Spider-Man continued down the sidewalks of Manhattan, his mask hidden inside the right pocket of his way-too-big sweatpants he'd managed to find for himself. He'd also managed to dig out some shoes that had the opposite problem, as well as an old New York Mets hoodie that had the strangest smell to it. The power source was tucked in the hoodie's little pouch pocket, his hands gripping it from both sides while also trying to share what little warmth was inside of it as well.
The whole thing didn't exactly project a great appearance, but that wasn't what mattered right now. Besides, even in his short time walking about town this morning, Spider-Man had deduced two things about New Yorkers: a lot of them had very unique styles of their own, and most of them were too busy looking at or speaking on their phones to really notice him anyway, the second of which he especially welcomed. The last thing he wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to himself, since he knew Mysterio was likely looking for him, and he wasn't in a hurry to face him again just yet.
No, what he needed right now was to figure out a few things. He needed to find out who he was underneath the mask, and if there was anyone out there looking for him. After his former ally had revealed his true colors, he needed to find someone else he could trust, someone who could give him real answers about who he was. Also, he really needed someone to tell him what to do with the stolen device he was still holding onto; Spider-Man figured he could just try and discreetly return it but having a little on-site help if things went south seemed like it'd be a good idea.
He'd kept his eyes open for the other Spider-Man, but so far, no sightings had been made. He didn't know exactly what he would say or do if he saw him again, or even if that was the wisest idea, but something in Spider-Man told him that his counterpart might be the person who could at least help him get some answers. He'd had plenty of time to think through some things during his restless, sleep-deprived night, and replaying their second encounter in his head had him all but convinced that perhaps he was Spider-Man's true ally. Granted, there was also their initial encounter, but after everything he'd learned about Mysterio, and especially after what he had to deal with to get out of there, the idea that his first encounter with the other Spider-Man was actually with one of fishbowl head's machines seemed like a likely possibility.
Still, there had to be something that he could do on his own to begin to put together the pieces of who he really was. When a library finally came into view, Spider-Man felt that perhaps this was his opportunity to do so. With any luck, he could use one of the public computers to look up missing persons cases and see if anyone had reported him missing. He had been gone for at least two days, after all.
Trotting up the steps, Spider-Man stepped into the library, quickly finding and sitting down at an open computer. Now that he was in a more condensed space, he found that he was drawing some looks from those around him, but he paid them no mind as he quickly got onto the internet. One thing that did make him a little nervous was actually removing his hands from his hoodie pocket, which was technically exposing the stolen power source within, but he was likely always going to have to at some point anyway. It was still pretty well concealed, so hopefully it would stay that way.
The first thing that he did was run a search on missing persons in the area, hoping that someone had reported him missing in his civilian identity. He scoured through a list of names on a couple different websites of lost individuals in the New York area but found no matches. He remembered that the other Spider-Man had called him "Peter," but no pictures of missing people with that name matched up with his own face.
Disappointed but ultimately undeterred, he decided to try a news website next. He'd seen a couple of billboards for a newspaper called the Daily Bugle on his way in, so Spider-Man decided to head there first. Sure enough, he found their site rather easily, scouring through their latest news stories from the past few days. Unfortunately, he found nothing about a missing individual; not only that, but he found a particularly scathing article on his more public persona.
"Spider-Man & Mysterio Alchemax Theft."
He only skimmed through it, but Spider-Man didn't need to read the whole thing to deduce what it was about. It called into question everything "good" that he'd apparently done in the past and questioning whether he'd "snapped" or just "realized a life of crime might be more profitable." He was surprised how much the words he read stung to see; he obviously still didn't remember all the prior times he saved the city or the people he'd helped, but seeing how people were likely interpreting his actions now without knowing the whole story...it hurt.
His frustration growing, Spider-Man logged off the computer before getting up and exiting the building, stopping once he got out onto the sidewalk. He placed his hands over his face, letting out a sigh. So much was weighing on him right now; he'd found nothing to help him figure out who or where he should go, nor any indication that anyone was even looking for him anyway. On top of that, his life and reputation with the mask on, maybe the one thing he'd actually had that he could use somehow before, was compromised. Going back out in the suit would now likely attract the attention of law enforcement and dealing with that right now was the last thing he needed.
Taking in a deep breath through his nostrils, Spider-Man let it out, trying to relax his restless mind. Once he settled down enough, he began to contemplate his next course of action. Really, it seemed like there was only one thing that he could do that might help him: try and find the other Spider-Man. Given everything that he knew now, he seemed like the most likely individual that he could actually trust, and it seemed like about the only option that he had left. But how was he supposed to find him anyway, just swing around the city in costume and hope that he found him before the police did? There had to be a better way than that.
Spider-Man's stomach suddenly let out a loud rumble, reminding him of something else that he needed to do soon: eat. After the adrenaline had subsided enough after his escape last night was when he first noticed his stomach growling and it had only gotten worse since the morning. Sooner or later, he was going to need to find something to get his energy levels back up which, again, meant that he really needed to find someone who could help him soon.
Before he could decide on his next course of action however, Spider-Man heard a loud explosion in the distance. Almost instinctively, he began running towards it, sprinting around the corner of the library building. He eventually made his way to where he could see that an explosion had indeed rocked a building nearby, with some managing to make their way out of the building either in stunned shock or complete terror. He almost started running towards the building to help people before catching himself, realizing that he might need to change first. Plus, he would need to figure out somewhere to stash the device he was carrying as well.
