-Chapter 4-
Shriek of the Vulture
A few days passed after the events with the Lizard. Peter and Peni entered the school. Peni sighed as she saw who was approaching them.
"Here we go again," she muttered.
Flash made his way to them, stopping before them. Peter scowled; after a rough night as Spider-Man, he was in no mood to deal with this.
"Flash, take a hike, will ya?" he snapped. "I'm way too tired to put up with you. Besides, shouldn't you be failing a test, kicking a puppy or beating up somebody weaker than you right now?"
"Hey come on, Parker. I just-" Flash began.
"Just what?" Peter demanded. "Wanna shove me in a locker or another trash can?"
"Actually, I wanted to say I'm sorry about your uncle."
Peter perked up at that as Flash rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"I know how bad I took it when my Dad left and... well, I get it I guess. You're going through a tough time, and I just… just wanted to say sorry you have to go through this." There was an awkward silence, then Flash just turned away. "I'll... just be going now."
With that, he left. After a minute, Peni ended the silence.
"Flash Thompson being nice for once?" She feigned a shudder. "Brrr... you feel that? I think Hell just froze over."
Peter shrugged. "Guess there's hope for everyone."
Meanwhile at Oscorp, an elderly man was walking up the steps into the building. He threw the door open with a scowl.
"I need to speak to Norman Osborn!" he shouted. "Immediately!"
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.
"I'm Adrian Toomes! I'm on the board of directors!"
"You don't appear to be on the list," the receptionist remarked.
Adrian blinked before scowling. "I'm not leaving until I speak with him!"
"I'm sorry sir, but-"
"Don't you dare apologize."
They turned to see a well-dressed man with black hair and red highlights.
"Mr. Osborn!" the receptionist exclaimed.
"Oscorp has done nothing to apologize for." the man, clearly Norman Osborn, insisted.
"Nothing to apologize for?" Adrian demanded. "Osborn, it's bad enough you had Toomes Aerodynamics folded into your company, but now you steal my work?!"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"Do you take me for a fool?" Adrian advanced on him. "I showed you my magnetic air transport system. You studied my ideas and rejected them, only to announce Oscorp tech flight four months later!"
"I just took your basic design and made it work," Norman insisted. "It's not my fault they share some similarities."
"Without giving me any damned credit or a cut of the profit! I have a family to help provide for, Osborn! Grandkids and everything!"
"I understand. I'm a family man myself. But sometimes, sacrifices must be made."
"You're not sacrificing anything! But me and my family are!"
Norman sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen, you old buzzard," he began calmly. "You've been at this for decades without one success to your name. If you never accomplished anything as a young man... who'd believe you created tech flight as an old one?"
Adrian glared at him as Norman pulled away.
"Now please be so kind as to show yourself out, or I'll have security do it for you."
"You know what you are, Osborn?" Adrian questioned. "You're nothing but a corporate vulture. Just remember there's more than one bird of prey in this town."
With that, he stormed off. Once he was gone, the receptionist cleared her throat.
"Sir... he seemed upset. Should we be worried?"
Norman waved a hand, dismissing it. "He's an old man pushing eighty. What's there to worry about?"
Across town, in the Daily Bugle building, reporter Whitney Chang was in the office of her boss J. Jonah Jameson, who was ranting over the front page of a newspaper that displayed a blurry photo of Spider-Man.
"Can you please tell me what kind of a world we live in when a public menace dressed like a bug winds up on my front page, Chang?" he questioned.
"J.J., I don't see the issue," Whitney pointed out. "He's helping people out, being a hero."
"Then why does he wear a mask?" Jonah asked. "Huh? What's he got to hide?""
"I don't know, but he did save New York from that Lizard creature," Whitney said. "Doesn't that warrant some kind of recognition?"
"I pay you to snap pictures and report on things, not to think," Jonah snapped. "Now next time you see him, try to get a decent picture."
"We've been trying, Jonah," Whitney informed him. "Eddie's been at it for weeks. We can barely get a glimpse of him."
