Rhino Rampage
Alex O'Hirn, loyal member of the Dogs of War, continued to pass the time in his jail cell by doing over a hundred pushups. He grunted as he did one after the other, with sweat pouring down his face, but he did not care. His mind was solely focused on one thing, or rather, one person.
'I'm going to rip your head off, Spider-Man.' O'Hirn thought to himself as he glared with anger. 'You just wait till I get out of here.'
Spider-Man had been on O'Hirn's mind constantly, ever since he embarrassingly took him out and put him in prison. He used to be feared in the Dogs of War, his boss had respect for him, and now look at him. Spending his days in prison, where his boss hasn't even attempted to break him out. Well, he'll find a way out sooner or later, and soon that wall crawling bug is going to pay.
A guard soon came up to his cell and opened the door. "Prison transfer, O'Hirn."
O'Hirn got up from his workout and looked confused at this. "What are you talking about? I didn't hear anything about some transfer."
"Order came in just this morning, which means you're someone else's problem now." The guard said as two more guards came in, cuffed him, and escorted O'Hirn out of his cell. "Still, I'm going to miss your sunny disposition."
"Take these cuffs off and I'll show you how sunny my disposition can be." O'Hirn said as he glared at the guard.
"You see, that right there, that's what we're all going to miss." The guard said as they escorted O'Hirn to a transport, where he was the only occupant. "Well, O'Hirn, I can't say it's been a pleasure."
O'Hirn was loaded onto the transport and it took off. O'Hirn was a still confused about the transfer, but he didn't care, he'll find a way to get out, whether it'd be by his boss, or by his own hands. After all, he still had unfinished business to attend to.
O'Hirn waited for about half an hour in the transport before he felt it stop moving. O'Hirn waited for the doors to open and form him to be taken to his new cell, but it never opened. Confused by this, O'Hirn decided to open the doors himself and sure enough, they were unlocked, and when he stepped out there was nothing but darkness.
"Hey, what's going on here?!" O'Hirn called out, wanting to get some answers. All of a sudden, a bright light shined on him, causing him to cover his eyes with his hands.
"What's going on, Mr. O'Hirn, is your chance at redemption."
O'Hirn uncovered his eyes and saw that stepping out of the light was Mr. Powers himself. O'Hirn recognized him as a valuable business partner for his boss.
"Powers? What are you doing here?" O'Hirn asked.
"Now is that anyway to greet the man who got you an out of jail free card?" Powers asked with a smirk.
"Wait, you got me out of prison?" O'Hirn asked in surprise, before it changed to a slight eagerness. "Does that mean the boss wants to give me another chance?"
"Your boss would like for you to prove your worth again, and to do that you just need to do two things for me."
"Just name 'em. I'll do anything." O'Hirn said in determination. He'll do anything if he could prove his worth as a member of the Dogs of War again.
"The first; you just have to test out a new weapon system that we have developed." Powers informed.
"That's it? Sounds simple enough." O'Hirn said dismissively. "What's the second thing?"
This time, Powers smirked as he spoke again. "The second; using said weapon system to ensure the complete and utter annihilation of Spider-Man."
O'Hirn's look then gained a fierce smile as it felt like his dream of revenge was within his grasp. "You should have just led with that, Powers. Consider it done!"
"Now, this one is more of a personal request from me." Powers said as he pressed a button on a remote and a screen came down to display security footage of Spider-Man, as well as Batman, invading the WaynePowers building. "I'm pretty sure during your time in prison, you've heard around the grapevine that Batman has returned to Gotham."
"I may have heard a thing or two." O'Hirn said with a shrug. "So you want to add him into the mix."
"Your boss will reward you handsomely for ending the spider, but if you can add Batman into the mix, I will pay you double as reward for getting rid of him." Powers said with a glare.
"Spiders, bats, it doesn't matter to me." O'Hirn said with his eager grin returning. "So long as I get the chance to wring their little necks, I'll be satisfied."
"Good to hear." Powers said with a cruel smirk. Seems they picked the perfect candidate to test out their newest project, and Gotham's resident heroes will have finally met their end.
/
Nick yawned as he walked down the sidewalk on his way to school. He could have probably just swung his way to school, but he wanted to get in. Little exercise with his legs today, plus he wants to conserve a bit of web fluid for emergencies. Nights have been a bit long with his patrolling and taking down bad guys, but that was to be expected with the superhero life. Luckily, he had a partner now in Terry, and he's gotta say, it feels great having someone watch his back.
Nick yawned again, still feeling a tad bit groggy, and felt like a nice coffee was just what he needed. Turning a corner, he spotted a diner and made his way inside and stopping in front of the counter.
"What can I get ya, kid?" One of the servers asked.
"Caramel macchiato to go, please." nick said as the server wrote down the order.
"Make that two."
Nick turned to the side and was surprised to see Melanie sitting at the counter having some breakfast. "Melanie." Nick said in surprise, but smiled nonetheless. "Wow, haven't seen you in a while."
"Not since that whole fiasco with that crazy electric guy." Melanie said.
"Yeah, that was a crazy night." Nick said with a chuckle.
"Where'd you go that night, by the way? It was as if one moment you were there right by me and the next you were gone." Melanie asked curiously.
"Sorry about that." Nick said sheepishly. "I got swept away by the crowd I tried looking for you or my friends on the outskirts of the area, thinking you guys left. When I came back I found my friends, but you were gone."
"Guess we both got lost that night." Melanie said with a chuckle, which Nick returned. "Wanna stick around? We can get a table together."
"I wish I could, but I've got to get to school." Nick said as he gestured to his backpack.
"Must be nice, going to an actual school." Melanie said with a sigh.
"I remember you saying that your family moves around a lot, but you've never been to school?" Nick asked in confusion.
"Nope. I've been homeschooled all my life." Melanie said with slight bitter look. "My parents say that the only ones who can teach me about the real world is them. Everyone else is just not worth learning from."
