Chapter 15
Spiderman swung over the rooftops, the breeze running through his face as he headed towards the dot on his beeper, representing the Joker. The beeping intensified with each new webline as he whipped around yet another corner, reaching the edges of the city as the beeping grew louder and more steady until it became a steady hum. This could barely be heard however over the roar of the helicopter blades. Finally, the Joker's helicopter appeared into view. Slightly scorched from the explosions and the windows slightly cracked from repeated bullets, the purple exterior of the helicopter still managed to shine underneath the fading sun. Christmas Eve was coming to an end, but maybe Spiderman could make it everyone's Christmas a little easier with the Joker in custody.
Spiderman swung behind the helicopter now, shooting a webline out towards an adjacent building, the web sticking to the building as he maneuvered down underneath the helicopter. Swinging underneath the helicopter, he shot another webline out to the bottom of the helicopter as he twisted his body. Using the weblines to propel himself upwards now as he landed on the side of the helicopter, using his good arm to tug the door upwards.
Inside, one of the thugs was piloting the helicopter as he spun around immediately as the door was open. The Joker sat there with the bank teller hostage, easily recognizable with her blonde pigtails. In between them was a bag of cash, which the Joker appeared to be counting casually, with a few bills fluttering out as the wind generated by the helicopter blades sucking it out of the open door. The bills fluttered through the Joker's fingertips as he turned around in surprise.
"Did you miss me?" Spiderman asked, hanging off of the side of the helicopter, as the Joker's eyes widened in surprise.
"What are you doing here, Spiderman?" the Joker asked with a grin, in the process of sniffing a $100 dollar bill, then stuffing it back into the open sack, "It's Christmas Eve. Don't you have a family to hang out with?"
Spiderman's blood boiled at the comment, eyes flashing unseen underneath the mask as he shot out a web,covering the Joker's mouth to avoid hearing any more of his comments or that sickening laughter. The Joker's hand shot up towards the flower up on top of his jacket, serving as some kind of lapel but also apparently doubling as a weapon as acid shot out of it. A thick stream of green liquid shot out as Spiderman spun to the side, avoiding it as it hit the side of the helicopter.
"I'll have to be careful of that." Spiderman thought, with the acrid smell of the acid burning the helicopter wafted into the air.
The thug put the helicopter on autopilot now as he spun around, a gun extended towards Spiderman. Spiderman flipped backwards as he shot out a webline, pulling himself underneath the helicopter. Sticking underneath the helicopter, he took a second to listen to the spray of bullets firing out the open door where Spiderman had been only moments before. The steady, staccato stream of bullets finally ceased as Spiderman crawled upwards to see the thug's confused expression. This timed nicely with the Joker managing to remove the webs covering his mouth.
"Rocco you fool!" the Joker snarled, "Stop firing now! You're going to hit the helicopter! You take care of the piloting and I'll take care of the webslinger!" Rocco started to turn around when Spiderman shot up a web, catching the gun as he took it from his fingers with no resistance. Looking up at Rocco, it became clear that Rocco's expressions had only one setting – confused. Spiderman added another setting moments later, which was unconscious, as he shot another webline out to tug Rocco's forward into the seat. His face connected with the seat with a loud thud, his eyes rolling into the back of head as he fell backwards onto the control panel of the helicopter.
Not only did he hit the control panel though, his back also collided with the autopilot button as the helicopter descended downwards, plunging rapidly.
"Good help is so hard to find today, isn't it?" muttered the Joker angrily, leaping from his seat as he pushed Rocco off to the right. Then, gripping the controls of the helicopter tightly, he tugged them upwards sharply to prevent the plane from crashing onto the streets below.
The sudden dive caused Spiderman to shoot out a webline towards the nearest building, spinning around as he leaped onto the side of the building and his eyes observed the helicopter managing to pull itself upwards before it hit the ground. The nose of the helicopter rose upwards as it steadied itself, continuing on its course heading out of the city. Spiderman wouldn't allow it to reach that destination, however.
Spiderman swung underneath the helicopter again, avoiding the spinning blades as he swung in towards the helicopter, seeing the Joker set the helicopter back on course. Just after the autopilot button was pressed, Spiderman swung in from the side, his feet extended as he caught the Joker square in the side of the face. Both soles of his feet slammed into the Joker as he bounced off the side of the co-pilot's seat before he crashed into the backseat, slumping down. Spiderman jumped into the pilot's seat as shattered glass littered the floor, glaring at the Joker as he crouched in the seat.
