CHAPTER 2: Law Of Effect

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Spectacular Characters or Marvel Characters.

Also, there are themes of abuse. READERS' DISCRETION ADVISED.

CHILDHOOD

Usually, your childhood's nostalgia would bring tears of happiness, realizing back then was WAY more comfortable than where you are now. Usually… but not for who the kids at school call, Willy. Back then, he was a huge sixteen-year-old boy. His height was 5'10, while his weight clocked in at 220. He went to Clinton High School, but wasn't all fun. One word to describe it… MISERABLE. The obnoxious students harassed and embarrassed the boy when they got the chance. They called him a fatass, fatty, blobby, lard ass, and any other insult associated with being obese.

Occasionally, he came home with a busted lip, several dark bruises on his light complexion spread across his body, and one whole shattered soul.

However, his home life was better for the sixteen-year-old boy… mostly because of his mother. She made his life tolerable. She baked the most delicious cookies in the neighborhood as the kids smelled the wafting deliciousness from down below. Even when Willy didn't have the best day, his mother embraced him while he cried, listened to his problems, and gave him pastries to take his mind off those kids who bullied him. She wanted her son to be happy because she loved and accepted him for who he was. She was a wonderful mother to him, and he'd like her for it.

On the other hand, Willy's father wanted more from him. To live like a King, to get what he wanted, and don't let anyone get in the way of that. But all he saw in Willy was nothing else but a chubby disappointment. This obese, lazy, and weak child who didn't get what he wanted, because he never chased after it. He's so frustrated at his boy, and all of his frustration built up… occasionally, it led to screaming and intimidation… sometimes hitting and punching… which led to blood on the carpet. Someday he wished it was the other way around.

Most days, he came to school as if he was a puppy that got run over by his dad's car. Most of the time, he quickly changed in the locker room, so no one questioned several bruises on his back. Still, some students caught a glimpse of his dark purple bruises, and it brought chills down their spine. Some tried to talk to him about it, but he refused to open up. If he spoke about it, nothing would change. So he suppress all of it in a jar within him.

However, one typical Friday night, everything would change. Willy's father had a rough week at work; consequently, he lounged on the filthy leather chair and drank the rest of his terrible week away from his memory...

But his wife didn't approve of his heavy drinking, especially in front of their kid and called him out on it. She usually tolerated his heavy drunkenness, but she needed help with the house chores. Plus, she hated to see a bum on the couch. His wife aggravated him because he didn't like to be told about his mistakes. Also, the alcohol reached to his head. The anger he felt needed to be released. Unfortunately, he released his violent anger out on his bride. She backed herself into a corner, afraid of him. Her eyes gazed into his intense amber eyes. She saw the fierce fury in his eyes and immediately knew the man that her husband was no longer there.

He hit her repeatedly with his worn-out leather belt. Their son heard all of it. Willy cried in his bed and tried to muffle the sound of his mother's cries of pain. Her cries grew… louder …. louder… and louder… to the beat of his heart. At that moment, His emotions could not be suppressed. He grabbed his old belt and arrived in the living room. His eyes darted at the woman who birthed him. Being beaten. There were cuts on her arm, and blood dripped from her mouth. Their carpet was stained with her blood as his father stood over her, with the belt held up high, with intent on causing more harm.

At that very moment, Willy saw the vicious monster who abused him his whole life be unleashed before his eyes. He knew exactly his next move and whipped the belt at him. The end of the leather belt struck him, which left the father stunned. He could tell the 'Willy' he once knew was no longer there. Immediately, Willy hit the man… harder… and harder… and harder. He unleashed all of it. The abuse… his cries… her cries… ALL OF IT WAS UNLEASHED. The blood-spattered all over the dirty grey carpet as the man dropped to the floor. Willy then wrapped the leather belt around the man's neck and held it tighter…

and tighter…

and tighter…

until he didn't hear a single breath come out of his father's mouth… again. His body, dead on their carpet.

The days that followed the incident, his mother sent him to his grandparents' home on a simple farm. But before he left her, she reminded him she still loved him for what he was. As for herself, she got rid of her husband's corpse and fled from not only Hell's Kitchen, but New York.

