Dedicated to: Everyone who has supported me thus far and believed in me. Those who had enjoyed this fan fiction, who enjoy Spider-man and wait for the DVD and the second movie to grace the silver screen. To my loved ones and my inspiration of the fic Spider-man. ^.^ Thank you to the reviewers and fans who have given me wonderful reviews, thank you Danny Elfman for a tremendous score of this awesome movie, Ted Raimi for a beautiful film, the actors, And thank you to Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott for the song "hero", somehow I've not gotten tired of it yet!
DISCLAIMER: As always I don't own Spider-man or anything affiliated to it. They belong to their own respected companies and the ideas of this fic are mine, surprisingly, except for some of the help I've gotten from some episodes of the cartoons with Mysterio.
The Spider and the Angel by DominoDS
Chapter 13: Caught in the Web
Darkness invaded his soul as he stepped inside. No more games, no more pranks, he had all he could take and he was no longer going to be pushed around by some man wearing a spacesuit with a fishbowl where his head should be. Hell, he was Spider-man! He fought the green goblin, taken care of terrorists and kept the city safe all this time, why should some illusionist suddenly take him down? Ok, maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He wasn't the best damn hero out there, but lately he had been the best thing that had happened to the city. He particularly wanted to keep it that way.
He moved further inside the abandoned theater, everything was dark and quiet, a setting for surprise no doubt. He suddenly wished for some kind of light to guide him around, he may have webbing, incredible agility, spider-sense, wonderful vision, and super strength, but it couldn't really help him out in pitch dark.
A spotlight shot down on him suddenly, causing him to freeze like a deer caught in the headlights as he tried covering his eyes from the glare. It was very little help when he tried avoiding the light, leaping for the side of the wall. Somehow he wasn't able to stick and he slipped off falling hard onto his back in surprise. The familiar cackling laughter seemed to bounce off the walls.
"What's wrong Spider-man? Feeling a little lost? Perhaps I should send down a little tour guide for your amusement." Mysterio's voice spoke with malice and pleasure in one. Spider-man groaned inwardly. 'Great, that's all I need, Mysterio bringing down a new playmate for me..' he thought bitterly.
"Nope. I'll be fine. I think I can find my way around just fine." Spider-man said as he got back to his feet, ducking into the shadows as quick as he could.
"But I insist. Once you meet Jack, you'll never come back." Mysterio laughed over the speaker. Spider-man looked around quizzically not really understanding what Mysterio had really meant. ZING!!! A bullet flashed by him, striking plaster just about his head. He furrowed his brows in worry. No spider-sense?! What was wrong?! This didn't normally happen like this. Another whooshed right past him, this time slicing into the plasterboard just above his head. Finally his spider-sense went off and he threw himself forward into a roll to avoid being crushed by the plaster. It crumbled with a sick thud behind him. He gazed around on all fours, trying to find the source of the problem.
A figure slid out from the shadows, pistol drawn and aimed at Spider-man. He could see the shadow of a hat, and a tunic that covered the body. He began to run possible solutions through his mind, trying to find a reason why the bullet didn't set off his spider-sense.
"Well varmit! You're gonna be road kill!" A robotic voice spouted out from the figure. Spider-man rolled his eyes. 'Great. Robots, my favorite. It had to be a damn robot!' Peter truly had a hate-hate relationship about robots. He felt that robots were just a lame excuse for the lazy not to work. They did all the work for them and part of the time they screwed up just as much as any normal person. He yanked his wrist forward with fury, the white gossamer strands shooting out at an enormous speed and wrapping themselves slickly around the robots head. With another flick of his wrist, the robot's head snapped off and tumbled along the wooden ground. The body soon collapsed in a heap beside it.
"Is that all that you are, Mysterio? A bunch of tricks? You're the biggest coward I've ever seen. You'll never face me yourself will you?!" Spider-man demands as he stood back up searching through the darkness.
"I'm smarter than you think, Spider-man. You should know better than to try any form of psychology on me. A brilliant strategist knows to keep his distance from the enemy rather than to rush off into battle and get himself killed. No I think not. I think you need to earn the right to find me. Search for the clues little spider and perhaps you may get the cheese in the maze for your little mouse."