"Yikes, what crawled up their butts and died?" Nick joked, but slightly panicked after that. "Oh, sorry, forgot they're your parents and-"
Melanie chuckled, stopping nick from panicking. "It's okay, no offense taken." Melanie said before she had a mischievous smile. "Between you and me, I say the exact same thing behind their backs." This caused both of them to start chuckling.
The server came back and handed both of them their coffees before Nick spotted the time and school was about to start soon. "Man, I better get going. It was really great talking to you, Melanie." Nick said before he headed for the door.
"Wait." Nick turned around to see Melanie write something down on her napkin and then handed it to him. "In case you want a rain check on that breakfast."
Nick looked down and noticed her number on the napkin, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. "Oh, um, sure, thanks." Nick stuttered before walking out and running to school while taking some sips from his drink.
'I actually got a girl's phone number. An actual phone number!' Nick thought to himself in disbelief, before he smiled with elation. 'This is awesome!'
Meanwhile, Melanie watched Nick race off with smile before sitting back down to finish her food. She had to admit, Nick wasn't like most guys she's met, he seemed...different. Much more easy to talk to than most guys, had this mysterious aura around him, but definitely comes across as someone who's been through much and still tries to get up and face the world with a smile.
The fact that he was pretty cute also helped as well.
Melanie paused eating when her phone started to ring and she answered. "Hello?" Melanie responded before she gained a serious look. "Nothing definitive has happened just yet."
Melanie turned her attention to a mute TV that was showing a news clip on the supposed rumor that Batman has returned to Gotham. The image showed the sky with what appeared to be a bat-like shadow flying over the city.
"Trust me, if it is him, you'll be the first to know." Melanie said before she hanged up the phone.
/
Nick eventually made it to school, and even made it to first period, which has been a rarity in some cases. Nick sat down and in Connor's class and jot down some notes, but he still continued to smile after his encounter with Melanie this morning.
"Now class, can anyone answer the highlighted question from last nights assignment?" Connors asked as no one seemed willing to answer, before Connors looked towards Nick. "Mr. Styles, how about you?" Nick didn't answer as he was in his own little world, so Connors tried to get his attention again. "Mr. Styles!"
"What?" Nick said, finally snapping out of it.
"I know that you were able to arrive on time, Mr. Styles, but please don't let that go to your head. You still actually have to participate in class to get any credit." Connors said with a smirk. "Now, what is the answer from the highlighted question from last night's assignment."
"The one about why lizards can regrow their tails?" Nick asked before answering. "Lizards can do this because their cells are able to divide and regenerate. This can cause them to regrow their tails down to the very bones and muscle, not just their skin."
"Excellent." Connors said with a proud smile.
"Man, imagine what it'd be like to regrow body parts." One of the students said with a chuckle, but then got elbowed by the guy sitting next to him. He was confused by this, but realized his mistake as he noticed the missing limb on Doctor Connors. "Oh...sorry, Mr. Connors, I didn't mean..."
"It's alright. I've learned not to let the comments of others affect me and my affliction." Connors said before looking at his missing arm. "Still though, I to wonder the exact same thing..." The class bell soon rang, indicating the end of this period. "That's all we have for today, everyone. Remember there may be a pop quiz tomorrow, there may not. You may sleep with worry."
As the students left the class, Nick bumped into none other than Nelson Nash in the hallway.
"Hey there, Styles. I hate to cut this short, but I've got a schedule to keep, so I'm going to move your pounding to right now." Nelson said as he cracked his knuckles.
Farther than be intimidated, Nick just smiled and patted Nelson on the shoulder. "Nelson, good to see you, man."
"...Wait, what?" Nelson said in absolute confusion.
"Heard you got a game coming up. Good luck, pal, the school's counting on you." Nick. Before walking off, leaving behind and almost slack-jawed Nelson behind.
"...What just happened?" Nelson said in further confusion before walking off, still trying to comprehend what that was all about.
As Nick continued walking down the hallway, he was soon joined by Terry and Dana by his side.
"Hey guys." Nick greeted.
"Hey." Terry said slowly while looking at Nick funny. "So...what the heck was that all about."
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked curiously.
"You've been so happy all morning it's kind of scary." Dana pointed out.
"Is it really that strange that I'm just happy right now?" Nick asked.
"Not really, but when you start giving compliments to Nelson Nash of all people, it's cause for some concern." Terry pointed out.
Dana looked at Nick's face for a moment, before she gained a smirk. "So, what's her name?"
"Excuse me?" Nick asked in surprise.
Terry soon caught on what Dana was asking as he gained a smirk as well. "Okay, now I see it."
"Our little Nick is growing up." Dana said while pretending to wipe away a tear.
"Hardy har har, you guys." Nick grumbled before going back to smiling.
"So, come on, what's her name?" Dana repeated.
"Her name's Melanie, and she was that girl I met back at the club." Nick answered.
"You mean back when that Electro-guy attacked?" Terry asked, receiving a nod from Nick. "Man, what are the odds?"
"I know, right." Nick said as he started to smile. "I've just been having a great morning, and I don't think anything can ruin this day."
/
O'Hirn stood still inside of a containment chamber, with his body completely bare except for some shorts, waiting for the procedure to proceed. The containment chamber was inside a lab where it was being on looked by Powers, with Doctor Octavius at a control panel and using his mechanical arms to press multiple buttons.
"Mr. O'Hirn, a-as a reminder, this armor that w-we are giving you is no o-ordinary armor." Octavius stuttered nervously.
"So you keep saying." O'Hirn said in a slightly aggravated tone. The doc may not have said it out loud, but he was hoping that O'Hirn would change his mind about this procedure, and frankly, it was getting annoying. "I keep telling you, doc, I don't care!"