Usually, the remembrance of your childhood would bring tears of happiness, realizing back then was WAY easier than where you are now. But some people don't react the same way to certain things.

But life and people change and move on. Yet, there was Willy, all grown up. He became a 6'7 450-pound juggernaut, and a successful businessman, who made 2.4 billion dollars for his multiple endeavours. He lived a prosperous life in a beautiful white, pristine penthouse.

But he still laid awake at night and struggled to rest. Every time Willy laid awake, he gazed at the same picture of that same woman. He observed her beautiful honey eyes, her luscious black hair, and gorgeous face. His mind wondered every morning if he could have someone as wonderful as Vanessa Marianna.

Willy immediately knew she was the love of his life and immediately married her. They had their whole lives planned out. She was even pregnant with his child. It felt wonderful. Finally, there was someone else who loved him for what he was, just like his mother. However, occasionally, he questioned if he even deserved her. Someone loving, accepting, supporting and understanding of him.

Yet fate said that he didn't deserve her, with this multiple car incident. There were 7 deaths, which included Vanessa and his unborn child. Willy survived, and held her fatally injured body and witnessed her final few breaths. It tore him apart, every time he gazed at her picture, he was reminded of the family that he never had. Even though his past was behind him, the memories still haunted him. However, he couldn't keep dwelling in the past. He had to power himself to rise from his luxurious bed once the sunrise was visible from his penthouse windows. He knew the busy day he had ahead of him. So he dressed in a white silk suit for the occasion.

Especially in the present, his penthouse doors flew open to start off his morning. His representative entered to discuss the plan for the day. He appeared as a clean-cut individual, with his shiny black hair was cleanly combed and parted to the left and matte black square frames. He considered him his one and only confidant and called him Wesley.

"Sir, you need to get downstairs, the car waiting for you."

He agreed, and Wesley led him downstairs.

Once they arrived in the parking garage, the man in the white suit mentioned discreetly, "Wesley, did you reach out to the potential client?"

"Yes, sir, he's waiting in the car," he answered.

Once the car doors were opened, it unveiled their potential client. He appeared to be in his early 40s and wore a raggedy faded suit and baggy trousers.

"You must be the famous Mr..." The man greeted him with a firm handshake.

The rush of anxiety was felt through his sweaty palms.

His composure said everything about himself. From the sweaty palms to his tense posture, he was nervous. But he understood the man's nervous behavior because he was going to ask for something important for him.

"Fisk. Wilson Fisk. I assume you're Mr. MacDonald Gargan," he introduced.

"Yes sir. How are you guys planning to help me?"

"In any way we can, Mr. Gargan. I already have your payment ready. But you must do one favor for me."

"Sir, I'll do anything you ask…" Mac blurted out.

Immediately, Wilson sensed his desperation from the tone of his voice. 'Anything?'

"Excellent," Fisk smiled.

Then his attention shifted to the driver, "Ahem, drive to the ESU Laboratory."

"On it," the driver answered.

…

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY - M3 HIGH SCHOOL

Another week in Peter Parker's life, another week for miserable luck. The 'King Geek' was exhausted by his late-night chores. However, unlike other students, his late-night chores were patrolling Manhattan in tight red & blue spandex, in search of the mysterious Prowler. However, there was no sight of the suspect, which made his Sunday night patrol an absolute waste of his time. Time was important in the young man's life, especially for his late-night curfew. If he was ever a second late past his curfew, his aunt would berate him for it. Although he tried his best to arrive on time. Especially during school days, 'his best' would help him arrive on time.

Unfortunately, not this time, because he was late again. School security caught him sneaking through the halls… again. The only reason he arrived late was because of a cat. He had to rescue the feline that was stuck in a tree just to have it be handed to an ungrateful owner.

All that for a cat, what a waste.

Anyway, he was sent to a classroom filled with other tardy kids. An unlucky teacher had to waste his prep period to watch these tardy students. And Peter was one of them. He slouched over to an empty back seat and put his head down on the desk. He thought of nothing else, except,'Aunt May is gonna kill me!'

After the 1st Period bell roared, he immediately hopped off his seat, grabbed his back, and exited through the door. When he entered the crowded hallway, he was lost in the heavy amounts of people. It was filled with students who headed in one direction, while others went in another. In such a busy hallway, one student was bound to fall and drop all their books and papers. It's a high school cliche' after all. And that happened to one freshman. He dropped all his belongings as others passed by, not with a single attempt to help him. The older students didn't care. Why would they? He's just fresh meat.

Until Peter Parker called out to him, "Hey man, you need help with that?"

The freshman slowly nodded. They took the time and plucked each of the papers off the ground.

"Thanks for the help. I appreciate it."

"No problem, looked like you needed the help… you're new here?"

"Well, it's my freshman year?"

"It's my senior year," Peter admitted, once handed him the last few papers.

"That's cool… gotta name?"

"Peter Parker, yours?"

"Miles… Miles Morales."

"Well, I gotta head to class. See you around Miles," he shook his hand, before they turned their separate ways and headed to their classes.

Peter immediately rushed over to AP Government to avoid another tardy added to his attendance. He dashed through crowds of people and he arrived at class on time but drenched in sweat.

"Parker, what happened to you? Looks like you just ran the mile," Flash Thompson commented. "And you sure smell like it," he added.

'I still don't know how Flash got into AP Gov. Sha-Shan's probably doing his homework for him'

As soon as the students arrived at their seats, their teacher rose from her desk.

"Good morning class. We only have one thing on our agenda today. That is our project. So meet up with your assigned partners immediately," Mrs. Nelson loudly announced. Immediately, those students who were paired up with their friends cheerfully hopped from their desks and rushed to their friends. And the unfortunate few slowly moped over to their groups. That was essentially Peter and Liz Allan. He quietly sat at the desk behind her.

"Hey Liz," he quietly greeted.

All she gave him was a tiny smirk on her face and a soundless, "Hi."

In a blink of an eye, Hobie Brown appeared in front of them.

"Hi, Mrs. Nelson told me I'm part of your group."

"Yeah, you are."

Just then, the group sat there in awkward silence… for approximately 4 minutes. They kept fiddling with their fingers, their hair, or sketched in their books.

However, Hobie broke the silence, which was surprising, since this felt like the first time he ever spoke to them.

"So… what do we do now?" Hobie asked.

"I don't know. Any ideas?" Peter questioned.

"Well, we could meet up somewhere after school?" Liz offered.

"Meet up at that new sandwich place by Clinton Ave," Hobie brought up.

"What place?" The other two questioned.

"Nelson's Meats or something like that."

…

As soon as lunchtime arrived, students rushed out of their classrooms and dashed to the cafeteria. Usually, around this time, Peter would sit at a lunch table alone, because nobody wants to be in the same company as the King Geek. Until a familiar, friendly voice called out to him.

"Pete!" Harry waved at him.

Peter remained confused as he searched through the crowd of people until he saw him.

"Hey, Harry."

"Pete, I tried finding you yesterday"

"Oh"

"Like we haven't hung out for a while. I missed you, bud."

"Sorry man, I've just been busy, you know"

"Yeah, I can tell, dude. Do you get any sleep?"

"Nope. It's funny actually-"

"Still taking pictures of the Webhead?" Harry quickly asked.

At that moment, it felt like an interrogation than anything friendly.

"Yeah Harry, still do… it helps pay the bills," Peter answered.

"But wouldn't you think the feds or the police arrested him? He's… wanted throughout the city."

"Well, they haven't yet."

"Pete, be honest... if you knew who the man under the mask was… would you tell me?" Harry sincerely asked. "Like… don't you know how I feel? I want this guy gone, off the face of the earth, like wouldn't you… want that for your Uncle's killer? He took away someone I cared about." He added.

All Peter did was sit there, awkwardly silent. His eyes fixed on the rusty old lunch table, and his food.

'How could I answer that? What am I supposed to say? I'm the one who took your father away from you… Cuz that's the truth… the cold hard truth'

However, Harry could tell his friend was uncomfortable, through the lack of eye contact and his silence.

So he pat him on the shoulder, and broke the silence.

