SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SPIDER (CHAPTER 6)
Note: I don't want to sound too desperate. But I'm going to start needing reviews for the story to know how I'm going.
5:45 pm New York Subway Train…
The day at the Daily Bugle may have settled Peter's job problems but his troubles are only beginning. How was he going to deal with a boss like John Jonah Jameson whose money runs on his disdain for his superhero persona? And what about his supervisor, Betty Brant who Ned is in love with but is actually interested in Peter himself?
"I really hope I can hold onto this job." Peter thought.
Peter sat quietly next to a bunch of strangers; one of which is a mother with her baby and another being a man reading a New York Bulletin newspaper. The baby was asleep which was a relief to Peter.
Peter's luck changed when the number of people boarding started to occupy the amount of space on the train. It was hell and it could not be further from the truth when the baby next to him started to cry out loud leaving Peter to cringe.
Despite the mother's efforts, Peter had to sit through a rough ride back to Forest Hills. The ride was suddenly cut off however when the power went down. The train came to a halt which also meant the lights have been turned off as well. There were mumbles and crumbles amongst crowds when this happened urging Peter to change out of his outfit.
Putting on the mask before jumping and sticking to the ceiling, Peter carefully made his way to the train ceiling opening and exited the transport. He was then given the freedom to change into his full suit while shoving his regular clothes into his backpack to which he stuck onto the subway wall ceiling with his webbing.
"Don't worry, mister bag. I'll come back for you once I fix this problem." Peter said before rushing off as Spider-Man to investigate the source of the train power damper.
"Gotta track the nearby power box." Spider-Man noted as he used his newly developed sonar vision to pinpoint the wires. Following the wires close by, Spider-Man carefully made his way down the tunnel and navigated it to find where the power box is.
Soon enough, the power box was toasted which explains why the subway could not go. Spider-Man turned off the sonar vision and examined how old the damage to the power box is so far.
"Pretty new… And somehow this is feeling familiar." Spider-Man commented before his Spidey-sense alerted to him to a nearby danger.
A bolt of electricity shot in Spider-Man's direction which was avoided easily as he jumped away.
"Look who's crawled here." A familiar voice called out.
"Oh no…It's Pikachu…" Spider-Man groaned as Electro walked out of from the shadows.
Electro looked pretty much the same as before when Spider-Man met him at the Forest Hills Community Bank Branch. Except this time, there seems to be some sort of power harness he is wearing over his green jacket.
"Alright, Sparky…Who let you out?" Spider-Man asked as he positioned himself.
"Oh, just some fat businessman with a lot of money to spare." Electro commented, "Gave me this sweet harness, now I don't have to replenish myself all the time. I can just recycle and cycle. And I can take more juice if I want."
"Hey Max, listen to me. I know you're not happy with me and I get how this happened to you. But please…" Spider-Man said before Electro threw a bolt of electricity at him to which Spider-Man dodged again.
"Oh, blah, blah…Trying to help people. Is that what you say every time you go to bed?" Electro stubbornly said.
"So you just want to kill me?" Spider-Man asked to which Electro responded with glee on his face and did the same routine as before by shooting electricity out from his fingers.
"You know, I'm considering a 'hero' crusade after you're dead." Electro said before torpedoing himself at Spider-Man.
Even despite Spider-Man's senses, Electro managed to catch Spider-Man off guard and made Spider-Man fly across for a brief moment before he crashed through the wall. The two then ended up on another set of train tracks.
"Have you been playing Mortal Kombat?" Spider-Man asked as he tried standing up, "One of the characters had a move just like that."
"Oh, I sure have. The next thing I'm going to do is make your head pop off." Electro said before attempting to grab onto Spider-Man's head.
Spider-Man dodged before kicking Electro on the face to which he was shocked in return. Electro picked up him by the leg and held him upside down in mid-air. Just as this happened, Spider-Man shot out a web onto Electro's face causing him to drop him.
Landing on the track, Spider-Man hit the ground. Suddenly the sound of an incoming train was heard which prompted Spider-Man to get up quickly. Electro was still trying to rid the web off his face with the train moving closer to him.
In a flash moment, Spider-Man pushed Electro away from the tracks saving him from being rammed. The train roared past on high speed as the two stayed off the tracks for as long as possible. Electro tore off the webbing before punching Spider-Man to the other side.
"What the hell, Max? You really punch someone after they save you?" Spider-Man asked as he rubbed his jawline.
"A shame I didn't punch you onto that train." Electro said before his body parts started glowing a bright yellow colour.
"Wow, so many death threats in a few seconds." Spider-Man said.
Electro rushed towards him and tried to electrify him while Spider-Man continued dodging.
"I gotta destroy that harness on him." Spider-Man thought eyeing the device with six glowing lights strapped on him.
Spider-Man then decided to try make Electro chase him in hopes that he could think of something up all the while Electro was trying to fry him. As this happened, the two of them ended up onto a random station. The passengers who were awaiting for their train saw their arrival and began running away with a few wanting to film their fight through phone.
Electro noticed the people filming and sent a bolt of electricity onto their phones causing them to explode. Spider-Man then motioned for the remaining people to run away.
"Max, stop this now!" Spider-Man said as he turned to him.
"What's more important to you? Stopping me or saving people?" Electro taunted as he closed in.
Spider-Man wished that there was a source of water nearby in which he could use to bring him down again. Luckily, there was a drinking tap in sight to which he tried reaching only for Electro to destroy it.
"I'm sorry, you thirsty?" Electro asked.
"Yeah, do you mind if I take a bottle of Sprite out then?" Spider-Man asked eyeing the vending machine next.
"Idiot, that's not going to help quench your thirst!" Electro laughed while smiling to himself.
As Electro was distracted by his own pride, Spider-Man took the time to break the glass off from the nearby vending machine with his fist and pull out a soft drink can. He then threw the can at Electro which broke open upon contact with his body.
The contents from the can splashed onto him and Electro reacted strongly in pain. Spider-Man continued the same routine which caused Electro to back away. His powers had been temporarily dampened as body began to emit smoke.
"Ugh, it's ruining my suit!" Electro said as he realised the lights on his harness are blinking rapidly.
Soon enough, Electro found a way to escape and spotted a random subway security guard attempting to break up the fight. Using a bit of electricity, Electro shot out a bolt which knocked the security guard back.
"Why don't you save this guy first?" Electro asked Spider-Man as he prompted Spider-Man to stop throwing cans at him.
Spider-Man then decided to help up the security guard while Electro made his escape using the subway escalator.
"Don't worry, I'm fine…" The security guard said as Spider-Man held him up, "How about stopping the other guy first?"
"Are you sure? You just got hit by how many volts?" Spider-Man asked before the guard passed out.
Making his way out of the station, Spider-Man attempted to see where Electro went but could not pinpoint where exactly he had went.
"Crap, he escaped this time…" Spider-Man said, "And I gotta get my stuff back at the subway tunnel."
8:45 am Professor Warren's Lab, ESU…
"Good morning everyone…Hope you all had fantastic sleep. My, my…Time moves fast, doesn't it?" Miller said as he led the students back to the secret underground lab he had shown off to them.
"Time doesn't just move fast, so does our research project." Miller said as he walked up to the computer mainframe and caused the metal sheets covering the glass chamber to move upwards revealing the seat in the middle.
"Today, we'll be conducting the first test trial and surprise, it's one of you people." Miller said looking at the crowd.
Gwen looked at the peers around her and was wondering who could it be that volunteered for the test trial. She then saw Anton move up from the crowd and realised he was a volunteer for the project.
"As you can see, Mr. Rodríguez has been really eager to see this experiment come to its fruition." Miller said, "He's been a good student ever since he studied here at ESU. Now he's looking to do a masters in science."
Gwen watched as her new friend took off his lab coat as well as his shirt before entering the chamber to sit on the chair in the middle. Anton was skinny looking in body structure as he strapped himself onto the chair.
The seat lowered on Miller's command on the computer mainframe and Gwen witnessed the next phase. The serum which they had been working on yesterday could be seen in six clear vials inserted into the chair arms.
Two assistants came in afterwards to help Anton with the seating from making sure the serum can be injected into him through tubes. The next thing Anton knew was a pain killer had been injected into him to ensure harm can be reduced.
"I'm sure everyone has heard the story of Steve Rogers." Miller said, "This will be kind of like that."
Once the two assistants left, Gwen and the rest of the group watched to see what happens next. The metal sheets that had covered the chamber were lowered down again. This caused Gwen some concern as she tried to understand what would be happening behind the chamber.
"Yell out when you're ready, Anton." Miller said.
"Ready, Professor." Anton called out.
Miller then started typing away on the computer mainframe and began starting the operation. There were different sounds that could be heard. There was the sound of buzzing heard as well as the sound of machinery operating. The next sound sounded like a laser while the one following it is Anton's yell out of pain.
"It's okay, he's going to be fine." Miller assured as the screams continued.
Gwen on the other hand was unsure as she heard Anton's yell. She could not believe a day like this would come so fast. Whatever is going on, either Miller knows more or that he has worked ahead with this.
The screams soon stopped and the results of the trial were near. The metal sheets lifted themselves up to show Anton looking as if he had gained muscle. The two assistants who previously helped Anton with the chair immediately walked into the chamber and helped him to his knees.
Miller approached Anton and began asking him a simple question.
"How are you feeling?" Miller asked placing a hand onto him.
Anton gave a slight nod before he recovered and put his shirt and lab coat back on. He then walked back to the crowd.
"It seems like there's been no side effects as of now which is good. I can safely conclude that Mr. Rodríguez has made it just fine." Miller said to Gwen and the student crowd.
"How are you feeling?" Gwen asked Anton.
Anton looked at Gwen after receiving the same question before he gave out an answer.
"Better than before." Anton replied wiping a bit of sweat off his forehead.
8:35 am Daily Bugle meeting room, 4th floor…
Meanwhile early on, Peter came him into the meeting room joining the rest of the staff including Robbie, Betty, Ned, Frederick and J. Jonah Jameson himself.
"Parker, hurry up. We're all waiting for you." John said as he was seated with his laptop in front of him.
Peter sat down as he prepared to listen on what is going today.
"Alright folks…Do you want to hear some news?" John asked smiling.
The staff was silent but in their minds, they all had an idea on what was coming.
"Uh, Spider-Man? Ned questioned.
"That's right. I know it when you people give me that look. It's him and his new friend Electro. They're up at it again." John said, "They've disrupted New York's subway system yesterday trapping innocent civilians down underground."
Right at that moment, Peter knew that John was talking nonsense all over again.
"I guess he got bored with Shocker so he decides to settle with someone else." John said.
"Why would Spider-Man be working with someone like him? I thought he stopped him before." Peter questioned.
"Simple. When Electro started robbing that bank, Spider-Man was not there yet. In fact, he let Electro zap a bunch of employees before he came on scene to be a show stealer." John said, "And the guys who got zapped? They know Spider-Man is a fake hero."
"But that doesn't justify anything." Peter said.
"Who knows? I think he's a good schemer or…10% chance he's saving a cat from a tree." John replied.
"Mr. Jameson, why do you hate Spider-Man?" Peter asked.
"Why do I hate him? Cause he's an unknown guy dressed in a costume who goes around living out a fantasy of saving people when he in reality he's causing all sorts of danger." John said, "At the very least, let the public know who he is under that mask."
"But maybe that could cause his enemies to go after people he cares about." Peter argued.
"And what about people like Iron Man or Captain America? Everything works out fine when the truth behind them is known to the world." John said, "Now stop arguing with me."
Peter's chance to reason with John fell deaf again but at least he understood why John rags on him.
"Alright, let's get to business everyone." John said getting up from his chair, "Miss Brant, show Parker what to do next."
Everyone had different reactions after Peter's argument with John. Frederick did not care as he slinked off to his office. Robbie wished he could participate in the argument but he already knew the standards of the Daily Bugle well enough. Ned also shared similar sentiments with Robbie and being the only one who knows Peter's secret, he wished he could stick up for him.
Betty was on the opposite end of the spectrum, she admired the effort Peter took to debate with John on the issue. She simply smiled as she watched Peter leave the room and followed him.
End note: The Mortal Kombat reference is a reference to Raiden. I also want to mention again that I've decided certain events going forward written at different times won't exactly be chronological from now on.
TO BE CONTINUED…