SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SPIDER (CHAPTER 33)
8:45 pm Warren residence…
Miller had finished scrapping the last bit of web off him while still remaining trapped in his beast form after his fight with Spider-Man and Gwen. Examining the web springs, he glared at the material and wondered how it was made.
"Organic or synthetic?" Miller questioned before looking around and sniffing the air.
With a glint in his eyes, he reminisced on what Spider-Man and Gwen smelt like and was confident in finding them again. He then turned his eyes to Anton's corpse which still laid on the kitchen floor.
"Poor boy." Miller said, "The scent of a female must have tingled his senses."
Using his clawed hands, Miller picked up the body and prepared to leave before he heard siren sounds.
"Cops?! At this moment?" Miller snarled in annoyance.
8:10 pm Parker residence…
Early on, Peter and Gwen arrived back at Peter's house and snuck in through Peter's bedroom window.
"I'm fairly certain that werewolf professor of yours isn't the weirdest I've seen yet." Peter said turning on the lights and taking off his costume.
"What other things have you met so far?" Gwen asked looking away in case Peter was naked.
"Well, a guy who can disguise himself as almost anyone; a guy whose body is 90% electricity and a big hairy spider monster." Peter said listing part of his rogues gallery, "Oh, and a guy calling himself Shocker."
"Figures, you're already used to the weird stuff." Gwen said.
"One day I might fight a big bad alien. Just like my comic book heroes." Peter joked while putting back his pants.
"Um…So what are your next plans if you don't mind me asking?" Gwen wondered.
"Three things. Get Ned out of his prison if possible; find a job as Peter Parker and shut down Wilson Fisk and his crime syndicate for good." Peter said.
"W-wait. Why the last one?" Gwen said turning around before seeing Peter shirtless causing her to fluster.
"Um…Because he's a bad guy with plans to do bad things?" Peter said awkwardly before finding his shirt laying on the floor, "Can you turn around please?"
"Sorry." Gwen said gulping before turning away, "You know the more you butt heads with these people; the messier it gets."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked as he finished changing.
"I mean… You remember everything that went down at F.E.A.S.T. with the Chameleon and such?" Gwen said, "The day Aunt May got hospitalised?"
"Hey! Shh…" Peter said turning around, "She's nearby."
"Sorry again. It's just… Peter. Which one of these fights you pick ever feel really personal to you? Or do you do this constantly because it's fun?" Gwen asked.
Peter gave some time to process the question before he answered straight.
"I think every single one of them is personal. Be it, the thieves who rob us by day or the guys who are hired to sell narcotics every night." Peter explained, "I do this because to help define the good in my heart and who I want to impress."
Gwen turned around again after seeing Peter was all dressed up.
"Even when he's not around anymore." Peter stated.
"Oh." Gwen said realising that Peter was talking about Uncle Ben.
A moment of silence passed between them before Gwen remembered what else she wanted to say.
"Well, I just asked all that because I think any time soon Warren might be creeping around and he might be after me." Gwen said, "Doesn't that concern you?"
"Of course." Peter assured, "If you need help; just tell me. You saw what we did back there."
"Hopefully, I don't have to ask." Gwen said before suiting up, "Anyway, enjoy your night and…Be responsible out there."
Without any further word, Peter watched as Gwen jumped from his bedroom window and swing out of sight into the night.
8:30 am Trinity Church, Manhattan…
Today was a grim morning as people gathered for the funeral of Frederick Foswell. Most of the Bugle staff were among attendance as well as some other generous people. The pews were fairly packed as a result.
Dressed in black, Peter was lucky to be those among attendance and was even privileged to be given a frontal seat. The church organ played as people gathered. To his relief of sorts, Robbie sat next to Peter and started talking to him a little.
"You doing okay, Robbie?" Peter asked.
"I'm fine. Aside from being potentially out of work." Robbie answered laughing off the situation a little.
"What about your family, if you don't mind me asking?" Peter curiously wondered.
"Well… I'm getting old. But I'd say my wife is fine. My son… I have a little trouble reaching. He's ambitious let's just say." Robbie said.
"I see." Peter said before the reverend appeared.
The reverend dressed in his usual clerical collar read out the tearful speech of Frederick's life story and achievements once the audience went silent. Peter listened but also thought it was strange how Frederick was referred to as a 'Loving Father'. Soon afterwards, the words 'God bless' and 'Amen' followed.
"If only Ned was here." Peter thought as he reflected back to the night Frederick died.
A minute of silence followed by an organ choir was done as people paid their final respect to Frederick. It was then afterwards, the reverend thanked everyone who have willing came forth before people started to leave.
Peter finally noticed John afterwards and watched him hastily leave the church on foot without a word. It was obvious that the bombastic chief editor of the Bugle was in a bad mood and was unusually anti-social about things.
"I never thought Jonah being sad was really a bad thing till now." Peter thought to himself.
Just as he was leaving, Peter bumped into Betty along the way through the staircase wearing a black funeral dress.
"Oh, hey Peter." Betty said with a little smile.
