SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER SPIDER (CHAPTER 37)
Note: I hope you all enjoy Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PS5.
10:05 am J. Jonah Jameson's Office, 4th floor…
Peter walked his way into John's office room and found Robbie seated at John's spot.
"Robbie?" Peter questioned as soon as he arrived.
"Ah, Peter. Good to see you. Please…" Robbie replied before rumbly giving Peter the approval to sit.
"So, are you the new boss now?" Peter asked after sitting.
"Seems like it. Anyway… Just letting you know that I'm in charge of the Bugle now in Jonah's absence." Robbie said.
"What happened with him?" Peter asked curiously.
"He…Wasn't sure about being back. After the lawsuit and everything, he decided he needed a time out and figure things out." Robbie answered, "Now, he trusts me to keep things together."
"That's great. But… Why am I back?" Peter asked.
"Oh, I thought I'd be nice enough to ask you back into the company and help us." Robbie said with a smile.
"Wait, are you-" Peter asked surprised, "Serious?"
Robbie then laughed before answering back.
"Absolutely. Welcome back, Mr. Parker." Robbie said.
"But I though Jameson…" Peter hesitantly said.
"He will be fine." Robbie assured, "I talked with him about you. He just thought he didn't want you in this mess. Besides, I'm running things now. So, don't worry."
Peter nodded and grinned at the fact that there were still enough people in his life that care about his well-being. And for Robbie to step up was a significant one. Afterwards, Robbie's phone began to ring on the desk prompting Robbie to pick up.
"It's my son…" Robbie replied looking at the phone screen, "Excuse me."
Peter nodded at the sign of Robbie attending to his family and was dismissed. He was happy to know that he had his old job back but he knew that it was not the same without Ned. As the office door closed, Peter noted Robbie's grim look as he answered the phone.
Daily Bugle Building, 1st floor…
As soon as Peter reached the reception, he was greeted cheerfully by Betty at the front desk.
"So, how did it go?" Betty asked.
"I'm back." Peter happily replied.
Betty then got up from her desk and walked up to hug Peter before realising how awkward it was.
"Oof. So sorry…" Betty said shyly.
"No, I get it." Peter said as he held her back from the hug, "I guess it's great to know both our careers are secure for now."
"Yeah. For the two of us at least." Betty said looking down in guilt.
"What's wrong?" Peter asked.
"It still doesn't change how much different the Bugle is now. Jameson isn't around with his high energy. Fred, I don't want to talk about… And Ned." Betty replied, "I'm sorry for what's happened with him. You know him well, do you?"
"Of course." Peter said, "I know Ned is a good guy. I hope he's okay."
"Peter, I hate to say this. But what if Ned was bad?" Betty asked worryingly.
"No way. What's happening is absolute nonsense." Peter said frustratingly, "I…"
Before Peter released his anger, he calmed himself down taking a deep breath.
"Peter, you sound like you know something…" Betty said in curiosity.
"No. I'm-I'm… Just hoping for the best with him." Peter said shaking his head.
As Peter left Betty confused, he closed his eyes to remind himself what else is at stake. There was Wilson Fisk and then there was Gwen and her psycho animal professor, Miller Warren.
10:15 am Midtown Clock Tower…
Elsewhere around Manhattan, Gwen had been relentlessly chasing down Miller from every corner she could track. She began to feel sweaty beneath her suit as she tried to use her Spider-senses to detect where he could be headed. Her instincts then took her to an old clock tower that stood tall in a deserted part of Manhattan.
"This seems to be a fitting place." Gwen said as she felt the heat in her lift off after landing near a broken open window of the clock tower.
"Quiet, little girl. The spider will come and rescue you." Miller's voice said, "Or eat you."
Gwen peered down from her window and saw Miller on a platform holding the little girl he stole from the funeral hostage as he menaced around her.
"Hey, grouch man." Gwen called from above alerting Miller, "You were asking for me, weren't you?"
"Ah, the female spider." Miller said licking his canine teeth, "Nice TV show reference. Why don't you come down so I may take a bite?"
Gwen then jumped down and landed heavily. Though she had her experience as a web-slinger, she has yet to reach the elegance Peter had established for himself.
"So… You do have a connection with Anton Rodríguez." Miller theorised nodding a little, "Were you actually close to him? Do I perhaps know who's under the costume?"
Gwen said nothing in return as she tried figuring how to save the girl.
"I was expecting the two of you to show up like last time. You know where your red and blue male companion is?" Miller wondered, "Or did he just toss you to me?"
"I think I've gotten used to you." Gwen said squinting her eye-lens before launching herself forward.
Gwen dodged and weaved as Miller tried to pounce like a wild animal. The girl on the other hand screamed in horror before Gwen shot out some webs and had Miller pinned down.
Taking the girl by arm, Gwen began to quickly descend down the tower before Miller could free himself. As soon as she landed on the ground, she ushered the little door to the nearby clock tower door.
"Open the door and get out of here." Gwen ordered before looking back up to make sure Miller was not coming after her.
The little girl nodded before grabbing the door handle and running outside.
"I'm coming for you, female spider. Stay here!" Miller called out.
Gwen's Spider-sense went off as soon as Miller came down with ferocity growling like the beast he is.
"Let's stop fighting and be civil right here." Miller said mockingly as if he was the hero disarming the situation from the villain.
"Back away, creep." Gwen retorted before shooting a web that sent her zipping up.
Miller followed by scaling the tower walls while Gwen ascended by slinging onto nearby stone ledges.
After arriving back on the old platform, the pair began fighting again with Miller striking with every claw while Gwen did her best to dodge.
"I can smell the sweat off you. Getting tired?" Miller asked, "More importantly, there's something familiar from you I'm feeling."
Gwen twisted and turned but despite her superhuman stamina and strength, she felt as weak as a normal human. Miller on the other hand was getting warmed up.
"You know why I came here?" Miller asked.
"Beats me. You like dark and damp environments." Gwen said as she backed herself to the corner.
Before Gwen could aim her webs at Miller, the monstrous professor quickly grabbed her wrists together. Next thing that happened was worse with Miller crushing her web shooters causing a jolt of pain to Gwen.
"You and Spider-Man both shoot your webs from the wrists. I've noted that detail…" Miller said as Gwen slumped to the ground on her knees.
Gwen felt immensely weakened as Miller stood towering over her. Grinning ear to ear, Miller used his clawed right foot to stomp Gwen and immobilise her.
"Looks like I'm sharp enough to subdue one spider." Miller said eyeing his prey.
Wincing in pain, Gwen felt her eyes stuttering to black as Miller continued to talk.
"I was going to say… I came here because this was the place where Anton was captured before being placed in the Raft." Miller said, "So… Let me ask."
Miller grabbed Gwen by the collar through one hand and asked his question.
"Where is Spider-Man? Where's your equal?" Miller asked.
"I…Don't know." Gwen replied simply.
Miller grunted before taking action.
"I'll make sure he'll be here either way. Now I have one unanswered question." Miller said before he used his clawed hands and reached for the mask.
Slowly and deadly, Miller used the tip of his nails to peel back Gwen's mask. Peeling the mask back, Miller's eyes lit up as soon as he recognised the face. The blonde hair; the blue eyes and the fair white skin which also looked grimy from the fight.
"Gwen? Gwendolyn Stacy?!" Miller said dropping her to the floor in surprise.
In Gwen's mind, her heart began to panic and the sweating amplified. Her identity had been revealed in front of the worst person she could possibly face.
"How…How did it take me this long to figure that it was you with the powers?!" Miller said before giggling.
Gwen groaned as she looked away from Miller. However, Miller was insistent on his former pupil to look at him straight in the eye.
"Don't turn away." Miller said menacingly while gripping her cheeks, "You know there's only one way through this."
"I'm not afraid of you." Gwen snapped back.