"B-But, this armor will i-integrate itself into your very muscle tissue, and even fuse with your skin." Octavius said with a troubled look on his face. "Not only will it be impenetrable, but it can never come off."
"Otto." Powers said as he placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder and gave a subtle glare. "I hope that you're not trying to coerce Mr. O'Hirn into backing out of our agreement?"
"N-No, sir, Mr. Powers. O-Of course not." Otto said as he gulped fearfully. He may be against this, but he rather liked having a job, and living on top of that.
"Now, Mr. O'Hirn, before we begin, there's someone who would like to have a word with you." Powers said as he pressed a button on the terminal, causing the speakers to flare to life.
"O'Hirn."
O'Hirn gasped when he heard the voice of his boss from the Dogs of War. "Boss!" O'Hirn exclaimed in surprise.
"I trust you feel comfortable at the moment."
"I'm not doing this for comfort, boss. I'm doing this for payback!" O'Hirn said with glare.
"That's what I like to hear. If you still want to stay as my number 2, then you will use this tech Powers is giving you, and you will tear Spider-Man and Batman limb from limb."
"With pleasure, boss." O'Hirn said as he glared at Powers. "So, are we doing this or what?!"
Powers looked to Octavius and nodded, signaling that it was time to begin. Octavius sighed in compliance as he used his metal tentacles to flip some switches on the terminal. The chamber around O'Hirn began to enclose around him as he was now obstructed from view. From his perspective, however, O'Hirn can see multiple large pieces of armor starting to be placed on his body. The moment they attached themselves to him, he could feel a sharp pain being engraved into his body, like sharp hot spikes digging their way into him, right down to the bone.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" O'Hirn screamed in pain as more and more large pieces of armor were placed on him. Still though, he endured the pain, with his mind completely focused on one thing; revenge.
"Heart rate spiking...muscle interface responding well..." Otto said ask he watched the monitor. He then used one of his metal arms to pull down a lever. "And now...finished."
The chamber started to open up, with steam flittering about from the intense procedure. Within the steam, one could see the large silhouette of a form, one that was definitely bigger then when O'Hirn was in there. When the steam dissipated, that's when his full form was revealed.
O'Hirn was now twice as large and muscular as he originally was, and his armor coated his entire body, except for the lower half of his face. His metal armor was light grey, with a dark grey outline where the joints were. His feet looked like a three-toed animals' foot, but was still just as massive, and had three spikes where both his shoulder were. To finish off his look, he had a helmet on that covered almost every part of his face, except for the lower half, with his eyes being covered by glowing blue goggles, and a helmet that had what appeared to be a rhino horn on his head.
"Might I inquire about the horn, Otto?" Powers asked curiously.
"Well, given the motif of this armor and it's impenetrable hide, I thought it seemed fitting that he embraced it's nature." Otto said, feeling a sense of accomplishment at his work. He may be a shy stuttering mess, but when he's so focused on science, he definitely gains a confident boost. "His armor is thicker than titanium, amplifies his strength, and the horn can pierce anything that he charges into. Not only is his hide indestructible, he is now unstoppable."
"Well, is this to your liking?" Powers asked to the speaker.
"I approve of this. O'Hirn, you were always the battering ram in my forces, but now you will embrace it. You are not just a battering ram now, you are...the Rhino."
"The rhino, huh? I like the sound of that." O'Hirn said as a cruel grin on his face as he started to walk towards the far side wall. "Well now, let's not keep the spider and bat waiting!"
O'Hirn reared his fist back and punched a large hole through the wall, causing the room to shake and make Powers and Otto lose their balance slightly. O'Hirn looked out the hole and noticed that they were fifteen stories up in a building, but didn't care as he jumped out of the hole. He soon came crashing down into the streets below, creating a huge explosion of dust and rubble, all the while scaring a few pedestrians just walking along.
When the dust settled, O'Hirn stood strong in a large crater in the street, not even fazed by how much damage he caused from just one jump. He walked down the street, before charging even faster. A car was heading right towards him, but the sight of him charging caused the driver to jump out of the driver's seat, allowing O'Hirn to pierce the car with his horn and toss it into the air, before it crashed a great distance away.
"Oh yeah! Now we're talking power!" O'Hirn cheered as he continued to charge. "Watch out, Spider-Man, cause the Rhino is coming for and your bat friend!"
Meanwhile, Powers watched the scene play out from the hole that was created and raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Not very subtle, is he?"
"This job doesn't require subtlety, it requires action. O'Hirn will get the job done, one way or the other."
/
Spider-Man swung through Gotham, really enjoying the night's cool breeze as he continued on with his patrol. So far, he's taken down a mugging, a store robbery, and couple of Jokerz trying to cause trouble.
All in all, a pretty slow day.
"How are you looking at your end, Terry?" Spider-Man asked through an earpiece he had under his mask.
"Everything seems pretty calm tonight. Maybe now we'll actually get some shut eye for the night." Batman said as he was patrolling his own portion of Gotham. It was a schedule the two worked out, where on different nights they would rotate patrolling separately and patrolling together.
"Arriving at class on time and getting some much needed sleep? This night just keeps getting better and better." Spider-Man with a chuckle.
"Don't make assumptions just yet." Bruce said over the comms. "When I used to do this, a night like this usually meant that something big was coming."
"Or maybe fate is smiling on us and decided to throw us a bone for a hard work." Spider-Man said.
"In this line of work, you have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." Bruce advised.
"I'm onboard with that piece of advice, especially after what happened with Inque." Batman said. "Speaking of that night, how's the work on the Batmobile?"
"I'm making some adjustments, so that way we can do a thorough internal scan to pick up foreign signatures, so we won't have to pick up any hitchhikers." Bruce answered.
"Well, whatever happens next time, I can tell we can handle anything." Spider-Man said with a grin under his mask.
"That overconfidence right there is going to get you in trouble." Bruce advised, and Nick could just tell he was giving a critical look.