"What is he, shy?" Jameson scoffed. "If we can get a picture of Julia Roberts in a thong, we can certainly get a picture of a weirdo in red-and-blue spandex! Tomorrow morning the front page is gonna read: Reward for photos of Spider-Man! If he doesn't wanna become famous, then I'll make him infamous!"
"Oh yes. Anything to make money and sell papers, right?"
"I'm trying to run a business here."
The next day, Peter and Peni were out with two of their friends, Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. The four were sitting at tables at Pepe's Pizza, discussing recent events.
"Flash has been laying off you for a while, Peter," Gwen. "Guess even he has some human decency."
"My dad used to have a saying," Peni remarked. "'Some people have a hard outer shell, but inside everybody has a creamy center.'"
"Yeah?" Harry asked. "Flash is more of a bastard-coated bastard with bastard filling."
"Well, not always," Peter recalled. "Hell, we used to eat paste together back in first grade."
"I remember that…" Peni perked. "It wasn't until your folks went missing and he got into jock culture that it all went downhill."
"Yeah, pretty much…"
Once they were done eating, the four headed out. A nearby newsstand caught Peter's attention.
"Hey, look at this."
They looked over the Daily Bugle's front page, an ad reading "Cash reward for pictures of Spider-Man."
"Oh yeah," Harry remarked. "I've heard of that guy."
Peter stroked his chin, an idea forming. "I think I've found my new source of income."
"Taking photos of Spider-Man for the Bugle?" Gwen asked.
"What else am I supposed to do for income?" Peter questioned.
"Well, there's always getting a job as a cashier or fry cook at Burger Frog." Peni suggested.
Peter gave her a deadpan look. "Only as a last resort, Peni. A very last resort."
"I say go for it," Harry decided. "You took some great shots for the school paper a while back."
"It's worth a shot." Gwen agreed.
Gwen and Harry soon made their way to their own homes, leaving Peni and Peter to discuss things.
"So you're gonna take photos of yourself for the Bugle?" Peni asked. "Please tell me this won't be a repeat of It's Amazing."
"No, of course not," Peter assured. "Aunt May needs help with the bills, and this seems like the best way to do it."
"Okay, fair point," Peni conceded. "But how exactly are you gonna pull off taking photos of yourself in costume without it looking suspicious?"
"You let me worry about that," Peter told her.
Elsewhere, Toomes was donning a high tech suit with sharp metal wings and talons on the feet.
"Osborn thinks he can steal my invention? Take credit for all my hard work?" He pulled on a black helmet that completely hid his face, green goggles for lenses. "Well... he's in for a big surprise."
Later, Peter, in costume, was attempting to get decent photos of Spider-Man. It was easier said than done, to say the least. His first attempt involved simply holding the camera in his hand while swinging, effectively taking selfies of himself. When he landed and looked them over, he was dismayed to see they were nothing but blurry close-ups.
"Blurry… blurry…" he listed off. "Heh, decent shot of my elbow. Or my knee. And this one would be great... if my arm was two feet longer."
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Okay... I didn't think this through too well. Just snapping photos while swinging is out."
As he was considering his next attempt, he heard what sounded like a jet engine. Spider-Man looked up to see Toomes in his new suit flying overhead.
"Well… that's new," he remarked.
He swung off to follow.
Meanwhile, Norman was speaking to Harry on the roof of their highrise.
"How's school been going?" Norman asked.
"Not bad," Harry remarked. "Managed to pass the big trig test. Though Pete helped with that."
Norman nodded before sighing. "Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I've been swamped at work. But I'll be there for our family dinner tomorrow night. You have my word."
"I understand, Dad," Harry assured. "You're a busy man."
At that moment, they heard the jet engine sound approaching. Both men looked up to see Toomes flying in at high speed.
"OSBORN!"
His boot-talons popped out with an ominous shing. Before Norman could react, Toomes grabbed him by the shoulders and took off into the sky.
