson as he adjusted the cufflinks with his large fingers. "A minor setback but people will make sure the MGH finds its way to loyal customers. It has been most educational sparing with you over the years. The devil on the shoulder of a king, intertwined, but only to a degree. You never did truly understand the nature of this city you defended and for that you lost the security of Mathew Murdock. I understand how intrusive reporters can be."
Daredevil remained frozen in place on the crept.
"Alas, it is time for our story to end. True, I was a bit apprehensive at first however now I see clearly. In order for me to make true progress you must die. Destruction, necessary before my true rebirth can truly take place."
Wilson snapped his fingers. Several puffs of smoke burst amongst the stone slabs. Masked men and women wearing black ninja outfits were in crouched positions with their katana blades drawn.
Daredevil tensed his body and ready for a fight. A flurry of dark shadows shifted around with their shining blades in hand. Matt felt his hand being dragged by the chain wrapped around it, reeled in by the ninja. He pulled on the chain himself and tossed one half of his staff like a whip into the enemies head, causing him to release the chain. The Devil smirked, now with a weapon in both each hand and range to take control of the situation.
Some of the enemy retreated behind the tombstones while others took lashings to their arms and backs. Shurikens were thrown to the center of the cyclone, cutting through spandex and into flesh. Still he persisted in his assault as everyone kept their distance except for Wilson. He crept up from behind Matt with fiendish eyes and instinctively clasped onto the whipping chain with a large steady hand, then yanked.
With the kingpin's cane dropped to the ground the devil's head was then caught in the giants grip like a melon in a vice. A nerve racking pain shot through his skull. He could feel the bone give under the pressure. His feet were just above the floor which meant no leverage. Fisk looked at Matt with pitch black pools for eyes, unnerved and at that moment he was sure that death had finally come for him.
Two web-lines came down from the sky and were yanked a sword each from two ninjas. Indeed Spider-Man had the swords on his lines but he did not let them go. He swung them around. One of them sweeping across and nearly colliding with Fisk if it weren't for a guard who blocked it with a chain.
"FISK!" screamed came a voice from up above. The blood in his veins pumped, heat surged from him.
Wilson released Matt's head, picked up his cane and made his withdrawal and the Spider-Man without hesitation, cutting two assailants on his way out. In the heat of the moment he sent the blades flying like boomerangs, missing their target and disappeared into the night with no hope to return.
"NO!" screamed Daredevil on the ground trying to gather his bearings as the ninja's loomed over him with every intention to finish their job. A darkness had crept close to the devil as his enemies positioned themselves.
He crossed the graveyard to an empty area covered in grass and fog. It seemed like Peter would never catch up until Wilson stopped dead in his tracks.
The spider unleashed webbing wrapped around the large titan, slowing him down until he resembled a large grub crawling on its belly.
"Where did you think you're going?"
"Ugh…" The Kingpin struggled to shatter his new cocoon. "Nowhere that I haven't been Mr. Parker."
The webbing snapped one after the other like silly string and regained his footing. He picked Peter up and began tossing him around by his leg into the headstones relentlessly then finally releasing him to roll on the dirt.
"I must say, it wasn't this easy when I fought you last time but I believe I will get over the disappointment rather quickly."
Wilson approached with his cane in hand. Peter kicked Wilson's leg just above the ankle and heard a snap. He let out a shout of pain as his leg gave under the weight of his enormous size. The cane rapidly changed from a weapon to a third leg.
Peter removed his scarlet mask and tossed it on the floor. The whites of his eyes were pinkish. His pupils were shifty. He threw on punch and then another and another until Fisk fell on his back.
"Even after all you've done to Matt, he doesn't want you to die. He wants you where you can't hurt people and that's what I'm going to do"
Wilson laughed with booming volume, the echo bouncing off of the nearby walls made the sound seem as though one were surrounded by his very being.
"So that's it? You beat me down again and make some obscure threat? I'm disappointed Peter, where is your fortitude?"
Peter opened Wilson's blazer and rummaged through the pockets and pulled of a single pistol. He looked at it as it laid in his hands and for a moment he couldn't hear Wilson at all.
"When will you sanctimonious do-gooders realize that there is nothing I can't do! No matter where you send me I will come back, because the world needs men like me. I will-"
Wilson stopped dead in the middle of his mad rant, the sound of the modified gun exploded as it sent a bullet, piercing Wilson's skull. The giant head went limp and his body fell backward onto the grass. Peter looked down upon the body and a moment and proceeded to blast until every bullet exited from the chamber as two shadows approached.
From the rear was one of the ninja wearing the Venom symbol and a battle worn Daredevil.
"What have you done?!" said Matt in outrage
"Whoa, look out for Spider-Man. Our little web-head is growing up so fast" added Venom as it wiped and imitation tear from its eye
"We're done here" said Peter. "Do what you need to and make sure there are no stragglers"
"How could you… you've turned on everything you've ever stood for!"
"Let it go old man. He just saved you a decade of rematches, I'd say thanks are in order."
"Like hell it is!" retorted Daredevil.
Venom simply shrugged off Daredevil's outburst "Someone's feeling a little self-righteous. We can change that."
"Don't touch him. Get what you need from that body and get ready to leave."
"Fine, maybe there are more toys for us to play with" said the Venom-ninja walked away into the mist.
"You've warped everything you ever stood for to take the life of one man" continued Daredevil "What happens when someone replaces him?"
"Then they get one chance to change and if not…"
Matt grabbed the spider's suit and reeled him in "what? You'll play executioner like some hitman?"
