The Lost Hex
"I must thank you again for this opportunity." said a figure talking through a private communicator, speaking to his employer. He stood in a dark lab, using it as a temporary base of operations.
"Don't get too comfortable just yet. Though the conch provides relief, your new assets are still very dangerous." the employer warned him.
The figure chuckled, "Oh believe me, I am well aware. Do not fret about your end of this bargain, they know of the plan and I intend to live up to my payment." he added, revealing that he had the blue Chaos Emerald.
"You better do your job well." the employer said before ending the call.
"I always do…" said the mysterious villain, turning around to look at the six strange creatures standing behind him.
"Hmph. Just know that whatever your intentions are with us, you will not succeed." said the red being confidently.
"Oh?" said the mastermind, "I beg to differ, Zavok." he pulled out a conch and blew into it, creating a wave of sound that irritated the demons, "You Zeti take orders from me now."
"...Very well." Zavok relented, his eyes narrowing, wishing to eliminate their enslaver.
Web of Chaos: Deadly Adventure
Issue #1: Cleanup Duty
New York
It appeared to be a normal night in New York. All seemed quiet… except for the makeshift fortress inhabited by escaped prisoners of the super-prison known as the Raft.
Each convict was heavily armed, no doubt rationed from their breakout. "Another quiet night." one of them said.
"Good. Just gotta keep busy till the boss arrives." this ally said.
"Yeah. Better hope this guy pays well."
Perched on a rooftop across from the criminals was none other than Spider-Man, who was examining the fortress. His suit was now black and red, the black sleeves covering all of his arms and the stripes more prominent. 'Not a bad set-up guys. Been looking for these crooks for about a week now, glad they're starting to reveal themselves out in the open for little ol' me to bring down. Just gotta wait for the distraction to take out the guarding snipers…'
Spider-Man looked up, able to spot a blue blur push down the snipers, having attached Web Bombs to them to ensure they didn't flatten upon impact with the ground. Peter smiled under his mask, seeing Sonic give him a thumbs up once he was finished, "And right on cue!"
The web-slinger leaped into the air and shot a web-line at one of the criminals, kicking him hard enough to render him unconscious, "Hey everyone! Is this open invite or is there a guest list I missed out on?" he quipped, getting the criminals' undivided attention.
"Crap, it's the Spider!"
The blue blur hit one of the criminals with a Homing Attack and knocked him out. Standing next to Spider-Man was Sonic, who said, "And the hedgehog!"
One of the convicts pointed at the heroes, shouting, "It don't matter! We'll kill you both!"
The heroes could only shake their heads in disappointment at that, "Shall we teach them a lesson, Blue?" Spider-Man asked.
"Got no reason not too, Red!" Sonic replied.
'Things have been tough since May… Well I'm still not over that yet. Anyway, after Osborn and Eggman vanished, Sonic, Tails and I left it upon ourselves to find the Chaos Emeralds on Earth so they've kinda become MJ and me's roommates. They're awesome and honestly? I could use their company.'
One of the prisoners aimed his gun at Spider-Man. Peter flipped to the side and covered his face in webbing, giving Sonic an opening to Spin-Dash him, causing him to fall off the wooden platform.
"I'm not really sure what you guys were thinking, making such an obvious spot to hide in." Peter quipped, casually dodging the punches being thrown at him. He got bored and webbed up the convicts' arms and caused them to collide and punch each other clean in the face.
Sonic kicked a prisoner in the back of the head and landed on a knee, ducking under a barrage of bullets, "They gotta make it look good for their boss! After all, they got a Chaos Emerald cooped up in there!"
'Tensions have been heating up in the streets once word got out that mystical gems are just lying around the city. Every big bad crime boss wants a piece, whether it be Kingpin, Tombstone, Hammerhead… and lord knows how many other bosses.'
"You ain't getting that gem!" one of the prisoners yelled, charging after Sonic. The hedgehog yawned and did a backflip, kicking the criminal in the chin and launching him into the air. Spider-Man webbed up his chest and slammed him on the ground, knocking him unconscious.
Spider-Man quipped, "Well that's too bad. I was hoping to get a peek at it!"
"Only a peek? I was hoping to nab it!" Sonic joked back, spin-kicking a thug down.
"Yeah right! We won't let that happen!" one of the thugs shouted, Spider-Man webbed him up to a wall before he could do anything.
"Well you criminals are notorious liars!" Spider-Man joked, elbowing said good in the face, "So care to tell us who your boss is? I get them all mixed up."