"Dad!" Harry screamed.
He could only watch helplessly as Norman was taken off into the sky. After a minute, he ran back inside, grabbing the phone to call the police.
Meanwhile, Toomes was flying around with Norman in his talons. He smirked under his mask, glaring at him.
"Tell the truth, Osborn," he asked. "Can your tech-flight do this?"
Norman's eyes widened. "Toomes?!"
"No, not anymore. I'm what you called me! I'm the Vulture!"
"No, you called me a vulture! I called you a buzzard!" Norman rolled his eyes. "You can't even get the name right."
"You know, it's unwise to insult the only thing keeping you from falling forty stories!" Vulture snapped.
For emphasis, he threw Norman up into the air, letting him fall a few feet before swooping down and catching him.
"You want me to beg?!" Norman snapped. "Not gonna happen!"
"No, I don't want you to beg," the Vulture replied. "I want you to announce to the world that Adrian Toomes is the true inventor of Tech Flight! You will give me back my company and pay me what I am owed! And you will publicly apologize for stealing my work!"
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you'll end up nothing more than a greasy little red smear on Wall Street!"
Norman scowled. "I never apologize, old man!"
"I may be an old man, but I'm not a patient one!" Vulture shouted as they swooped around. "Think hard: are your ego and company more important than your life?!"
Norman remained tight-lipped for several minutes, and eventually, Vulture lost his patience.
"Time's up, Osborn! You had a chance to save yourself, but you were too damn stubborn to take it!"
With that, he released Norman, leaving him to plummet to the ground below. Suddenly, Spider-Man swung in out of nowhere and caught him.
"Whoa, guys!" he exclaimed. "You play hot potato hard core!"
"Spider-Man?!" Vulture shouted in surprise. "This is between me and Osborn, so back off!"
"Can't," Spider-Man replied. "They'd take away my superhero license."
He swung away as fast as he could, eventually managing to safely deposit Norman on the ground before the NYPD.
"Sorry, can't stick around!" he declared before darting away with the Vulture in hot pursuit. Norman watched him go, intrigue on his face.
-X-
"You interfering insect!" the Vulture roared. "How dare you?!"
"For the record, spiders are arachnids, not insects," Spider-Man pointed out. "Don't you know anything about science?"
Vulture tried slashing at him, but Spider-Man quickly leapt over the wing.
"Osborn stole my ideas! He ruined me! I merely seek to return the favor!"
"Oh, yeah. Petty theft totally justifies murder."
Vulture swung his wings, the feathers suddenly shooting out like darts. Spider-Man managed to duck over several of them, which lodged into the wall behind him.
"Wow. And I thought Imperial stormtroopers were lousy shots."
Vulture raised his wings, which glowed and hummed. At that moment, Spider-Man's spider-sense went off, and he narrowly managed to dodge the feather-blades as they were recalled to their wielder.
"Yikes!" he exclaimed. "You should really get those clipped!"
"Do you ever shut up?" the Vulture hissed.
"Not really, no. My fans expect a certain amount of quippage in every battle."
Vulture dive-bombed at Spider-Man, who simply jumped up and landed on his back. Vulture scowled, spinning around and trying to dislodge him
"Look, Beaky," he began. "I admire anyone who dresses up like their favorite animal. And better still, you can fly. So I gotta ask: you ever hear the one about great power coming with great responsibility?"
Eventually, Vulture darted for a nearby flag pole, forcing Spider-Man to leap off
"Whoa, Beaky!" he cried. "Don't fly away angry!"
"The name is VULTURE!" the Vulture shouted as he fled. Spider-Man watched him go
"Well, I'll have to keep an eye out for him. In the meantime…"
He headed for a nearby building, where his camera had been webbed to the wall. Spider-Man tugged the camera free, looking over the photos of the fight, only to discover the nearby windows had reflected his camera flash, rendering them useless
"Oh, come ON!"
Later, Peter called Peni over to explain what had happened.