"Pete look, I'm sorry for being confrontational about this… like you're one of my closest friends, you're practically my brother… you know that. It's just my father… thought of you as the son he'd never had. I would figure that you would feel the same way as I do. But, I shouldn't keep dragging you about this anymore. You had nothing to do with it."

Peter looked up and sincerely patted his best friend's shoulder.

"Thanks, Harry. You know I care, and… I'll help you through this. I get it, more than anyone else in the world, to lose a father"

Just then, a pair of women appeared at their lunch table; the stunning red-head Mary Jane Watson and the gorgeous blonde, Gwen Stacy.

"Pete, where were you during 1st period? It's unlike you to be late again," the blonde asked.

"Yeah Tiger, what's up with you lately? "

"I'm fine guys," Peter reassured.

"You sure, Tiger? If there's anything we can do… to help,"

"I'm fine MJ… seriously, I just overslept these past few days… I'm lucky I'm only late twice"

"Well, did you at least add anything to the presentation?" Gwen cross-examined.

"What presenta- Oh CRAP. I forgot!"

"Peter… you serious. That thing's due later this week!" she emphasized.

"Yeah, I know. But I promise I won't forget to work on the English presentation."

"Tiger, we can work on it at my aunt's house," the redhead offered.

"Really?"

"Mhmm"

"That sounds good, MJ. I'll just let you know when my schedule is open."

E.S.U LABORATORY

The matte black SUV arrived at Empire State University, near the laboratory entrance.

"We have arrived, sir."

"Mr. Fisk, what are we doing here at the ESU college campus?" Mac questioned.

"We are here for your appointment," Wesley sharply mentioned.

"What appointment?"

"To prep you for your job that Mr. Fisk has provided for you," Wesley answered.

"I'm gonna work at a lab?"

"No… you will be the product of the lab, Mr. Gargan. Allow me to explain your situation here. Your recent employment was with the late Mr. Osborn. It's unfortunate what happened to him. And with his passing, you're out of a job. Which led to the lack of money to support your ill daughter. Now, why did this all happen? This happened because of vigilantes, one in particular, Spider-man. Men like him believe they are cleaning this beloved city, but in reality, they are tearing it apart. Spider-Man has shown his true colors, which makes him a threat to New York. And these threats need to be taken out," Wilson explained.

"Why are you telling me this, Mr. Fisk? You want to find a hitman?"

"Not a hitman. I'm telling you, you can be the hero this city needs. You'll be protecting this community you've called your home for years. I will even provide economic support, the support you needed for your unfortunately ill daughter. All you need to do is take out those masked men and you'll get your pay."

"That sounds all nice, but I can't do that, even if I wanted to. I can't take on those guys. I'm not capable of it," Gargan admitted.

"True, you can not take on those guys yet. But with the right equipment and motivation, you can. Everything will be provided for you. All you gotta do is take out these men and you'll get your payment. Promise, I'm a man of my word."

"Fine… just these guys, then I'm done…" he agreed.

"That is excellent to hear. Now Wesley will escort you to your next destination, Mr. Gargan. Good luck."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have a speech to write," Wilson answered.

Then he turned to his confidant, "Wesley, if this doesn't go as planned, tell me immediately so I can call her in case. Also, make sure Dr. Warren receives his payment."

"It'll all be done, sir," Wesley assured.

"I count on it," Fisk confidently responded.

Immediately, the two men exited the vehicle, their vehicle drove away. Fisk's Security quickly ushered both men into the Laboratory doors.

NELSON'S DELI

Once Peter arrived at the designated place, he saw several customers that were inside the building. Although he spotted one familiar customer, Midtown Magnet very own varsity captain, Liz Allan. She sat at the back table, fiddling with her cell phone.

He strolled at her table and greeted her, "Hey… Liz."

"Hi…" She solemnly mouthed.

"I guess Hobie's a no-show, huh?"

"Yeah…" her voice rasped.

"C-can I sit here?" He stuttered. She responded with a small nod, so he dragged out the chair. He sat there silently as he awkwardly played with his thumbs. "So… h-how was cheerleading practice?"

"Um... it went fine," She bluntly answered.