Acting quickly, Spider-Man hurried over to a nearby alley, removing his outer clothes in favor of his costume. He then tucked away the power source device in a crevice a bit higher up on the building, the technology stashed away safely. From there, he made his way back over to the building. He knew that it was a risk for him to show the costumed side of himself again, but it would still better protect his identity if the police caught him using his powers with his mask on and not otherwise. Besides, perhaps the cops seeing him do this would help his case.
Hurrying into the building, Spider-Man called out for anyone who was there.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?"
His sixth sense suddenly went off just in time to alert him to some falling debris from just above him. He dived out of the way, somersaulting on the ground before springing back up to his feet. Turning and looking at the debris that had nearly hit him, he was reminded that time was of the essence, as he didn't know how much of it he had left.
"Hello?" he called out even louder this time as he began moving through the building. After a moment, he finally heard someone respond, so he followed their calls for help. He ended up finding them in what looked like it had once been a conference room or something, discovering two individuals trapped beneath debris.
"Hang on!" he said as he rushed over to them. "I'm going to get you out of here!" Quickly getting underneath the rubble so that his shoulders were against it, Spider-Man placed his hands against the weight, summoning his strength as he began to lift. The rubble slowly started to rise, and he put an even bigger push into it, getting it higher and higher, until it was finally enough where the two individuals could crawl out. Once they were clear, Spider-Man gently set the weight back down as he slid out.
"You guys okay?" he asked, turning his attention to the now freed individuals. "Can you wa..."
Spider-Man found himself pausing when he noticed the bewildered look on their faces.
"You saved us," the one on the left blurted out, as if this were a shocking revelation to him.
"Well yeah," Spider-Man replied. "It's kind of my whole thing, I guess."
He then helped them get through the more treacherous parts before turning them loose and seeking out others to help. Spider-Man made his way through the building, freeing or otherwise assisting any stragglers he could along the way. Most appeared grateful for his help, though there were a couple of people that seemed to fear him, which only added to both his discouragement with his situation, as well as his growing anger towards Mysterio, who only seemed to be taking away more and more from him. Still, he swallowed his issues and opted to focus on what he needed to do in the moment.
Finally, Spider-Man came to the last space in the building that he hadn't been to yet. Of course, as luck would have it, it was the most dangerous place as well, with treacherous-looking walls and chunks of the ceiling that appeared as if they were likely to completely collapse at any moment...or, more appropriately, what was left of them. All that to say, time was now more of the essence than ever before, so Spider-Man hurried over to the latest calls for help that he'd heard.
Gingerly navigating the area, with his sixth sense occasionally alerting him when he was about to step or move to particularly sensitive spots, Spider-Man finally found the people in question, who were hunkered down, seemingly paralyzed by fear of the situation. Coming over to them, he bent down on his knees to see more eye-to-eye with them, extending his hand towards them.
"It's okay," he said. "I'm going to help you guys get out of here."
The individuals instead backed up what little more they could, causing Spider-Man to realize something: they were just as afraid of him as they were of their surrounding circumstances.
"Jameson was right about you," one of them muttered.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he tried to persuade them, daring to ease just a little closer to them. Before they could react, however, his sixth sense went off again, which was immediately followed by a rumble in the room. Suddenly, the sound of something breaking could be heard, with debris coming down behind them all...and the other Spider-Man along with it.
"Oh, thank goodness," Spider-Man said as he turned to his fellow spider themed individual. "Come on, help me get these people out of here."
The spider themed figure just stood there for a moment, not even saying a word.
"Come on man, help me out here!" Spider-Man said more urgently.
Instead of a verbal response, the right fist of the Spider-Man suddenly began glowing until it was cackling with a yellow/orange electricity. Seeing this, Spider-Man soon realized that the danger he'd been warned about was not from the building: it was from him.
"GO!" he yelled to the bystanders behind him. The other Spider-Man then lunged for him, but he managed to grab him by the arm, tossing him aside. He turned to see the civilians trying to make their way around the fight before turning back and seeing his counterpart get up. The figure appeared to eye the bystanders first, then Spider-Man, then the bystanders again. The individuals clearly recognized this too, fear once again causing them to freeze.
That was when Spider-Man put two and two together: this wasn't the real Spider-Man. Rather, it was likely one of Mysterio's mechanical creations again, and he was trying to put potentially more blood on his hands. He wasn't going to let that happen.
Lunging at the same time as the other (likely robotic) Spider-Man, he managed to tackle him to the ground.
"Get out of here!" he shouted to the civilians, who this time heeded his call, making their escape. Unfortunately, this distracted Spider-Man enough where he was too late to fend off another electrical attack, this time several volts of electricity surging through his person before a powerful, charged-up blast of it sent him flying straight into some more of the debris, smacking his head and causing some of it to collapse on him.
Spider-Man tried to get up, but the electricity combined with the blow to his head had disoriented him, his vision already getting blurry. He could tell the other Spider-Man, machine or whatever it was, was coming towards him. As the world around him continued to fade, he swore that he saw another figure enter the room, appearing to engage his attacker.
Before he could decipher who this individual was, Spider-Man was overtaken by darkness, not even feeling as his head slumped against the ground.
If you've made it this far, I hope that you're still enjoying it!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29