"Give it up Joker!" Spiderman found himself shouting as they flew over the rooftops, wondering what else the Joker could have planned when he suddenly heard a squeal. Peering up from behind the seat was the blonde hair bank teller as Joker's gloved hand shot up, tugging her back onto the seat with a savage jerk. Holding her in place with one hand, his other hand shot into his purple jacket with lighting speed and within seconds, there was a gun placed against her temple. As the Joker settled back into the seat with his hostage in place, he resumed his wicked smile, his lip slightly bleeding from Spiderman's kick as a trickle of blood stained his usual pale white features. One of his gloved hands covered the bank teller's mouth now as she squealed muffled against it, yelping as her eyes widened. Her blonde pigtails bobbed as she shook her head, her bright blue eyes pleading as tears welled up in them, threatening to spill down her cheeks.
"Make another move and I'll blow her brains out, Spiderman!" said the Joker with a sinister grin, "I'll do it too. As fast as you seem to move, you can't move faster than a bullet, webs. So, get out before she loses a lot more than her two front teeth!"
Listening to the Joker chuckle for a second as Spiderman leaned back, looking around. They were nearing the edge of the city now as Spiderman heard police sirens down below, knowing that the time to make his move was now but he had to be careful not to endanger this bank teller, who appeared to be terrified. Not that Spiderman could blame her. Even after dealing with his share of clearly insane people throughout his career, Spiderman still found himself shivering a bit as he faced the Joker.
Faced with the possible death of yet another hostage, Spiderman raised his hands up in surrender, shifting a little bit towards the open door as he balanced on his feet, knowing that this would require almost perfect timing in order to work.
"I give up Joker!" Spiderman said, "I really should be getting off. This is my stop, but…", lowering his hands slightly.
"But what?" the Joker asked with a snarl, the muzzle of the gun pressing tightly to her temple.
"But not before I deck your halls!" as Spiderman moved quickly, his hand pressing the autopilot button to send it back to manual as the helicopter once again took a nose dive. Spiderman knew it was a weak joke, but to be honest, since Mary Jane had been hospitalized, he hadn't been feeling witty at all. Mary Jane would've been proud of the joke. Actually, she probably would've chuckled indulgently and rolled her eyes, but it felt good to be slightly witty again. There hadn't been many opportunities since this had started. The sudden switch to manual worked perfectly though.
Almost perfectly he should say.
Spiderman watched as the Joker fell out of his seat, losing his balance, toppling to the ground as he lost control of the hostage and his gun as well. Spiderman heard the gun fire as the Joker's finger pressed the trigger, and spent a second bracing for the bullet. The bullet veered wildly off course though, missing Spiderman completely. What it instead was the control panel, the bullet lodging itself inside as sparks shot from the control panel. His Spider sense flared, but it was hardly necessary as his sense of smell caught the smoke rising from the panel and his eyes caught the sparks flying from the broken panel.
Spiderman shot out a webline to catch the Joker across the chest, tugging him forward as he landed a haymaker across the Joker's jaw, feeling a burst of satisfaction as it landed with a crack. The Joker fell backwards onto the seat again, the "gun" flying out of his hands as it clattered to the streets below. The Joker's eyes fluttered a bit as he groaned out, but there was scant time to enjoy this as he then pressed the autopilot button again, but to no effect. The helicopter was headed for an irreversible collision with the ground, which approached faster with every second.
Spiderman leaped forward as he gripped the hostage around the waist, looking over at her for a second as he said, "Don't worry. I'll make sure were safe!" As he prepared to shoot out a webline though, there were two things that worried him. That was in addition to the helicopter plummeting towards the ground of course and the Joker woozily rising to his feet.
First of all, he noticed that the blonde-haired bank teller appeared more enraged than relieved to have Spiderman here to save her. His Spider sense flared wildly, but he wasn't sure why until a second later, which brings us to the second thing. That was when her hand rose up to a lapel that she wore near her collar, which was in the shape of a Smiley face.
"How dare you hurt my puddin'!" she squealed in outrage as a red gas suddenly shot from the lapel. Instantly, Spiderman's head felt dizzy as he released the bank teller, who no longer appeared to be a bank teller at all. If she was, then she had a severe case of Stockholm syndrome. Spiderman leaned against the side of the helicopter, his arms feeling very heavy as he attempted to shoot out a webline. His fingers wouldn't respond though as he swayed out the door of the helicopter, struggling to keep his eyes focused as they fluttered weakly. Seconds later, he felt the sole of her foot crash into his chest as he went flying from the helicopter.
"I got him Mr. J!" the bank teller squealed, walking over to help the Joker up. Spiderman crashed onto a rooftop with a thud, sinking into the snow as his eyes started to close, his body unable to move though. Laying there in the snow as he fell limp, his body shaking once from whatever she had sprayed him with, he didn't feel worried at all though. Instead, he felt like laughing.