"That's good. Um, are you hungry? I have some money-" Peter offered.

"I'm on a vegan diet, so no meat for me."

"Oh, I'm sure this place offers salads…" he assumed.

'When did she become vegan?'

"Petey, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to mend things together, like nothing happened. But it'll never happen. The only reason we're here was that we have to wait for Hobie for this stupid project. We should get this project done and… we are done… we don't speak again. I know you don't want to do this project as much as I do… so this is, for both our sakes," Liz sternly expressed.

But through her stern mask, Liz was hurting. From her lack of eye contact, the shaky tone of her voice, and her nonexistent will to look at him.

"Fine… but we have to find some lawyers to interview. Do you know any?"

"Excuse me, are you two searching for lawyers?" The owner kindly intruded.

"Yeah… do you happen to know anyone, sir? We need to interview one for a project," Peter asked.

"Why interview one, when you can interview two! My son has a new law firm in Hell's Kitchen. Go check them out."

Mr. Nelson handed each of them a flimsy business card.

"Nelson And… Murdock. Attorneys At Law," Liz read.

"The address is at the back of the card," the man acknowledged.

"Thanks, sir," Peter thanked.

"Do you think we should tell Hobie?" she questioned.

"Well, he looks like he's a no show. We'll tell him tomorrow we checked this place out."

NELSON & MURDOCK ATTORNEYS AT LAW

Once the pair arrived at the given address, they entered the building complex. Peter slowly opened the door for Liz with a polite smile on his face. But she entered with a snobby look on her face. After walking up a couple flight of stairs, they found the door. Peter took a deep breath before he had the honor of opening the door, to which their eyes focused on the two adults who stood in front of them. One of them had very brown shaggy hair, and a dumbfounded look to his face, while the woman had very long straight blonde hair, with a welcoming smile on her face.

"Excuse me. Hi. Um, are you Franklin Nelson?" Peter asked.

"Yep. You could call me Foggy though," the shaggy-haired man approached them and shook their hand.

"Allow me to introduce our secretary, Karen Page," Foggy introduced, which the blonde woman approached them, and shook their hand.

Foggy asked, "What is it we can help you with… although high school kids don't need legal help, unless-"

"Uh, no… we don't need legal help. I'm Peter Parker. This is my partner, Liz Allan. The owner of the Deli on Clinton Ave referred us here…"

"So, my father brought you here?" Foggy asked.

"Yes, Mr. Foggy. He even gave us your card," Liz showed him the business card.

Karen's eyes glowed so brightly, and pulled him aside.

"Foggy, how many business cards did you give to your dad? Because we are running out."

"I gave him a few… hundred," he answered.

Karen's reaction was a simple facepalm, being absolutely dumbfounded.

"Foggy, really!"

"I thought it would help… and look, It did! These kids found us through those cards."

"But he doesn't need all the 'few hundred' business cards you gave him. Ask for a few back," she urged him.

"Fine I will…"

Karen smiled and immediately turned to the two high school kids.

"Anyway, how can we help you guys today?"

"Well, Ms. Page, we have this school project, where we have to interview lawyers about the importance of law-"

Suddenly, the office door opened behind them, which entered a blind man, catching everyone's attention. He wore rose-colored sunglasses and a baggy, grey untailored suit. His brown hair was scruffy, like his soft stubble. His face wasn't in the best shape, either, with a few cuts that dried up and scabbed. And he even had a bruised cheekbone.

"Hey Mat- whoa, what's up with the busted lip?" Foggy observed.

"What happened to you?" Karen concernedly asked.

"Guys, guys, I'm fine. I just fell down the stairs… again," he insisted his friends.

"You should really ask for a lower level apartment? It's a safer option for you," Karen proposed.

"Karen, Foggy, I'm fine. I promise you. Anyway, I feel the presence of two other people in the room. Are these… potential clients?" The blind man questioned.

"No… um-guys, this is my business partner, Matt Murdock." Foggy introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Murdock," the students answered.

"Matt, these highschool kids need us for their project," their secretary mentioned.

"What kind of project is it?" Matt asked.

"It's an interview, well, more like a documentary," Peter clarified.

"Like a 4-5 minute documentary on the importance of the Law."

Immediately, Peter felt a vibration through his pants pocket. He quickly pulled his phone out with the notification that the Daily Bugle had called him. Then he got a text from Ned Lee. 'Peter, someone's here attacking the bugle! Can you try to find a way to get Spider-man?' - Ned Lee.

'You gotta be kidding me!'

"Guys, I'm really sorry, I have to go, cause this guy is terrorizing my boss and the Bugle, and if I don't go… they might fire me, mostly he will…"

"You're serious?" Liz irritably turned to him.

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Peter. We hope we could help you with your project, and that your boss is in good health," Matt kindly acknowledged.

Peter firmly shook Matt's hand and gave Liz a quick glance before he dashed out the office door. 'Why does his voice sound familiar?' Matt questioned himself.

Meanwhile, his aggravated partner, Liz, crossed her arms and bitterly grumbled, "Petey… does that sometimes…"

THE DAILY BUGLE

The Bugle was in absolute chaos. The employees frantically fled from the enormous threat that was inside J. Jonah Jameson's office. This large threat had a great, green tail with a stinger at its tip, razor-sharp claws, and dark green full-body nano-armor. Its eyes were large and glowed green through the darkness of the helmet.

"Jameson, where's the Parker kid?!" the threat interrogated.

"PARKER? Why do you need Parker?!" Jameson barked back.

"I just need him- please, no one needs to get hurt," the menace insisted.

"No one needs to get hurt?!… Then why are you terrorizing MY WORKPLACE! Little holes in your reasoning there! So you have 2.5 seconds to-"

"Just need to find the kid, Jameson. He'll lead me to Spider-Man. That's all"

"SPIDER-MAN? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH HIM?!"

"Only business."

"Then you shoulda ask. Not ask Picklepuss for my whereabouts-" a certain webhead intruded.

"SPIDER-MAN!" both men shouted in unison.

"Yep, the one and only. Although I truly do appreciate you scaring the living crap out of Picklepuss right now. You're also harming innocent bystanders. So let's say we should take this outside!"

"Agreed."

The green figure dropped Jameson and charged at Spider-Man.

"Let's make this quick," He sharply added.

The monstrous man grabbed Spidey and swiftly threw him through the brick wall. But the webhead immediately recovered and swung himself to the rooftop.

"Let's play chase the Spider! Sound like a fun game for ya?!" The Webhead declared.

Instantly, the large foe appeared in front of him, startling Spidey for a sec.

"Wow, you're much larger than I thought. But hey, we're both arachnids, you being a scorpion, with that stinger of yours, and cuz you kinda look like one… and me being your friendly neighborhood spider-man… can't we work our differences out!" Spider-Man acknowledged.

"No."

Scorpion launched himself at Spidey and viciously attacked. While Spider-Man's attacks were quick and acrobatic, his foe's attacks were sloppy and rather desperate. He threw himself like a rag-doll, which created plenty of damage. But his punches released immense power, much more powerful than Spidey's. And the strength of the monstrous tail was overwhelming. The Tail aggressively took hold of the Webhead's body. Every attack from that tail sliced through the spandex suit on his arm, lower torso, and chest. But the tail's biggest strength was its grip because it could squeeze its victims like an anaconda. And unfortunately, Spidey couldn't avoid that attack.

"I gotta say… loving the big green eyes, although the green big tail is a bit… much," Spidey pointed out.

"Are you usually this CHATTY?" Scorpion snarled.

"WOW… you do not know me at all!"

Immediately, the tail slithered onto his neck and actively squeezed onto him. Spider-Man felt trapped, barely could feel his chest. Slowly, he started to see black spots cover up his vision.

Then his foe thrashed the defeated wall-crawler on the ground. He bounced the body as if it was a mere basketball.

"I'm really sorry, kid… I really am. Nothing personal"

'Boy, heard that one before,' Spidey remembered Shocker used to say the same thing.

Before the monstrous individual was ready to land the final blow, strong winds picked up around him.

It was an NYPD helicopter.

