Volume II: The White Dragon
Note: This will be the eighteenth chapter of Volume II, this will focus on Marvel's version of White Dragon as he becomes a villain of Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider, not to be confused for the White Dragon of the Peacemaker show. He makes his move in controlling Chinatown and threatening the people in it as he unites the gangs under his banner, however May and Martin Li will be throwing a campaign that threatens White Dragon's drug business, he'll be forced to retaliate. Peter and Betty will be working together on an assignment to do a story on the White Dragon which will bring them closer in an unexpected way, their closeness will make Gwen feel insecure. This chapter will also introduce the rise of a new supervillain who will be the main antagonist of Volume II, this mysterious villain is connected to the 'Cloak and Dagger' chapter.
Tonight it's March 12th, in a warehouse in Chinatown, the four leaders of the local Chinese gangs assembled for their private summit to discuss their criminal businesses and making some deals to keep everyone happy without any trouble from any of the gangs, all the henchmen from each of the gang are here as well for security purposes and to keep the other gangs in line.
"I've noticed that you've been taking protection money from that laundromat who owes me, that is unacceptable."
"That's funny, he also borrowed money from me too. So that protection money is also mine."
"You mean our money! Halve of it is mine!"
"Then you should've been the one to get the money first before me!"
The two crime bosses are having trouble in their negotiations as the other two are stepping in to keep things under control.
"Relax! He took the money first, you can go and collect on your share next time. Is that agreeable to you?"
"Fine, just so we're clear that I get the next one."
"Fine with me, so shall we discuss our distribution routes?"
A couple of hands claps together as everyone in the room got startled by who it could be, they all pulled out their guns and looked around to find out where the claps are coming from, they all turn to the shadows as someone emerged into the light wearing a white dragon suit with red razor claws on the fingertips.
"And you all call yourselves the four big heads of the four gangs of Chinatown?" White Dragon shows himself to the four crime bosses.
"Who the hell are you?"
"My real name is irrelevant, but you can all address me as the White Dragon." White Dragon introduced himself.
All the gang bosses and members all drew out their guns and all aims them at the White Dragon who looked calm despite being surrounded by men with guns.
"We don't care who you are, Freak. This is a private meeting and you weren't invited. So leave on your own or in a body bag, your choice."
"Am I suppose to be afraid? Look at yourselves, you're all nothing but embarrassments. All your little gangs do is collect chump change and profits from the drug trade have slowed down. That's why I'm here, I'll take over things in Chinatown from now on." White Dragon wants control of the local Chinese gangs.
The four bosses all got angry and came up closer to White Dragon with their guns.
"Like hell you are. Do you think that you can just take control of our organizations just like that? You clearly haven't noticed what goes on in New York, there is still on big obstacle to overcome, Spider-Man.'
"Yeah, what you plan to do when you cross paths with him?"
"This." White Dragon unleashed some green gas out of his mask.
White Dragon spins around and spreads his gas on the four crime bosses as they're all feeling the effects of paralysis, they're having a hard time moving themselves as White Dragon took the opportunity to punch and kick each of the crime bosses down on the ground without difficulty. The gang members are hesitate to join in as this White Dragon is proven to be a dangerous foe.
"What you're all feeling is paralysis, don't worry, it's only temporary. Last chance, either give me control of your gangs or die." White Dragon forcing them to give up control.
"Go to hell."
All four bosses refuses to give White Dragon control of the gangs, they rather chose death than to give him their allegiance.
"You first." White Dragon unleashed flames out of the mask.
All four crime bosses are getting burned alive as the gang members watched in horror as their bosses screaming while being burned. White Dragon just stood there and watched as they slowly died out from the heat, all four crime bosses have died as White Dragon turns to the gang members left alive without any leadership now, now the four lieutenants are left in charge of their respected gangs as White Dragon is too powerful for them to take on together.
"Now you and rest of the gangs all work for me, if any of you have any objections, speak now!" White Dragon speaking to the gangs.
All the four gangs looked at what happened to their former bosses who refused to join White Dragon, they all know better than to go against him. Everyone in the warehouse all got on their knees and gave their allegiance to White Dragon.
"We shall follow you, White Dragon."
"Good, now that we're clear who's boss, we can proceed with the next phase of expanding our operations in New York." White Dragon tells the gangs.
Some of White Dragon's men came into the warehouse with a crates full of illegal drugs that came all the way from China, the gangs are impressed by the amount White Dragon has in his possession, it's about millions of dollars worth.
"With this, we shall grow and make more money, four times higher than what your bosses can promise your customers. Chinatown is only the beginning, soon the Dragon Lords will reign supreme, New York shall be ours and nothing will stand in our way, not even Spider-Man." White Dragon tells the Dragon Lords gang.
With the four bosses now dead, White Dragon has successfully took over the four gangs of Chinatown and untie them under his banner, he now plays the long game of expanding his criminal business throughout the rest of New York City. He doesn't care that heroes like Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are around protecting this city from crime, he's willing to go up against them if he ever has the chance.
The next day at F.E.A.S.T., Martin Li just returned back from his long trip in China, he walks around to see the place is thriving under May's leadership during his absence, he smiles as he is proud of her efforts to help the homeless in need, they're being feed free food and taught productive skills to help them get back on their feet. May is still giving out orders to the staff and assigning them their work, she turns to see Martin Li back in town after so long.
"Mr. Li, what a surprise." May greeted Martin Li.
"Quite a surprise to see this place has come so far, overcome so much, even very recently." Martin Li is aware of the trouble that happened here weeks ago.
"Yeah, it was quite a shock to everyone here. But luckily Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider came to our rescue just in time." May explained about that event weeks ago.
"I wanted to come back sooner the moment I heard the news, but my interests in China has kept me too busy to return. I'm just happy that nobody got hurt and that you were able to keep this place going despite everything Thank you Mrs. Parker, you work here has been amazing." Martin Li is impressed with May's efforts.
"I had some inspiration." May thinking about her nephew Spider-Man.
Martin Li and May kept on talking, meanwhile one of the homeless is leaving the shelter in a hurry and made it outside. He continues walking down the streets looking all shaken as he made it to an alleyway, where a dealer is holding up a packet full of new drugs courtesy of the White Dragon. The homeless man handed him some money and the dealer handed the man the drugs discreetly, the dealer walked away as the man now has drugs in his possession.
Later at the same warehouse in Chinatown, a unmarked sedan drove close to the crime scene and parked it, George Stacy and Yuri Watanabe both got out and walked over to the crime scene where at least four bodies are covered and CSI's talking to two detectives, one man and one woman names Stan Carter and Jean Dewolff.
"Detectives Carter and DeWolff, what do we have here?" George Stacy asking for an update on the case.
"See for yourself." Jean DeWolff took off the covers.
Both Stacy and Watanabe gazed in shock to see four corpses burnt and deformed, they became disturbed by what happened to these four guys.
"My god." Yuri Watanabe is disturbed seeing them.
"Who are they?" George Stacy wants to know the identities of these victims.
"We don't know yet, all their faces and prints are burnt out from the fire obviously, we'll have the corner examine them and pull their dental records, hopefully we'll get an ID." Stan Carter explain about the case.
"We did however find cigarettes butts left behind here, these particular brand is commonly used by the local Triads." Jean DeWolff told them they found some clues.
"So the Triads were involved." Yuri Watanabe speaks to the group.
"It would appear so." Jean DeWolff agrees with Yuri Watanabe.
"I know that the Triads are known to be ruthless, but even I must admit that this exceeds my expectations." George Stacy is surprised by this change.
Yuri got an alert on her phone and she pulls it out to check up on any crime updates in the city, she became shocked as George noticed her look on her face, not a good one.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" George Stacy is curious.
