SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SPIDER (CHAPTER 11)
6:09 pm Rooftop …
Spider-Man swung into scene where he found Ned standing in the middle with his camera.
"Get out of here, dude…" Ned stated the moment he saw him land.
"You texted me, remember?" Spider-Man reminded, "So I tracked you down."
"Yeah…But…" Ned stated before shouting, "Look out!"
Spider-Man's senses kicked in when he pushed Ned out of the way as a mechanical whip smacked him aside.
"Well… Ain't this thrilling?" Jack stated strolling in with his cowboy hat, "Look how easy it is to get up, close and personal with the Spider-Man."
Soon Jack was joined by Dan and Ronald. Dan looked as if he was ready to deal with Spider-Man with his fists while Ronald simply looked imposing in size.
"Corner him…" Dan said as the trio walked up to Spider-Man as he got up.
"We haven't introduced ourselves, partners…" Spider-Man said in a mocking Southern accent.
"You've got a huge bounty on yourself…We'd be proud to take you out." Jack said crackling his whip-like device.
As the three corrupt law enforcers cornered Spider-Man, Ronald could not help but notice Ned at the back with his camera.
"Who's gonna worry about the kid?" Ronald asked.
"I've got him…" Dan insisted before turning his attention to Ned and walking up to him.
Dan aggressively grabbed Ned and demanded something out of him.
"You're gonna get a good scoop out of this one, kid. Don't mess this up." Dan ordered.
Spider-Man stared down at Jack and Ronald as they surrounded him. He was also focused on Dan to ensure that Ned does not get hurt in any way.
"It's just me you want…" Spider-Man said warning them to not hurt Ned.
Soon, Spider-Man launched himself at Jack knocking him down before Ronald grabbed him by the neck and hurled him across to the other side.
"Wow… Sure is a big dude." Spider-Man said after landing a bit hard on the concrete floor.
"Gonna break you real hard." Ronald said walking towards him while pulling a gun out of his pocket.
Spider-Man then shot his web out and pulled the pistol out of Ronald's hand. He then broke it in half rendering the weapon useless as the bullets fell out.
"Guns don't impress me." Spider-Man stated as Ronald came forward.
Later, a bullet was shot out of Dan's hand to which Spider-Man dodged thanks to his senses.
"Well, let me say I'm impressed you dodged that." Dan stated, "Other people drop down once I fire."
"Oh, you call yourself a good marksman?" Spider-Man asked, "To be honest, there's a lot of people I smacked around that say they're good."
"Next one better be for your mouth." Dan said as he fired another bullet which instead of hitting Spider-Man, it hit Ronald on his forceps instead.
"Ow!" Ronald said kneeling down as he held onto the area where the bullet struck.
This was due to Spider-Man trying to move out of Ronald's way as Dan tried to aim at him. The next thing that Dan saw coming was Spider-Man jumping up and shooting webs at him.
Dan's hands were instantly tied up by the webs as Spider-Man pinned him down. Using his martial arts skills, he managed to flip Spider-Man over and stood up while attempting to shake off the web fluid.
"Take it easy, man. It's gonna be harder to shake off if you…" Spider-Man said before Dan managed to punch him.
Spider-Man did not expect that hit and took the blow from Dan.
"Ow…" Spider-Man said holding his chin, "Congratulations…You deserve the 'I punched Spider-Man' sticker in crook class."
"We're part of the law, alright?" Dan said putting his fists up, "And we're shutting down your duty."
As Dan came rushing forward, he withdrew a knife out of his belt and started swinging at Spider-Man. Spider-Man ducked and weaved from Dan's furious attacks before sliding behind Dan and tripping him before knocking him out silent and trapping him with a sheet of web.
Spider-Man then turned his attention to Ronald who held Ned's hand and threatened to kill him.
"I'll snap his neck clean…" Ronald said as he held onto Ned.
"You know that right there… Is disgusting coming from you guys, who work for the law." Spider-Man noted.
Just as Spider-Man was about to figure something out, Jack had recovered and whipped Ronald away.
"We need that kid alive, dumbo." Jack reminded.
"Ow…You left a mark on my cheek. Asshole!" Ronald shouted rubbing his cheek while letting Ned go.
"Good… I love it when bad guys get into arguments." Spider-Man trying to decide how to deal with them.
Spider-Man then walked over to the ledge of the rooftop and started his taunt.
"Hey, big guy. You mind charging here?" Spider-Man asked putting his arms to rest.
"Ha! You think I'm some big dumb guy who'd fall for this?" Ronald laughed as he stood his ground.
"What? Of course, not…" Spider-Man said, "I meant the other guy. The one who's got the awesome whip weapon."
"Ha! Well, I ain't coming any closer." Jack said while attempting to be cautious.
Spider-Man then let out a sigh.
"This is the day where I finally meet coward bad guys. I guess I am a legend after all that I've done." Spider-Man boasted.
Jack and Ronald looked at each other debating who should go up against Spider-Man.
"You're big and tough. I don't think his webs can touch you." Jack insisted.
"Well, you're the one holding onto our newly acquired tools." Ronald said, "There's a reason why we have them."
"Fine…" Jack said before walking up to Spider-Man.
"Okay…Uh… I don't know what to really call you. Whiplash? John Marston?" Spider-Man said, "But good on you for taking your chances."
"People have called me 'Montana'…So let's go with that." Jack said before coming forward.
Jack then started taking out the whip and swung it wildly. Spider-Man watched carefully as Jack came forward with a bit of a smug attitude. Soon, Spider-Man jumped backwards off the building much to Jack's confusion.
