Part Four
Ben Parker sat angrily in traffic. "What's the hold up?" He murmured. Ben tapped his fingers along the dashboard impatiently, watching the still cars ahead of him that littered the street for as far as they eye could see.
"What's going on up there? Somebody lose a contact." Ben asked exasperated before honking on the horn, "Well at least I know Peter will never have to deal with this." He laughed, "What am I saying? He's a teenager; he'll want a car either way."
Ben sighed, "Well, at least things can't get any worse." Suddenly, the lights in buildings around him vanished and the city was plunged into darkness, "Me and my big mouth."
"Peter?" MJ said in a blackened kitchen, "What happened to the lights?"
"I don't know." He responded, "Hold on, there's a generator in the basement, I'll get it running, just hold tight for a few minutes."
MJ sighed and moved to the wall to lean against it only to bump her head against an open cabinet, "Ack!"
Max Dillon screamed wildly as electrical energy from the thunderstorm flowed through his body into the power grids. He could feel the electrical currents bringing down electrical power across the entire state. Soon he'd go national with this.
Raising one hand he called down another thunderbolt and absorbed the pure energy coursing within. Blood coursed down his nose and mouth but that did little to deter him. He was determined to his plan, even if it destroyed him.
"Peter!" MJ yelled once again, "The generator's working and so is the T.V., hurry look!" She called from the living room of the Parker home.
He rushed up from the basement, faster than she could have anticipated and joined her at the television. "What's up?"
"Look." She said pointing to the television.
"If you're just joining us, we will repeat again." The news reporter stated anxiously, "Just a few moments ago all of New York State has lost power and the problem is spreading to Queens and Jersey. The reason is somewhat unbelievable, a remote camera made this recording."
The image of a man standing on the top of the Empire State Building filled their screen while the reporter continued to speak. Suddenly, thunder hit the man and poured into the building. Another bolt struck and another.
The reporter stumbled over his words, still stunned at the image, "Eyewitnesses are labeling the mystery man, Electro. It's unclear at this time if he is a Mutant but government units are reportedly scrambling to get some sort of data."
Peter closed his fist and stared at Electro uneasily. Millions of people would be without power, there was no telling of who would take advantage.
"Go." MJ whispered.
Spider-Man swung towards the Empire State Building. He fired web-lines with the ease and practically glided through the air. Thunder furiously pounded the top of the skyscraper.
Peter fired another line and performed a mid-air summersault that took him over the top of a dozen buildings. He effortlessly landed on the top of the building, crouched down and already focused on the source of the blackout. "What happened to you? Got fired from the set of Star Trek and now you're pissed?"
Max Dillon ceased his theatrics and turned around to face the web-slinger, "Spider-Man, what are you doing here?"
"You're lucky the U.S. Army isn't here, the thunderbolts weren't exactly subtle." Peter retorted. "You've had you're fun, Electro, now its time to go."
"Why did you call me Electro?"
Peter shrugged, "Its better than calling you the Battery."
"What are you talking about?" Max said stupefied.
"Forget it." Peter reached out to Dillon, "Now let's get off this roof."
Electro grimaced, "Back off Spider-Man!" He hurtled a bolt of electricity straight towards the hero, blasting him across the chest. The impact threw Peter straight off the roof. He slammed against the side of the Chrysler building, leaving an impact where he had collided.
Peter groaned as he regained his senses, "That one hurt." He fired a web-line that connected close to Electro, "I think I'll return the favor."
Max smiled and prepared to channel another thunderbolt through his body; "Beating Spider-Man was easier than I had expected."
A flash of red and blue streaked past him and landed a blow across his jaw, "Hey, Mr. Duracell, miss me?" Peter inquired landing just a few feet from Electro.
Max stumbled dangerously close to the edge, "You'd better be careful, Spider-Man. That first shot was just a warning; you don't want me to unleash my full power."
"You're right." Peter fired a burst of webbing that enveloped Max, "Guess I better keep you from doing just that."
"Fool." Max said struggling against the webbing, "Do you think that's going to stop me?" He let loose a burst of electricity and burned through his bonds in seconds. "I don't want to have to kill you."
Peter shrugged, "I like you already."
"Go away." Electro demanded.
"No can do, buddy." Peter gestured towards the street, "Why don't we stop this before things get out of control?"
Max grimaced, "I give you a chance!" He discharged a burst of electricity from his hands and hurtled them towards Spider-Man.
Peter hurled himself across the rooftop, barely avoiding the electrical bolts as they zipped past his body. "Be careful, you'll poke somebody's eye out."
"You haven't seen anything yet!" Electro fired a stream of electrical energy and sent it straight for Peter. Parker pulled off a back-flip and dodged the stream by mere centimeters.