Just as Mysterio had wanted, more anger swept through him causing him to run out into the darkness trying to find the source of the voice. He wanted him to feel pain, to cry out and beg for mercy for all the trouble he had caused the people of New York, for what he'd done to Mary Jane. HIS Mary Jane Watson. He was tired of sacrificing himself and losing everyone he held dear for it. He would hunt Mysterio down to the ends of the earth and send him straight to hell, even if it meant he'd go with him just to save the woman he so deeply loved.
He kept running blindly forward; his rage guiding him through the confusing maze of night. He placed his palms ahead of him instinctively and felt for the brick wall that he came to. He felt for the door and the knob and twisted it, the piece coming off in his hand. Typical. He shoved the door open and felt it hit the ground. A scraping sound was heard not far from him, with a soft hiss. Spider-man quietly wondered what it was, another robot or something real. He wasn't so sure what to do at that moment, experimentally he leapt to the side of the wall in case danger of some sort was around that his sense couldn't trigger. He felt along for a switch and felt some sort of cord. There was no sudden panic, or the buzzing of his sense so he gently pulled on it, producing light into the room. The buzzing suddenly went off like a screaming alarm in his skull as sharp teeth shot down towards his head. In seconds he had vaulted his body from the wall onto the ceiling and shooting webbing out in a type of reflex towards the attacker. The web quickly wrapped around the foe, stringing the figure against the wall. Heavy jaws snapped viciously, trying to free itself from the trap the spider placed it in. It was a large sewer alligator, which appeared very real. One of Mysterio's real puppets sent to toy with the spider-man.
He sighed shaking his head wishing that Mysterio could finally show his cowardly face. Slowly he gazed around the old theater looking for some sort of exit to continue onto his quest. With quick movement he was out of the room and moving once more in a sort of maze with a soft glow above.
He now appeared out in the main theater where the opera house used to be. He kept his firm grasp onto the wall as he let his eyes search carefully for anything that could be hidden or a trap that lied before him. Then he found her… Carefully positioned onto the stage on a large web, lying unconscious. He looked left, and then right, then up and down to make sure that there wasn't anyone or anything lying in wait for him to come rescue this damsel in distress. After all she could be another hologram like what he had done on the bridge. Horrid thoughts of the hologram on the bridge flashed freshly into his mind, driving a pang of fear into his heart as he gazed down on her. She looked herself she didn't look imaginary. Just…the beautiful MJ he had always loved with all of his heart. His heart skipped a beat as he saw something lower itself onto the web just a few feet from the sleeping beauty. It was a large spider, about the size of both his fists put together climbing down towards Mary Jane. Was it a hologram, a trap, a robot, or the real thing? He couldn't risk it as he saw his heart's desire lying in danger. Leaping off the wall with all his might he jutted out both wrists shooting out a double web and catapulted himself towards the arachnid and his angel. He landed on top of the web effortlessly, shaking the strong web slightly. The spider looked up at Spider-man suddenly, he could see his reflection in the eight eyes that stared up quietly at him. His spider-sense then seemed to cut in, stirring the hairs on the back of his neck. 'Ok, Mopsy is quite real…' he gulped to himself. He glanced down at Mary Jane trying to figure what he should do. He clenched his fists as he bent his knees slightly ready to shoot webbing at the spider. Again his spider-sense went off, this time with more aware with an aching feeling at the back of his mind. It was too late. A solid object slammed into his back hard throwing him forward into the brick wall that rested on the stage.
He felt blood trickle down the left side of his face underneath his mask. Pain exploded in his head as he heard a ringing sound from all sides. He pushed himself up to a crouching position, moving slowly but not meaning to.
"Think I'd let you get off easy Spider-man? Never, you're going down with the rest of those movie director hotshot critics who destroyed my life. You're all alike!" Mysterio screamed. Spider-man turned his head slightly to catch Mysterio standing behind him from the corner of his eye. He then raised his head painfully to see the spider moving in on Mary Jane faster, having reached her outstretched arm already.
'C'mon wall-crawler, think fast before Mary Jane is spider chow,' a voice in his head screamed. Mysterio quickly lowered a vial in his hand. A red mixture swished inside the bottle, very well being the same thing that he had inflicted the citizens with.