"It's not overconfidence, I just know that with me and Terry on the scene, we can pretty much handle anything that's thrown out there." Spider-Man said confidently.
"Wow, hard to believe that you used to be that kid in school that was complacent about being Nelson's punching bag. Now look at you." Batman said as he noted how much Nick has changed since becoming Spider-Man.
"People change man, and I'm proud of it." Spider-Man said happily. His musings were cut short when he heard multiple explosions in the distance. "Hang on, I think I hear something."
"I'm picking up police chatter. Multiple explosions on the south side of town near you. Police are already on scene, but something's in their way." Bruce said with a troubled tone.
"I'm on my way." Spider-Man said as he swung in that direction.
"Need any help?" Batman asked.
"Hold that thought. I'll see what's going on and let you know if things get hairy." Spider-Man said as he swung as fast as he could, hoping no one was hurt.
/
Several police officers took cover in a barricade of their own vehicles as they fired at Rhino who continued marching down the street, leaving behind a trail of destruction with smashed holes in buildings and wrecked cars. The shots the police fired did nothing as they bounced off the large villains armor.
"Come on, what are you hitting me with?! Beanbags?!" Rhino taunted as he held his horn down and began charging at the officers.
"Move! Move!" One of the officers exclaimed as they ran out of the way, before Rhino broke through the barricade, sending the police cars crashing to the side of the buildings.
"We're going to need bigger guns for this!" One of the officers exclaimed to the other.
"Forget bigger guns, we need a tank!" The other officer exclaimed.
Rhino grabbed one of the cars with one hand and tossed it straight up into the air. The two officers looked up and saw that the tossed vehicle was soon heading downward right straight towards them. Before they could even attempt to run away, two web lines attached themselves to the officers back and pulled them away to safety before they could get crushed.
As the officers regained their footing, Spider-Man swung down and landed in front of them. "You guys, okay?" Spider-Man asked in concern.
"Yeah...yeah I think we're okay." One of the officers said after taking a few deep breaths.
"Thank you, Spider-Man." The second officer said in relief.
"You guys keep the people safe, I'll handle this." Spider-Man said as he swung off and landed behind the Rhino. "Hey, is that a horn on your head, or are...you just...happy...to..."
Spider-Man slowly lost the will to speak as Rhino turned to face him, standing at his full intimidating height, greatly unnerving the arachnid-themed hero. While the face looked familiar to the hero, he just couldn't help but focus on the guy's pure towering size over him.
"I am so scared right now, I can't even finish my lame joke." Spider-Man said simply.
The response he got was Rhino rearing his arm back and backhanded Spider-Man, who was so stunned he couldn't react in time to respond to his spider sense. The hero was sent flying in the air before face planting right into a building, and slowly fell to the ground.
"Styles, what's happening?" Wayne asked over the comms.
"It's okay...nothing's broken." Spider-Man groaned as he slowly got back up. "Except my spine...maybe a few ribs...and everything else."
Spider-Man didn't have time to think about the pain before Rhino came charging at him, forcing the hero to jump out of the way, causing the large villains to crash into the building, and sent several pieces of rubble from the building to crash to the ground.
"What's happening?" Wayne asked.
"Let's just say what you said about something big coming..." Spider-Man said as Rhino jumped out of the pile of rubble and tried to bring down both his fists on the hero. "Well, it just came!"
Spider-Man jumped out of the way again, but the shockwave from Rhino slamming into the ground caused the hero to tumble midair and roll on the ground for a moment before getting back up.
"It's about time you showed up." Rhino said with an eager grin. "I've been itching for our little rematch."
"Rematch?" Spider-Man questioned before he recognized the face of this guy. "Wait...you're that guy from the Dogs of War!"
"The name's O'Hirn, but I like the new moniker I go by now." O'Hirn said as he walked to the side and picked up a parked car over his head. "Call me...the Rhino!"
'Oh great, he gave himself a name.' Spider-Man thought before Rhino threw the the car right at him. Spider-Man jumped high up above the car and swung down at the villain in a swing kick, but the moment he impacted on Rhino, he just bounced right off his armor and land on the ground. "Ow!"
"Ha! That tickled." Rhino mocked as he tried to punch Spider-Man while he was down.
Spider-Man managed to get out of the way from the first punched, and thanks to his spider sense he jumped over another punched thrown his way. Spider-Man took this opportunity to deliver a few punches of his own to the exposed part of Rhino's face, but that only seemed to make him angrier. The large villain tried to punch the hero , but this time Spider-Man flipped over the punch and jumped over the villain's shoulder to gain some distance, but Rhino was quick enough to grab the hero by the leg.
'Uh oh.' Spider-Man thought in dismay.
Rhino then proceeded to slam Spider-Man into the ground a few times, leaving a few cracks in the pavement, before throwing him into a parked car so hard the metal bent like tissue paper.
"Batman...I may need some backup..." Spider-Man said with a groan.
"I'll be there as soon as I can!" Batman said urgently. "Just try and hang on until I get there!"
"Yeah, sure...no rush." Spider-Man groaned as he slowly got back up. A shadow loomed over him as he noticed Rhino up above him. "Don't suppose...we can take five?"
"Sure, I'll take five...of your ribs!" Rhino said with a grin as he brought both his fists down, making Spider-Man roll out of the way, and crush the already wrecked car into scrap metal.
Spider-Man launched a web line that attached to a manhole cover and flung it right at the large villain. Rhino didn't seem bothered as he caught the flying disc heading towards him and bent it in half and tossed it aside. Rhino charged again and tried to bring his fist down, but this time Spider-Man blocked the attack, but that didn't stop it from being painful.
'Never met anything...stronger than me...before.' Spider-Man thought as he could feel his muscles aching even further from trying to hold back this guy's attack. Rhino then kicked the hero with his massive foot, sending him sprawled out on the pavement and groaning in pain. "And there goes...the rest of my bones."
