Thanks for al the positive reviews so far! That really helped me feel better about the story and made me want to work hard on this fic.
For the dude who said it was trash... well, sorry to disappoint.
For the dude who said the game was trash, well... To each their own.
-Y.A.R.N.
P.S. Credit to respective owners and special thanks to Vanitas50, Ghost Fire 6, and MCRasengan with help and/or opinions on villains.
"I had hoped I was wrong. I had hoped that maybe it was a mistake, that there was no way that the fine citizens of New York City would suffer any further. I had hoped that my voice would be the truth that could cut through the insanity of people who think Spider-Man is anything more than a criminal and to emulate him is nothing short of foolish! But now do I realize that it has only just begun my dear listeners! There are now reports of two - TWO - Spider-Men now terrorizing the populace! This new spider showcases the same abilities as the original monster and terror of New York! While we don't know much about this new spider - who apparently calls himself Ricochet - I am certain of one thing! This new villain must be the protege of the original Spider-Man himself, learning how to best terrorize, subjugate, and ruin New York! Should we be expecting more of these costumed monsters? More freaks and insane villains to rom the streets? I hope that you are listening, Ricochet! It's not too late for you to do the right thing! Turn your back on Spider-Man, deputize and unmask, and then reveal who is the cowardly Spider-Man who thinks he is above the law!"
Miles grimaced as J. Jonah Jameson ranted and raved about Peter being a criminal and if Miles had a lick of sense, he'd hand Peter over to be arrested and then unmask, "I have no idea how anyone can stand listening to that guy! What did he see that made him hate you so much?"
"Ignore it, Miles." Peter mumbled, half-listening; filling out an application for Horizon labs was more important than paying attention to Jonah's usual caterwauling.
"But he's wrong!" Miles protested heatedly, "You've saved the city so many times and he still blames you for thing that are not your fault!"
"He always had and I am convinced he always will," Peter sighed as he kept typing; he was used to Jonah, having dealt with that man for far too long to be bothered by his belligerence, "He'll keep squawking until his throat gives out and he loses his voice."
"That human has to be one of the most ignorant, stubborn, and utterly stupid entities I have ever had the displeasure of having to hear!" Viri grumbled in Peter's head, "If I were you, I would've paid him a visit and shown him how much you could be a villain!"
'Viri,' Peter sighed mentally, having dealt with Viri's increasingly annoyed grumbles over Jonah's opinion over the weeks, 'If anything, that would only justify his hate. It's better to just leave him to it. Sometimes, you can't change people's minds, and trust me, Cops, regular people, heck, even Aunt May tried to tell him I wasn't so bad. He's just convinced I'm just waiting to be the villain.'
It was odd to think about it, but Viri easily slotted itself in Peter's life and was actually not at all like Peter had initially worried. The symbiote had been snippy and sarcastic at some points, but if anything, Peter didn't really mind having Viri with him. It was actually nice to have someone to talk to and encourage him. Viri had admitted that it combed through Peter's head and apparently had come to the conclusion that Peter was the best host it could've hoped for. It wanted to stay with him for as long as possible, and wanted to help Peter protect as many as they could together. Peter had said that if need be, Viri could leave to save itself, Viri protested and refused the idea outright. It even refused to even try to bond with Miles in any capacity, despite Miles and Peter assurances that Peter wasn't trying to dispose of it or leave it behind. Miles had been a bit disappointed, but wasn't the type of guy to let it get to him.
Miles let out a frustrated grumble, "I wish he hadn't heard of 'Ricochet', he's probably gonna start insulting me in talkshows and the last thing I want is him on my back."
Peter finished the form and saved it before closing his laptop; turning to his annoyed protege he calmly began, "It's a bit late to wish that you had been more stealthy, and seriously, Jonah isn't going to be the only person to hate you for what you can do. People will think you use your powers to just flaunt how you're better. They'll be jealous of you, and hope you get hurt or die in a fight. I even teamed up with the Avengers on occasion and even that isn't enough for some people."
Miles frowned, "I just... I don't get why we won't get treated like other heroes that are around, I mean look at the Avengers! Why aren't we appreciated the same way as Captain America and Iron Man?"
Peter shook his head, "Everyone knows that they are Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, they don't have to worry about normal people being attacked because Avengers Tower is probably more secure than any other building in America and Cap's friends are mostly superheroes it's be a bad idea at best or suicide at worst to attack them. But more importantly, we ARE appreciated, even if it doesn't seem like it. For every person like Jonah, there are several people who see what we do and care. I know it's hard, but apparently as the idol of the Spidey Squad, I think I know what I am talking about."
"Wait... You have a club?!" Miles inquired.