"We got another dead body nearby." Yuri Watanabe informs George Stacy.
George Stacy is shocked to hear about another death. "Where?"
(Later)
The NYPD has closed off an alleyway in Chinatown as George and Yuri just arrived to see a dead homeless guy laying dead on the ground, CSI are doing their work searching the man for his personal items for clues.
"What happened?" George Stacy wants answers on this case.
"Homeless, cause of death, most likely drug overdose. He had these in his pocket."
The forensic guy hands George some evidence found at the scene, he holds a packet half full of drugs that the homeless man obviously used recently, another clue is a card from F.E.A.S.T.. George signed as he has go to F.E.A.S.T. for some answers, meaning he'll have to question May about one of their patron using drugs.
At the same time at the Daily Bugle, Betty just got off the elevator as most of the staff are working overtime, she still has an internship at the Bugle as she noticed Jameson chatting up in private with Robbie Robertson, she walked up closer to the office door and stands outside, she couldn't help but being curious to their conversation, she grabbed an empty glass and held it to the window where the blinds are shut close, she listens in on their words.
"Any word on what happened in Chinatown?" Jameson asking Robbie for today's news.
"Nothing much, but word is that there were four bodies, all burned, most likely by the Triads. And there was also another body dropped in a alleyway in Chinatown, a homeless man who got overdosed. My guy inside the NYPD told me that besides the packet of drugs, there was card on him when he died, it came from F.E.A.S.T. I think that these two events might be connected somehow." Robbie told Jameson details of the events in Chinatown.
"If only we have more reporters investigating these incidents in Chinatown, but we're short staffed and many of them are already out on assignments." Jameson doesn't have anymore reporters on his staff.
"If you want, I can go and investigate this myself. My guy gave me a list of possible Triad hangouts." Robbie volunteers to do the story.
"No Robbie! It's too dangerous... You once risked your own life exposing a criminal gang and it nearly got you killed. Think about your family, Robbie, don't risk their lives over a story, take it from someone who was once in your shoes. So please, don't." Jameson doesn't want Robbie to risk his life over this.
"I understand. Thank you for being concerned for my family." Robbie appreciates Jameson's worries for him.
"You're more than just an employee, Robbie, you're a friend." Jameson values their friendship.
Robbie is walking out of the office as Betty back away as to not to be caught, she went over and poured water out of the dispenser. Robbie just stepped out of the office and spotted Betty drinking water from the glass. Robbie walked over to her as she's acting cool trying to cover up on her eavesdropping on him and Jameson.
"Eavesdropping on our conversation, Ms. Brant?" Robbie knew Betty was listening in on their conversation.
Betty lost her cool as she got nervous that Robbie noticed her listening in.
"Using the empty glass to listen in through the wall, I taught you that, remember." Robbie smiled at Betty.
"Right, so you're really going to drop the scoop?" Betty is curious.
"That's right, Jameson is right. If I stick my nose into the triad's business, I could put a target on my back and on my family's." Robbie explains his reasons to drop the story.
"If you're not up to it, I could go and investigate on my own." Betty volunteers to do the story.
"No, you're an intern, not a reporter." Robbie tells Betty not to intervene.
"But you said that I have what it takes to become a reporter." Betty says to Robbie.
"No, I said that you have great potential to become a great reporter, but you're not there yet. Beside, this isn't just a regular scoop, this is very dangerous. If you were listening, then you remember what happened the last time I poked too close to criminals, Lonnie Lincoln had us kidnapped and he nearly killed us both." Robbie explain the risks of going after dangerous criminals.
"And Spider-Man came to our rescue, we're both fine." Betty also remembers Spider-Man's actions have saved them.
"We were lucky then, next time not so much. Betty, for your own good, drop it." Robbie wants Betty to back off this scoop.
Betty remained silent as Robbie Robertson walked away towards his desk and puts away the list that he got from his cop buddy. Betty still has an itch to find a story, she then waited as Robbie put the list away and walks away for the day, she then walked over to Robbie's desk and opened the drawer, she found the list with names of possible Triad hangouts, she pulled out her phone and took a picture of the list, she then closed the drawer and walks out of the floor heading out for Chinatown.
Back at Chinatown at F.E.A.S.T., Peter and Gwen came in for their community service hours as part of their requirement, they see May chatting up with Martin Li, the shelter's founder that Ghost-Spider once saved alongside Betty and Peter during that Crime-Master incident months ago. May and Martin Li broke off their conversation as Peter and Gwen walked up.
"Hi, what brings a couple of teenagers here?" Martin Li is being friendly towards them.
"Mr. Li, this is my nephew Peter Parker and his girlfriend Gwen Stacy." May introduced Peter and Gwen to Martin Li.
"I remember you, you were held hostage beside me along with another young lady." Martin Li remembers Peter from that time Crime-Master kidnapped them.
"That's right." Peter tells Martin Li.
"We came to do our community services hours as part of our requirement." Gwen tells Martin Li.
"And you all chose to spend your hours helping the homeless, that's very kind of you both." Martin Li tells Peter and Gwen.
"Thank you, Mr. Li." Peter says to Martin Li.
As they're chatting, Captain Stacy and Lieutenant Watanabe enters the shelter as May noticed them coming towards them, Peter, Gwen, and Martin Li noticed too that two officers are here at the shelter and wonders the reason for their presence.
"Dad?" Gwen says to her father.
"Dad? He's your father?" Martin Li is surprised by Gwen being related to an NYPD captain.
"Mr. Li, Captain George Stacy and Lieutenant Yuri Watanabe, we came to ask you and your staff some questions please." George Stacy wants to question everyone here.
"Of course, anything for New York's finest. What can I do for you?" Martin Li is willing to cooperate.
George Stacy holds up a phone with a picture. "Do any of you know this man?"
"Yeah, I seen him a few times around the shelter. What happened to him?" May tells George Stacy.
"He was found dead in an alleyway not too far from here." George Stacy told them that this man is dead.
"My god, that's terrible." May is shocked that someone died.
"You think someone killed him?" Martin Li is curious as to what happened to the man.
"Not someone." George Stacy holds up a packet of drugs. "Something, this was found in his possession along with a your shelter's card."
"You think that he got his drugs from here?" May thinking that they're being accused.
"No, of course not. We just wanted to question anyone who might some info about this man." Yuri Watanabe steps in the conversation.
"We don't allow drugs in this place, we had no idea that he was using. You have to understand, officer, part of our work here is help rehabilitate and encourage them to lay off illegal substances, but sometimes our efforts are less than successful." Martin Li explained about the shelter's program.
George Stacy signed. "Alright, but try harder to keep an eye on your patrons, before any of them end up dead again in an alleyway."
"We'll double our efforts, you have my word." Martin Li meant his word.
"Thank you, Mr. Li, for your cooperation." George Stacy finished questioning Martin Li.
Martin Li went to his office as he is shocked that one of the people he tried to help was overdosed, George Stacy turns his attention towards May Parker.
"I'm sorry if we startled you, that wasn't our intention." George Stacy apologizes to May for the misunderstanding.
"I understand, you were just doing your job." May understands George's responsibility as a cop.
"What about the other staff here? Do you vouch for them?" George Stacy asking May about the staff.
"100%, we always do background checks and looked up their recommendations. We're very careful about those we hire, if the man did get drugs around here, it had to be outside on the streets." May vouches for the stuff here.
George and May continues their chats as Peter and Gwen went to do their shifts for the day as their classmate Betty Brant just entered the shelter, she looks around to find some cops questioning the homeless taking refuge here, she then spotted Peter and Gwen working, Peter is walking around carrying a case of water bottles.