Peter's head surged with a ringing sound which made him feel disoriented. He grabbed Daredevil's wrists tight and the four Waldoes sprang out from his back, their sharp tips pointed at their host's apparent new enemy.
"Do you really want to do this, Matt?"
The Daredevil gritted his teeth for a moment. He was angry and confused no doubt but did he really want to fight? His hands shook. His sonic senses could make out the face of his friend. There was no shame, no remorse, only a look of strain and the sound of the blood pumping with haste. Surging, causing sound waves that painted an even more vivid picture of Peter's face. His own hands gradually loosened until he released Peter and the Waldoes retracted.
"With great power comes great responsibility, I've been saying that for years to justify sending villains to jail-" began Peter. "But every time I sent them there it seemed to only give them the opportunity break out and hurt more people. My Uncle Ben had a good heart and I tried to lead by his example but now he's dead now and I'm still here. Everyone that gets hurt after the first fight is on me. Maybe I got the saying wrong, maybe it really means that I have a responsibility to the people that get hurt repeatedly. A responsibility to make sure that it never happens again."
Daredevil pressed his lips together "but that makes you no better than him."
"Circumstances are different now, you get that but you don't want to accept it. You tortured a captain until he gave you information. It's like I said you don't have to kill, the public will scrutinize the new avengers, question your activities and when that happens I won't be there to drag you down. I'll do what you can't, what you won't and in return you get deniability."
Peter scooped up his mask from the grass and looked straight ahead as he walked passed Daredevil. He could hear the thumping of blood, rushing through Peter's head.
"When we get back I want Strange to check you out, make sure you're not possessed by some demon."
"If it makes you feel better."
Sirens blared in the background, echoing through the mist. Red and blue lights loomed closer until the officers reached the site left with either unconscious or dead bodies. One of the bodies seemed to be a bit skinnier than the rest. The Spider-Man and Daredevil had already escaped to a rooftop before the cops were within walking distance.
The Venom symbiote slithered back into its spherical container as Peter put it away. Daredevil couldn't seem to turn his head away from his estrange friend as if he was peering into his soul. The spider put his mask back on and started walking ledge in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?"
Spider-Man stopped with one foot on the edge of the building.
"To see an old boss"
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J. Jonah Jameson was just on his way inside of the Daily Bugle late at night, readying the machines to print a breaking new story for all of New York to see. His black and grey hair were freshly cut into a flattop design. He had a thin strip of a mustache between the bottom of his nose and the top of his lip.
He had already decided on the headline on his way into the office "The King is Dead!"
Through the years he had seen a lot happen in the city, many things that would change the course of the history. The many stories that had seen the light of day because of his paper, his life's work.
Jonah burst through his office door with the light off began to take off his coat to place it on the coat rack. In his vest and tie he then turned on the light and realized that the window behind his desk was open.
This wouldn't be the first time that someone or something slipped into his domain. He was frozen from fright at first and then approached the window and closed it. He was reminded of the time that Carnage had gotten in during the Maximum Carnage incident. His instincts told him not to turn around too fast, not to panic
"You look well Jonah" said a voice from the office door.
Jameson bared his teeth as his eyes connected with the red and gold Spider-Man blocking the doorway. He sat down upon the armchair at his desk, never taking his eyes off of his nemesis.
"I figured you'd come here sooner or later like some thug. You think you can bully me?"
"Good old Jameson, always assuming the worst" replied Spider-Man. "I'm not here to bully you, I just need a moment of your time."
"As if you thought I would be interested in anything you had to say"
"I think you would if the story was good, after all what else is a newspaper good for besides the crossword puzzles?"
Jameson said nothing, only took on his familiar sour faced look.
"You like the way things are now don't you?"
"Damn right I do. I always said people like you needed to be watched, never thought I would see the day."
"What if I told you there was a story there?"
Jameson swatted at the former avenger "Then you're an idiot"
"Says the guy with the Hitler mustache. By the way that things been out of style since World War II."
The veins in Jameson's forehead surged with hot blood. He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a cigar, lighting it as he inhaled and exhausted puffs of smoke. "I wouldn't believe anything from your webbed mouth"
"Well that's good because it's coming from an anonymous source."
The spider began to approach Jameson's desk and walked around it in order to get to the window and pushed it open.
"The only reason I kept you part-time… was because I didn't want you to get comfortable" Said Jameson as he took the burning cigar from his mouth and let the ashes fall into a nearby ashtray. "I knew that you had talent that would have gone far beyond the Bugle. Sometimes I felt like you were the only person I could trust, the last honest person on the planet but then I found out that you were Spider-Man. All that time, you must have had a big laugh on old Jameson, paying Spider-Man for his own photos. Leaving was the smartest thing you ever did and you couldn't even do that."
"I don't care what you think of me. I've always helped people and I'm not going to stop. With that being said you can either try to do the right thing when the people need you or you let somebody else do it while you rant from your office."
Peter made his way through half-way through the window as Jonah
"Wait… what happened to Mary Jane?"
"…She's on vacation…"
The spider leaped from the window into the city on a web-line and disappeared, leaving Jameson to his thoughts. He watched the cigar the burn, seeing the cinders creep up and the smoke aloft. Just then his office door opened with Maria Hill standing at the threshold.
"You're late" stated Jonah.
"My people are looking for him"
He gritted his teeth "If you have to look then you then you've already two steps behind."
"It's only a matter of time Mr. Jameson"
The Daily Bugle's editor-in-chief stood next to the window and scanned the rooftops. "Do you think he knows about phase two?"
"Only the people that need to know, know. We have a plan in place to capture him"
"With all due respect Miss Hill, I'll believe it when that menace is finally behind bars."