"STAND DOWN FREAKS! PUT YOUR HANDS UP! DO NOT MOVE OR WE WILL SHOOT!" They announced it on the megaphone.

The individual turned around and witnessed the police before him. Their weapons pointed directly at them. He released the grip of his tail and dropped the webhead to the floor.

"I'm sorry about this," Scorpion muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his tail launched a liquid projectile from to the cockpit of the police helicopter. Instantaneously, the cockpit fell apart, piece by piece. The cops inside felt like they're burning inside and lost control of their chopper.

Spider-Man, who faced flat on the ground, heard their screams. After all the loud grunts of pain, he still rose back up. Once he was up, there were no signs of his foe.

So next task; he had to save those cops inside, no matter how broken his body was. He launched himself at that helicopter and created a platform through his webs. Then he quickly launched webs at each side of the helicopter.

"Please hold, please hold!"

And it did hold, and slowly but safely landed on the thick web platform.

He carefully crawled toward them and checked in, "You guys okay?"

Both cops quickly nodded, which brought relief to the hero.

Until the officers from below called out to Spider-man, "FREEZE SPIDER-MAN! DO NOT MOVE!"

They pointed their guns dead at him, ready to fire.

"OHHH C'MON!" The Web slinger exclaimed as he instantly dashed from the police, and their bullets.

…

As the time of day passed, Spider-man sat there at a ledge of the Chrysler Building. He stared upon the beautiful City of New York that he called home. The place that he's protected for a year with the help of his wittyness, web-shooters, wall-crawling abilities and spider-sense. But recently, his home hasn't accepted him back with open arms. From police officers ready to arrest him any second they get to citizens who've labeled him as a freak… it just reeked.

'I protect this city at night… but people have become ungrateful, and now cops are coming after me… I mean, they've always been after me, especially after Normie died. What if this isn't what I was called to do-'

Suddenly, a familiar sultry voice interrupted his thoughts, "Didn't think I would see you here, Handsome." Her voice was soft, yet flirtatious… he knew it instantly.

"Hey, Cat… wait CAT?!"

He turned around and saw a snow haired broad in black leather. From the outfit to her sharpened claws, it was all too familiar for the notorious Black Cat.

"Of all the people I thought I'd see today, you're the last person I'd expect."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, last time… uh nevermind… actually"

'I wonder if she… just forgot about it?'

"You don't sound very cherry, swinger?"

"Well, being wanted for arrest isn't the best feeling and the fact that I got beat by this green dude with a tail."

"Wait, the green dude with a tail?"

"Yeah… do you know about him?"

"Well, they've dubbed him the Scorpion"

"Name fits him well. I coined it!"

"There's been whispers from Tinkerer about this project, for someone big"

"Wait… you're talking about another Big Man of Crime, how? All the crime lords of New York… from The Master Planner, Tombstone, Silver-Mane to Gobby. They're all gone!"

"So you've taken out his competition. Now he's bigger than any of those Crime lords, even-"

"Tombstone?! No, that's not possible…"

"Spider, he's the biggest of them all."

He paused with one realization in his mind, 'so that man in black was right?!'

"Does this guy have a name?"

"His men have been very secretive, but when a cat starts clawing away at the yarn, it tends to unravel…"

"Unravel… how exactly?"

"One of his men choked on the yarn… and unraveled his name; Kingpin."

"Kingpin? Gotta admit, a better name than Tombstone. But it'll still be fun beating this guy."

"Careful there Spider. You're just a little spider caught up in a larger war," she warned.

"I know this guy is dangerous-"

"No, he's more than that. He has… everyone in his pocket, from the cops to exquisitely trained assassins. And if he ever gets a peek under that mask of yours, he'll come after everyone you've ever cared about…"

"That's why those cops are after me?" he asked.

"Mhmm… his influence had spread like wildfire," she confessed.

"Well… thanks for the info Cat, this helps."

"Don't mention it."

"But what about those reports? I saw where you're involved with the arsons. If we're gonna take Kingpin down together, I gotta know that-"

He turned around to see nobody beside him. She vanished into the vast night, which felt too familiar for the young Spidey.

'This is why I don't do team-ups'

TO BE CONTINUED…