But Electro was one step ahead. He changed the course of the stream and he managed to finally hit Peter with a powerful blast of electricity. "Heh."
Spider-Man roared in agony as the energy surged through his body. Peter fell to his knees gasping for air. He clutched the center of his costume to find a portion of the fabric had been burned away, "This isn't looking good so far." He remarked in between breaths.
"You, see, Spider-Man?" Electro clenched his fist mightily, "You can't stop me! Nobody can."
"Why?" Peter asked, failing in trying to rise to his feet.
Electro grimaced, "The world scorns me, so I'll scorn them. They won't have Max Dillon to push around anymore." He pointed his index finger towards Spider-Man, "And neither will you." A bolt of energy lanced forth and electrocuted the web-slinger.
Peter contorted under the relentless assault. "I can't keep this up." The fabric covering his left shoulder burned away under the high voltage.
"Now you die!" Max magnified his attack and the mere force his power threw Spider-Man off the roof.
"Not so fast." Peter fired a web-line that caught Electro on his chest and gripped his end tightly, "Away we go!" Both men fell off the top of one of the largest buildings in the city.
Electro struggled to pull the line off his chest as they fell to the streets. "I won't be stopped!" He electrified the line. The current traveled along the webbing and zapped Peter who was holding on to the other end.
Peter immediately let go and fired another line that halted his descent, "Electro!" He called out realizing that his foe had no way of stopping his own fall. Peter let go of his line and dived after Electro.
He moved at amazing speeds, faster than any human could ever hope to move. Peter closed in on Electro as he tumbled wildly. "Hold on, I got you!"
"Let go of me!" Max screamed and upped the voltage on his own body.
"Ah!" Peter let go of the madman as the electrical current traveled along his arm. Peter fired a web-line and began a gradual descent to the street.
Meanwhile, Max had no such luck. He came crashing down into a parked car, sending debris dozens of feet from the impact. After the dust had settled and bystanders began to close in, Max appeared from the wreckage unscathed, though his suit was in tatters.
He stared fiercely at the onlookers and frowned. "You think that was funny? I'll show you something that's funny!" He placed his hands on the street and electrified the entire ground. The bystanders convulsed as their bodies slowly fried from within. "That's right." Max said sickeningly, "Die."
"Geronimo!" Peter screamed landing on Electro with a massive thud. The street seemed to cave in under Max's feet. "Nothing could have survived that." Peter assured himself, "Nothing."
A sudden discharge of energy hurtled Peter through the air like a rag-doll sending him into the side of a building.
Electro crawled from the crater; his face was battered and bruised. "Can't let that fool stop me, I have to keep moving. I have to show them all!"
Elsewhere, Peter only began to move again. He had left cracks against the side of an office building, but he was still in one piece. He noticed the tear in his mask and ripped off the lower half revealing his bloody lips. "Where's the Energizer Bunny when I need him?" His spider-sense went into overdrive.
Peter pushed off the office building keeping away from Electro's attacks. "Sorry, Duracell-Man, you missed."
"I wasn't aiming for you." Electro said with a smirk on his face and pumped the office building with as much electrical voltage as he could muster.
"No!" Peter screamed realizing what happened. He made a move towards Electro but it was too late.
The entire office building exploded covering the entire street block with fire and ash. Peter relied on his spider-sense to lead him threw the smoke. He moved as fast as he could, the sound of more attacks was already audible. He came dashing out of the smoke and slammed Electro across the jaw with a solid blow.
Electro was thrown threw a café window. Peter took a moment to rest and surveyed the scene. Already bodies littered the street. The carnage around him was something all too familiar.
Peter crashed through the wall of the café and dove on Electro as quickly as he could. He landed two good hits on the psychopath, "Why? Why did you kill all those people?"
"Does there have to be a reason?" Electro inquired spitting out blood onto the floor.
"You're a monster." Peter replied angrily.
Electro shrugged, "I don't care anymore."
Peter grabbed Electro by his collar and raised him off the ground, "You're going away for a long time. Maybe you'll care after you've had a lifetime to think about it in a cramped cell."
"Ha!" Max smiled, "You think I care about being caught? No! I'm here to inflict as much damage as I can!"
"What is wrong with you?"
Max grimaced, "A better question is to ask what is wrong with all those people I just killed. Cattle; every one of them is livestock. They're nothing but cattle and I intent to slaughter them, speaking of which." He fired a bolt of electricity that slammed against Peter's chest and threw him onto the shattered streets.
Peter groaned, he had been fried too many times, he could barely move a muscle. "He's coming; I've got to get up." He struggled in vain, "He's coming, come on!"
Electro stood over his helpless enemy, "Now I am going to kill you, Spider-Man." He raised his hands and charged another blast, "And there is nothing you can do to stop me."