"Is it us? I mean we appreciate the welcome wagon but you guys don't fit our style." Sonic added, Spin-Dashing a thug off as Spider-Man webbed him to a wall.
Sonic uppercutted the last standing prisoner and dusted his hands off, "Not bad, Spidey." he complimented his friend.
"You did alright too." Peter replied, "Now come on let's bust in here and take this emerald before the big bad gets here!"
"Right!"
The hedgehog and spider punched right through the flimsy wooden barrier that covered the building's shattered window, "Hm. About what I expected from this place." Sonic admitted, pulling out a small handheld, "The radar says we're close by."
"If you say so." Spider-Man nodded, kicking through another door.
There they saw it. A shining red gem. Spider-Man said, "Yeah that looks like a Chaos Emerald alright."
Sonic walked closer to it, ensuring the prisoners didn't leave a trap. Peter looked around, feeling that familiar tingling sensation in the back of his head, "Sonic… You may wanna wrap this up quick."
"Why?" Sonic said, grabbing the emerald.
Before either of them could react, the heroic duo found themselves ensnared in nets that were thrown down from the ceiling, "Oh… That…" Sonic grumbled.
Spider-Man and Sonic struggled in the net, all the while a woman revealed herself from the shadows, dropping from the ceiling, "Isn't this nice~? The Spider and his hedgehog friend came for a visit after all~"
"Black Cat…" Spider-Man mumbled in frustration,
"Missed me Spider~? You didn't ring when Osborn was off causing mayhem. Felt betrayed." Black Cat teased him, grabbing the Chaos Emerald out of Sonic's hand.
"I was busy, Felicia… What do you want with the emerald?" Peter asked.
Felicia smirked, "Every baddie in town wants one of these. I figured I could take these for myself and make a quick buck off them."
"And let it fall into the hands of those people?! Felicia these aren't just pieces of jewelry! These are weapons of mass destruction!" Peter pleaded with the cat burglar.
"These tiny things? Hm, like I'll believe that." Felicia quipped back.
Spider-Man shot a web-line at the emerald in an attempt to take it back, but Black Cat caught on used her claws to cut it apart, "Gotta be slicker than that, Spider~" she teased.
"Oh brother… She's like Rouge…" Sonic mumbled, using a Spin-Dash to swiftly break him and Peter free.
"My my, your new friend is fast on his feet." Felicia said.
"Name's Sonic for a reason, kitty. Now hand over the emerald." Sonic demanded.
"Heh, I'd like to see you take it from me." Black Cat joked, leaping out of a broken window, prompting Sonic and Spider-Man to chase after her.
"Come on!" Sonic shouted, beginning the chase with Spider-Man, "Is she always like this?"
"You have no idea…" Peter shook his head as him and Sonic ran up the side of a building Black Cat climbed, "Felicia stop! You don't know what you're doing!"
"Getting a good payment? I know exactly what I'm doing!" Felicia huffed at him, leaping across the building onto the next one.
"Seriously? Is that all you care about? Not the fact that the Chaos Emerald is dangerous?!" Sonic grunted.
"Chaos Emerald? You even named it? Sounds just like you, Spider." Black Cat said.
"Oh my God!" Spider-Man yelled, leaping after Felicia, using a web-line to carry Sonic with him, "Can't you catch her? You're the Fastest Thing Alive!"
"All these big jumps break my momentum, we gotta slow her down!" Sonic told Peter.
"Great…" Spider-Man mumbled, shooting some web-balls in Black Cat's direction in hopes of slowing her down.
"Getting tired, boys?" Black Cat teased from afar.
"Cat! You're making yourself a target by doing this!" Spider-Man warned her.
"As if the big bosses care about a small time cat burglar like me!" Black Cat quipped, "Not like I can't take care of myself!"
"I'm not saying you can't! But this is serious! Criminals are grouping around and trying to get all seven of these!" Spider-Man replied.
"You're lucky Eggman isn't around! He would've proven you wrong already!" Sonic said.
"Is that a threat? Look blue boy, I've faced worse than that man!" Felicia told him.
"He's just about as bad as Norman." Spider-Man shook his head, shooting a web-line so that he and Sonic zipped closer to Black Cat.
Meanwhile close by, someone watched the chase. "Looks like the emerald is with the Cat. Wanna double your wager for me to go after her?" asked a man in green and yellow armor to an unknown man.
"Yes! Just do whatever is necessary to take back that emerald!" his employer ordered.
"You're the boss!" said the mercenary, flying after Black Cat and the heroic duo.
"This is getting annoying… CAT LOOK OUT!" Spider-Man shouted, zipping so fast in the air that he tackled Felicia right before she could get decked by the man with the jetpack, "You okay?"
"I was fine. Why are you so bent on saving me anyway?" Black Cat asked.
"I… I can't let anyone else down. Not after recently…" Spider-Man muttered, "But enough about that… clearly someone's here."
"This guy looks like a costumed disaster." Sonic quipped, dodging the green and yellow mercenary's concussive lasers.
Spider-Man kicked him, "Long time no see, Chance! I see you're still taking a chance on whether or not you're a fashion disaster!"
"Oh that one was bad!" Sonic replied in disgust.
"I don't have time for you three, I am only here for the emerald!" Chance revealed, blasting the heroes back.
"Man everyone's looking for these things! And I thought we were special!" Sonic mocked, Spin-Dashing Chance before getting blasted with his laser.
"Alright, Spider… I think I see your point." Black Cat admitted, flipping over another laser shot by Chance.
"About time." Spider-Man replied.
Chance gulped at the new alliance, "Aw crap…"
"You got a pretty lame gimmick, Chance! You show up, blast us and that's it? Eggman's robots are more interesting than this!" Sonic quipped at the mercenary.
"Look I have a lot of money on the line!" Chance admitted, shooting at the heroes.
"Wait… you paid to get hired? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Sonic questioned in sheer confusion.
"He's basically a gambler. If he does his job he gets double what he paid." Spider-Man explained, "I'm surprised he hasn't gone bankrupt yet."
"Well I don't appreciate the new bounty on my head so I guess I'll be paying back." Black Cat joked, slicing her claws through Chance's armor after she leaped high enough to reach him.
"Damn it!" Chance yelled.
Spider-Man webbed up Chance's face, blinding him long enough for Black Cat to grab his leg and pull him down. "Thanks for the assist, Cat." Spidey said to his ally.
"I don't take assassins kindly either, Spider." Felicia told him.
Sonic watched as Chance got back up and started shooting, yanking the webbing off his face, "Allow me to get a hit in!" the hedgehog quipped, jumping and hitting the mercenary's jetpack with a Homing Attack.
"How?! I was moving!" Chance shouted.
Sonic smirked, "Too slow, buddy!" he quipped, uncurling and hitting the jetpack again.
Chance spun around and shot Sonic, stunning the hedgehog briefly. Black Cat jumped and caught him, the hedgehog saying, "Well, this is a nice surprise. Saved by a cat burglar."
"Yeah whatever." Felicia rolled her eyes.
Spider-Man grabbed a loose piece of debris and web threw it at Chance, the mercenary shooting it to pieces. However while he was distracted, Felicia swooped up and scratched his jetpack, causing it to leak out.
Sonic followed up with a Homing Attack and dive-kicked the mercenary down, causing him to collapse on the floor. "Booyah! Another jobber down for the count!"
The heroes paused, hearing a muffled voice, "Chance. Are you there, Chance? Damn it, answer me you moron!"
Spider-Man webbed up the phone in Chance's pocket, turning on the screen and seeing the face of a large man, "Oh hey, Willie. Guess this guy was yours huh?" he joked.
Wilson Fisk grunted, "Damn it. I should've known you would get involved."
"Willie? This is the big bad Kingpin?" Sonic wondered.
The Kingpin gritted his teeth, "Your furry friend is here too? Interesting, I'll be sure to remember that for next time."
"There won't be a next time, Fisk. We'll be coming for you." Spider-Man warned him.
"Do try. You've failed to do so for years now, nothing will change this time." Fisk reminded the wall-crawler, "You've made an enemy of me once more, bug. Pray you do not interfere with me again or you will pay the consequences."
"Yeah yeah, sure." Peter muttered, the call getting hung up.
"Still a piece of work isn't he?" Black Cat quipped.
Sonic scratched his head, "I mean we could just go up to him right? Beat him up and all that?"
Spider-Man shook his head, "No. We have no evidence for the police to arrest him with and he's put up the facade of a good businessman. He's untouchable until we find something. I tried to take him down early in my career… it didn't end well." he shuddered, recalling the brutal beatdown he was met with in his first confrontation with Fisk.
"...Then I suppose we'll just have to find the emeralds before he and the other crime lords do right?" Sonic asked.
"That's always been the plan, Blue." Peter replied.
"Hold on, I want in, Spider." Black Cat said.
"I dunno, you made our job harder." Sonic shrugged her offer off.
Spider-Man crossed his arms, "Why do you suddenly want to help now?"