"Spider-man! Please! Help us!" A voice yelled.
Spider-man jerked his head about towards the rafters where figures on the brittle beams were trying to balance themselves. He jerked his head left and right between the three, his brain slowing down suddenly trying to comprehend what was going on.
"Time's up Spider-man, I am sorry I believe you lost this round!" Mysterio shrieked as he brought his hand down like a hammer towards spider-man's neck. With the reflexes of lightning Spider-man caught his wrist in mid-motion, gripping sharply. Mysterio grunted in both pain and surprise as Spider-man rose to his feet overpowering Mysterio and bringing him down onto his knees.
"No, I think you've lost this round as well as everything else." Spider-man said darkly, his eyes burning holes into Mysterio's soul as he glared down through the helmet. He could hear the beams cracking, the spider coming closer as his fangs slowly grazed the soft porcelain skin of MJ. At that moment everything happened both quick like lightning and slow at the same time. Snap! With a mere flick of his hand he broke Mysterio's wrist bringing him to the ground in just seconds, his legs buckled and then he shot off the ground, dropping Mysterio's wrist to save the falling 'hotshots'. With a spray hammock of web he saved the sniveling fat cats landing on his heels. Bouncing off its edges, he back flipped towards the web, his eyes catching the creature biting down onto her arm. If at that moment anyone stated that he had ever been obsessed with Mary Jane Watson enough to kill anyone or anything that harmed her then they'd be right. He pounced onto the spider and lost control of all his senses as it all became a blur in his actions. Somehow it ended up across the old opera house…in more than one piece. His anger was laid to rest as he scooped up the beautiful woman, whom he pined over since his days of youth and cradled her in his arms. She had a light puncture wound on her forearm. He drew in a shaky breath as he slowly climbed off the web, carrying her like a prized doll.
"B-by now…she'll be dead… The other's will follow soon." Mysterio said as he tried to sit up, reaching for the vile. Spider-man laid Mary Jane gently on the stage as he moved over towards his enemy. Using his webbing he snatched up the vial before Mysterio got to it. With a sudden jerk he rammed his right fist into Mysterio's helmet, crashing through the glass and breaking the fishbowl on his head. Mysterio whimpered in pain as he fell back into a heap on the floor, not dead or unconscious but in pure fear.
"Now…if you don't tell me what I want to know then you'll be dead." He growled as he yanked off the helmet and gripped Beck's ponytail.
"If you kill me then you can't help anyone!" Beck sputtered, licking blood off the corner of his mouth.
"If you don't tell me then I'll make you wish I had killed you!" Spider-man yelled as he yanked Quentin Beck off the floor in a sudden sweep. Beck cried out as he was raised off the floor.
"Alright! All right! It's not too late! There is one way, and one cure for them…"
* * *
Harry Osborn scowled as he took a sip of his hot coffee while reading the morning paper. The Daily Bugle: On the front cover it read: "Spider-man involved with Mysterio's terrorism of the city?" Sure the cover read as if Spider-man was part of the cause for the illness taken in New York but the journalist haven written the article actually praised Spider-man for his heroic efforts in saving the city and capturing Mysterio. Jonah must have been sick and at home that day if that article had gotten away with being printed.
With a growl, Harry tore up the paper and tossed the shreds onto the ground. So Quentin was going to backstab him, he almost got around to poisoning him as well and while taking his girlfriend, well…ex-girlfriend soon to be girlfriend again if he could help it, and drugging her to the depths of a coma. This partnership was definitely not worth it, not worth the risk or the cost. Something had to be done to make sure that Quentin Beck would not ever squeal on who funded his operations or would ever make it out of the cell blocks.
Slowly he stood up and reached for his coat. "Benton, bring the car round front. We're going for a ride." Harry said as he looked to his chauffeur with a dark look in his eyes….
* * *
A/N: Dun dun dun! One more chapter to go and we're done with this fic. cartwheels yaaaaay! Mid-terms are coming gulp so I will hopefully…get most of the last chapter finished. I already have 3 pages of it done. J so was this ok? Did it suck? Did I rush it? bites nails