"Pete!" Betty waved to Peter.
Peter spotted Betty here. "Betty? What are you doing here?"
"I heard from the Bugle that there were four bodies found burned and another body died from drug overdose, the latter lead me here to this place.." Betty explained her reason being here.
"And they just let you come all this way here?" Peter suspects that Betty didn't get assigned by the Bugle.
"About that, Robbie told me not to investigate this matter, he says that it's dangerous." Betty confessed the truth.
"And he's right." Peter agrees with what Robbie told Betty.
"You too? This coming from a guy who once united the school in speaking out against Wilson Fisk." Betty reminded Peter.
"Point taken, but you also remember what happened afterward, he came after me and Aunt May, he shot up my house with us in it, we were barely lucky to be alive if it weren't for Spider-Man." Peter also remembers the consequences of speaking out against criminals.
"I appreciate your concern, but something strange is happening out here in Chinatown, even though i'm not officially a reporter, I do have reporter instincts. My instincts tells me that there's story around here that needs to be written. But since you're here, I could use your help." Betty says to Peter.
"For what exactly?" Peter is curious as to what Betty wants from him.
"I could use a photographer just in case we find something interesting, I have a list on my phone of Triad hangouts that I copied from Robbie. Want to tag along?" Betty asking Peter for his help.
"Betty, seriously, these are the Triads we're talking about here." Peter tries to persuade Betty to back off.
"Peter, if you're too chicken to go through with this, then just say so. I'll go on my own and investigate this story, you can come if you want to or not." Betty is walking away from Peter.
Peter fails to persuade Betty to back away from this story, she's risking herself pursuing it and most likely will find herself in deep trouble. He feels conflicted as he made a decision and stopped his work at the shelter and puts the water bottles down on the table, he went to Gwen who is working.
"Sorry Gwendy, I have to go." Peter tells Gwen he's leaving.
"Something happened?" Gwen is curious about Peter's sudden leave.
"No, but Betty is going to investigate any criminal activity around Chinatown, I'm going to tag along and make sure that she doesn't do something reckless and get herself killed." Peter explained his reasons to Gwen.
"That's very kind of you. Be careful Pete." Gwen tells Peter.
"Sure thing, Gwendy." Peter tells Gwen.
Peter leaves Gwen as he rushed to Betty who is still here at the shelter, Gwen watched as Peter finally joined up with Betty.
"Okay Betty, I'm tagging along for the ride." Peter offers to go with Betty.
"Thanks Pete." Betty appreciates Peter's company.
Gwen watched Peter and Betty leaving the shelter together, George Stacy finished his conversation with May as he walks towards his daughter Gwen and noticed her looking at Peter and Betty walking out together. Gwen broke off her focus as her dad came up to her, he noticed a look in Gwen's face when she stare at those two.
"Where's Peter going?" George Stacy asking Gwen about Peter.
"He's leaving with Betty looking around for a story, he offers to tag along to keep her safe." Gwen explained about Peter leaving with Betty.
"And you're okay with that?" George Stacy asking Gwen about her opinion.
"Yeah, I trust him. Why wouldn't I be?" Gwen still felt a bit insecure.
"Could've sworn that she's got a thing for him. Call it cop instincts." George Stacy tells Gwen.
Gwen has no idea why she's feeling insecure, she knows that Peter and Betty works together at the Daily Bugle for over a year.
The sun has finally set down in Chinatown, Peter and Betty are walking down the sidewalks going place to place following the list of Triad hangouts she copied off of Robbie and now has on her phone, they approached and stopped outside of a chinese restaurant.
"This is the place?" Peter asking Betty.
"It's on the list, this place is possibly a front. Shall we go inside?" Betty asking Peter.
Peter and Betty enters inside the restaurant and finds the place has patrons eating and dining, Peter and Betty walked up to a table and each took a seat, they each took a menu on the table and hold them up. A waitress approached them and holds up a notepad.
"Ready to order?"
"Uh..." Peter is still thinking up something to say.
"We're still undecided, thinking what to eat." Betty holding up a menu.
"Okay, let us know when you're ready."
The waitress walked away as Peter and Betty pretended to be restaurant patrons here for a decent meal, but in reality they're undercover to check up anything unusual here.
"That was too close. Thanks for the save, Betty." Peter says to Betty.
"Anytime, though you're probably used to danger." Betty tells Peter.
"What makes you say that?" Peter is confused.
"Come on, you go around all of New York seeking out danger and taking snapshots of Spider-Man in action." Betty tells Peter what he does in his spare time.
"Right, and I just told you to stay out of danger." Peter can see the irony in it.
Peter and Betty spotted a couple of men entering the restaurant and noticed that they're carrying guns underneath their jackets and heading towards the hallway, they got curious as to what they're up to in the back of the restaurant.
"Those two are packing some serious heat, what do you thinking they're doing in the back?" Betty is curious as to what they're up to.
"I don't know, but I don't thinking they're making Dim Sum in the back." Peter suspects something shady is happening here.
"Let's go find out." Betty gets up and walks away.
"Betty! Betty, you Mother Hubbard. Are you serious?" Peter whispered trying to stop Betty.
Betty isn't backing away as she walked down the hallway, Peter gets himself up and follows after Betty to keep her safe from harm. Peter and Betty walked down the hallway under the pretense of going to the restroom, they approached a doorway to hear some voices, they came up closer and took a couple of glasses from the cart, they held it to the door and listens in on the conversation inside.
"Here you go, all the profits from today's sale, everyone want a taste of the new stuff and are willing to pay so much."
"I'm I suppose to find that comforting? One of our customers was found dead in an alleyway, OD'ed on this stuff, and I just heard about two more deaths, same customers, both overdosed. This stuff is killing them, at this rate we won't have any customers left. We're drawing too much attention to ourselves ever since White Dragon took over the reigns."
"Don't like how our new boss is doing business? Tell him that yourself, but just remember what happened to our old boss, he got burned alive while White Dragon watched."
Betty gasped in horror how this new guy burned a man alive, Peter covered her mouth to block out the sounds, but they were too late as two gang member heard something outside the door making them nervous.
"What was that? Go check it out."
Peter and Betty walked out quietly as fast as they can before the door opens, they were about to head down another hallway until they heard footsteps coming from the direction they're heading, they stopped as they're trapped at both ends, Betty spotted a restroom as she grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him inside fast, the door closed behind them as four gang members are in the hallways looking for the source of that sound. Peter and Betty are both trapped in the restroom with nowhere to go as they await being caught snooping around.
"This is very bad, as soon as they find us, we're dead." Peter is worried for what awaits them.
They hear footsteps coming closer to the restroom door as they're close to being discover and possibly face danger. Betty turns to Peter as she has something crazy in mind that might help save their lives.
"I have an idea. Don't freak out, just trust me." Betty whispers to Peter as she has something in mind.
Betty pulls Peter closest to her and kisses him on the lips as Peter's eyes widen in shock, Peter just plays along and closes his eyes. The restroom door opens as the Triads spotted two teenagers in the restroom hugging and kissing each other. Peter and Betty stopped themselves and acted like they're surprised.
"What the hell are you two doing here? This isn't a motel!"
"Sorry, we got carried away." Betty acted like she felt embarrassed.
"Get out of here, both of you!"
Peter and Betty left the bathroom and managed to get away from getting caught snooping. Some more gang members came into the hallway and joins up with their buddies.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, just a couple of teenagers fooling around in the restroom, it was a false alarm."
Meanwhile, Peter and Betty made it outside as they were kicked out for that misunderstanding in the restroom that they made them think it was, but it worked as they got away unnoticed. Peter felt confused by what just happened back there between him and Betty, it took him by surprise, the kiss.