"This Vulture guy's got a vendetta with Harry's dad," he finished. "Not sure why exactly."
"Maybe because he met him?" Peni deadpanned before blinking. "Did I say that out loud?"
"Yeah, you did," Peter confirmed. "Ever consider an inner monologue? Works wonders for me."
Peni sighed. "I know it's an awful thing to say, but Norman Osborn isn't exactly a peach to be around, Pete. There's a reason Oscorp doesn't have the best reputation in town, and he's it."
"Okay, I won't deny he's a greedy sleaze. But he at least tries to be there for Harry, and be a good parent," Peter pointed out. "Anyway, he's not the issue here. The Vulture is."
"Right," Peni nodded. "We need a way to take him down."
She tapped her chin in thought. "You said he used a high-tech suit to fly? Sounds a lot like the prototype flight harness I've seen at the lab."
"You've actually seen this thing? Do you know how it works?"
"If I remember correctly, it uses electromagnetic force to achieve an anti-gravity effect," Peni perked. "Then this Vulture was telling the truth. Mr. Osborn must've stolen the design from him."
"And now he wants payback."
Peni stood up, pacing. "I remember now. That flight harness was in development by Toomes Aerodynamics before Oscorp bought it out."
"Toomes Aerodynamics? Didn't they build planes for the most part?"
"They did, yeah," Peni confirmed. "With that in mind, I'll bet ten bucks the Vulture is their former CEO, Adrian Toomes."
"And now we have a name to go with the wings," Peter deduced. "Hmm... you think his lab is still open?"
"Probably. Why?"
"I was thinking, if those wings work by magnetism, I might be able to make something that could disrupt the signal."
Peni nodded. "Worth a shot."
They headed for Oscorp, managing to get into Adrian Toomes' old lab. Peter made a beeline for the computer.
"Let's see just how good their security is," he said as he turned it on and began typing. "Oh, they forgot the latest kernel patch…"
He tsk-tsked before getting to work, eventually bringing up the plans for the flight harness.
"Now, let's see what makes this Vulture fly…"
He looked it over for a few minutes before nodding.
"Well Peni, you were right on the money. Toomes' flight suit harnesses electromagnetic power to get him off the ground. Now all I need is some kind of jamming device to invert the magnetic signals and ground him… and work out my photography issues while we're at it."
-X-
They got to work, Peter dividing his time between helping Peni rig the device and working on his camera. After several hours of work, they finished the jammer after sundown.
"Well... that took longer than expected." Peter remarked.
"Amen to that," Peni agreed. "But there's no way of knowing it'll work until you actually try it."
"Right. Here's hoping it actually works."
Peni stifled a yawn. "For now, I gotta head home and get some shuteye."
"Whereas some of us have to work late."
Peter wasted no time putting on his suit and taking to the rooftops. He scanned the horizon for any sign of the Vulture.
"Okay… if I was a winged freak seeking revenge on Norman Osborn, where would I go?"
His patience was soon rewarded when he saw the Vulture flying in the distance. Spider-Man followed after him as swiftly and silently as possible. As he got closer, he saw he was tailing a limousine.
"Norman's limo…" he realized. "That's what he's after."
At that very moment, the Vulture swooped down. His talons pierced the top of the limo, peeling the metal back like tinfoil. Norman recoiled, looking up to see him.
"Thought you'd escaped me, didn't you?!" he shouted. "You will apologize!"
"Stop and think for a minute, Toomes!" Norman shouted. "What will any of this accomplish?!"
"Cementing my granddaughter's future and my family's home, that's what!"
Vulture was suddenly kicked away, landing on the pavement as Spider-Man touched down before him. He scowled.
"You again?!" he roared. "Why do you insist on defending Osborn?!"
Vulture tried slashing at Spider-Man, but he quickly zipped out of the way.
"That's the thing about being a hero!" Spidey shot back. "You don't pick and choose who you save!"