Peter cracked his neck from side to side as Miles was perched on some abandoned debris.
'Viri, you ready?' Peter inquired.
"Always." Came the reply.
The Symbiotic Suit immediately flowed into existence and Peter hopped in place, making sure there were no kinks as the suit formed. The following two weeks after Miles first patrol were dedicated to Peter practicing with Viri in order to properly gauge his own strength with a symbiote boost. Peter could lift twenty tons at his absolute most ( his basic 'limit' was ten tons and straining himself to twice that much that would leave him vulnerable and weak), but with Viri fully bolstering his abilities, he estimated being at least ten to fifteen times stronger and faster than before. The problem was gaining a handle on his strength; when he was not using the Symbiotic Suit, his abilities were about five times his previous strength thanks to Viri's passive boost to his body. Thankfully, that didn't apply to his regenerative factor and his spider-sense as they were under the full effects of Viri's boost at all times. In an effort to see how much the symbiote improved his abilities, he had asked Miles to meet him in one of Fisk's abandoned and unfinished towers.
"I am going to race you up the Tower, anything goes except for webs, you see a way through that you can use that'll get you up to the top faster? Take it." Peter said.
"Without webs?" Miles asked dubiously as he dropped from the perch he was on, "I mean we both have them, and Viri makes an unlimited supply of them for you now even with your web-shooters..."
Peter shook his head, hand absently moving to where he had been impaled, "I have been in fights where my web-shooters got damaged or crushed... like when I fought Doc Ock. His tentacles crushed my armored web-shooters and I had to resort taking him on physically. It would have been way easier to fight him with them, but sometimes you'll have to go without them. I may technically have unlimited webbing, but I need to be able to fight just as well with and/or without them. What if Viri is incapacitated? What if it can't make the webs? What if like in my fight with Otto, my shooters are damaged?"
Miles nodded, considering this.
"It's important that you learn how to move without webs, if for nothing else so that you can get to where you need to be fast, even if it's just leaping from building to building. So, we race up the tower, see who gets there first."
They both started from about a quarter up from the ground floor, they didn't want to scare any pedestrians, but he wanted Miles to get the hand of climbing without webs, so he confiscated his web-shooters and they both crouched on the side of the building.
"Ready... Set... Go!" Peter yelled.
The both began sprinting up the side of the building and Peter pulled ahead, his longer strides and passive symbiotic boost allowing him to out-speed Miles. Miles grumbled, how was he supposed outrun Peter?
"Anything goes...?"
Remembering that, Miles set his jaw and began to leap up slightly, using more of his strength, half-lunging, half-running. Peter grinned as Miles passed him and began to follow his student in earnest. The dashed over open sections of the half constructed building, vaulting off of support beams and closed elevators. Miles found that going with is instincts was much faster than using even a split second to check for a faster path. Peter managed to beat Miles up the tower but Miles was grinning, even if slightly miffed at losing.
"Again?" He asked.
Peter was lost in thought while swinging through the streets after telling Miles that it was getting to be around time for him to head home so he wouldn't pass-out in class. Miles had grumbled about it in good humor and swung off towards his house. Peter had let the symbiote suit flow back under his Iron Spider suit and began to swing through the city, hoping to see if he could maybe get some patrolling done early. After having sent his resume to Horizon Labs, he'd been a bit nervous. He had made sure to include his work as an assistant and intern under Otto and hoped that though his old mentor was positively identified as Dr. Octopus, it wouldn't make Horizon Labs knock him out from the selection.
"Do you believe they will look unfavorably upon what you had accomplished?" Viri inquired, genuinely worried for Peter, "They should know you had no intention of creating a 'octopus monster' that nearly destroyed the city and that Otto Octavius disregarded your multiple warnings that the neural interface wasn't quite ready for use."
'He may have been the one to use the arms as he did,' Peter replied quietly, 'but ultimately it was my work on the interface that caused Otto to feel overconfident and use it. I almost wish that I never helped at all...'
"Peter." Viri chided, "Miles and Mary-Jane both have stated that what happened to Otto Octavius was not your fault and I agree with that assessment. I understand you feel responsible, but his choice to ignore your warnings and then break out the criminals in Raft were not due to your lack of effort. The man you once knew had lost himself to revenge and vengeance."
'I know, Viri.' Peter murmured mentally, 'I just... I just wish... I don't know...'
"Peter. I understand."
Miles had his head perched on his hand as he idly listened to his teacher on the board. He didn't really need to worry much about his science grade, he already was very good at it and he had read the chapter before-hand.
He was lost in other thoughts.