"Whoa! That was close." Betty is amazed they made it out.
"Yeah... too close." Peter is blushing a bit.
"Sorry about that." Betty told Peter.
"Don't be, you just surprised me." Peter told Betty.
"Don't worry, Pete, I won't tell Gwen. We should call it a night, we already got what we needed." Betty says to Peter.
"Yeah, we should." Peter still blushed.
"By the way, you're a great kisser." Betty smiled at Peter.
Betty walked away as Peter is still processing the kiss he just shared with his friend Betty Brant, he felt confused as he didn't expect it to happen nor did he hate it. What's worse is that he did it behind Gwen's back, how else is he going to explain about this kiss to Gwen.
Peter sighed in shame. "Gwen is going to kill me."
The next morning at F.E.A.S.T., Martin Li and May are watching the news on the TV as did most of the staff concerning many more death caused by overdose of a new drug that is being sold out of Chinatown.
"This makes it the fifth victim to die of overdose within 24 hours, an unknown drug is being spread throughout New York, police are working overtime to find the culprits responsible for selling poisons on the streets, rumors going around that it originated in Chinatown as the drug trade is rising exponentially since yesterday and its looking to get worse as many more death are to occur if this continues. If anyone has information concerning anyone selling drugs on the street, call the police tip line."
"Unbelievable, another poor soul falling victim to those dangerous substances." Martin Li is disturbed by what happening around New York.
"I know, Mr. Li, we try our very best to encourage people to stay away from that poison, but it's never enough." May told Martin Li.
"Then we need to do something about it, and I might just know a way to do that." Martin Li has an idea what to do.
"What are you suggesting?" May is curious to hear Martin Li's idea.
"We start a campaign to encourage people to drive out drug dealers out of neighborhoods, we need to spread our message to all of New York City, asking everyone for their help." Martin Li wants to throw an anti drug campaign.
"That might not so bad, Mr. Li, but it's too risky. I've seen firsthand what happens when someone tries to take someone very powerful, they always end up retaliating back with force. If we do this, we'll be putting targets on everyone's back." May explains the risk of taking on powerful criminals.
"But we can't just stay silent and hope everything to get better, it would only get worse if we stay quiet. I've grown up in Hong Kong and seen crimes in my neighborhood go unpunished mostly because everyone was afraid to talk. If we do nothing, a lot people will die and crime will keep on rising. I'll understand if any of you are afraid for your life, I won't ask any of you to risk your lives, you can all step away from this, I'll take full responsibility for this." Martin Li speaks to his staff if they want to join in or not.
Everyone is scared but they're impressed by Martin Li's words, they all stayed behind and volunteered to help him with his campaign. May knows about the risks they're all taking, but she can't back away from those who need help, especially the people of New York who are vulnerable to this new poison spreading around the city.
"I guess we're all in with you, Mr. Li." May agrees to help Martin Li.
"Thank you all for your help, let's get started. I'll make some calls." Martin Li appreciates everyone efforts.
Everyone got busy setting up the shelter for the campaign as Martin Li is making some calls, May is leading everyone in doing their jobs around the shelter.
Later at Midtown High, the school bell rang as everyone is leaving the classroom, Peter, Gwen, Mary Jane, and Harry all walked together down the hall. Peter still felt uneasy about what happened before with Betty, he already been down this road once with Mary Jane during their breakup, but now he's back with Gwen and he kept this from her again. Gwen could tell that something is up with Peter since yesterday.
"Everything okay with you, Pete?" Gwen is worried for Peter.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm good. Got a text from my aunt, says that she's working on something big at the shelter, didn't say what but she told me to drop by later." Peter told his friends.
"Wonder what it could be?" Mary Jane is curious.
"I gotta take a leak, see you all later." Gwen tells her friends before she walks away.
Gwen made it to the girls restroom and made it to the stall, she needed sometime alone to think about Peter as he's been acting different since yesterday, she closed the door as a couple more girls came into the restroom, Betty Brant and her best friend Glory Grant, they didn't noticed Gwen is inside the restrooms as they started their conversation about what happened last night.
"So tell me again exactly what happened last night between you and Parker?" Glory asking Betty for more details.
Gwen is still hidden as she can't help but being curious of what happened between Peter and Betty last night, she listens in without them knowing she's here.
"Fine... last night, me and Pete snuck into the back of the restaurant and eavesdropped on some Chinese gang members." Betty explained about last night.
"What? Are you crazy? That's dangerous!" Glory is shocked Betty was so reckless.
"Peter already told me that, anyway, we were so close to being discovered until me and Peter hid in the restroom, we panicked and we had to do something to throw them off their suspicion... we... kissed." Betty confessed to Glory about her and Peter.
Glory became surprised that Betty kissed Peter, Gwen is also very much shocked to find out that her own boyfriend kissed another girl besides her, she still remained hidden as neither Betty nor Glory knows she's here listening in.
Glory smiled in excitement. "No way! You locked lips with Parker? How was it?"
"It was amazing, even though we were faking our relationship, he's quite a great kisser. I can see now why other girls like Liz, Gwen, and MJ are into him, plus he's quite cute." Betty smiles and blushed at the thought of Peter Parker.
Betty heard the phone ringing as she pulls it out and saw that Robbie Robertson is calling, he answered the call and held the phone to her ear.
"Mr. Robertson?" Betty talking to Robbie.
"Elizabeth Brant, have I not made myself clear?! You were told to stay away from this story!" Robbie didn't sound too happy over the phone.
"I'm sorry I've gone out against your advice, but it wasn't for nothing, me and Peter learned a few things that might be relevant to what happening around New York." Betty told Robbie that she learned a few things.
"Fine, but don't you ever pull this stunt behind everyones back ever again or your internship at the Bugle will be terminated, is that clear?" Robbie warns Betty not to do this again or she's done.
"Yes, Mr. Robertson." Betty understood what could happen if she ever does this agin.
"Alright, come to the Bugle immediately and tells us what you know. Me and Jonah will be waiting to hear from you." Robbie will be waiting at the Bugle for Betty.
"I'll be there soon." Betty hangs up the phone.
"Leaving already?" Glory asking Betty.
"Yeah, apparently Mr. Robertson has caught me going out alone seeking out a story, he's clearly not too happy with me. But on the plus side, I'm not fired… yet." Betty explains to Glory.
"Someday Betty, that curiosity of yours will get you into deep trouble one day, maybe even worse. Please be careful next time." Glory advised Betty to play it safe with her curious mind.
"I appreciate the concern, Glory." Betty tells Glory.
"Take care." Glory tells Betty.
"Will do. Catch you tomorrow." Betty waves to Glory before she leaves.
Glory then walks out of the restroom after Betty left, after both girls are gone, Gwen came out of the stall and is still in shock by what just happened between Betty and Peter, they kissed each other behind her back, she felt disappointed that Peter kept this from her.
Later at Chinatown in the underground tunnels where White Dragon has a lair that he uses as his base of operations to expand his drug business around New York City, he meditates himself in his suit as the four lieutenants of the gangs came into the room and collected large amounts of money from the sale.
"Here you are, boss. More profits from the last 24 hours, business is rising exponentially."
"Excellent, I told you that our business shall flourish under my leadership." White Dragon is proud of himself and his business.
"Only we've lost another customer recently, this stuff is killing them off more quickly, we need repeat customers to keep our business flowing steadily. If this continues, we'll be left with nothing and the cops will be at our doorsteps, including Spider-Man."
"Then let them come, I have nothing to fear." White Dragon is too overconfident in himself.
