SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SPIDER (CHAPTER 7)
Note: Before I begin this chapter, I would like to inform that I'm planning to remove the Earth-616 and Beyond story I am writing which is only 2 chapters. This isn't an easy decision that I'm making considering there are people following that story. My decision comes down to me thinking that I want readjust some things regarding tackling a 'multiverse' story in the future.
So rest assured, I haven't abandoned the story and its ideas but in the mean time, I want to continue with this story to build up my own world first.
9:00 am Fisk's new penthouse…
It was done. The nice little estate which once belonged to the Maggia crime boss had been bought. Wilson had used his money to take away the venue belonging to Hammerhead. Not that spending his money mattered anyway, since there were ways in which the money comes back to him.
Since Hammerhead's takedown by Spider-Man, the place had been under protection from NYPD authorities up until now. Walking inside the house alone, Wilson was pleasantly surprised by the clean white painted walls as well as the nicely decorated furniture.
"A nice place indeed…" Wilson noted as he continued looking around.
A young real estate lady then came out of the kitchen dressed professionally and walked up to Wilson to shake his hand.
"Welcome, Mr. Fisk…" The lady smiled as she shook Wilson's tight palms.
"Leslie, is it?" Wilson asked, "Lovely to see you too. Please… Will you show me around this place?"
"Absolutely, follow me…" The real estate lady said before leading him.
Wilson then followed Leslie around the house being informed of where everything is. Leslie also pointed out the pool area and the outside area which Wilson saw through the glass windows.
"May I see the floor upstairs?" Wilson asked.
"Certainly…" Leslie replied before taking the request.
Going up the staircase, Wilson was eventually shown the bathroom and restroom upstairs. Eventually, Leslie showed off the bedrooms to which they came across the room which Hammerhead used to sleep in.
This was made obvious by a portrait of the crime boss hanging over the double-sized bed. The portrait was exquisitely painted and boasted the plain looking face of Hammerhead. Everything ranging from his blocky forehead to stiches on him were all there.
"As expected, the Maggia certainly have a taste for fine art…" Wilson commented.
"Yes, this actually is an expensive painting…" Leslie agreed.
"Do you mind if I take a closer look at it?" Wilson questioned.
"If you insist…" Leslie said before watching Wilson walk to the left side of the bed and grabbing the portrait with his two hands.
Balancing the large portrait on his hands, Wilson then put the painting on his kneecap before using his raw strength to snap it into two. This act surprised Leslie before Wilson tossed the halves aside like it was trash.
"You know I don't want that picture…" Wilson said looking away from the broken portrait.
"Of course…" Leslie said in fear after witnessing Wilson's strength in the process.
"It is a lovely place nevertheless." Wilson remarked.
Suddenly, the two heard a loud crash coming from the balcony area. Rushing towards the place, Wilson and Leslie saw Electro standing between a broken glass baluster looking frustrated as sparks of electricity flew across him. Looking at Leslie, Wilson made a quick order for her.
"Go…I'll deal with this." Wilson said, "GO NOW!"
The large bellow in Wilson's voice was enough to make the real estate lady run off in fear as Wilson came face to face with Electro.
"Your right-hand man told me you were here…At the house of an old crime lord." Electro said as the sounds of broken glass crunched underneath.
"Why are you here?" Wilson demanded.
"What? I came here to say…I had another tussle with Spider-Man." Electro said, "Isn't that what you promised me?"
"Your lack of discretion puts jeopardy into my plans." Wilson said, "What's the progress been so far?"
"Well…At least I wasn't captured." Electro said, "The harness however? I got a problem with it."
"You'll have to take that up with the scientists under my employ." Wilson said.
"Oh yeah? Did you realise this piece of equipment can be ruined by a splash of soft drink?" Electro questioned before throwing the harness off him.
Wilson stared blankly at Electro and had nothing to say. All he could think of was that his moment of peace with the house had been disturbed.
"What's the matter? Did you bite your own tongue?" Electro asked before sending a wave of electricity onto him.
To Electro's surprise, the jolts of electricity barely did much as Wilson took it in. There was a noticeable burning smell coming from his clothes to which Wilson was not happy with. In response, Wilson violently grabbed Electro by the shoulders and body slammed him onto the ground which was repeated multiple times.
"You will be wise to owe your loyalty, Mr. Dillion." Wilson said after finishing his last slam which left Electro dazed.
Electro got up shaking as he tried to process how a man like Wilson overcame his electrical powers. He now understood why Wilson bothered releasing him.
"From now on, you are only to visit me when I arrange it." Wilson ordered, "And heed my orders when I demand it."
Disgruntled, Electro nodded his head out of respect.
"So…What are my orders then?" Electro asked seriously.
"Pick your gear up and go. You'll stand down for now. I'll deal with the Spider personally." Wilson said.
"Really, huh? What are you-" Electro tried to ask before being cut off.
"You've had your chance with him, now it's mine." Wilson warned before staring at Electro to go.
"Okay, Big Man… I guess I'll chill out." Electro said before putting the harness back on him and blasting off into the air using his electrical powers.
Wilson then grabbed out his phone from his pocket which he found had been decreased to 3% battery power thanks to the presence of Electro. Nevertheless Wilson made his call.
"Yes, sir?" James Wesley asked picking up the phone.
"Next time inform me if someone wants to visit me." Wilson said.
"Apologies.. It won't happen again. He just happened to impulsively go looking for you after I told him where you were." James replied.
"I can't blame you on that one, Wesley. He is one of a kind after all." Wilson said, "Do me a favour. I want you to arrange something special for tonight. Also, I need someone to deal with the real estate lady I met today. I'll talk to you later, my phone's dying."
"Of course, sir…That would be arranged." James informed before switching off.
As the power in Wilson's phone died down, he began anticipating on how he would approach Spider-Man.
9:12 am Betty Brant's office; Daily Bugle Building, 1st floor…
The second day Peter was working for John became more clear. Because of Peter's skills in mathematics, he was entrusted with the job of managing the newspaper company's finance under the guidance of Betty Brant.
"At least something from high school paid off." Peter said as he was looking through the papers on his desk.
"At least I get to do something today that doesn't involve sitting in front of the desk all day." Betty laughed sitting at her office chair.
"So, um…Miss Brant. How did you land a job here?" Peter asked.
"Me? Well… I moved from New Jersey to New York. I studied journalism at Princeton and but I couldn't really find a proper job there afterwards." Betty explained, "It wasn't until I had financial help from my brother who studied business and law himself."
"Cool. So was meeting J. Jonah Jameson like a dream come true?" Peter asked.
"It was. But remember to not worship your idols too much." Betty replied, "Sure, like many people.. We're turned off by his loudmouth but he's genuinely trying his best to publish the best stories."
"Yeah, like those times he just calls out Spider-Man." Peter said.
"That was pretty brave of you, Peter." Betty complimented as she was looking through an article draft on her computer screen, "But please…Don't butt heads with Jonah next time."
"Don't a lot of people anyway?" Peter questioned.
"Just be professional, that's what I'd advise." Betty answered, "Hey, I want to say.. Sorry for flirting with you the first time we…"
"No, it's fine." Peter assured, "I just wanted to let you know a couple of things after that."
"I understand. I guess we're just going to have to be friends at this stage… You know, I'm just not sure with Ned." Betty said, "I don't hate him but…"
"You should really spend some time with him. He's got a lot of hidden layers to him, trust me." Peter said.
"Hmm…I'll consider it. By the way, I think we're losing sight of our work. Is it okay if we go back to focusing on it?" Betty asked.
"I couldn't agree more." Peter said turning his attention away.
As Peter and Betty turned away, Peter began thinking of last night with Electro. The second scuffle left him some concern at the fact that he is still at large. He also remembered that he mentioned a 'fat businessman' to him meaning someone had let him out.
"I have to keep George up to date with my activities." Peter thought as he focused on the Excel spreadsheet in front of him.
9:23 am Coffee Bean…
While Peter was working away, Gwen was spending time with her new friends at the local Coffee Bean café. She joined a friend group along with Anton in which the subject was on the experimentation done on Anton early in the morning.
"So you're basically physically stronger?" A male student asked Anton.
"That's part of it." Anton replied, "I also have a lot of other things like better eye vision; better ear hearing. I'm healthy."
Anton demonstrated a dose of his strength by lifting the table underneath with one hand which was causing the coffee mugs; food dishes and other things to move. Other students as well as the café employees stared at the brief display of strength.
"Hey, take it easy…" The male student said before Anton put the table down.
"Sorry, but that's exactly one of the benefits I got." Anton said.
"Wow. You wanna test that at the gym?" Gwen asked.
"Maybe." Anton smiled, "I think the health benefits I got are more important though."
"I gotta wonder what Warren did to make you the way you are now." A female student with them said.
"I had to consult with him…" Anton said before lifting a heavy mug of espresso to his mouth.
Just as he was about to take a sip, Anton accidently let some of his drink spill onto his shirt causing him to put his drink down and focus on the stain.
"Argh… Oh geez. Um…You know what? I'm going to the bathroom for now." Anton said, "I'll be back, amigos."
Gwen and the others watched as Anton got up from his chair and hurried to the males bathroom.
"He can't expect to get a coffee stain like that off. He's going to have to go to a coin laundry" Gwen stated.
"Yeah, well maybe with his new super strength. He can wipe that stain away with his bare hands." The male student joked.
Coffee Bean male bathroom…
Anton walked up to a bathroom sink and stared at the mirror. Turning on the cold water handle, he tried splashing some water on the shirt and used his handkerchief to try rub it off as best as he could.
"Great…Mamá is going to be so upset with me." Anton said to himself, "Guess I'll have to find some washing powder at the end of the day."
Turning off the water, Anton then noticed something strange in the mirror. What appeared to be tiny strands of hair were seen around the cheek area.
"Wow.. Am I growing a beard?" Anton thought staring at the tiny strands of hair on him before touching them with the tip of his fingers.
The hairs felt strangely stiff and Anton recoiled in pain a little when he pricked himself.
"Ow…" Anton said, "What the hell?"
The tip of his fingers soon swelled a little.
"That was irritating. Maybe I need to shave when it grows." Anton thought.
The next thing Anton did was wash his face to which he noticed something weird upon seeing his teeth. Showing them off again in front of the mirror, he began to notice something with his canine teeth in particular. They were sharp but they also looked curved. Almost as if they were like fangs.
TO BE CONTINUED…