"Betty. Good to see you." Peter said as he stopped to talk to her.
"How are you doing?" Betty asked.
"Struggling." Peter honestly answered.
"Fair enough." Betty said nodding.
The two then found themselves walking together before they began picking up a conversation.
"You know. Maybe I could work in finance like my brother." Betty said.
"Wow. You really know to pick up on some career choices pretty fast." Peter said in return.
"I assume you're waiting to get something out of science still." Betty said.
"Spot on." Peter said finding a bit of joy in the conversation.
"I'm pretty confident you'll find something. After all, you are a pretty smart guy." Betty said laughing a little.
"That's true." Peter said looking sideways to her.
"Hang out with some friends lately?" Betty wondered.
"I guess. Um… These days I am 'busy'." Peter said.
"Are you saying that you're not popular?" Betty joked, "You know I think you're a pretty cool guy."
"Pretty smart and pretty cool. Thanks, Betty." Peter said.
"Say, I kind of want to ask. I heard the stories that Ned killed Fred. But I don't think the story makes that much sense. Do you think… He's actually guilty?" Betty wondered, "I bet you know him best."
Peter breathed a sigh as he knew that question about Ned had to be coming.
"From what I can say, Ned wouldn't want to be a murderer. I think they're just suspecting him because he worked closely with him." Peter said, "They haven't gotten to a clear conclusion about what happened. So, I hope this story has a lot more going on."
Talking about Ned made Peter tremble in anger a little as he reminded himself of the corruption Wilson Fisk runs. Betty soon noticed the anger and apologised.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been touchy." Betty said.
"It's fine. I understand." Peter replied.
After reaching a subway station underground passageway, Betty turned to Peter before she took her step to the station.
"Well, I guess I have to leave here unless you're following." Betty said.
"Yeah, I don't think I need to follow." Peter shrugged, "But I'm glad to escort you to this station."
Betty laughed a little before she summoned the courage to ask Peter something else.
"You think we can spend some more time together? As… Friends?" Betty asked, "I say that because I don't want this to be misinterpreted as a date. Plus, you have a girlfriend. Right?"
"Uh, yeah. But it's complicated at the moment." Peter said looking down at his shoes while thinking about his relationship to Gwen, "I'm happy to meet again if you want to. Just casual stuff."
"You sound conflicted. Like you're going through rough times. Are you okay?" Betty asked.
"I'm okay. I just want to say she's an understanding person." Peter said with an assuring but uncertain smile.
"Great, guess that's settled. Well then, I'll be leaving. Take care, Peter." Betty said before going down the staircase to the subway.
As Betty left, Peter looked up to the sky pretending that Gwen was watching before he set off on a separate direction by foot.
9:00 am Fisk Tower…
Wilson had been concerned about Vanessa but had been receiving good news about her recovery from Electro's attack. This allowed him to be more focused on his efforts to keep crime under control and most certainly a new plan of attack against Spider-Man.
Sitting in the comfort of his own office, Wilson read through the latest news articles on computer involving all the crazy events New York had been experiencing. An article published by the Daily Globe had been the main focus for his attention.
MISSING DELVADIAN MAN IN NEW YORK FOUND DEAD
By Louise Evans
Anton Rodríguez (21), a Delvadian man who came to study in New York City has been identified by police as the deceased being found in the wreckage of a home belonging to a former Empire State University (ESU) professor. His body had been recovered after nearby residents complained about noises last night.
Stab wounds and other injuries potentially sustained in the wreckage had been identified as starting points as to how he died. "We do know that the cause of death is highly likely to be physical and we are investigating further context as how this happened." Officer Greens reported, "As always, we want people to come forward if they know something."
There are claims that Rodríguez was a monstrous spider creature in a similar vein to Spider-Man which has yet to be fully confirmed by authorities. Rodríguez was reported missing since August 11th and had been associated with the disappearance of Miller Warren, the ESU professor specialising in genetics and biomedicine and taught Rodríguez at the time.
Warren was last seen in public after being fired from ESU for ethical misconduct and is another lead police are keen to follow in order to investigate the death. According to further Globe investigations, Rodríguez's family who are living in New York state have responded to the news with sadness and are expected to give word on the death later.
With interest, Wilson wanted to lead his own investigation into the matter as this no doubt gave him an opportunity to bring Spider-Man down to another level. Going through his phone, Wilson contacted one of his enforcers.
"Mr Brito. If I may request something…" Wilson answered.
"Yes?" Dan asked.
"Can you investigate Professor Miller Warren for me? Preferably look around ESU." Wilson said, "I want to know what this man was working on."
"Copy that." Dan answered.
Sewers…
Miller's increasing insanity had not stopped his extraordinary intelligence for things whether it was science or survival. After evading detection by the police in his beast form, he gathered all the resources collected from his house and began plotting in the sewers which he used as his hiding spot.
Importantly, he collected tissue samples of Anton in bottles as well as his spider-leg appendages to avert police suspicion. The samples were a next stage plot from him to preserve the flow of his own work.
"Time to pay them a visit." Miller said holding a bottle in the dark to his own eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED…