So sorry for the super late update. Christmas and New Years took a lot of my time and I truly tried to get something done but I needed to get the refreshing feeling of the new year out of my system before beginning to write again. With this new year, I hope to become more forthcoming with my updates, I owe that much to all of you, and so with that out of the way I am happy to introduce my first update of 2020 with Spider-Linc. As in the comics, Vulture was the first real super villain in terms of having a theme and reason to descend into committing criminal acts, though he isn't the first superpowered villain, at least, not yet but we'll get to that later on. Also, as the story goes on, they'll be some changes made to Royal Woods, you'll see for yourselves soon enough.

I also know everyone is going through trying times right now so all I can say is that everyone stay safe and take whatever precaution needed to stay healthy.

Don't forget to Fave, Follow, and leave your Reviews.

Enjoy!


When Tetherby Corporation first set up a new brand main headquarters in Royal Woods, it caused quite a change in the once quiet Michigan Town. With a big-name like theirs moving in, they wasted no time making themselves at home, with consolation with Mayor Davis and her staff, they started expanding the town to make more room for their business ventures. The metropolitan area had gone through some renovations overtime and some would say that it continued to grow. While not exactly big enough to rival that of Great Lakes City from a neighboring state, it's well on its away to standing out more on the map. But Tetherby wasn't the only corporation who moved in, some of its rivals followed suit and Anthony Tetherby was never a man who would roll over easily to his competitors, be they Stark, Roxxon, or anyone bold enough to face him and his empire. It was for that reason that he had the teams of some of his biggest projects work on the clock until dawn.

Some might say it was unfair treatment of employees, to him, it was a small sacrifice for the greater good. Two of the divisions he had the most highest hopes for are the applied weapons and technology department and the genetic research lab. Since the emergence of enhanced people in the world, Anthony wanted to keep up with a changing world, especially when it came to recent innovations on the tech side of things along with knowing what makes organic bodies tick and see if they could somehow be manipulated. The media likes to paint them as "mad science, inc', Anthony prefers to describe himself and by extension, his company, a forward thinker.

And he expects the same drive from those that answer to him but most importantly, he expects loyalty from them even when his decisions come at an inconvenience to them. One case taking place at one of their laboratories where one of their longtime engineers was causing quite the scene when he stormed in, demanding to speak with anyone. "Mason! Mason, where the hell are you?!" the person in question was a balding Caucasian male in his 50s wearing a black suit over a red blazer.

He trekked the halls until getting to the lab where a bespectacled man about his age in a lab coat was. "Adrian!" he noted in surprise.

Adrian Toomes. For most of his life, he had an exceptional talent in aerodynamic engineering, a talent of which caught the eye of Tetherby and he always poached on those that were exceptional before anyone else. Toomes did what was expected of him, solely for making his imaginative work a reality but months earlier, he came to blows with Tetherby after one of his inventions was rejected by the him personally. But the news he got today set something off inside him. Now, he wanted to let it be known.

Phineas Mason was a fellow colleague of his who assisted in the inventions, being a knowledgeable tinkerer himself. If anyone could have answers that wouldn't dismiss Adrian, it was him. "Would you mind explaining this?!" he showcased his smartphone which showed a mass text detailing an upcoming unveiling of a new project.

Sighing, Phineas did his best to calm his friend down. "Yes, everyone of importance got the mass text from Mr. Tetherby. Primarily, those who were heavily involved with the projects. So of course, you'd also be among those who received it."

"And he thought what? That I'd be too busy to check my phone?" Adrian rhetorically asked. "That my advanced age would make me unaware of my own surroundings?!"

"Come now, Adrian. Degrading yourself like that is hardly in your nature." the voice of their boss with an amused tone made both men turn upwards to see Tetherby leaning rails as he walked down the stairs alongside his personal bodyguards.

Seeing him with that casual grin on his face made Adrian seethe with fury. "You son of a bitch!" he stormed to the mogul as he came down with Phineas following to hold him back and the bodyguards stepping in front of their charge but were told to rest easy by him. "Why the hell are my designs for magnetic air transports being scheduled for a presentation?!"

"Because the board members were adamant of there being a new product. What could impress them more than a magnetic system installed in not only air vehicles but land vehicles as well? That makes for an easy extraction, wouldn't you say?" he smirked. "I'd imagined you'd be proud."

"Perhaps if you hadn't purposely neglected to mention the fact that the entire concept was thought up by me in the first place!" Adrian bellowed. "Not only that, but it wasn't so long ago that you rejected these designs right to my face! What happened to it all being some science-fiction fantasy? Was that so I wouldn't bother to find out you were gonna use them anyway before making the announcement! And to brand it with the name, Tether-Flight Tech no less?! I should've known you'd pull this! Why else wouldn't you have pulled all my funding if not for that sole purpose?"

Anthony closed his eyes, keeping a calm and composed state as opposed to his disgruntled employee. "Listen, Adrian. Perhaps I was being a bit hasty at the time but frankly, I was thinking of you."

"Is that right?" Adrian scoffed.

"But, of course. I understood that your flight technology was very dear to you, I merely did what I thought was best for your dream to become reality, I assumed you were the type who barely cared about receiving accolades." he shrugged. "Perhaps I was wrong."

The engineer gritted his teeth as his temper rose. "Don't spin this around against me, Tetherby! You weren't the one who came up with the idea or designed it all in the first place! Why take credit for something you're not responsible for?!"

"Except I am responsible for it." Anthony countered. "All projects and initiatives that take place here are authorized by me. Henceforth, they are the property of Tetherby Corp. My property." he began advancing towards him with a steel expression making Adrian drop his angered state and backed away carefully. "When I first scouted you, it was because I saw potential. But despite that talent, you never made any worthwhile accomplishment in your life before hiring you and you continued that trend afterwards. How could anyone believe that someone who failed many times before suddenly accomplished something grand?"

Adrian clenched his fist as he matched Anthony's frown with his own furious one. The audacity of this man, not receiving any form of recognition for a project he himself invested time and energy in wasn't his only issue, it was robbing a concept, and idea that was born from his mind. If anyone has any claim to it, it should be the creator not the one who supplied all the funds and resources for it to be made. But then again, he shouldn't be surprised, this was what it was like when you work for Tetherby. "Mason, did you have any hand in this?!"

"Right, because I'm capable of such a feat." Phineas rolled his eyes but understood nonetheless. "Look, Adrian. I'm sorry, but-"

"No, Phineas. There's no need for you to apologize for anything." Anthony stated. "Because Thetherby Corporation never owes any obligation to apologize for anything or to anyone. Now, Mr. Toomes, if you have such issues with how things are done here then perhaps you no longer have a place here anymore."

Getting the message, his bodyguards both grabbed Adrian at both his arms and escorted him out of the building. "He's right, Phineas." Adrian said one last time. "You don't have to apologize for anything. But someone will." he growled under his breath with a dangerous tone.

"As you were, Phineas." Anthony walked back up and waited until he was out of earshot to call someone on his phone. "It's been done, with Toomes gone, his technology are now at our disposal."

"Excellent. Though, can't say if it was smart of you to let Toomes go, he would've made a valuable asset had you let him into fold. Another brain in our operations never hurts."

"One has to earn that right, my friend. Adrian Toomes may have been someone with a little forward thinking but at the end of the day, I doubt he'd do something so daring with his life." Anthony dismissed. "Besides, you get fun little toys to take care of your little problem. What do you suppose he's up to?"

"Becoming an increasing pain, no doubt. With power like that, why would any child still attend school?"