The TV in the room is still on as Martin Li is talking to the press about his campaign to cleanse all of New York of drug activities, White Dragon and his four lieutenants all watched the man at his homeless shelter speaking out.
"People of New York City, we are facing a terrible crisis as many people are succumbing to this new drug and dying out on the streets within the last 24 hours, I ask everyone to unite together to push these drug dealers off the streets and to keep our children safe from this poison that is killing everyone. I invite every prominent New Yorker to help raise our voice to this city." Martin Li is speaking to the press.
"Oh, this is not good. If Martin Li keeps up this charade, then we're facing a bigger danger than just the police."
"Just relax." White Dragon is keeping his cool.
"Relax? This man lit up a spark, it's only a matter of time before it turns into a wildfire that we can't control or stop."
"If Martin Li thinks that he can stop me and my business by throwing a simple campaign, then he's in for another surprise. Someone should've told him that if you play with fire, you'll get burned. He's about to learn that the hard way." White Dragon fires off his flames from his mask.
White Dragon unleashed his flames onto the TV as his lieutenants knows full well what the White Dragon is planning to do to Martin Li and anyone who stands in his way.
At the Spider-Cave, Peter is looking up on the supercomputer of anything pertaining to the White Dragon and any connections to the Triads, so far he's got nothing, Gwen came into the lair to find Peter looking on the supercomputer, he turns around to find Gwen her all quiet.
"Oh, hey Gwendy. I was just waiting for you and your dad, he should be here soon." Peter tells Gwen he's waiting.
Peter looked at Gwen's face as she still remains quiet since she got here, something is definitely on her mind.
"What is it?" Peter is curious about what's going on with Gwen.
"Peter, what exactly happened last night, in your own words?" Gwen wanted to hear it from Peter.
"Meaning?" Peter is very confused.
"Meaning you and Betty?" Gwen gave a hint to what she's talking about.
Peter's eyes widened in shocked. "You know? How?"
"It doesn't matter. Just answer the question?" Gwen still wants an answer from Peter.
Peter sighed in shame. "Okay... last night, we snuck at the back of the restaurant and heard a conversation between the Triads."
"And?" Gwen still wants to hear more.
"And we came close to being discovered, we hid in the bathroom but they've didn't give up searching. Betty thought of something to throw them off our scent... we... kissed." Peter admits to Gwen about the kiss with Betty.
Gwen remained silent as Peter just told her the truth about the kiss between him and Betty.
"Why didn't you just tell me before?" Gwen felt disappointed Peter kept this from her.
"Gwen, it didn't mean anything." Peter tells Gwen.
"Are you sure about that? I mean Betty is very pretty and I know that you have strange gift in attracting pretty girls, girls like me, Liz, Mary Jane, and Felicia." Gwen reminded Peter of his past love interests.
"Gwen, I never cheated on you and I never meant for this to happen, it just did by accident." Peter tries to assure Gwen.
"You should've told back at school, I had to find out on my own." Gwen felt jealous and insecure by that kissed.
George Stacy came down the tunnel to find both Gwen and Peter talking as they've stopped their conversation.
"Glad you're both here, I've got some info." George Stacy holding up a folder.
George could sense something is off between Peter and Gwen as neither of them are saying anything in his presence.
"Is everything okay?" George Stacy is concerned for them.
"Yeah dad, everything is peachy." Gwen still felt uneasy.
"So what did you find?" Peter asking George Stacy what he found out.
"Those four corpses we found in Chinatown yesterday, we've checked out their dental records and got some matches, all four of them were the heads of the local Chinese gangs, all burnt to a crisp. There real question remains is who was responsible?" George Stacy explained about the four dead guys.
"From what me and Betty found out, sounds like their killer goes by the name White Dragon. He must be the new boss of Chinatown, so he kills off the formers heads and took over the gangs in one big barbecue." Peter figured out White Dragon with the what he knows so far.
George and Gwen gave Peter the look for giving off a quip.
"Too soon?" Peter looking nervous.
"Anyway, this guy could be the one who peddling in the new drugs that has killed that homeless man yesterday along with recent others. I asked the guys in narcotics and they told me that all this stuff is definitely coming out of Chinatown ever since this White Dragon muscled in, this product of theirs doesn't match anything in the D.E.A.'s database, so it must be very new." George Stacy explains about theses crimes and drugs.
"Doesn't this guy know that he moved into a city of heroes?" Peter says to George Stacy.
"Either he doesn't know or doesn't care, this city still has a power vacuum with most of organized crimes diminished, this White Dragon clearly sees an opportunity to take New York by any means necessary, even if that means destroying lives." George Stacy describing what White Dragon is capable of.
Gwen's phone is ringing, she pulls it out to see Mary Jane is calling her, she answered and held it to her ear.
"Hello?" Gwen asking Mary Jane over the phone.
"Gwen, is Peter with you?" Mary Jane asking Gwen for Peter.
"Yeah, why?" Gwen is curious what Mary Jane wants with Peter.
"I've been trying to reach him." Mary Jane says to Gwen.
Gwen hands Peter the phone. "It's Mary Jane."
Peter took the phone and held it to his ear. "It's me, MJ, what do you need?"
"I'm here at F.E.A.S.T., Mr. Li and your aunt are throwing in a campaign to get drug dealers out of our city, a lot of New Yorkers are attending this event." Mary Jane informs Peter about the campaign.
"Gwen, check for anything on F.E.A.S.T., please." Peter whispered to Gwen,
Gwen went over to the supercomputer and looked up the search engine about F.E.A.S.T., they found an event happening right now at the shelter about pushing drug dealers out of New York City where a lot of prominent New Yorkers are attending.
"Okay, thanks for informing us, MJ." Peter hangs up the phone.
"I have to admit, Mr. Li is quite brave taking on criminals with this publicity stunt." George Stacy says to Peter.
"Yeah, unfortunately something like this will make a lot of powerful criminals angry, looks like Mr. Li is in for a world of hurt. We need to get going." Peter tells Gwen.
"Don't need to tell me, Pete." Gwen is still mad at Peter.
Peter sighed. "Gotta let it go, Gwendy."
Peter and Gwen are about to suit up to go to F.E.A.S.T to protect everyone from White Dragon's retaliation against Martin Li's anti drug campaign.
It's nighttime in Chinatown at F.E.A.S.T. where a lot of the staff are putting up signs and many prominent people are gathered around, including J Jonah Jameson in the company of Robbie and Betty, they're here to support the cause as it is relevant to the story they're working on. One of the staff passed by as Jameson took a glass from the tray, Jameson took a sip of champagne.
"Mmm, I gotta admit, Martin Li sure knows how to organize a party." Jameson is impressed by this event.
"A lot of people are sympathetic to this campaign to cleanse the city of drugs, I just hope that it's worth all this effort." Robbie tells Jameson.
Betty walks around hoping that Peter might be here to take pictures of this event, she then spotted Mary Jane here working with the staff handing out drinks.
"Mary Jane!" Betty waved at Mary Jane getting her attention.
Mary Jane stopped working as she spotted Betty walking up to her.
"Hey Betty, you here on behalf of the Bugle?" Mary Jane says to Betty.
"Yes, have you seen Peter? I thought he'd be here taking pictures." Betty asking Mary Jane about Peter.
"No, he's not here yet." Mary Jane told Betty that Peter isn't here.
"Maybe he's been ducking me." Betty suspects Peter is avoiding her.
"Why would he do that?" Mary Jane is curious about Betty's meaning.
"Well..." Betty felt uneasy talking about it to a friend of Peter's.
Martin Li took the stage as the mike made a loud noise getting everyone's attention, Betty and Mary Jane stopped their conversation before Betty ever confessed what happened between her and Peter last night.