To be honest, he had almost forgotten he had high school when he discovered his spider-powers, and since he'd always been a decent kid with no real bullies to tango with, there was no suspicion or rumors to spread if was suddenly able to push back with any hypothetical bullies. Still, he wondered how Peter had managed high school and his heroics, Miles often had to end his patrols earlier than Peter did to get enough shut eye that he wouldn't be a zombie throughout the day. Peter - thankfully - still remembered how some nights - and occasional day crimes - were horrible back in school due to the hours he held, not even to mention bruises or battle scars that he had to hide so that he wouldn't be questioned.
If anything, web-swinging really made getting through the morning traffic and crowds a lot easier and reaching school much faster.
As great as that all was, he was still balancing a full plate when it came to civilian and hero life; with him also helping in the going-on's at F.E.A.S.T., he had been caught up in a bit of a hectic rush. Peter and MJ both helped out wherever they could, but MJ had her career and Peter was still trying to find a new one.
Miles wanted to be a hero, he saw just how much good Peter did, but on the other hand he wasn't sure he could handle it.
He hoped he could tell Peter that without disappointing him.
MJ was curled up against Peter on her couch as they both shared a bowl of popcorn and some soda while watching a Star Wars Marathon. MJ made a contented hum as he absently began to run a hand through her hair.
She missed this.
She missed him.
Breaking up with him was painful, not just for Peter but for the both of them. She hated the fact that they couldn't make it work the first time around. With the recent events that had happened, she realized that she didn't want to wait for a better time. One day, he could fight a villain and he might not make it back, she could get too cocky and be shot for her snooping. She had initially been peeved at how much he seemed to smother her, but she learned it was because he was scared. He'd lost his parents, his uncle, and was terrified of losing more people he loved. They were on more equal terms and while she wasn't going to don a costume and fight crime, she was helping by being a journalist.
But she was really helping him by helping comfort him in grief. He had lost both of his parental figures and with his joblessness, he had free time that he just really didn't know what he was supposed to do. He would often seek her out to just hold her when the pain became too much for a moment. She had pointed out the Horizon Labs job to him after looking through at the specifications and thinking it would be good for the both of them. He had submitted the application and simply waited for the reply while she assured him he would get the job. She had even placed a duffel bag of his clothing in her closet for when he had to leave her apartment as Spider-Man.
Sometimes it didn't feel like enough, and she wondered where all the heroes were while Peter had been running himself ragged over the Devil's Breath incident. Was Daredevil taking a break? Was he on vacation? she could imagine he may have been lock out due to the quarantine, so he might've been given a pass. But The Avengers? Fine, they had been on the west coast, but that really excuse them from not know how bad things were getting? Didn't Tony Stark have a whole army of suits that could be used to help fight the super-villains or rescue people? Shouldn't anyone with abilities have stepped up?
She was still bitter.
She was jolted out of her reverie as Peter poked her cheek.
"Something the matter?" Peter said softly, "You seem mad."
"Just... I wish you had more help than what Miles and I did when the mess happened." She sighed, tilting her head to give him a sad look, "Seeing you so go so far and nearly die was one of the worst moments in my life. I never want to see you like that ever again."
Peter pressed his lips to the top of her head, "I have help now, and I don't think I could've made it back then without you and Miles lending a hand. I need you both."
"I know, but I at least thought the other heroes cared about you more than that. Enough to try to lend a hand." She finally murmured, snuggling closer to him.
"Me too." He finally whispered, resting a cheek on her head, "Me too."
The man chuckled as he poured over the several journals and data files he had managed to get. It had been hard to find and even harder to decode even after leaving the labs, but it had been worth it. The gene-splicing research that had turned Mac Gargan into the Scorpion and the exact process used; with that, he was finally ready to begin the formula that would bring Spider-Man to ruin. He already managed to reverse-engineer and make several samples of the special mutagen that had acquired from the last heist. The only things he now needed were the tools, time, and testing.
He had tools.
He had time.
He walked over to a number of boxes that held spiders of various species and size.
And he had plenty of specimens.
He was ready, he now just had to steel himself for the experiments. He carefully began set up the testing chamber and set the spider - loose in the bullet-proof glass container and took a step back. He walked over to a photo that had a smiling woman and a young girl clinging to him as he was laughing delightedly. His hands shook as he picked up the frame and pressed his forehead against the glass. He closed his eyes for a moment- eyes burning and throat clogged with grief - before setting the frame back on the desk.
He gently ran his trembling fingers over his wife and daughter's faces.
"Everyone will pay, my love..." The man whispered, "They all will pay for what they took from me. I will make sure you both will get the revenge you deserve... I will rend the flesh from their bones with my bare hands..."