Felicia said, "These gems make you an immediate target for any of the big bosses of this city. I'd rather be in good company than die. But… you have my word I won't try anything."
"Better not. I'm still looking for that Spider-Tracer." Peter replied.
"And you'll never find it~" Black Cat teased.
Sonic said, "I hope we aren't making a mistake…"
Peter replied, "Cat's a good friend… when she's not stealing in the same place where I'm at. We can trust her."
"I'll take your word for it, Spidey. We should meet up with Tails. I feel like we could use all the help we could get." Sonic suggested.
Fisk Tower
"Damn it…" Fisk groaned, sitting in his chair. He examined the Chaos Emerald already in his possession, hoping to obtain more. He was disappointed, but not surprised, Chance failed him.
"Has the Kingpin finally suffered a loss?" taunted a gruff old voice.
"Ngh… Who dares?!" Kingpin wondered.
"Me!" shouted a familiar scientist clad in red, storming through Fisk's doors with his six associates behind him.
Fisk folded his hands, "Hm. You. I remember you."
"That's right! I, Dr. Eggman, have made a comeback. And this time, I wish to forge an alliance with you." Eggman offered.
Kingpin raised an eyebrow, "An offer? What could you possibly offer me?"
Eggman stepped aside to reveal the Deadly Six. Zavok, Zazz, Zor, Zommom, Zik, and Zeena. "Meet my new minions, the Deadly Six! And if you agree to my proposition, your minions as well!" he revealed.
"Interesting, but not enough. What is in this for me?" Fisk asked.
Eggman raised a finger, "Oh you will benefit a lot from this! New minions to turn the tide of this gang war, a way to divert attention away from you, and…" he pulled out a Chaos Emerald, "...This!"
That caught Fisk's attention, and he asked, "How did you obtain one?"
"The Zeti here! They managed to… strong arm a member of Tombstone's gang into giving it away! No strings attached!" Eggman revealed.
"I see… Very well, give me the Chaos Emeralds and I shall reward you." Fisk complied, "But try anything and there will be no place on this planet you could hide from me."
"Oh I do not intend to end this deal! It's the bargain of a lifetime. Ohohohohoho!" Eggman laughed.
Zavok glared at Eggman, the red Zeti wishing to end his enslaver right there. But alas, he had to wait. Intending to strike when he can gain the upper hand.
Elsewhere in New York
A woman clad in a white hoodie rested in a web hammock, 'Stupid portal, stupid alternate world. I need a place to stay now.'
Spider-Woman sat up, intending to go do just that. However, an eerie voice stopped her momentarily, surprising her, "Gwen Stacy. It is about time I contacted you."
"Huh? Who the hell are you?" Gwen asked.
"I am Madame Web, the seer of the Great Web and watcher of the Spider-Totems." Madame Web revealed.
"Well that's not creepy…" Spider-Woman muttered, "What do you want?"
"When you investigated that rift, I ensured you arrived here. Your presence here is dire." the psychic said.
Gwen folded her arms, "Uh huh… How?"
"The Spider-Totem of this world, Spider-Man, is in great pain. Pain that will hinder him for his battles to come. Your presence here can heal his emotional wounds… and perhaps the same could be done for you." explained Madame Web.
"...And why should I trust the weird old woman voice in my head?" Spider-Woman wondered.
"Spider-Man will be your key to your home world. I brought you here when that Genesis Rift would have possibly sent you to a more hostile world with no connection on the Web. You are an important strand on the Web of Life."
"...Okay I got nothing for that. Just tell me where I can find this Spider-Man guy at so I can just get home." Spider-Woman muttered.
"You will find him soon. I assure you." Madame Web said cryptically before fading.
Spider-Woman looked up, "Web? Web? Great… she's gone. Guess I'm on my own again… and talking to myself again… as if I'm not crazy enough…" she leaped off the building and started swinging, hoping to find Spider-Man and return to her world.
A/N: Sorry for the massive delay in starting this. A lot happened, but I'm back to continue the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Spider-Man. Originally this was going to be an adaptation of Sonic Lost World but I wanted to change things up. Consider this a loose adaptation of the game with elements of Spider-Man PS4's City that Never Sleeps DLC story.
After the big high stakes adventures of Worlds Collide, I wanted to dial things back, I wanted to put Spider-Man back into a street level adventure and pit Sonic against such villains for the first time. All the while they deal with the trauma of what they endured, something that Spider-Gwen's presence could potentially fix… or make worse.
Next Time: Sonic and Spider-Man continue their emerald search and cross paths with Tombstone.