"Thank you all for coming, I know this is a big risk you're all taking by being here, but crime has been rising since yesterday and it's only getting worse, especially for the homeless who are more vulnerable to this poison being spread throughout the city. It's already taken a number of lives in the past couple days and the police are trying their best in containing this epidemic. So I ask you all in helping us untie this city in eradicating this crime spree and to encourage our citizens to stay clear of this poison, thank you." Martin Li speaks to the guests.
Everyone claps their hands together as they're very supportive of Martin Li's passion in helping people, but their celebration got cut short as gunshots are fired up in the air, everyone panicked as men with guns stormed the shelter and block their escape, everyone is trapped with no way out, they're held hostage as White Dragon himself came into the shelter as everyone sees a man dressed in a white and red suit resembling that of a Chinese dragon.
"Good evening everyone, I apologize for the intrusion but I didn't get an invitation." White Dragon walks up the stage.
Mary Jane and Betty are among the crowd as they watched the White Dragon approaching where Martin Li and May are standing.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Martin Li demanding answers.
"Oh, please forgive my rudeness for not introducing myself, I'm White Dragon, the new ruler of Chinatown and soon the rest of New York." White Dragon introduced himself to everyone.
"So you must the one who's been supplying the gangs with drugs that's been killing many people recently." Martin Li figured out White Dragon.
"Guilty, I have to say Mr. Li, you got some serious balls trying to stir up trouble for my business. You're either very brave or very stupid." White Dragon says to Martin Li.
"Too many people are getting killed by your junk. Did you really think that I'd sit idly by and do nothing while you destroy lives?" Martin Li is being very brave.
"Someone should've told you not to play with fire, because if you do, you'll get burned. Those four fools learned that the hard way, which you're about to learn firsthand." White Dragon is threatening to kill Martin Li.
Martin Li stands alone as everyone is frightened by what's about to happen right before their eyes, White Dragon is charging up his mask to unleash a burst of flames upon Martin Li to burn him alive. Martin Li is scared as he closes his eyes and awaits for his life to end, but Spider-Man came crashing down the window ceiling and webbed up White Dragon's mask and stopping his attack. Ghost-Spider jumped down and landed in a three point stance next to Spider-Man. Everyone is happy to see the two heroes here, especially May and Mary Jane. White Dragon pulls the webbing off his mask and spotted the two spider heroes here, both heroes sees a guy in a white dragon suit.
"Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider, at last we finally meet." White Dragon finally meets them in person.
"Oh great, so the infamous White Dragon is another nut in a costume." Ghost-Spider tells White Dragon.
"Well this nut has singlehandedly taken over Chinatown and soon I shall have the rest of New York all to myself." White Dragon is making a name for himself.
"Well don't get too comfortable, cause you're not staying here for long." Spider-Man tells White Dragon.
"We'll see." White Dragon isn't backing down.
The rest of the Dragon Lords all backed away from the hostage as they all aimed their guns at the two heroes, Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider spotted them aiming at them both, bullets started firing out of the barrels as both spiders jumps up and swings around drawing their fire, White Dragon in the meantime takes the opportunity to grab Martin Li and takes him hostage, May spotted White Dragon taking Martin Li away while the spiders are distracted in keeping the thugs occupied.
"Spider-Man! He's taking Martin Li away!" May yelled and pointed out for Spider-Man.
Spider-Man is still dodging bullets as he spotted White Dragon and a couple of men taking Martin Li hostage and making their escape during the chaos. He swings away as Ghost-Spider is firing off some webbing at the thugs faces, blinding them. She jumped down on the ground and webbed the nearest one and pulled him towards her, she does the flash kick, she then spotted a couple of them coming at her at either side, she landed and jumps again to do the split kick, she took them both down. She's managed to held her own against the thugs as everyone in the room is watching the fight.
Meanwhile Spider-Man reached outside to see that a couple of thugs are forcing Martin Li in the back of the van against his will, White Dragon spotted Spider-Man outside coming towards them hoping to stop them from taking Martin Li away, White Dragon stayed behind to face Spider-Man.
"Go back to the hideout, I'll deal with him myself." White Dragon orders his men to escape.
The thugs are hopping into the van while White Dragon unleashed his flames from his mask as Spider-Man jumped up and dodge the fire. White Dragon still has his flames on as he moves his head hoping to hit and burn Spider-Man. Spidey made it to higher up and kept himself at a safe distance to avoid the flames. He sees the van driving away from the scene with Martin Li as their hostage, he took the opportunity to toss a spider-tracer onto the top of the van before it left. White Dragon is still unleashing his flames to keep Spider-Man back until it suddenly stops, he ran out of fuel for the built in flamethrower.
"What's a matter, Mushu? Out of breath?" Spider-Man mocks White Dragon.
"Don't think that's going to stop me, Insect!" White Dragon still won't back down.
"Hey, I've face a dragon before, and he was very humongous. Taking you down will be a piece of cake." Spider-Man referencing Fin Fang Foom.
Spider-Man jumps off and drops down for a drop kick and knocked White Dragon down to the ground. Spider-Man landed on his feet and walks up closer to White Dragon as the villain unleashed a gas from his mask nostrils, Spider-Man got caught in the gas as he coughing and feeling the effects doing its work on him, he's becoming temporarily paralyzed and powerless, White Dragon gets him back up to see that he now has the advantage over Spider-Man.
"What's a matter? Out of breath?" White Dragon mocks Spider-Man back.
Spider-Man is still paralyzed from the gas as White Dragon has his claws out ready to killed Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider came out of the building and fired off a webbing onto White Dragon's claws. White Dragon spotted Ghost-Spider running towards him as one of his men came on a motorcycle, he hopped on the back and rode away to escape. Ghost-Spider spotted White Dragon escaping but her biggest concern is Spider-Man, she ran to his side to check up on him, he's still coughing from the gas he breathed in.
"Spider-Man, are you alright?" Ghost-Spider is worried for Spider-Man.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got caught off by surprise." Spider-Man told Ghost-Spider.
"And Martin Li?" Ghost-Spider asking about Martin Li.
"I was too late, they took him. But I've managed to toss a tracer onto their van, we haven't lost them yet." Spider-Man told Ghost-Spider.
Jameson came out of the shelter looking all upset at the two heroes for failing to stop Martin Li's abduction, Betty and Robbie followed after him trying to persuade him that it wasn't their fault. Ghost-Spider looked at Betty as she's still felt uneasy around her since she kissed her boyfriend, but that all got interrupted by Jameson speaking out against the heroes.
"Why is it that everywhere you both go, there's always trouble! And now Martin Li is in the hands of that nutcase in a dragon suit!" Jameson isn't too happy.
"Jonah, this isn't their fault, if they didn't came in time, Martin Li would've been dead by now, they saved all our lives." Robbie defended the heroes actions.
"It just as I said, this menace only inspires more madness, more suffering." Jameson still sticks to his believes.
"Geez Flattop, you have strange way of saying thank you. You never stop calling me a menace, do you?" Spider-Man says to Jameson.
"We don't have time for this, we need to go after Martin Li before it's too late." Ghost-Spider reminded Spider-Man.
"Right, gotta go! Oh, and you're welcome, Fuhrer Jameson." Spider-Man mocks Jameson before he leaves with Ghost-Spider.
"Why you..." Jameson felt very angry and insulted by Spider-Man.
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are swinging away from the shelter to find Martin Li and stop White Dragon once and for all. May and Mary Jane watched from the rooftop and hopes that they get to Martin Li in time.