"Where the hell did you go?" Jack said thinking that Spider-Man had swung off before seeing Spider-Man standing with his two feet on the building sideways.
In a quick response, Spider-Man shot out two strings of web and tugged hard at Jack. Jack tried to hold himself, but Spider-Man's strength caught him off guard as he was flung over from the ledge.
As Jack screamed, Spider-Man managed to stick him upside down against the building while his whip device fell to the ground. Jumping back up, Spider-Man faced Ronald who was holding Ned hostage.
"I'm sending this man to a hospital." Ronald said holding onto both Ned's arms.
"Aren't you forgetting about me?" Spider-Man asked walking forward.
Ronald then let go of Ned and cracked his knuckles.
"Alright, now I get to shine." Ronald said smiling.
Spider-Man then gave Ronald the satisfaction of trying to land a few hits on him.
"You know my friend here punches better." Spider-Man commented as he dodged.
"I don't get hurt by those words, bug man." Ronald scoffed before realising Ned had a web shooter on him which landed a hit onto his face causing him to twirl.
This gave Spider-Man the chance to do some work by spraying as much web fluid as possible and bring Ronald down as fast as possible considering how much of a big person he is. Ronald was then finally knocked out cold after Spider-Man delivered the last hit by kicking his face onto the ground.
"I knew this old design came in handy." Ned said taking the web shooter off.
"Uh…When did I…" Spider-Man questioned.
"Since I helped Phil with your tech and stuff. And then one day, I realise if Spider-Man's enemies come for me. What could I use to defend myself?" Ned asked.
"And the webs?" Spider-Man asked.
"The chemical formulas you've written back at high school. They work out." Ned smiled.
"Right…You mind telling me what's going on?" Spider-Man asked, "Why did I have to come here to get my ass kicked? Are you setting me up?"
"Uh…No. I can explain. Somewhere that's safer." Ned said looking around.
6:46 pm Leeds residence…
After escaping from the scene, Spider-Man swung down with Ned and landed in Ned's backyard where the trapdoor to Ned's basement was.
"So, you're saying you might have been set up?" Spider-Man asked as Ned opened up the trap door.
"Probably…Frederick just left me with those guys." Ned said leading Spider-Man into the place where he, Phillip Chang and Peter Parker used to hideout during their fight against Hammerhead and Chameleon.
"Are you sure you're safe here?" Spider-Man asked again.
"Um…" Ned replied thinking about what to do next, "I don't know."
"You know what? I think I'll make an excuse with Aunt May." Spider-Man said resorting to his persona as Peter Parker.
"Oh, wow… A sleepover? That's cool. Hang on, I'll go back into the house… Say hi to everyone then come back with some clothes for you." Ned said before rushing out the door.
Peter then peeled back his mask a little and sat down on the couch before getting his phone out to ring Gwen.
"What the hell was that back there?" Gwen answered sounding rightfully upset.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I…" Peter tried to start.
"I don't care, Peter. I don't accept your apology." Gwen cut in.
"Oh, that's okay…I…" Peter said while being cut off again.
"We're never gonna spend any good amount of time together, are we?" Gwen questioned.
"Gwen, there's just a lot of baggage." Peter said rubbing his forehead.
"That's perfectly fine. What really sucks is your lack of commitment." Gwen stated.
"Ned's situation was urgent." Peter stated.
"Urgent? You can have your time with him, Peter. Oh wait… Unless you follow the 'Bros before hoes' code with him." Gwen said.
"Hey calm down, Gwen…" Peter tried to assure her.
"I am calm. Actually, let's resolve this quick. Peter, you know people can break up without losing their love for one another. I think we need to do this just because our lives won't catch a break these days. Am I right?" Gwen asked.
Peter sat there in silence trying to process what Gwen had said.
"Um…" Peter tried to start.
"I think it's better. No more dinner dates; no more movies. I guess I'll move on. You know… Just like how you moved on from MJ back then when she left." Gwen said, "Good night, Peter."
The phone call then ended with Peter putting the phone down.
"Well…My relationship is ruined." Peter said sighing to himself.
Ned then came back with a pair of fresh clothes in his hands.
"Hey, I got your PJs and your work outfit for tomorrow. You told Aunt May yet? You okay there, dude?" Ned asked.
Peter then looked at Ned before giving him a straight answer.
"I just broke up with Gwen." Peter said.
7:25 am New York train…
The next day, Peter decided to take the trainline with Ned to work. They sat near the end of the train rear far from most other people who were busy on their phones; newspapers or food to care.
"Hey, maybe one day we'll come across another girl." Ned stated trying to cheer Peter up, "Not Betty though. You know about her."
"Yeah, let's focus on the… Other problem." Peter said attempting to forget about it.
"Right…Maybe we can try fish around his office. See what things he's hiding." Ned said.
"I'll do that. Then I've got to figure out who those guys were." Peter said, "And…"
Just as Peter was about to say anything further, his eyes caught the attention of a billboard outside as the train whizzed by. There were workers attempting to put up an almost complete advertisement over the billboard.
Wilson Fisk's large face was plastered on it. Even though it was an advertisement, Peter felt as if his eyes were watching him which seemed to unsettle him considering his encounter with him as Spider-Man. The advertisement also had a slogan which read, 'Keeping your neighbourhood together in a sensible manner; elect Fisk.'
"Peter?" Ned asked trying to get his friend's attention.
"Sorry…Um…I got distracted by how cool being in this train feels compared to… You know." Peter said.
"Um… Okay. Oh, I see." Ned said realising Peter was talking about how he usually swings around.
"Let's focus on that thing for today." Peter said placing a hand on Ned's shoulder.
TO BE CONTINUED…