The Daily Bugle
"Mr. Jameson I presume?" said the voice on the other end of the line, which appeared to be altered by computer as Jameson sat up straight at his desk.
"Who is this?" Jameson demanded, sitting up straight in his chair, bringing one of his hands over to press the speakerphone button so that Robbie could listen as well.
"Who I am isn't important, Mr. Jameson." the voice responded in a lecturing tone, "What is important is what I know and judging by the fact that you called, you think it's important too."
"If you know who Spiderman is, then of course I want to know." Jameson said loudly, taking another puff of his cigar.
"The question is then are you willing to pay?" the voice said coldly.
"How much are we talking about?" Jameson asked, taking an even more vested interest in the conversation now if that were possible. Jameson was always concerned where money was involved.
"Mr. Jameson…" as suddenly the intercom buzzed, his secretary's voice emanating from the speaker.
"I thought I told you no interruptions!" Jameson shouted, cutting her off as his finger pressed into the intercom with no small amount of frustration.
"I just thought you'd like to know that…" his secretary continued, but Jameson didn't wait for her to finish. Instead, he turned off the intercom completely.
"Perhaps you're a little too busy at the moment." the voice said curtly, "Perhaps it's inconvenient for us to call and discuss business with you."
"Not at all!" Jameson stated emphatically, "I was just asking how much you want for this information on Spiderman."
"The current asking price is $500, 000." the voice said clearly, "That's half a million dollars."
Jameson sucked in a deep breathe, eyes widening as he leaned backwards again, taking an especially long puff on his cigar before he answered, "Just where do you think we're supposed to get that kind of money?"
"We're aware of the amount of money we have in your own personal account." the voice said coolly, "We're also aware of how much the Bugle has in emergency funds. Half a million is not out of the question."
Robbie started to speak, but Jameson waved him off.
"It's pretty clear that you've done your homework. You would make a pretty good reporter.," Jameson stated with a chuckle, "But, if you think I'm going to give half a million dollars to somebody I don't know and without any more definitive proof than Spiderman's mask, then you're crazy."
"Well, I don't want to waste your time talking to a crazy person, Mr. Jameson." the voice said, "So, I'll say this. I have definite proof of who Spiderman is and if you provide the money, I'll provide the proof."
"When are we going to see this proof?" Jameson asked, "For that matter, when are we going to meet you? For something of this magnitude, I want more than just an anonymous source."
"All in due time, Mr. Jameson." the voice answered, "It's Christmas Eve. Go enjoy it with your family. I'll call you soon to arrange for payment and also the delivery of the evidence regarding Spiderman's identity. Merry Christmas, Mr. Jameson."
"Wait!" Jameson shouted into the phone, "Can't you at least give me a hint or anything?"
"All I'll say is that he'd fit right in at the Daily Bugle." the caller responded mysteriously and then there was nothing left - just a dial tone. Jameson slumped back into his seat, holding the telephone in his hand as he pressed it back into the receiver with a thud.
"What in the world does that mean?" Jameson demanded with a confused expression on his face as one eyebrow rose quizzically. Sitting back into his chair, he took another puff of his cigar before Robbie immediately began giving his analysis.
New York City Rooftop
Spiderman lay on the rooftop, his eyes struggling to open as he tried to move in the slush. He had no idea how long it had been since that crazed blonde haired had sprayed him with some unknown gas and then kicked him out of the helicopter. Managing to turn slightly to the side as he looked at his watch, but found that the face on his watch had cracked and stopped when he hit the rooftop. Well, hopefully when Mary Jane and him got to celebrate Christmas, she'd get him a new watch.
Trying to push his way up to a sitting position, he felt as if the cold had worked its way into his very bones. He sneezed, his eyes flickering up to the stars overhead, the only indication of the time. Shaking his head in frustration as he sneezed again loudly, pushing him up as he was shivering wildly. His knees trembled as he stumbled over to the edge of the rooftop. Almost slipping on the rooftop, he managed to sit on the very edge. Rubbing his hands along his chest, the friction started to warm his chest, contemplating the events of yet another day. He couldn't afford to get a cold now, but then again, there were a lot of things his bank account didn't allow. There was nothing he could do about it though.
Seemingly, there was also nothing he could do to stop the Joker. On two occasions now, the Joker had robbed banks within New York City and on two occasions now, he had been able to either prevent them or stop the Joker from escaping again. There was no telling what the Joker would do with all the money from both bank robberies, but it was clear what he had done already. Numerous police officers wouldn't be home on Christmas night.
Spiderman was finally able to breathe normally as he coughed a bit, sneezing again as he sat there on the edge of the rooftop, bringing his hands away from his chest as he held his head in his hands. He felt like he'd failed everybody. It was Christmas Eve and the man responsible for keeping the city safe couldn't keep anybody safe, not even his wife.
Then again, it was Christmas Eve and sitting on a rooftop alone blinking back tears wasn't the way he wanted to spend it. But, what he wanted wasn't going to happen. A Christmas Evening spent at home, cuddling together watching "It's A Wonderful Life" simply wasn't in the cards this year. In order to salvage anything from Christmas this year, it would have to be found at the Connors house.
Once again, swinging through the city, he swung over the city. The wind whipped through the air, glancing through building windows to see parents working on late night presents for their kids, illuminated by the television screens showing various Christmas specials. Below him, police cars drove through on rounds, hearing a siren or two to break up an attempted mugging and answering a domestic disturbance call. The police were able to handle both of them with relatively few problems, something Spiderman was grateful for. Exhausted after laying in the snow for so long after the Joker's twisted girlfriend attacked him, it was all he could do to hold onto the webbing as he shot out webline after webline to bring himself closer to the Connors household.
He can't believe he hadn't recognized the blonde bank teller as the Joker's accomplice, who he was pretty sure was called Harlequin. Of course, he hadn't been able to tell very well as she had been sobbing with her head in her hands most of the time, but he should've known better. Next time, he'd be careful not to underestimate the Joker or anybody associated with him. It was a hard lesson to learn though and certainly a costly one.
Lowering himself near the Connor's house, he changed back out of his suit. Shivering a bit as he took a deep breathe, working his way into a set of clothing that he'd grabbed from his apartment earlier, something clean and refreshing as opposed to the same set of clothes that he'd been wearing for the past two days.
Trudging through the snow, he worked his way over to the back window again as he found it unlocked. Rotating his sore shoulder for a moment before he tugged the window open, sliding inside what had been his home away from home the past few days. Looking around for a second as he slid the window closed again softly, trying to be careful not to make a sound though as he tiptoed into the hallway.
Even if he had made a sound, it probably would've been lost among the television, which was playing rather loudly "It's A Wonderful Life" as Peter chuckled softly at the irony. Walking by the kitchen, his feet creaked softly on the ceramic tile as he saw Dr. Connors slumped into the seat, eyes closed as he was bathed in the television light. Leaning against the doorway that led into the living room, Peter gazed at the television screen.
The movie had finally reached the part where Jimmy Stewart realizes that one life can affect the world. Desperately, he begs for his existence to be returned just the way it was. Peter watched as he tearfully pleaded to "just get me back." More than ever, he could identify with George. If he could simply find a way to restore everything back to normal, he'd do it. Then with a gush of wind, he could return home to find MJ curled on the couch, waiting for him and tiredly demanding an explanation for his whereabouts.
His reverie was interrupted as Connors awoke, giving a bit of a yawn as his eyes opened, then focusing as they found Peter standing across the room in the dim light of the television. Startled, he almost fell out of the recliner with a slight shout, looking at Peter as he kicked off his blanket and pushed his way up to his feet.
"You scared the heck out of me there, Peter." Dr. Connors said with a frown, rubbing his eyes a bit to wake himself up as he emitted another loud yawn then asked, "You enjoying the movie?"
"Sorry about that, Dr. Connors." said Peter with a soft smile, his eyes flickering over to Dr. Connors and then back to the television screen as he responded, "Yeah. MJ and I watch it about every year."
"It was one of Martha's favorites too." Connors smiled, though his eyes were filled with a nostalgic sadness as he stepped into the kitchen, then changing the subject, "You look cold. Do you want some hot chocolate?"
Peter knew better than to discuss Martha as he tore his gaze away from the film, looking over at Dr. Connors with a sympathetic nod, "If you're offering, that'd be great."
Peter sank into a chair, looking around as he returned to watching the movie for a moment. Peter leaned against the wooden chair, his gaze intensely focused on the television screen as George runs down Main Street of Bedford Falls, shouting an enthusiastic hello to everything that he had detested before, such as the movie house and Bailey Building & Loan. Just as he was sending a spirited Christmas greeting to Mr. Potter, he heard the clatter of a glass mug settling on the table and he inhaled a whiff of hot chocolate.
Turning away from the television once more, he looked at Dr. Connors and for a moment, he felt his Spider-sense tingling in the back of his head. Looking at Dr. Connors sitting there dejected and tired in the chair, he couldn't think why. Looking around, he couldn't see any reason that would explain the sudden emergence of his Spider sense, but he couldn't simply ignore it. He would definitely be wary though.
After taking a sip of his hot chocolate, Dr. Connors stated, "I think I've got an antidote worked out, Peter."
The idea of a possible cure for Mary Jane's condition pushed the gentle throbbing of his Spider sense out of the picture completely as he leaned forward over the table.
"You really think you've got it worked out?" Peter asked, surprised at the progress that had been made.
"I worked on it basically all day," Dr. Connors responded, "I'm going to go over tomorrow morning to make a few adjustments, but I think I have an antidote."
"Thank you, Doc!" Peter exclaimed breathlessly, unable to really believe that as soon as tomorrow, Mary Jane could be cured.
Dr. Connors shook his head and smiled, "It's my Christmas present to you, Peter."
Peter leaned back into his chair, clutching his head for a moment as his head was spinning. At this moment, he was just as excited as George. If he didn't think he would be arrested, he would probably run down the streets too. Euphoria swept through him as he grinned, thinking about how he would have to probably get through tighter security to reach Mary Jane after his last visit, but it would all be worth it.
Once again though, his Spider sense buzzed as he looked over at Dr. Connors. Moments earlier, Dr. Connor's face had been lit up with a smile at the idea of giving Peter his Christmas gift of an antidote, but now his face was in deep concentration and his hands were shaking. Holding the hot chocolate in his hands as his hands shook uncontrollably, the hot chocolate jumping around in the mug. Hot chocolate splashed onto the floor and Peter's eyes widened as suddenly Connors lost control of the mug as it crashed onto the floor.
The mug shattered, glass fragments and hot chocolate spilling onto the floor as Dr. Connors sat up straight in his chair, his eyes sliding out of focus for a second before staring blankly at his hands, seemingly shocked not to discover his mug there and then seeing the shattered mug on the floor.
"Are you alright, Dr. Connors?" Peter asked with genuine concern, pushing himself up out of his chair with one hand, clutching his head slightly as the buzzing in his head only increased now.
Dr. Connors pushed himself to his feet, his hands continuing to shake slightly as he gazed around, then looked back at Peter, looking surprised as he stumbled backwards. The chair that he had just been sitting in toppled over and Peter had to lean forward, stepping over the broken glass as he gripped Dr. Connors forearm, preventing him from falling over it.
Dr. Connors gently brushed Peter's arm away as he regained his balance as Peter repeated the question, "Are you alright, Dr. Connors?"
Dr. Connors appeared to have finally heard the question as he gave one of his familiar smiles, chuckling as he looked at Peter, "Of course. I'm just tired."
Peter couldn't hide his skepticism as he asked, "Are you sure that's all that's wrong?"
"Christmas is usually a pretty hard time." Dr. Connors said as he stood there, running a hand through his hair, "I'm just going to get some sleep so I can finish up the antidote in the morning."
"You don't have to finish up the antidote first thing in the morning you know." Peter said, looking over at him worry, "It's Christmas. What about Billy?"
"Billy's busy this year." Dr. Connors answered with a shake of his head, "Don't worry about it, Peter. I want to get this antidote finished tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Doc." Peter said, frowning though as he watched Dr. Connors head back towards his bedroom, "If anything's wrong though, I'll help you out."
"Merry Christmas, Peter!" Dr. Connors called out with a smile, then disappearing into the bedroom, acting as if he hadn't heard the question.
"Merry Christmas to you too." Peter responded softly, looking down at the broken mug and hot chocolate running like a miniature river across the tile. It took him a few minutes to clean up the mess, making sure every piece of glass was cleared up from the tile and by the time he was done, it was if no spill had ever occurred.
What was a lot harder to remove though was the memory of Dr. Connors shaking in his chair, the look on his face and the image of the mug shattering upon the floor. It could just be a lack of sleep, the stress associated with the holiday season, but his Spider sense usually wasn't triggered by anything other than serious danger.
Tomorrow, however, everything would be fine. Dr. Connors could complete his work on the antidote and after he gave the antidote to Mary Jane, this nightmare could be over. She would be able to tell the police that it wasn't Peter that attacked her and maybe, just maybe, there could be a Merry Christmas after all.
Draining the last of his hot chocolate, he set the mug in the sink. The credits for the movie ran across the television screen, but ended as Peter shut it off. Flicking off the light in the kitchen as he headed down towards the basement, the stairs creaking with each step before Peter finally reached the bottom. Heading towards the couch, he felt rejuvenated by the hot chocolate but nevertheless, collapsed onto the couch.
"And to all a good night…" was Peter's last thought was with his eyes closing shut, wrapping the blanket tight around him as he drifted off to sleep in the hopes of awakening to a Christmas with Mary Jane.