At the underground hideout, Martin Li is tied up to a chair as he finds himself somewhere underground surrounded by a few thugs, White Dragon came in the room with a box full of fortune cookies, he puts it down on the table and turns his attention towards his newest hostage Martin Li.
"True story about fortune cookies, they look Chinese, they sound Chinese, but they're actually an American invention." White Dragon speaking about the origins of fortune cookies.
"I was born and raised in Hong Kong most of my life, you don't think I know that." Martin Li is well aware of the origins.
"Well, let's see what's in store for you future, Mr. Li." White Dragon put his hand in the box.
White Dragon is randomly searching for one fortune cookie, he pulls one out and cracks it open, he held up a message inside.
"'Good luck smiles on your future,' no, this ain't it. Let's try another." White Dragon tossed the paper down.
White Dragon picks another random fortune cookie and cracks it open, he reads a message.
"'Good deeds has it own rewards," nope, this isn't it either." White Dragon tossed the paper down.
White Dragon takes another random fortune cookie, he breaks it open and finds a message he finds appealing.
"Okay, this one I like, it says 'Your end is near, embrace and accept the inevitable.' Looks like your future is looking pretty grim, Mr. Li." White Dragon says to Martin Li.
Martin Li has a feeling that things aren't looking so good for him as White Dragon plans to have him killed, all Martin Li can do is await the inevitable.
(Outside)
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are standing on a rooftop, they traced the spider-tracer on the van to a building in Chinatown, they see a couple guys watching the door smoking cigarettes and keeping their eyes open. Spider-Man is on the phone with George Stacy informing him about a possible hideout where White Dragon and Martin Li are.
"We're outside on a rooftop, we believe that this could be a possible hideout of White Dragon's and Martin Li could still be inside with him held hostage." Spider-Man informing George Stacy.
"If the hideout is in Chinatown, then it's possible that they could be underground, according to organized crime, a lot of building's basements are adjacent, used for illegals in case of a INS raid. So it's possible that the building you're looking at is only the entrance to this underground hideout." George Stacy informing Spider-Man.
"Okay, we'll try to do this quietly and find Martin Li." Spider-Man says to George Stacy.
"Good luck to you both." George Stacy hangs up the call.
"Ready?" Spider-Man asking Ghost-Spider.
Ghost-Spider remained quiet as she still has trust issues concerning Spider-Man keeping secrets about that kiss with Betty Brant, Spidey suspect that its about him and Betty.
"Hey! We're not going inside with drama hanging over our heads... let it out." Spider-Man wants to discuss this with Ghost-Spider.
"Look Pete, I get that what happened between you Betty was unexpected and it was for a good reason." Ghost-Spider says to Spider-Man.
"But?" Spider-Man wants to hear more from Ghost-Spider.
"But you could've told me yourself what happened last night and I would've understand. I just wished that you'd trusted me with this." Ghost-Spider felt a lack of trust between them.
"Gwen, it wasn't easy being in that situation, and I wanted to tell you myself, I was just working up the courage to tell you." Spider-Man felt uneasy by this whole thing.
"I know and I'm not blaming you, Pete, it's was just too hard." Ghost-Spider still having trouble letting it go.
Spider-Man sighed. "I'm so sorry, Gwen, I truly am, you know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
Ghost-Spider sighed. "I know… I'm sorry I was being too hard on you, I guess I just can't stand every girl making moves on you, I felt jealous and insecure."
"I'm sorry too, I guess what happened between me and MJ the first time, the shame of me kissing other girls who aren't you, I just didn't want you to go through that again." Spider-Man apologized to Ghost-Spider for everything.
"I understand, I forgive you, Peter." Ghost-Spider forgives Spider-Man.
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider hugs each other for forgiveness and mend the damage, they stopped as they remember that they still have work to do saving Martin Li.
"Ready?" Spider-Man asking Ghost-Spider.
"I'm ready, let's go." Ghost-Spider tells Spider-Man.
Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider jumps off the rooftop and swings across as the two thugs guarding the entrance spotted them and tries to warn everyone by pulling out their CB walkie talkies, but Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider managed to fire off a couple of webbing at them and webbed them both up in time before they ever had the chance to warn anyone of their presence. Both men are webbed up as the two spiders enters the building and searches for the tunnels to the lair.
(Inside)
White Dragon is refueling his mask for his flames as he used up the previous batch from his engagement against Spider-Man, Martin Li still remained held hostage as White Dragon is putting his mask back on his head and walks back towards Martin Li. Unknown to anyone, Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider are deep underground as they found a bright light up ahead of their path. Martin Li is trying his best to get out of this bad situation he's in, but the ropes are too tight, White Dragon finally stood in front of Martin Li all ready to burn him alive.
"Sorry that your execution has been very delayed, but now is the time for you to die. Goodbye Martin Li." White Dragon is about to kill Martin Li with fire.
White Dragon is about to unleash flames and burn Martin Li this time, but Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider came in bursting through the door and fired off a web line, Spider-Man pulled White Dragon hard as his flames got diverted away, Martin Li is happy that Spider-Man is here in time again. White Dragon along with the rest of his thugs spotted the two heroes here in their underground hideout.
"You two again?" White Dragon is shocked.
"Surprise!" Ghost-Spider says to White Dragon.
"Not really, I'm actually glad that you're both here, saves me the hassle of finding you both. Now I have another opportunity to kill you two myself. Men, kill their asses." White Dragon orders his thugs.
There's about ten thugs here as they all pulled out hatchets as they surround Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider in a circle, both heroes are trapped at either side as they have their fists clenched. A couple of thugs came at them as they both do the spinning hook kicks and took the down simultaneously. Two more came in as the heroes sensed them coming from behind, they jumped backwards and wrapped their legs on the thugs heads, they performed the reverse hurricanrana on them and flip them backwards down on the ground. White Dragon sees the heroes are distracted fighting off his men, he turns his attention towards Martin Li all tied up, Spider-Man noticed it.
"Ghost-Spider! You gotta stop him! Go, I'll hold them off!" Spider-Man told Ghost-Spider to stop White Dragon.
Ghost-Spider breaks away from the fight as Spider-Man is left alone to deal with the rest of the thugs. White Dragon is about to kill off Martin Li with his flames until Ghost-Spider does the flying side kick and kicked him from behind, she saved Martin Li from getting killed, she then unties the ropes holding him, White Dragon recovers and spotted Ghost-Spider freeing Martin Li from confinement.
"Go! Get to safety!" Ghost-Spider tells Martin Li.
Martin Li is running out of the hideout as Ghost-Spider stays behind and turns around to see White Dragon walking up towards her. Now Ghost-Spider has White Dragon to deal with now that Martin Li is gone and out of their reach.
"I've faced off against Spider-Man the first time, but I've never gone up against you. Let's find out how good you are." White Dragon does the dragon style pose.
"You want to face me hand to hand?" Ghost-Spider says to White Dragon.
"Just because I'm in a suit, doesn't mean that I know Kung Fu, Dragon Style to be precise." White Dragon still doing the pose.
"I got my own style of Kung Fu, I call it Spider-Fu." Ghost-Spider does the three point stance.
"Let see who's style is best." White Dragon is waiting for her to make the first.
Ghost-Spider fired off a couple of webbing as White Dragon is dodging them and charges in took strike at her in close quarters, Ghost-Spider uses Wing Chun to block all of White Dragon's strikes and avoiding his sharp fingertips. Spider-Man is still fighting off at least four thugs left as he runs and does the flying knee strike, he took one down as a couple more are charging at him from behind, he jumps backwards above and bump their heads together knocking them both unconscious. White Dragon is still throwing in strikes hoping to kill off Ghost-Spider, but she is proven to be a very formidable foe even for him, she surprised him by doing the flash kick and kicked him as he falls back on the ground. He fell down on the ground as Ghost-Spider wants to make sure that he stays defeated. White Dragon waited for her to get too close as he unleashed some gas from his mask nostrils, she quickly webbed up the nostrils to keep the gas trapped inside the mask, the pressure builds up and caused it to leak out onto the wearer as he breathes in and feels the effects of his own gas. Spider-Man does the hurricanrana and took down the last remaining thug as all ten thugs of the Dragon Lords are defeated. He then spotted Ghost-Spider standing in front of a defeated White Dragon on the ground, he walked up next to her as the supervillain is all paralyzed from the gas.
"I see that you gave him a taste of his own medicine. Well done, Ghost-Spider." Spider-Man gave his compliments to Ghost-Spider.
"Thanks Spider-Man, looks like we've did it, we've saved Martin Li and stopped White Dragon in the process." Ghost-Spider says to Spider-Man.
(Later)
Sometime later after the fight ended, the NYPD are outside the doorstep to White Dragon's hideout, their officers are taking the White Dragon himself into their custody along with members of his Dragon Lords faction, up high across the other building, a camera is placed there taking snapshots of White Dragon's arrest. Martin Li is at the ambulance being checked out by the paramedics, Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider approached the man himself after he's done with his checkups.
"How're feeling?" Spider-Man asking Martin Li about his condition.
"Feeling a bit dehydrated, but otherwise I'm perfectly healthy. Thank you both for coming to my rescue, I'm in your debt once again." Martin Li gave his gratitude to the two heroes.
"No need, it's what we do." Spider-Man says to Martin Li.
Spider-Man shakes hands with Martin Li and Ghost-Spider also shakes hands afterwards. The press came to the scene as reporters and cameramen wants to interview Martin Li about recents events tonight, Martin Li walked over to the press and speaks to them.
The next day at the Daily Bugle, Jameson is looking at pictures of White Dragon's arrest that Peter brought over, the TV in the office is showing footages of last night's interview with Martin Li after his rescue thanks to Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider.
"If it wasn't for the heroic actions of Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider, I wouldn't be here alive right now. Thanks to them, the mastermind of this new drug ring called White Dragon is finally in police custody and the Dragon Lords has been disbanded, looks like things around New York are getting better as this dangerous narcotic is eradicated from our streets forever thanks to the NYPD seizing them. But I'd like to thank everyone who attended our anti drug campaign to stepping in on behalf of the people of New York City, it shows that this city is stronger when united." Martin Li speaks on the news.
"I'll give you 300 as always for the photos." Jameson holding the pictures.
"Done." Peter agreed to the price.
Jameson writes a check for 300 dollars and hands it to Peter as he got paid for the photos. Peter walks out of the office with the check as he bumps into Betty Brant on his way out.
"Oh, hey Pete." Betty says to Peter.
"Hey Betty, I heard that you were there at the shelter last night, MJ told me. I'm so glad that you're alright." Peter felt relieved for Betty's well being.
"Appreciate your concern, Pete." Betty smiled at Peter.
Peter remained quiet as he still feels conflicted of what happened between him and Betty behind Gwen's back.
"Is something wrong?" Betty is worried for Peter.
"No, everything is fine, it's just that... Gwen found out about that kiss we did the other night." Peter confessed about that kiss between him and Betty.
"Oh no, is everything alright between you two?" Betty felt guilty for that kiss.
"Yeah, don't worry, she's not angry at me... anymore." Peter tells Betty.
"I'm so sorry, Peter. I've never meant to come between you and Gwen, especially with that kiss, I don't what I was thinking in that moment." Betty felt ashamed for coming in between Peter and Gwen's relationship.
"It's alright, Betty, it wasn't entirely your fault, I went along with it, and it did save our skins that night." Peter is very understanding with Betty.
"Still thought, it was... kinda nice. For someone who's a nerd, you're quite a kisser." Betty blushed in front of Peter.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." Peter blushed at Betty.
Peter and Betty are caught in a awkward moment as they've snapped back to reality.
"I should get going, Gwen is waiting for me outside." Peter says to Betty.
"Sure thing, good luck with Gwen, Pete." Betty tells Peter.
"Thanks Betty." Peter smiled as he walks away.
Betty stayed behind and watched Peter leaving the floor by elevator, she still blushed by that one moment she and Peter shared together, even though it was only a kiss, it meant something more to Betty.
"Oh Pete, why did I have to fall for you?" Betty is wondering to herself.
(Outside)
Gwen is still outside waiting for Peter to come out after he delivered the photos of White Dragon's arrest, she then spotted him coming out of the Bugle building with the check in his hand.
"I see you got paid." Gwen noticed the check in Peter's hand.
Peter holds it up. "300 bucks for last night's shots of White Dragon."
"So now what?" Gwen is wondering what's next for them.
"You in the mood for some Chinese?" Peter has a suggestion.
Later in Chinatown, Peter and Gwen are dining in at a Chinese restaurant enjoying their date and eating the finest Chinese cuisine the restaurant has to offer.
"Mmm, this is place is amazing." Gwen is enjoying her meal.
"Aunt May told me that this is best restaurant in Chinatown, she would often come here on her break." Peter told Gwen about this place.
"And I can see why, you had the right idea to come here on our date." Gwen smiled at Peter.
"Anything for my girl." Peter flirted with Gwen.
Peter reached for the last dumpling with his chopsticks but Gwen reached with her chopsticks too as they're both hanging onto the last dumpling.
"There's only dumpling left." Gwen smiled at Peter.
"I have an idea, do you trust me?" Peter smiled at Gwen.
"Always Pete." Gwen says to Peter.
Peter and Gwen held up the last dumpling together with their chopsticks, they leaned in closer and both took a bite of half the dumpling, they have their lips together as they smiled and eat their halves. The waitress came by and dropped off some fortune cookies for the couple as they're finished, Gwen took the first one and breaks it open, she held the piece of paper.
"What does it say?" Peter is curious.
"It says 'Your love with continue to grow stronger with the one you love.'" Gwen reads the message.
"I certain hope so." Peter smiles at Gwen.
"At least did our jobs in cleaning up Chinatown of the White Dragon, things are looking to get better for everyone in it." Gwen says to Peter.
It's nighttime in Brooklyn Chinatown, the remnants of the Dragon Lords are gathered at the warehouse after they've managed to evade capture by the NYPD since their leader is taken into custody, their numbers has shortened, the four lieutenants are left in charge.
"That was too close, too bad we can't say the same for the others."
"Damn it, that White Dragon has ruined us! Killing off our bosses and leading all of us to our downfall."
"At least he's finally paying for his stupidity, with him gone we can rebuild."
"Yeah, you're absolutely right."
The warehouse got raided as men wearing black and white demon masks came in with highly advanced weapons such as electro swords and nunchucks have all of the Dragon Lords surrounded. The four lieutenants are shocked to see new types of criminals they've never seen before in their lives.
"Who are you guys?!"
"Relax, they're with me, they're my Inner Demons!" A mysterious enemy is hiding himself in the shadows
"Who said that?! Show yourself!"
A man is taking some steps and comes out of the shadows glowing in white and black wearing a suit, the four lieutenants of the Dragon Lords are all shocked to see the man's face, it's someone they didn't expect to see.
"No... it can't be... it's you!"
This mystery man has shocked the four lieutenants the moment they gazed upon his face, whoever this man is, he's very powerful with an army of thugs more powerful than any other, this man has great plans for all of New York and wants to bring the Dragon Lords into his gangs to expand his criminal empire, this mysterious criminal will become a personal adversary of Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider in the near future.
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