"What's the matter, bug? No witty comebacks? No quips?" Rhino mocked as raised his foot over the hero's head. "Here, let me put you out of your misery." Before Rhino could make good on his threat, a couple baterangs attached themselves to his shoulders, before exploding and sent stumbling back. "What the?!"
Batman soon came gliding down before double kicking on the Rhino's exposed face that sent him stumbling back even more before kneeling down to his friend. "Spider-Man, you okay?"
"I've been better, but otherwise okay." Spider-Man said as he was helped back up.
"Be careful you two. Whoever this is, he's got some powerful offensive and defensive capabilities."
"Yeah, and I felt every bit of it." Spider-Man said.
Rhino stood straight as he glared at the two heroes. "Two heroes in one night, huh? Looks like I just hit the jackpot."
"Yeah, you just won a one-way ticket to prison." Batman said as he got in a fighter's stance.
"Or better yet, a zoo." Spider-Man quipped.
Rhino roared in fury as he charged at the two heroes, who managed to move out of the way in different directions. Batman then came in and delivered a couple of punches to Rhino's face, but the large villain just backhanded him away, sending him crashing into a streetlight post.
Spider-Man jumped up from behind and used a cool-left web lines to send two large pieces of rubble right into the Rhino's back, sending him stumbling forward before turning to face the hero. Spider-Man launched another web line another large piece of rubble before sending it right at Rhino, but this time the villain bent down and shattered the rubble with his horn.
Rhino charged at the how and managed to grab onto him before tossing him right at Batman, causing the two heroes to crash into each other and sprawled out onto the ground.
"So...we winning yet?" Batman said with a groan.
"I'll let you know when I can feel my toes again." Spider-Man muttered.
"Wayne, I'm not sure how much longer we can last." Batman said in his earpiece.
"Stay calm, I'm sending you your escape route."
As both heroes got back up, the ground shook as Rhino charged right towards them. Batman used his rocket boots to fly out of the way, Spider-Man jumped to the side when Rhino got too close, and followed it up by launching a web line right to the side of Rhino's head, and zipping in close to kick the side of the villain's face. This caused Rhino to lose his balance before tripping up and crashing into the side of a building.
Rhino got back up and was about to charge again, but was soon pelted by even more explosive baterangs by Batman who flew up above him. He ran out of them soon enough, before switching to his electric baterang and threw it at the villain. The moment the special baterang imbedded itself in Rhino's armor, the electric current coursed through his entire body, and started to make it jittery.
"What...the..." Rhino said as his entire body seemed to twitch and freeze up in place.
"What's up with him?" Batman asked.
"I don't know." Spider-Man said before looking up in the sky. "But it looks like our getaway ride is here."
Both heroes looked up to see the Batmobile flying right above them. Batman launched a grappling hook at the vehicle while Spider-Man launched a web line, both attaching to the flying vehicle as it flew off, taking them both with it.
The electricity wore off as Rhino was able to move properly and looked up to see the two heroes flying off.
"Where's all that bravado now, Spider-Man?!" Rhino called out to the retreating duo. "There's a new tough guy in Gotham, and his name's the Rhino!"
Meanwhile, inside the flying Batmobile, Spider-Man and Batman sat in the seats and the former was holding his sides in pain, and was feeling extremely exhausted.
"That could have gone better." Batman said as he took the controls.
"Yeah...it really...could have..." Spider-Man mumbled in exhaustion before he slowly lost conscious.
"Nick...Nick!" Terry exclaimed as he wasn't getting a response from his best friend.
/
Nick slowly began to open his eyes, as he started to regain consciousness. His vision was blurry at first, but it slowly started to come back and he saw that he was back in the Batcave, and that he had his mask and top half of his costume removed. He slowly sat back up and could see that he was laying on some kind of medical bed, and that his abdomen was wrapped up with some gauze.
"Hey, man, how you feeling?" Terry, who was also out of costume and looked pretty beat up, walked up to him.
"Pretty lousy, but happy I'm alive." Nick responded. "How long was I out?"
"For about three hours." Terry said, causing Nick's eyes to widen to widen in shock.
"Oh man, Grandpa Joe is going to kill me!" Nick said in dismay.
"Not to worry." Both teens looked to the side to see Bruce sitting at the computer and typing away, looking at footage of their fight with Rhino. "I called Terry's mother and your grandfather and said you were staying here for the night. That you both were exhausted after helping me with some errands and decided on staying here."
"That's a relief." Nick said, as he didn't want to worry his grandfather. "So, Mr. Wayne, how bad is the damage."
"This was the condition you were in when you came in." Bruce said as he showed Nick an x-ray of his skeleton that had multiple fractures and broken bones. "Any person like his would have taken weeks, possibly months, to fully heal."
"Wait, you said that 'was' the condition." Terry noted what his mentor said. "So, then what is it now?"
Bruce typed a few keys on the computer to show another set of x-rays from Nick, but this time the skeleton was almost completely repaired, minus a few fractures here and there. "It seems that your body has a healing factor that, while not as advanced as others, has managed to repair most of the damage. Still, you'll be feeling some discomfort for a while."
"Yeah, I'm definitely feeling that." Nick groaned as he held his side.
"Man, strength, extra senses, scaling walls, and a healing factor. You've got the jack of all trades when it comes to super powers." Terry said with a chuckle.
"A lot of good they did me tonight though." Nick said with a sigh, before looking at Bruce. "Mr. Wayne, I'm sorry, and you're right. I was getting overconfident, and it nearly cost me. I thought I could take on that Rhino-guy alone, and I got my butt handed to me big time."
Bruce stared at him hard, but Nick could see in his eyes that he had a look of understanding. "Sometimes the hardest lesson we have to learn the hard way, is that we're not invincible, no matter how much we try to deny it. There's always going to be something that'll be stronger than us."