"He stole my tech flight plans! My one chance at supporting my family! And he'll pay in blood!"
"Just a suggestion, but wouldn't it be easier, and more legal, to just sue the guy?"
"Don't you think I tried that?! Oscorp has a hundred lawyers! They won the case easily!
"He launched his feather-blades at Spidey, sending him on the run.
"What he did to you sucks, I won't deny that," he remarked. "But it doesn't give you an excuse to kill him! Revenge won't solve anything!"
"Maybe not," Vulture admitted. "But it'll make me feel better. And I won't let a little bastard in red tights stop me!"
"I'll try not to take that personally," Spider-Man said flatly.
As the Vulture took off, heading after the retreating limo, Spider-Man leapt after him, grabbing his ankle. The Vulture glared at him.
"You're a fool, Spider-Man! I can fly and you can't! You're in my element!"
"Then I guess it's time I clip your wings!"
Spidey reached for his belt, pressing the button on the magnetic inverter. It took a few seconds, but soon the Vulture began to spiral out of control.
"What have you done?!" Toomes screamed as they started to plummet. "You moron! Without my harness, I can't pull up! You've killed us both!"
"Dude, you have so not been paying attention," Spider-Man deadpanned.
Spider-Man shot out a web and started swinging with Vulture in tow. "I believe you have a date with the NYPD."
"You win this round, but I'll be back!" Vulture swore.
"Maybe. But your wings won't be working anytime soon."
-X-
After dropping off the Vulture at the nearby precinct, leaving him dangling from a web, Peter returned to the sight of their battle and retrieved his camera. He looked over the photos, smiling.
"Yes!" he cheered. "Third time's the charm."
The next morning, Peter appeared at the Daily Bugle, prepared to meet with J. Jonah Jameson. After an hour or so, he was allowed into Jonah's office. The chief looked over the photos of his fight with Spider-Man and the Vulture, puffing on his cigar as he went.
"Pretty damn good photos," he admitted at last. "But how'd a kid like you get them?"
"That's my little secret," Peter replied simply.
After a minute, Jonah shrugged.
"I'll pay you three hundred for the whole lot. Standard freelance fee."
"Sold," Peter said automatically.
To himself, he thought, Little less than I expected, but gotta take what I can get.
"You get any more pictures like this, you know where to find me."
Peter perked. "Wait… are you offering me a job?"
"Of course not," Jonah clarified. "Freelance. Perfect thing for a kid your age."
As he looked over the photos, Jonah spoke of the next paper.
"Headline: 'Spider-Man: Hero or Menace?' Exclusive Daily Bugle photos."
Peter blinked. "Menace? He was fighting the Vulture to save Norman Osborn, not-"
"Tell you what," Jonah cut him off. "You take the pictures, I'll make up the headlines. That okay with you?"
Peter nodded. "Yessir."
In a massive highrise in Hell's Kitchen, a shadowy man was reading the latest issue of the Bugle, Spider-Man prominently displayed on the cover.
"So... we have a new hero in our midst." he mused.
Standing before him was a man in a pinstripe suit, his head flattened and face scarred.
"What should we do about it?" the man asked.
"For now, keep our eyes and ears on this Spider-Man," the figure decided. "Once he truly becomes a threat to our operations, you know what to do."
The flat-head man nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the shadowy man alone.
"Spider-Man…" he muttered, slapping the paper on his desk. "If he thinks he can come into my city and interfere with my empire, then he hasn't been thinking at all."
Author's Note:
It seems Spider-Man has begun to make a name for himself. But who is this shadowy figure taking offense to his heroics?
Real quick, Whitney Chang is from both Amazing Spider-Man tie-in games. Also, I'm going with more sympathetic portrayals of Norman Osborn, like the 90s cartoon and the Sam Raimi trilogy. Yeah, he's still a bit of a corrupt corporate executive, but he has some redeeming qualities, like genuine love for Harry. He's not exactly a good man, but you can't really call him a bad one.
Please R&R. Until next time!