"You're lying about that one." Miller grinned, "Besides… You were much braver when you had your partner in crime around. Much cosier should I say."
Gwen realised that Miller may be saying the truth. She was a novice compared to Peter and she was certainly a novice when it comes to other superpowered beings.
"Enough babble. I have places to be. Why not come with me and we'll sort this out? Together. As student and teacher." Miller said before reaching for something beneath his fur.
Gwen watched as Miller pulled out a piece of cloth that looked as if it was stained with some liquid. In an instance, Miller placed the cloth over Gwen's mouth which sent a drowsy effect down her entire body.
"Shhh… Sleep well." Miller said as he held the cloth firmly while Gwen began to dose off.
Slumping into unconsciousness, Miller held the unmasked Gwen in his hands. A prize was in his hands. As the police entered the scene, they managed to secure the little girl outside safely. However, it was too late for them to find the heroine and villain at play.
"Today's reward comes in beauty." Miller said carrying Gwen as he jumped away from the clock tower to a nearby street alleyway below.
1:30 pm U-Genetics…
Miller arrived back in his human form attempting to look as polished as ever to impress his fellow colleagues.
"Sorry, I'm late." Miller said walking in to see each U-Genetics employee in place.
The staff sat silently in response but were disturbed by the odd behaviour Miller was exhibiting.
"What's going on, Richard?" A man in a casual outfit asked.
"The changes I'm proposing. Like what is going to be the property of U-Genetics from now on." Miller answered as he sat down with his folder documents.
Even though, it was not himself. It was good for Miller to be back in a professional role to some degree.
2:35 pm Fisk Underground R&D Lab…
Wilson had been busy with renovating room space in the lower level of his own tower. He was beginning to invest in science for his own purposes. With the help of his own stock brokers and the rest of the business crew, he had recruited scientists under his ploy. Farley Stillwell being one of them.
"Impressive to see everything moving fast." Wilson said accompanied by Dan; Jack and Ronald.
The workers moved about as they scrambled to clear everything in the room urgently. The scientists on the other hand had help from engineers to assemble machinery parts that form Farley's upcoming experiment.
"Dr. Stillwell." Wilson called out.
Farley noticed Wilson and walked up to him meekly.
"Mr. Fisk. I was wondering… Maybe I'm asking too much." Farley said looking at the environment around him.
"Relax." Wilson said patting his back, "It was my choice. If I knew this was a waste of money, I would know."
"Right. I really am impressed with the amount of people showing up today. Really impressed." Farley acknowledged.
"Is there anything you can request? I was just going to ask." Wilson said.
"Um…This machine we're building. Requires a stable power source." Farley replied, "I was wondering if we could get people with physics backgrounds to help us."
"I'll figure that one out." Wilson said, "Well done."
Wilson slapped Farley's back and encouraged him to get back to work. He then turned his attention to the three men accompanying him.
"Gentlemen. I have a gift to show you all." Wilson informed, "Follow me."
Leading the three to some vault-like cargo boxes, Wilson requested one man to open all the boxes up. The boxes automatically opened after some passcode typing and revealed three armoured suits with vests that looked bulletproof. The suits also were metallic grey in colour.
"Armoured suits?" Ronald questioned.
"These are courtesy from our friends at Roxxon. They were kind enough to lend me this technology thanks to some shared interests they had with me." Wilson said.
"Roxxon? I thought those folks were an energy company. Like oil or whatever." Jack said.
"They've made deals with companies to invest in their energy resources. And it's a lot of money." Wilson said.
"Ha. Are these supposed to make us stronger?" Dan said looking unimpressed.
"Yes!" Wilson's voice boomed, "They're fit for men of your calibre. They'll help you in your efforts to apprehend friends like our web-swinging foe."
"Well, in that case. It wouldn't hurt to try it on at least once." Jack replied.
With those words, Wilson had successfully captivated continuous loyalty from the people around him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
End note: Originally, I planned for Peter to come in and rescue Gwen but I'm raising the stakes here so I hope I've got your attention.