"I suppose fighting for as long as you have, you've come across things like that." Terry guessed.
"I've seen things that would make any lesser man cower in fear." Bruce said with a far-off look, remembering all the battles he's had not just by himself, but with his old friends, the Justice League. "I've faced things that most ordinary men couldn't comprehend, but I always got back up and faced it head on, and do you know why?"
"Because you're Batman?" Nick guessed with a smirk.
"No." Bruce said instantly. "Because I knew that if I didn't face those things, then people would get hurt. People we have to protect, by putting our very lives on the line, no matter the cost."
Nick looked at the old hero in awe and realized he was right. That was why he decided to become Spider-Man in the first place, to make sure that no more innocent people would get hurt, or that no kid loses their parents...like with him and his parents, and Terry and his father.
"Look, you may have been going solo for a bit, but now you've got me helping out." Terry said as her smiled at his friend. "You're not going at this alone anymore, so let's get back out there and take that guy down."
Nick smiled back in determination at his friend before getting up and clasped his friend's hand. "You got it. Let's send that Rhino-guy back to the endangered species list."
Bruce couldn't help but smile with pride at the camaraderie between the two. It almost reminded him of the time he and Dick worked together in their early days of partnership, or of him and Superman when they would team up. In a sense, these two were a new incarnation of a dynamic duo.
Or a new generation of World's Finest.
"Optimism is only the first part of the battle, there's still the matter on how to take down this Rhino-person." Bruce said as he got back to typing on the large computer.
"Well then..." Nick said as he put on the top part of his costume, smiling with new found pride as he held his mask. "Let's get to work."
/
Rhino smiled with pride as he marched up to the doors of the Dogs of War hideout and knocked the doors down, before crouching drown so he can enter. "Guess who's back and bigger than ever!" Rhino called out, wearing stunned looks from every Dogs of War member in there.
"O'Hirn...is that you?" Omen of the gang members asked in awe and fear. "We all thought you were in prison."
"Name's Rhino now, and I was granted an early parole." Rhino said as he grabbed a handful of canned bears, held them over his head with his mouth open, and then squeezed them so the liquid came cascading down into his open mouth. "But enough about that, it's time to celebrate!"
"Celebrate?" Another member said in confusion. "Celebrate what?"
"For a new age in Gotham and the Dogs of War!" Rhino said in a triumphant tone, causing every other member to smile. "And best of all, to the end of Spider-Man and Batman!"
"YEAH!" All the members cheered as they raised their cans and glass of beer in their air.
"Really now?"
Everything became quiet as everyone looked in the direction of the shadows, and could see the shadowy-figure of their boss, with his face well hidden. A lot of the members that were relatively close to him moved out of the way, as the tone of voice he was using indicated that he was not happy. Then again, they never seen him happy so this was pretty standard to them.
"Boss-man!" Rhino said happily, not really reading the room. "I thought you'd like to know that everything went great! Spider-Man and Batman couldn't even leave a scratch on me!"
"Impressive, but I can't help but feel like something is missing." The gang leader said.
"Yeah, what's that?" Rhino asked curiously.
"Where are their bodies?" The leader asked in a dangerous tone. "Where are their heads mounted? Do you have their masks as proof?
That got Rhino's eyes to widen with worry, as he now started to see why his boss sounded upset. "Well, I would have had those things, but they got away at the last minute."
"So you failed." The leader said, his tone becoming harsher.
"I still managed to send them running scared." Rhino said in his defense. "You should have seen them cowering. They couldn't even land a single scratch on my armor, and I even managed to break their bones!"
POW!
One straight punch from the Dogs of War's leader sent Rhino flying right out through the open doorway, sending crashing into the street. Rhino leaned up and had a ship led look on his face, as his boss continued to glare at him.
"Listen, and listen good, O'Hirn." The gang leader in a stern tone. "The assignment was never to 'break' them, it was to end them, and you failed. Until you can achieve those specific results...you are no longer welcomed into the Dogs of War."
"What?!" Rhino exclaimed in shock. "But you can't do that!"
"I just did." The leader said as he picked up the broken-down doors and placed them back into place. "If you want to be part of this gang ever again, then the next time you show up again you better have their heads on a platter." With that said, the leader slammed the doors shut right in Rhino's face.
Rhino could only look on in shock at what just transpired. The Dogs of War, the very gang he gave his blood, sweat, and tears for, the gang that took him out of the gutter when he had no place to go, and the only place he has ever had respect in, just kicked him out.
The large villain glared at the closed doors as he got back up. "You want their heads?! You want to see their dead bodies?! Fine then, I'll give you exactly that!" Rhino exclaimed as he stomped right off. "I'll crush those two heroes under my heel, and then you'll be begging me to come back!"
/
"So, who are we dealing with exactly?" Terry asked as he and Nick watched the computer monitor display a picture of O'Hirn before he gained the Rhino armor.
"His name is Alex O'Hirn. He used to be a bodyguard for a nightclub, but was soon fired after failing to prevent a riot in the club that led to several patrons being injured." Bruce explained as he read the man's file. "Soon after he was evicted from his apartment after being unable to pay the bills, and was even arrested for petty theft."
"With how much life kicked him down, it's no wonder he joined up with the Dogs of War." Nick said, actually feeling sorry for the guy for being dealt a bad hand.
"How does a guy like that managed to get tech to make him into a living battering ram?" Terry asked.
"They shouldn't. They're just some street gang that's been moving in and taking Joker territory, and I've never seen them steal the tech needed to make that armor." Nick said with a trouble look on his face. "We're just going to have to take him down and ask him that ourselves."
"The question is how are we supposed to do that?" Terry asked as the screen then displayed footage from his and Nick's fight with Rhino. "Even with Nick's strength and my suit and weapons, nothing we tried did anything to him. No way we can outmuscle him."
"This isn't about you outmuscling him, it's about outthinking him." Bruce said as he gave both of them a critical look.
Nick's eyes widened as one particular moment flashback into his mind. "Terry, I think one of your weapons did do something to him." Bruce followed where he was going and displayed the image of Rhino freezing up as soon as the electric baterang hit his armor. "Seems that even he has an Achilles heel." Nick said with a smirk.
"The joint modules of the armor must short circuit whenever an outside electric current courses through it." Bruce deducted.
"Great, so all we need to do is hit him with enough electric baterangs and he's down for the count." Terry said, happy that they at least have something they can use against him.
"It's not that simple." Nick shot down. "We have something that can immobilize him for a moment, but you don't have enough of those to completely shut down the armor." Nick looked down in thought on what there next move should be, but then his eyes widened as an idea came to him. "Hold on, I think I have an idea!"
"What is it?" Bruce asked.
"It's slightly crazy, but I think it might just work. The first thing we need to find Rhino though." Nick said. Soon an alarm sounded and the computer displayed a location in Gotham.
"Something tells me that's not going to be an issue." Terry said as he and Nick put on their masks and made their way to the Batmobile.
"Well, better not keep him waiting." Nick said as they both hopped in the vehicle. "I'll tell you about the plan along the way."
"Good luck, you two." Bruce said as he watched the Batmobile fly off and out of the cave.
/
It was chaos in the streets of Gotham as Rhino rampaged through streets. Crushing cars, ripping lamp posts from the sidewalk, frightening civilians, no damage was too much for him. If it can get the heroes to come out of hiding, then so be it. A couple of police hover vehicles came up from above and laid down fire, but their shots just bounced right off of Rhino.
"Come on! I came here looking for the heroes!" Rhino exclaimed as he grabbed a wrecked car and threw it at the hovering police vehicles, forcing them to move out of the way. "Did I scare them out of Gotham?! Come out and fight me!"
Rhino heard a noise and looked up to see the Batmobile flying high above, before he could see Spider-Man and Batman leap down from it and land right in front of him.
"Alright, you know what to do?" Spider-Man whispered.
"Just follow the plan." Batman whispered back before looking at Rhino. "We got your invitation."
"Thought you two ran off scared." Rhino said with smirk as he punched his open palm. "Glad to see you're both gluttons for punishment."
"Like we'd be scared of a guy whose permanent head ware is a party hat." Spider-Man joked as he gestured to Rhino's horn.
Rhino growled in anger as he rushed forward with his fist reared back. Batman and Spider-Man dodged out of the way when he brought his fist down, before Spider-Man webbed zipped right past Rhino and punched him in the face, with Batman following it up with a round kick in the face. Rhino grunted in pain for a brief second before he grabbed Batman in his hand and threw him in the air. Batman was able right himself in midair with his wings and rocket boots.
Spider-Man came in from behind and launched two web lines on Rhino's back and yanked him back with all his strength, causing Rhino to fall flat on his back. Batman came flying from above and threw a few explosive baterangs at the downed villain, before they exploded and created a large dust cloud.
"How much you want to bet he's still not down and out?" Spider-Man asked as both heroes stood side by side.
They got their answer when Rhino stood back up and roared in anger at the two heroes.
"I'm not gonna take you up on that offer." Batman deadpanned.
"Time to initiate the plan." Spider-Man said. "So, O'Hirn, right? Did you seriously wanted to go for a whole Rhino shtick?"
"What are you getting at?" Rhino asked with his eyes narrowed.
"I mean, aren't rhinos supposed to be the dumbest animals on the planet?" Spider-Man joked, causing Rhino to growl in anger at the insult. "I mean, they have one of the smallest brains ever, and you wanted to imitate that of all animals?"
"Maybe he picked it because he never had much of a brain to begin." Batman said, joining in on the fun. "I mean, did you get so big in muscle because you were trying to compensate for something?" Rhino continued to growl in anger as he was practically seeing red right now.
"RAAAAAAH!" Rhino roared as he got down on all fours and and charged horn first right at the two heroes.
Spider-Man smirked under his mask as Rhino took the bait, before doing a flip while shooting a glob of web right in Rhino's eyes and landing right on Rhino's back. The hero then used two web lines as makeshift steering ropes and maneuvered the large villain out of the way before he could crash into a building Ned have him continue charging down the streets. Batman unfurled his wings and activated his rocket boots in order to fly after them.
"YEEHAW! Ride 'em cowboy!" Spider-Man cheered as he continued steer the villain.
"Get the hell off me!" Rhino exclaimed.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you're at least not having a little fun?" Spider-Man joked. As they continued speeding down the street, Spider-Man saw a woman talking on her phone crossing the street and didn't notice the charging villain heading straight towards her. "Batman!"
"I'm on it!" Batman said as he saw the woman as well.
Putting all power into his rocket boots, Batman dived down right towards the woman, who just began to notice the large villain charging right towards her. She screamed in fear, but before she could get crushed, Batman swooped in and carried her out of the way. The woman gasped in disbelief as Batman landed on the sidewalk, surprising the many onlookers who witnessed his heroics.
"Are you alright?" Batman asked the woman.
"Yes...Yes, I'm okay." The woman said as she continued to stare at Batman in awe. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Batman said before activating his rocket boots and chasing after his friend, who I still steered the large villain.
As he was steering the large villain, Spider-Man looked on and noticed the location he was wanting to get to, the power plant. "Okay, Rhino, let's take a little detour!" Spider-Man pulled the reigns so hard that Rhino veered to the right, heading straight towards the power plant.
They burst through the gates and we're now in an open area with a couple of electric generator pillars, but that was when Rhino finally managed to rip the web off his face. "I've had enough of you hitchhiking!" Rhino said as he leapt off the ground and tried to crush Spider-Man on the ground by crashing back first, but the hero managed to jump out of the way.
Soon Batman came flying in and landed right next to his friend, as they both watched Rhino get back up. "Well, we got him here!" Batman said as they both got in a fighting stance.
"Now for phase two." Spider-Man said.
"You both are dead men! When I rip your heads off and deliver them to the boss, I'm going to make sure there's only pieces of you left!" Rhino exclaimed as he ran right for them, but this time the heroes were prepared.
Batman threw another electric baterang and hit Rhino on the shoulder, causing electricity to surge throughout his armor. This isn't turn caused him to freeze up in place with parts of his armored body twitching.
"Not...again...!" Rhino said through gritted teeth.
"Spider-Man, now!" Batman said. Spider-Man then launched several web lines at Rhino and then jumped around to attach them right onto a bunch of the generator pillars.
"Mr. Wayne, he's all yours!" Spider-Man called out over the comms.
"Hacking into the power grid now."
The generator pillars started to surge with electricity, which the current soon travelled across the web lines and surged right at Rhino.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Rhino screamed in pain as he could feel every volt of electricity surge through his body, caught all functions of his armored suit to shut down.
The heroes stood by and watched until the electic surge died down, causing the current to cease and stop hurting Rhino. The large villain groaned in pain as he looked towards the two heroes, but he couldn't move a muscle. This caused both heroes to smirk as they raised their fists.
"Shall we?" Spider-Man offered cheekily.
"Thought you'd never ask." Batman said as they both raced towards Rhino.
Both heroes then punched the large villain right in the face, sending him sprawled out right to the ground, and completely unconscious. The two of them gave each other a fist bump in congratulations, before noticing several police vehicles flying towards their location. Taking this as their hint to leave, Spider-Man launched a web line to swing away while Batman flew off.
/
Nick and Terry, with their masks off, stood in the batcave with Bruce as they watched a news clip of Rhino being hauled away in an armored truck and transported off to prison.
"They're going to need a big enclosure to hold that guy." Nick said with a smirk.
"I have a feeling that Commissioner Gordon can find a nice cage for this animal to be locked up in." Bruce said.
"Still, it got a little dicey there for a second, but your plan worked like a charm." Terry said to Nick.
"You can't always outmuscle the bad guy; you've got to outthink them to." Nick said as he smiled at Bruce.
"Now you're learning." Bruce said with a smirk.
Nick's smile soon faded as he had a troubled look on his face. "Still though, it doesn't solve the mystery on how a thug from the Dogs of War managed to get tech like that."
"The guy said his boss wanted us dead." Terry noted. "You think he might have access to tech like that."
"I don't know. I've been trying to find the head honcho of the Dogs, but they all seem to be too loyal to rat him out, or too afraid to betray him." Nick said as he remembered his encounters with the gang in the past, plus the Enforcers.
"Then we know what our next move is." Bruce said with determined look. "Whoever the leader of this gang is, it's clearly obvious that he has access to technology to turn his thugs into an almost unstoppable force. We need to find him, and take him down."
"It never ends, does it?" Terry said with a sigh.
"Someday it will, but until then, we've got each other's backs." Nick said as he held up his fist.
"Always." Terry said as he accepted the fist bump.
/
Melanie sat alone in a booth at a diner, with serious look in her eyes. She sat there not really waiting to order something, but rather for a certain phone call she was expecting real soon. All the while, her gaze was a solely focused on the TV where she watched the two news anchors talking about what happened last night.
"As you can see, the large individual, whose armor seemed to resemble that of a rhinoceros, was taken away when his paralyzed body was located in the Gotham City power plant." The male news anchor said.
"That's right, Tom, and normally we would chalk this save to Gotham's own Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, but last night the rumors have been confirmed. Gotham's own Batman has returned." The female news anchor said as the screen showed footage of Batman redacting that woman before she could be crushed by Rhino.
"Well, folks, I for one can sleep peacefully knowing that we have two superheroes watching over us here in Gotham." The male news anchor said before the news changed to something else.
Melanie obviously didn't know what to feel in this situation. Batman has been around even before she was born, so she didn't develop the feelings her family had of him, they just tried to drill them into her. Now that it was confirmed that he had returned, she knew there was no leaving Gotham now. Melanie soon picked up the ringing of her phone and answered it.
"Hello...yeah, I just saw the news...I figured that's what you were going to say...Alright, I'll wait until you arrive." Melanie said before hanging up the phone. She gave a tired sigh, unsure of how to feel about this.
"Hey."
Melanie soon smiled as she looked up to see Nick standing by her booth and gave a nervous smile. He looked like he had absolutely no idea what to do in this situation, which kind of made him cute in her eyes.
"Hey yourself." Melanie said with a smile.
"So, think we can take that rain check for breakfast now?" Nick asked.
"We're here, aren't we?" Melanie asked with a smirk.
"Right, right, dumb question." Nick said as he sat down across from her and they both picked up their menus, with Melanie chuckling a bit.
Maybe staying in Gotham for a bit longer might not be such a bad thing after all.
/
Phew, man was this tough to get done. I did not mean for this chapter to be this long, but I just could not stop writing, and sure enough, it came close to almost 10,000 words. Still, I hope you all like this chapter.
We are now introduced to another awesome Spider-Man villain, Rhino, who I based off of Alex O'Hirn of the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, but I changed his backstory quite a bit, making it a bit more original. The armor is based off of a mix of the Ultmate Spider-Man video game and PS4 video game.
We're seeing more of Melanie now, and I can't wait to have her be more intricate in the plot of the story, as I have some big plans for her and her future. Trust me, with her capabilities, skills, and future plans, she's not going to sit on the sidelines and be 'just the Spider-Man girlfriend.
Next chapter is going to be another Batman Beyond episode adaptation, though I'm not sure when it'll be out, since I have other stories I need to work on.
Until then, I'll see you all next time, everyone! Stay healthy, stay safe!