Near the docks at Royal Woods, two cars drove to them, one tailing the other and both drivers putting the pedal to the metal for their own purposes, to either escape or catch up. Eventually, the car trying to escape skidded after going way too fast and crashed into a containment unit, making the driver exit and attempt to get away on foot. The police detective who was tailing him in the other car also got out, shouting at the fleeing man to stop running while flashing his badge. He ran in between the units to lose the trail, it was like trying to chase a rat through a maze, the runaway tried hiding behind one unit as the cop ran past him. For a moment he thought he was in the clear until the sound of someone landing on top of the container made him look up and saw a strand of web land on his face.

By the time the detective managed to find him, the criminal was already webbed to the container's side and saw the sight of Spider-Man swinging away. "You're welcome!" he told them.

Spider-Man fought off a group that were guarding one grabbed the other guard by the shirt and pulled him across before jumping up to kick him in the chest with his two feet followed by a jumping kick to the chin. He turned to see the final one and trapped his hands in webs before giving a dose of a Venom Blast, rendering him unconscious.

Crawling up a roll, Spidey stopped once he was atop of the building, he promptly backed away before making a run for it and jumping off to make a deep dive below. Timing it just right, he shot out a web to make a mighty swing across, gaining the attention from onlookers who wasted no time in taking shots of him as he soared over them. He continued until crashing through a window where he shot multiple webs until the target was caught, who had a women's purse on a table. Going through it, Spider-Man found a wallet and saw the driver's license.

He looked at the thief with a headshake with him shrugging with a sheepish smile. "Not cool, dude." he said.

When there isn't any superhero work being done.

A web line travelled from one side of the building to the next look like a circus tightrope with Spider-Man walking carefully as he waited for the next crime alert on the scanner through his phone. He did a flip like a circus acrobat and calmly stepped off and swung with a web line and felt his phone vibrate but instead of a crime in progress it was Lori calling. Hearing police sirens nearby, he declined the call and travelled to where the action was, making a note to come up with a good excuse later to his oldest sister.

At Royal Woods hospital, Spider-Man clung to a window at the floor where Albert was still in a coma, his health largely being unchanged since he was shot but there still wasn't any guarantee that he might wake up. Every time that he sees his once vibrant grandfather lay on that hospital bed always pierced him deep inside. It's been a grueling couple of months for him, his parents, his sisters, and Myrtle and they prayed for his speedy recovery, the wall crawler climbed up and sat at the edge and took out an Ace Savvy comic to pass the time, until he got a look at it.

"Oh, dang it. I'm late."


Dr. Lopes was a patient woman, so she let Lincoln's tardiness just this once. "I know most youngster aren't that crazy about having to see a shrink, but I do hope you can learn to be punctual, Mr. Loud.

"Yeah, sorry." Lincoln weakly apologized, laying on the couch and began speaking to her. "Do you ever wonder how unbelievable it feels after a big change? Lately, that's something I've been feeling for a long while now since...that day. I tried adjusting to it, tried working through it in the best ways I knew how. It's mostly been the same old routine, so at least some shred of normalcy has been restored. Just doing nothing but fun and games. After what happened to Pop-Pop, I kept waiting for any news, any sign that he'll wake up and spend time with his favorite grandkids just like he always does. But at the end of the day, I realize that just sitting around waiting won't do much and it's hard treating everything as if it's normal when really, it's the exact opposite. It makes me stop to wonder about if all of this could've been stopped if-if something was done to change what happened. Maybe, by some miracle, the mugger was stopped way before he had the chance. I mean, if you had the chance to fix anything that affected your family life negatively, wouldn't you take it?"

Lincoln finished pouring out his feelings as he stared up at the ceiling, resting on a couch as in front of him sat Dr. Lopez, one of the best therapists in Royal Woods, she wore black pants, brown shoes, a green overcoat and a yellow scarf. He came to her through recommendation from his best friend, Clyde, as a means of trying to deal with Albert's condition. It's unhealthy for a child his age to go through such a heart-wrenching ordeal without speaking to someone about it, talking to his family helps but having some professional assistance is also a good step. For Dr. Lopez, it was definitely a step up from dealing with an 11-year-old with an obsession on a girl 6 years his senior that borderlines on the creepy side.

Putting her notepad down after drawing all that she needed to know along with her own inputs, Dr. Lopez began to respond to his query. "Everyone asks themselves that question once in their lives, Lincoln. It's natural for people to not only feel bad about a past mistake or tragedy but to wish to go back and change things so that it never happens in the first place. But life doesn't have reset buttons."

"But-"

"And before you mention your sister, Lisa, let me remind you that she could only rewind 24 hours and it had already been dismantled." see him slump in the couch, she spoke in a more even and softer tone. "Lincoln, even if you did manage to go back, what could you have done to stop him? By all counts, you could've been hurt too or even worse. Placing blame on yourself won't help anyone."

The snow haired boy's initial downcast expression fell even more, he wanted to say that he easily could've, he not only had the guy in his sights but he even had the power too.

But he couldn't do that without admitting that he was Spider-Man, he's not sure even she could deal with a super-powered eleven year old. "I just can't believe it happened." he sat up, hugging his legs. "Even as Pop-Pop got older, he never seemed to slow down. He's been part of our lives for so long, I can't picture one where goes out like...this."

"It's my understanding that he's still stable, correct?"

"For the moment." Lincoln pointed out bitterly. "The doctors says that since he's elderly, his chances aren't looking good but at the same time, him still hanging on for so long is a good sign but that's about the only good sign."

So, that was it. At the center of the sole Loud brother's issues, it was the frustration that this dilemma hasn't resolved itself entirely, he expected that such a development should've resolved itself already and not take such a long time. It was even more frustrating when the life of a beloved and treasured family member hung in the balance. "Lincoln. If you don't mind me asking, but whenever your family goes through a turbulent time, does it often resolve quickly?"

He thought hard about that.

The Loud family was a large one, and like all large families, there were bound to be issues that keep springing up from time and in the case of his family, that was almost a guarantee with each day. It's not that there's no real unconditional love in the family, it's just that everyone had their own personal thing going that tended to escalate so much that it started to involve everyone in the house, then it'd be a storm of weird almost cartoon-ish shenanigans until at the end of the day, it just ends either in a good way or a bad way. Lessons are learned and the same process repeats itself the next day, at least that was until Albert's condition. "Yeah." he finally answered. "Regardless of whoever's at the center of it, things usually just end with help from everyone else. Friends included."

"And the issue regarding your grandfather having taken so long angers you, doesn't it?"

"...Yes." he admitted, forlornly. "I-I know I should be patient, I try to be patient all the time, but-"

"Lincoln, it's okay." she assured him. "Look, what you're feeling is what everyone feels in your position right now, which means you and your family are capable of working pass it. You have enough family members to act as a shoulder to lean on. What matters is that as long as you be truthful about everything with them, you'll be alright. If you need any more help, my door's always open."

With a heavy sigh, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left her office that was in a building downtown, her last words echoing in his mind.

'Truthful.' he mentally scoffed. 'Right. It'd be easy if it weren't for the fact that I've been lying to my family for a long while.' ever since he'd started swinging around in a red and blue onsie, he was ecstatic. But his experience with those Enforcers taught him that it's not all fun and games and more importantly, keeping a secret identity stay a secret and in the Loud family, the only secret kept besides his is Lucy being an avid Princess Pony reader. Everything else is out in the open.

His sisters always managed to get involved in his business and it's hard to hide stuff especially from his parents as well and it's not just because a secret ID's essential to the superhero life but also because he's afraid. If a few or more manage to discover his secret then some might ask why he risks so much and should they find out the true circumstances that lead up to what happened to their Pop-Pop...

He could never look them in the eye ever again, might sound pessimistic but he's not willing to take that risk.

Moving those thoughts away, he looked ahead of the halls to see Ronnie Anne and Clyde up ahead waiting for him. "Hey, Linc. How'd the session with the doc go?" the younger Santiago sibling asked.

"It was...educational. Thanks again for recommending her, Clyde."

"Anytime, pal. Good timing too, she and Robert are planning a romantic getaway next week so I had to really sell it in order to pencil you in at just the right time for her. I suppose I could wait until she gets back from her trip." he said as they exited from the building. "So what's the plan for today? Gus' Games and Grub?"

Lincoln winces as the he would normally jump at that but he other responsibilities to take care of. "Man, wish I could, buddy, but my schedule's very packed for later."

"But Lincoln, they just put in the new arcade version Total Turbo 22 and we always snag the new game first before anyone else." Clyde told him, beseeching him to reconsider.

"Can't say I'm all for Clyde's begging but he is right, Lincoln." Ronnie Anne voiced. "You've been ducking hangouts for a while now. Pulling double duty at the Loud House?"

"...Something like that." it was better than any excuse he was thinking. "What can I say? Going through the motions in that house takes a lot of work and a lot of hours. If you ever find yourself in a crowded place with relatives, then you might understand, Ronnie Anne."

"Pfft, yeah. 'Cause I can totally see that happening." Ronnie Anne sarcastically chuckled.

Though disappointed with his fun plans being put on hold, Clyde at least managed to find one silver lining. "Well, if you're so busy, guess I ca actually make it to that special showcase later."

"Showcase?" his other friends asked in unison.

He turned over his backpack to show them a flyer he's been keeping inside which showed TETHERBY CORP and a place and time for anyone else who had one of those flyers. "I entered this raffle, which took a lot of convincing on my part with my dads by the way, and only a few students from school get to win, including yours truly." he pointed to himself. "It's for a special kid-friendly education-zone sponsored by Tetherby Corp, the raffle was disguised as an online quiz I took when I was board and I passed."

"Tetherby?" Lincoln inquired, remembering it was one of their labs where he was bitten by that spider.

"So you'll be doing nerd stuff and you'll babysitting your sisters?" Ronnie Anne surmised, putting on her helmet. "What? Am I really the only one who knows hot to have some fun around here?" she jokingly chided as she skated off and the McBride boy walked away to the nearest bus stop.

Waving goodbye to both of them, Lincoln looked from side to side to take note of the not so crowded area, the perfect place for him to make a quick change of clothes without any onlookers. He discreetly walked into an empty alleyway and hastily removed his orange polo shirt, revealing the top half of his red and blue bodysuit. After getting the rest of his civilian clothing off, he tucked it all inside his backpack and climbed up the building wall and webbed the backpack to the back of a large billboard, scaring off some pigeons. Already putting on his mask, Lincoln crouched down at the edge, determination brewing inside of him. "Time to go to work."


"So that's why I can't make it tonight. I'm sorry, sweetie. Don't worry, though, I already have something in mind to remedy this situation, I'll talk to you soon." Adrian Toomes let out a heavy sigh after he hung up his phone, his first priority after getting fired by Tetherby was calling his loved ones a to inform them of his current predicament. While they offered to lend some assistance that it was unnecessary, that he didn't wish to burden them with recent slump he's hit in life. But besides that, he also didn't want any of them to get mixed up in the actions that he has decided to make as retaliation of what was done to him.

Should things turn out for the worse, the last thing he wanted was for his family to get hurt in the crossfire and he couldn't bear to lose anything else precious to him because of that bastard, Tetherby.

Tetherby.

Just thinking of him is enough to make his blood boil. That man's insufferable ego was enough to make him want to quit years ago, the only reason why he didn't was because he had the necessary recourses he needed to make Adrian's inventions a reality and Tetherby knew that all too well, he never passed up an opportunity to remind all who work under him that they're creations and achievements would never have been possible if it weren't for him investing them both with money and his own participation in such projects. Adrian hated every waking minute where he had to stand side by side with Tetherby but he kept those grievances to himself, as long as he got to continue his work, bearing with Tetherby was worth it.

Until today that is.

Out of all his inventions, that flight tech was meant to be his crowning achievement, what would've left his mark on the world like many inventors and scientists in history. But now it was all for naught, the man he once worked for will now take credit for work that was not even his own idea but Adrian's and if that weren't bad enough, without Tetherby's funding, there's no hope for any possible future projects. The way Tetherby treated him as a useless asset and just discarding him so causally infuriated Adrian to no end but he won't let it end here. His age doesn't matter, his resolve to teach his former employer a lesson was strong enough to surpass any age.

To do that, he needs to gather the right tools. Since leaving the Tehterby building complex, he's been driving for hours across Royal Woods to his secret workshop that he left behind years ago after getting hired. It was a place where only he and one other person knew of and only those two were aware of the secret hidden inside.

When he first started out, Adrian wished for privacy from the distractions of the city so he chose the one place that has largely been ignored by nearly everyone in the city, an abandoned steel mill factory located near other locales that have been discarded throughout history. It was once a complex owned by a salvage clean up crew that had long since been put out of business, usurped by more successful and richer businesses not unlike Adrian himself. As a boy, he used tp play here after school and once he gained the inspiration to invent, he used this spot to brainstorm ideas when he was still but a beginner. Exiting his car, Adrian let out a deep breath, soaking in the nostalgia.

Being forced back to a place that predated his rise as an aspiring engineer and inventor made him sick to his stomach but it was his only option at the moment.

Adrian's musings ended when he heard another car drive up next to his own and out came Phineas Mason. "I should've know this is where you wanted to meet. You used talk a lot about this place." his former coworker recalled in the discussion they've head when not in the lab.

"You weren't followed?" Adrian asked.

"Made sure of it. Tertherby thinks I wouldn't dare to follow in your lead, he underestimates how understanding people can be." Phineas snorted.

"Phineas, I can't thank you enough for assisting me in this. Although, I won't lie, your job won't be the only thing at risk so if you wish to walk now, here's your chance." Adrian told him.

"Normally, I might take up that offer but you know something? You won't be the last one to be screwed over by Tetherby, everyone working for him dread the day he deems one of us no longer useful to him so we do our best to meet up with his expectations but nothing is ever good enough for him and he'd just do it for kicks." Phineas pessimistically surmised. "Might as well teach him for once that actions have consequences."

"I couldn't agree more." Adrian beckoned him follow him through the main entrance of the steel mill, even though it's been so many years since he last walk through here, he still knew the place like the back of his hand. "As I told you before, I left this place behind once my career took off but at one point, I hid away a project here not too long ago."

"What project would that be?" Phineas asked as his colleague opened the door to a hidden spot that had only one light.

The room inside was filled with blueprints and schematics of what looked like mechanical wings and some sort of helmet with a unique design and hanging on a chair was a brown jacket you'd expect jet pilots to wear. "Before developing my stolen flight technology, there was an initial concept that I worked on using Tetherby's private funding. As you know, the flight tech I envisioned would apply to military drones or piloted aircrafts but before that, I previously thought of equipping that sort of technology on the person rather than the machine."

"As in flight suits?" Phineas theorized. "A sort of system that can help them withstand even more g-force than what the human body can normally take."

"That is a factor but I thought bigger." Adrian answered, walking ahead to a panel with a touch activated screen. Putting in the code, Phineas was taken by surprise when the middle of the floor began to separate across to the buildings walls. They both heard something rise from below mechanically and Phineas' found himself even more shocked than before. Emerging from the ground was a green jumpsuit made out of a breathable elastic fabric covered by protective moveable green armor as well. At the feet were boots shaped like talon claws and at the arms were gauntlets with a touch screen and had gauntlets with the hands having claws. But was most impressive were the large metallic wings shaped like a bird's that latched onto the suit via a harness, they were colored green with a bit of black mixed in and at the bottom was a booster made to propel the user up. "Allow me to present the VLT-R3 prototype flight suit Now the, let us begin." Adrian said, looking at the helmet which had an extended front, giving it a beak-like look.


"Okay, so that's three purse snatchers, speeders here and there and someone who neglected to pick up dog poop. Better than nothing, I guess." the 11 year old masked crimefighter sighed to himself. Not finding more crime around the area, he then spent the time browsing through his messages, his eye caught one embedded with an image. It was sent by Ronnie Anne which showed Bobby falling over after accidentally spraying some cologne on his eyes. Though wincing in sympathy, Spidey couldn't contain a small chuckle, recognizing the brand. "Oh man, that's what Lori bought him with her weekly allowance, she had to clean the gutters for hours."

Any jovial feeling he had was disrupted by a sudden announcement from a jumbotron. "And now here's Daily Bugle News Central, your source from the acclaimed online news outlet. With our host, J. Jonah Jameson."

Once the intro finished, the inside of a newsroom was shown and sitting at a desk was an adult man with a square shaped hairstyle and had a few grey hairs and a thick moustache, he sat firm in a suit. "Superheroes. That's what most of the world likes to call these celebrities in bright and colorful costumes, some would even call them 'saviors', 'brave', 'marvels', and granted, a select few have earned to be addressed as such. But when it comes to the impulsive lot who think they can just go out and take the laws into their own hands, there's just one word for them, vigilantes! And there's no clearer example than Spider-Man!"

An image of said wallcrawler appeared next to him, with words underneath. THREAT OR MENACE?

"It's costumed abnormalities like him that I can't stand! I know what you're thinking, why so hard on the kid? Well try to actually think, should we really rely on a child of all things to save the day? A child who's all fun and games, not bothering to worry about the damages done to our streets or worry about bystanders caught in the crossfire. The concept of superheroes was acclaimed in the beginning, but as I said before, their presence not only breeds monsters but also encourages dangerous behavior for other people and in this instance, our youth! What's next some kind of super-baby?! If this 'Spider-Man' as he likes to call himself is really a man then maybe he should try wait until he met the height and age requirement!"

"Ugh, this guy." Spider-Man rolled his eyes at the rantings of this man. J. Jonah Jameson, the general manager of Daily Bugle Network, a rather controversial news and media outlet read online. When he made his debut, the only media following he's had was either on social network sites and the local news but soon, the Bugle started following his trail from one of their buildings in Michigan. Jameson is a natural born critique, pointing out every flaw he could find or theorize, and the one thing he likes to rant about were superheroes, but he couldn't slander big names so he's had to find some of the more small fish.

Being a newcomer, Spider-Man was the perfect target. Lincoln could handle heckling either at school or at home but the sheer force and ferocity of this guy was unreal, one would have half a mind to give him an aspiring when he unleashes his booming voice on the tube.

"All units, be advised. Patrol vehicles and eyewitnesses spotting suspicious flying object nearing downtown Royal Woods, claims of weapons possibly being seen."

"Downtown..." Spidey's eyes widened in alarm at the police scanner's announcement and remembered the flyer . "That's where the showcase is!" Not wasting time, he zipped across, praying that he wasn't too late.


"Can I expect the flight tech to be delivered on time?"

"Yes, Mr. Tetherby."

"Excellent. If you'll need me, I'll be entertaining that little showcase for the children." Tetherby hung up as he silently sat in his limo heading straight to downtown. Just like the field trip months prior, Tetherby Corp has authorized another gift to the kids of Royal Woods, but it was an attempt to calm a few minds after a brief scare from said field trip where one of the test subjects got loose. The board members started to worry about potential PR nightmares due to mistakes like that but Tetherby assured them that he can clean up any mess.

"Sir, we've arrived." the driver announced, parking in his private space. Their destination was a newly built complex that resembled a library but not made with bricks but silver metal and the company's logo on it.

Fixing his slightly loosened tie, the CEO waited until the driver opened the door for him and stepped out, waving at the flashing cameras along with the parents chaperoning their children who won that raffle. He's done enough of these publicity stunts to know just what to do, already preparing a speech that was made up for him beforehand. "Hello, Mayor Davis." he exchanged a cordial greeting with the woman who ran the town. "It is my distinct pleasure to open this new educational zone that will soon be accessible freely to the public. But before the finalization, I see no harm in presenting a little sneak peek, especially to the young. So it is with great pride that I welcome the lucky winners to the TetherbyCorp Educational Center."

The automated doors opened up, allowing the kids and their parents enter. Everyone marveled at the pristine condition of the interior, interactive map guides were put on standby, rows of books were neatly stacked and there was even a place for smart devices. "Woah..." Clyde took a few pics for his friends to see later.

For Tetherby, he observed from outside, feeling satisfied at another success. "Sometimes, this feels far too easy." he thought to himself but then murmuring from the nearby people. Before long, the people inside the center pointed to the windows right over the CEO's head and then even he found himself drawn to whatever it was that they saw.

It something diving in dangerously close to the center and from his spot, Tetherby could detect some green coloring in the unknown object but he gasped in alarm as it's full appearance came into view, or rather his. A masked individual with a specialized suit and advanced technological wings and a jetpack, allowing him to fly and swoop in. "Tetherby!" he roared, the voice distorted through the mask. Raising his legs, the talons opened up and grabbed onto Tetherby's shoulders, hoisting him up.

"Mr. Tetherby!" his bodyguards attempted to come to their employers aid but circular objects were launched from the winged man's arms and emitted sonic waves that disoriented everyone with their radius, including the guards and any nearby law enforcement.

With no more interference, the winged man flew up, keeping a hold on his prey. "What is the meaning of this?! Do you know who I am?!" the businessman demanded, more angry than scared.

"Oh, I know who you are, as you know who I am." he cryptically told him. "But tell me something, can the flight tech you stole do this?!" he flew underneath a train bridge and continued to perform maneuvers that can be done with his smaller size unlike a jet, making his captive yell along the way. Even more daring was throwing Tetherby up high before catching him, though the winged man was half tempted to let him fall.

"How do you know about my-" a realization struck Tetherby. "It can't be..." he breathed, looking up at the masked flying man.

He pressed a button on his mask, revealing his face. "Hello, Anthony."

"Toomes?! Where on Earth did you acquire this equipment?!"

"Acquired?" Adrian's eyes glowered, feeling insulted. "Is it really so hard to believe that this is of my own design? Although, I should thank you, I never thought this suit would ever see the light of day until you gave me ample reason this morning."

Tetherby narrowed his eyes, not willing to show fear. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish with such theatrics?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Toomes replied, continuing to fly around. "The only way your feet won't tough the ground by falling is by announcing to the world that Adrian Toomes is the genius behind flight tech, pay me everything that is owed to me and above all else, apologize for stealing my invention!"

"After all these years, you should know by now that I never apologize! Nor do I ever cave in to demands, you petty maniac!" Tetherby stubbornly replied, even though his life is on the line, his pride is still iron clad.

"Thing about maniacs, they're never really patient!" if Tetherby wasn't going to see things his way, then he's better off splattered all over the pavement. He once again released the CEO, but this time he made no effort in catching him as Tetherby fell down below, seemingly falling to his doom.

But before that could happen, he was caught just in time by Spider-Man who was swinging by. "Man, you grownups sure play hot potato hardcore." the masked kid chuckled, swinging away while carrying Tetherby rather easily.

Adrian blinked at his arrival. "Wh-What is this?! These aren't your skies, they're mine!" he shouted, pursuing the webslinger with his mask concealing his face again.

"No, but I could always just rent when I'm old enough." Spidey shrugged. "Can't promise it'll be on time, though."

Tetherby snapped out of his initial stupor, not expecting to run into him of all people. "What are you blabbing about! Put me down this instant!"

Spidey turned to him quizzically. "Um, hello? Backseat driving to the dude trying to save your life here isn't really helping. There are ways to being a better damsel in distress besides being the bossiest or one."

"Who are you?!"

"Little ol' me? I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Unless you know anyone else who slings and swings in red and blue?"

"Spider-Man? I thought you were some myth made by the press!"

'Man, I really do need a press agent.' Spider-Man cut the chit chat short, as he needed to focus on getting Tetherby to safety before fighting the birdman head-on. Seeing a police station nearby, he put a lot more effort in his arms to make it there but his new enemy was just as fast, his sharp wings slicing a web, making both him and the target of Adrian freefall. Just as they were close to the sidewalk, a single line was shot at the last minute, he caught Tetherby and landed him near police officers who were exiting the building. "Thank you for flying air Spidey, a better alternative than crazy bird-guy airlines." he saluted them before going off.

"The hell's going on here?" a female officer.

"Answers, later! Get me inside now!" Tetherby told them, running in.

His ex-employee flew past with a dissatisfied frown at losing his shot at getting his revenge. "Damn." he hissed, watching Spider-Man still present, seeing him as the one responsible for his failure. He followed him until he suddenly found that the little interloper just disappeared from his sight much to his confusion and growing anger. "Meddling in my affairs was a mistake, boy! Do you realize how much I wanted to make that bastard regret his life?!"

Though he couldn't be seen, Spider-Man was still nearby, using his camouflage ability while sticking to a building to bide his time before striking. ''Oh man. This is the real deal, my first supervillain!" he mentally screamed at this important mark in his superhero career but regained his composure. 'Alright, stay calm, Linc. If there's one thing I've learned from fighting the Enforcers it's that guys like these mean business, especially since he almost turned someone into street pizza."

He whistled loudly, getting his attention. From out of nowhere, web was shot onto his face, making him attempt to pry it off but it was made of durable material. Spider-Man turned off his camouflage and zipped over while having line stick to one of his metal talons, with great effort, he threw him through a DAILY BUGLE billboard. "Polly want a cracker? Sorry, I'm all out, guess you'll have to settle with an afternoon butt-kicking, curtesy of chef Spidey." Finally getting the web off, Adrian Toomes flew down before heading straight for the kid vigilante. Somersaulting above him and stuck two lines on his jetpack, once he landed down, he held on tight as he tried flying away. Raising the right wing, it cut off both lines and turned around. Before he knew it, his new enemy grabbed him by the arms and launched themselves up. "You know, the rides at Diary Land are a lot more safer."

"Enough of your drabble, boy!" Adrian screamed at him. "Believe me when I say that Tetherby is a blight on this Earth, so many people would benefit from him being gone!"

Spider-Man's joking exterior began to fade a little as he could practically feel the murderous intent radiating off from this man. The hate he held was unnerving and going to such extremes even more so but what truly unsettled him was this Toomes' thirst for revenge reminded him of how he was when he hunted down and confronted Pop-Pop's shooter. Seeing how unhinged one can become when focusing on revenge made him thankful that he didn't go down that road and maybe if he could see a better way, maybe this guy. "Look, mister. Whatever your reasons are for doing all this, does it really make almost killing a man justified? Did you even think of what could happen afterwards in the future."

For a second, Toomes' expression softened, he knew exactly where his chosen path will lead him and of how it would affect the people in his life, but nevertheless, any chance of second thoughts were thrown out the window when he put on the suit. This was a choice where he can't take it back, and he knows no other route to go from there. "That's just it, child. I have no future anymore." he somberly said.

If that was how it was gotta be, then Spider-Man would have to teach him a valuable lesson. "I wouldn't say that. You still got time for prison!" he wrestled one of his arms free and charged with red static energy. Adrian's armor protected his body from being paralyzed by the venom blast but once the kid's palm placed itself on his chest, the HUD in his mask began malfunctioning, making him lose control of his suit. He ended up unintentionally freeing Spider-Man who swung to a safe spot.

"Adrian, the suit's internal systems are fluctuating in a rapid pace. What happened?" the voice of Phineas Mason was heard through the helmet's built-in communicator but some static was also heard.

"It's that Spider-Man character. He somehow sent an electric current through it." Toomes answered as he stopped to hover in the air until everything was up and running normally again.

"I'm detecting approaching helicopters, no doubt police. Tetherby already got away and we can't risk you getting captured, I think it'd be best if you withdraw for now."

"No! I can still get to him!" Toomes protested indignantly. "Once everything's functioning properly, I can track him down, his ivory tower's no match for me and this suit!"

"Adrian, please, don't be foolish. We've tread in enough dangerous waters as it is."

Before he could come to a decision, Spider-Man swung up to deliver an upper cut. Sneering at him, Toomes launched more of the sonic devices from before that apparently can also float in the air as well when they stopped and emitted powerful sonic waves. The intensity made Spidey cover his ears and found it more painful due to his enhanced senses. Though he struggled to do so as he collapsed on top of a roof, he managed to attach two web strands to both devices and slammed them both together with great force. Getting back up, his Spider-Sense warned him of an oncoming wing strike from behind and hopped away. Toomes tried grabbing him with the talons but he ducked underneath, narrowly missing the sharp claws, Spidey then began spinning webs to cover both legs and began entrapping his wings as well.

"What kind of web is this?!" Toomes questioned harshly, surprised and annoyed that despite managing to slice one web line before, cutting through a multitude of them seemed more difficult.

"The kind that can trap more than just flying bugs, but flying people too." Spider-Man remarked with his arms crossed. He then heard the faint sound of a police helicopter. "Oh, and look that. Punctual as always, ad this time I'm leaving a present all neatly giftwrapped."

"You've done enough for now! Get out of there while you still can!"

Even though he was greatly isappointed for failing to get his revenge, Adrian knew Phineas was right. So, while his hands were also trapped in webs, he was able to press on a hidden switch inside the gloves. That in turn, activated all of the other sonic devices attached to his arms, Spidey got the sense something was about to happen but couldn't react in time when massive sonic disruptions emitted, blowing him back but managed to firmly stick to the roof. Unfortunately, all his webbing couldn't handle the blast and was blown off Tommes' entire being, leaving him free to make his getaway by blasting off away while leaving a smokescreen once he saw Spider-Man trying to pursue.

When the smoke cleared, all he could see was a vapor trail and Toomes long gone. "Aw, dang it." Spider-Man snapped his fingers. "Beakface got away...also maybe someone should give him a proper villain name.

The police copters finally arrived and spotted him. "Hold it! We need you to come with us!"

"Oh boy! Uh, I'd love to officers but I gotta go use the little spider's room!" Spidey swung off far enough to go invisible again and hid behind a water tower. As soon as the copter left to search elsewhere, he reappeared and crawled down the building. Just as he was about to hurry off to get his bag of normal clothes, he noticed two objects on the ground. That being the two sonic devices that he had disposed of, having been abandoned by Toomes. "Hmm...these could come in handy." he pulled them over with some lines and went to go change.


"Great. I made the news." Lincoln grimaced at his home's television.

"Hello, Royal Woods. This is your Newsman, Tucker reporting a startling development that had occurred hours ago at downtown Royal Woods. CEO Anthony Tetherby was providing a preview of a new complex paid for and owned by TETHERBYCORP." the newsman reported. "But what seemed like a masked man in an avian-inspired flying suit abducted and nearly killed said businessman. We now go live to Kathering Mulligan who is covering the scene as we speak."

The TV cut to the anchorwoman. "This is Katherine Mulligan reporting to you live from the site of the fateful event. Several eyewitnesses were present in what only can be described as an aerial battle between our very own Spider-Man and a masked man with a specialized flight-suit. This came after the latter had abducted and attempted to murder Mr. Teteherby." she moved to the aforementioned businessman who was being led through the other journalists and snapping photos. "Sir, is there anything for you to add on this? For instance, do you perhaps know who your kidnapper was and a possible motivation for his actions?"

Clearing his throat, Tetherby halted in his advancement to his private transport to address the news team. "Well, Katherine. All I can say is that this masked winged man is clearly not in a stable state of mind, attacking in broad daylight like that. Whoever he is, I hope he realizes he has the entire city on him and he can't expect to evade capture a second time. I can only hope next time, it'll be more easy to apprehend him. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Katherine and her newsteam watched as he walked into his car and drove off, leaving her to turn back to the camera. "Police officials have issued a warning for civilians straight from the mayor's office about staying alert when out and that it'd be preferable to stay in when there's a confirmed sighting of this "Vulture" character. This is Katherine Mulligan signing off."

Lori turned the living room TV off while checking online in her phone. "Well, I was about to post an update on the new earrings Bobby got me but right now it's all that mess. Plus, mom and dad told me not to let anyone out until there's an all clear so there goes the rest of my evening." she slumped on the couch where the rest of her siblings were.

"How are you not freaking out, Lori?!" Lola asked incredulously. "There's a bird man!"

"Technically, it is an individual that is able to utilize flight via a specialized flight suit with the necessary propulsions and equipment that just so happens to have the motif of avia animal, most notably that of the scavenging bird of prey." Lisa specified. "Hence the media's branding him as such."

"Aww..." Lana lamented, actually hoping there really was a half-bird monster.

Luan patted her head. "Chin up, Lans. I'm sure he'd accept our leftovers. Ha, get it?"

Luna was the first to notice that one Loud sibling was absent. "Hey, where's Lincoln at?"

"Up in his room." Lynn answered. "Kind of weird, sorta expected him to be the first to geek out about this but when he came home running, he locked himself down and I don't think he's called any of his buddies."

"M-Maybe he's scared." Leni suggested, hugging herself. "I'd be if there were spider and bird m-monsters."

"For the last time, they're not-oh forget it."

Truth be told, Lincoln actually began leaving his room periodically but made sure to keep himself scarce so that none of his sisters would notice him partake in rather unusual activities. For example, going through each room in the house to look for any power tools, the only reason no one's seen him was due to him being in camo mode. The best places to look were Lana and Lola's room along with Lisa's and Lily's and he collected them over at the garage where he had placed the sonic devices from his fight with the newly dubbed Vulture. The things were pretty made of nifty stuff, the kind that would confuse the heck out of regular people but lucky for him, he shares a roof with a certified genius who also tutors her older siblings, sometimes teaching them about this kind of stuff.

He's one of the few who actually pay attention. "Hmm, this goes here...and that...probably shouldn't be touched. Ever." he pulled back wire cutters from one that he was about to cut until his spider sense gave him a heads up. "Hello, what do we have here?" he noticed an energy reader of some kind that seemed to track how much power these things have. While the outer shell was damaged, the inner workings were still on but not by much, turns out he has more strength than he realized. Touching it with his palm, Lincoln remembered how his Venom Blast seemed to immobilize the Vulture's suit if not only for a moment.

The electricity shorted out it and was rendered completely useless.

"So, my venom blasts seem to be my best bet against Vulture. Good to know, I guess I just need to figure out how to track him down." he surmised to himself but that guy could be anywhere. "Could be anywhere in the city or in somewhere in the whole county for all I know."


With his mission being a complete failure and needing to have some diagnostics be run on his suit after his encounter with the Spider-Man, Adrian Toomes retreated back to his lair where Phineas was waiting. Currently, he was in the jumpsuit while the wings and armor were being looked at and a single television was on. As both men expected, Toomes made the late hour news and listen carefully as Tetherby made his statement which confused both of them, well mostly just Phineas, Toomes was too busy seething at the image of his ex-boss on the small screen. "Hmm, how peculiar. Mr. Tetherby didn't give them your name. Since they didn't issue a warrant for you, that also means he didn't give the same info to the police." Phineas inferred, looking up from his workplace, lifting his goggles up.

"And?"

"Don't you feel wary just from that, Adrian?" Phineas asked. "Mr. Tetherby is guilty of many things but being forgetful isn't one of them. He's seen your face so there's no telling what he may have planned for you."

Even though he appreciated his colleague's concern, the Vulture dismissed them with a scoff. "Let him try what he wants. He thinks hiding behind his company is enough to protect him but as he no doubt has seen, I can easily pluck him from his penthouse at any given moment. He's not as untouchable as he hopes. Not anymore."

"Be that as it may, I wouldn't exactly call today a success." Phineas said, doing one last checkup on the wings, and some refueling to the jetpack. "You're lucky to be alive, let alone arrested and losing your wings."

"The suit wasn't the issue, it was that interloping Spider-Cretin!" Vulture spat out venomously. "I swear, the last thing I needed to deal with was a newborn enhanced who tried giving the hero bit a go for himself. And one who doesn't even have a license for anything at that."

Phineas rubbed his nape nervously. "Yes, about that. Now Adrian, I know I said that I am no longer in any position to have reservations about assisting you in this scheme of yours but I can't say fighting him is something I'm comfortable with."

"Why? Because he's a child?" his compatriot crossed his arms with a bitter shake of the head. "If he wants to get involved in adult affairs then he might as well know that people tend to get hurt. In a way, I'm teaching him a lesson."

"If I'm being honest, it's the fact that we're dealing with an enhanced to begin with." Phineas contradicted. "Though young, it's obvious the boy's has had practice with his superhuman abilities, that electrical surge he produced that made your suit malfunction and my patented sonic disks can certainly prove that. And Mr. Tetherby no doubt has added more security to his person in case of another attack so can't say I like your chances right now."

"Minor inconveniencies that can be surpassed." Vulture boasted with a smirk. "There's more than one way to hurt Tetherby and fortunately, I had the foresight to take this around the time he fired me." he opened a desk to reveal a dossier in the form of a smart-pad and lent it to the tinkering scientist who recognized it.

"Isn't this-"

"That it is." Vulture's eyes narrowed at the sight of Spider-Man on TV. "And if he shows himself then he'll see that it doesn't matter if even a child gets in my way, I won't falter in the slightest."


The next day at his school, Lincoln, his sisters and just about every other youngster in the neighborhood had to wake up and early in the morning. It was part of the temporary emergency drill with the threat of the Vulture. For most they had plenty of rest to handle awakening at such a time but for late night workers such as our white haired arachnid hero, he slept late and had to pull some extra effort to make it to the bus. It was a complete miracle that he managed to make it in time for Mrs. Johnson to begin her lesson and finish off with a headcount of her class. "Kat?"

"Present."

"Girl Jordan?"

"Here."

"Lincoln...Lincoln Loud...…"

However, he still had to doze off and pass out right in the middle of class at his desk. Ronnie Anne blew a spit-ball at his head to rouse him awake which set of his spider-sense and he held his head up. "Huh? What?"

"Everything okay, Lincoln?" his teacher asked with an eyebrow raised making him flush in embarrassment.

Fixing his books and sitting up a bit more, he shook off his tiredness. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, I'm here." he chuckled sheepishly as Mrs. Johnson resumed the headcount leaving him to sigh and slouch a bit. He slid his personal notebook underneath a textbook, it was where he could draw personal stuff that always popped out of his mind. Originally, it was concepts inspired from his favorite comic book series, Ace Savvy, the most famous examples being the Full House Gang that he created using his sisters as inspirations. Nowadays, it's where he draws and writes down notes and possible additions to anything relating to Spider-Man.

For the most part, he's been writing down suggestions on how to take down Vulture. His strength mainly comes from his suit so take that away and he's easy pickings and with his Venom Blasts, that's a sure thing. But Vulture was probably smarter than that and would no doubt think of a countermeasure, he struck Lincoln as one of the more competent supervillains so expecting him to mess up seemed unlikely. That and while his Venom Blasts are powerful, he doesn't want to risk overusing them.

Who knew brainstorming ideas to beat his first bad guy demanded so much of his brainpower?

Throughout the school day, he's had to think on it until it was lunchtime with the others. "Okay, but just picture it, a secret underground laboratory full of mutated half animal-half human experiments just beginning to break out of their bonds and invade the world." Zach told them, sharing another of his outlandish conspiracies.

"Dude, the news said it isn't a bird mutant." Rusty told him. "That's as crazy as that Spiders-Man story of yours."

"If there can be a man dressed as a bird with a jetpack then maybe a bunch of spiders pretending to be a human could also happen." the theorist rebuffed.

Liam shook his head. "Zach, my friend, crazy talk like that is the reason why my first cousin once removed is hardly invited to family reunions anymore. By the way, Clyde, sure you doin' alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Clyde assured him and the others with a smile. "You should really worry about my dads, they're blood pressure were through the roof when they took me home. Still sucks, though, that could've been my chance to see Spider-Man in the flesh."

Lincoln coughed on the drink he was slurping, pounding his chest. "Well, I don't know about you, dude, but I'd take not getting Vulture-napped as a plus. Not saying I wouldn't mind meeting the guy myself but not sure if it's worth my own safety is all I'm saying."

"I get it, pal. Still, can't help but wonder how Spidey can beat the Vulture, he probably has a plan already, right?"

"I hope so, 'cause I had to cancel a hot date because of the new curfew my dad got me and Rocky following." Rusty stated but then saw the blank stares of hi friends. "What? I did."

"You know, I'm gonna get another milk carton on my way out. See you guys later." Lincoln told them but inwardly flinched at the little lie he just told his friends, actually wanting to leave quickly to draw up on more suggestions. He wrote them down as he walked, and like before, didn't find an instant solution.

"You good there?" Ronnie Anne asked, leaning on the wall close by.

"Oh, hey." he moved his book down his bag instinctively. "Sorry, just thought you were Lola for a second, she could never resist going through everybody's private stuff."

"You could always give her a Dutch oven."

"That's more Lynn's department and I for one don't want to get a week's worth of being grounded when she tells my mom."

"Just saying." his first kiss shrugged. "It's what I'd do."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Then maybe it's a good thing you don't deal with 6-year-old relatives." both snickered at the light jab until he grew a bit more serious. "But really, are you okay? I know people are rattled a bit."

"Heh, my mom sure is." she said, kicking the ground. "Kept ranting about wanting to stay somewhere safe for a while until the town gets a little more normal. I mean where would we even go? Bobby couldn't bare being away from Lori, on that we can agree."

"You're not scared."

"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Ronnie Anne retorted. "Like I said, mom's the one freaking out but it's not like either of us will get nabbed, she has us on tracking devices that my uncle gifted her last Christmas."

'Tracking devices?' Lincoln thought with gears turning.

"If you need me, I'll be heading out. Smell you letter, Linc."

Sparing her a wave, Lincoln made a dash for the boys' bathroom and looking at his own reflection. For sometime, he's had to deal with an annoying itch on his face until one day where he was itching at the usual spot, he deactivated what was really a tracker placed on him with a light Venom Blast. Didn't take him long to piece together that it was Lisa who was the culprit. Good thing too, it was just before he started going out as Spider-Man so thank goodness that breach in security resolved himself.

Looking over, he found the little thing just where he remembered it and he also still had leftover materials from the house to maybe make his own little tracer.

Quite fortuitous for him indeed.


With kidnapping and killing Tetherby having been a longshot and misfire on his part, the Vulture was ready to enact a new plot to have his revenge and if he can't attack Tetherby directly then he might as well go for the only other thing that holds any meaning in Tetherby's life. He was going to interfere with the business transactions made by the company Vulture once worked for. When he was being escorted out on the day of his firing, he made sure to sneak off with a dossier that included schedules of the planned shippings that would arrive at Royal Woods through flight. It had the time and place where the private transport truck would arrive as well.

It was the additional components needed for the flight tech so not only would he stick it to Tetherby by sabotaging a project that would bring in a lot of money but also take back what was originally his. "Phineas. How are the suit's readings?" he asked, keeping focus on his flight pattern.

"So far so good. All power reserves are also operational and ready for activation should the need arise and get ready, the truck should arrive any minute now."

Vulture flew down at a hiding spot and watched out with his mask's goggles and just as scheduled, the transport came rolling in where officials from Tetherby Corp were waiting. His view was zoomed in to watch several crates being unloaded from the trucks and that was the moment where the Vulture made his move by flying by while dispatching the devices. "Think you can get away with stealing my work?! If I can't reap the rewards then no one else can!"

His wings sliced the containers apart to destroy the contents inside but he was getting way too carried away with the endless destruction that he failed to notice that there were only broken wooden pieces, not remains of technology. By the time that he did, hidden cannons sprung up from underground and shot out glowing nets that trapped him. Gasping in surprise, Vulture struggled to free himself but these nets were strong, more sonic devices were launched that blew the net cannons to pieces. With great force, the wings managed to penetrate the nets resilient fabric and he was free to rise up with a grunt and then shielded himself from the sudden activation of spotlights and alarms going off.

"A trap! Get out of there, Adrian!"

Cursing under his breath, Vulture flew off before more traps could be activated. While in mid-pursuit, another spotlight lit up in the sky but what got his attention was that it bore the likeness of a certain child-aged spider-themed hero. "Oh, Mr. Vulture! Limo's here for you!" a childish voice shouted up at him.

Looking down, he saw Spider-Man standing upon the airport's roof, the light emanating from a built in flashlight in his suit. "You!" The Vulture swooped downwards with this wings stretched out.

"You're an hour late, sir." Spidey told him ducking down while sticking a web at his feet and pulled down until he crashed down. "They won't hold your reservation at prison for long."

"How did you know I'd be here?!" the winged man demanded.

Spider-Man chuckled a bit at the admittedly stupid question. "Dude, whole city's keeping an eye out for you and I was just in the middle of patrolling for you, so of course I managed to spot you. Speaking of, there a reason why you're at the airport? I mean, you already got wings."

Having enough of his incessant attempts at portraying humor, the Vulture sliced the web off him and charged at his foe. Spider-Man jumped up to land on the back of the vengeful man. "You charge for rides? Because the ones at Dairyland have nothing on this!" he cheered, keeping a firm grip on the jetpack, giving one pat on it.

"Get off me, you impudent child!" Vulture rocked himself to all sides to get him off his pack. He learned from the last time Spider-Man got his intervening hands on his suit and wasn't going to let that almost stop him again. But his sticky grip was hard to shake off but another thing he learned from their previous encounter was to beat him at how own game. He activated newly installed tasers that extend from his jetpack but Spider-Man sensed this coming and quickly let go before he could get shocked. But for Vulture, he saw his opportunity to get the heck out of there but as Spider-Man landed down using a web-line, he smirked underneath his mask.

He took out a handheld device, an old model of the one Lisa uses to keep track of her family members and saw a single small blip rise up higher and higher until going in a straight path. "Alright, Vulture, this ends tonight."

Phineas Mason ran to the middle of his old friend's hideout complex where there was a hole through the roof made for him entering and exiting, he had been waiting patiently for Vulture's return ever since he last made contact with him. But it was a difficult waiting period to bare, the more he gets involved with them basically committing crimes the more he worries that their collective luck and get incarcerated. Even though he respects Adrian and also doesn't think highly of Tetherby, he doesn't want to be careless in these crazy schemes, while revenge drove Vulture, the thing that drove Phineas was tinkering with gear he could only dream of examining.

Not only that, but he doesn't want to risk certain secrets of his to be revealed that would forever tarnish his reputation. He then could hear a familiar roar of the suit and he witnessed as the Vulture flew down and landed at the center of the shop, his colleague unmasked himself, revealing a furious expression underneath. "Of all the...that man! Setting up traps for like I'm some sort of animal!" he disconnected from the wings and threw his mask to the floor. "And that Spider-Man! Why must he continue to interfere?! Does the world not see how better it'd be if people like him were dead and gone?! Did it not see how much he's earn this chance?!

"Adrian! Are you alright?" Phineas asked.

"Oh sure, that Spider-Man saw fit to intervene yet again and it turned out Tetherby is indeed forthcoming in preparing for an attack. Everything is just fine, Phineas." Vulture remarked sarcastically.

"Er, right. But at least you managed to get away again." Phineas offered some condolences but it was futile with how furious he was right now.

"Making quick escapes isn't the goal here and you know it!" Vulture replied, slamming his hands on a desk. "No matter what I try, more obstacles show up and I can't take it anymore?! What will it take for this to end?!"

"Will turning yourself in work? A lot quicker." That familiar childish voice chirped from above. Both men looked up to see Spider-Man hanging upside down from a single strand of web. "So this is what a villain's lair looks like. Won't lie, I expected it to look like a nest to fit with the whole bird you're trying to pull off but hey, I can tell you're new at this kind of thing."

Vulture blinked then twisted into a heated glare. "You! How did you manage to find me?!" a beeping noise caught his attention and caught sight of a small blinking light on his wings. "A tracker?!"

"Following you wasn't so easy, you know. Not enough buildings to swing by, got a good track run to work off a lot of stress though."

Thinking fast, the Vulture pressed a button on his forearm that remotely activated his jetpack and the wings. It launched from its spot as Vulture remote controlled it to attack Spider-Man. He let go of the web keeping him up to get out of the path of the razor wings and spun a web to swing towards one of the webs and tackle Vulture to the ground. However, he motioned Phineas to access the secondary controller on a console that gives him temporary command over the wings. Spidey somersaulted upwards as soon as he sensed them coming straight at him and this allowed Vulture to connect with his wings once more. "No more games, Spider-Man! If I have any hope of making Tetherby pay, I need to make sure you're not around to interfere!"

"But that's one of my best qualities." Spider-Man moved aside when he flew up and saw as the Vulture left through the roof. Spidey was ready and rearing to go but remembered to first web the feet of Phineas to prevent him from escaping. "There. Henchman taken care of, now for the bad guy." he swung away.

"I am not a henchman!" Phineas told him, struggling to break free.

Climbing out of the roof, Spider-Man saw the Vulture fly across the sky, looking down at him. Sonic devices hovered and sent powerful blasts making Spider-Man evade them with most of the roof being crumbled away. He swung to each of the highest points of the steel mill factory trying to evade more of the Vulture's attacks. At one point, Spider-Man's head was nearly grabbed by the talons but he swing out of the way, he spun two long webs and began pulling himself back and released both webs so he could be shot out like a slingshot that hit him square on the jetpack. The Vulture began soaring wildly in an effort to drop him which worked as Spidey had to release his grip but connected a web to the jetpack. As his enemy kept flying, Spider-Man tried hang on desperately as they reached higher and faster. 'Too bad I couldn't have gotten bit by a genetically altered bird instead!" he inwardly screamed.

Vulture could've tried slicing him off, but then thought of a more fun idea to swat this spider. He moved low as they advanced towards all the trees that were in their path. The villain was high enough to not crash into them but Spider-Man wasn't and it took a ridiculous reliance on his fast reflexes to avoid that fate, same with almost crashing into a sign. He then took notice that they were quickly nearing Royal Woods itself which of course meant running across the tall buildings and moving his legs up once he saw an antennae. His little trip drew attention but right now, he was about the only thing that could stop the threat of the Vulture.

Both found themselves approaching Aloha Beach where Spider-Man started to climb up his web until he was close enough to jump onto the jetpack. Taking multiple deep breaths, Spider-Man charged a powerful venom blast, one that traveled throughout the entire suit making Vulture lose altitude and slowly descended down until he crashed down. The impact threw Spider-Man off as Vulture continued to tumble along the sand, a few of the razor wings fling off in the process. "Come on, Vulture. Think you've had enough fun for a while." Spider-Man told him, groaning as he made his body get up.

"No! Not yet! I still haven't made him pay yet!" Vulture also had a bit of struggle rising again. The suit took most of the fall but it still hurt like hell, he was so adamant in not letting Spider-Man win he powered up his suit again, staggering a bit as the jetpack was shorting out.

"Vulture, hold on. Something's not right" Spider-Man warned him once his spider-sense kicked in, as he noticed that the pack's exhaust was releasing more than necessary. "Your suit...get rid of the suit, it's not working right!"

"Don't mock my suit! It can handle anything!" despite his confidence, it was obvious that it was charging up more power and the result would be catastrophic judging by the increasing sense of alert Spider-Man was getting. Thinking fast, a web was stuck to Vulture's chest and with a grunt, he yanked hard to pull him away from his wings and swung away just as the jetpack couldn't handle it anymore and exploded, blowing the wings apart along with it. It was big enough that Spider-Man would've got caught in the blast radius.

He landed safely nearby and checked to see if his now wingless foe was hurt but only fainted from exhaustion.

When the police and fire crew finally arrived, they were met with a wreckage and a webbed up Adrian Toomes, letting them know that they had Royal Woods' hero to thank.


"It was a fiery scene last night when police forces and firefighters found the remains of the wings belonging to the flying terror known as the Vulture now identified as Adrian Toomes, former engineer and inventor of Tetherby Corp. Aiding and presumable abetting in him was Phineas Mason who coincidentally enough is-or rather was employed in Tetherby Corp." Katherine reported on her Spider-Watch segment. "When asked if he had any prior knowledge or suspicions of his former employees having such impulses, the man in charge himself had this to say.

The image switched to an official statement at a press conference with Tetherby issuing it. "Mr. Toomes and Mr. Mason were approachable enough people when I first offered them a place in my company. I don't know what could've motivated to make such drastic actions against me, I can only hope that they get their help they need. Rest assured though, I'll allow the police to search through the labs both men still present in my labs, if not only to prevent this from happening again. Thank you for your time."

When he finished, Katherine took the reigns once more. "Photographers on the scene caught Adrian Toomes being hauled while being encased in webs, coupled with reports from witnesses, it seems Spider-Man played a central part in the Vulture's defeat and subsequent arrest."

"Oh yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Lynn cheered, grabbing Lana by the shoulder who joined her as the TV continued the story.

"So no more bird man?" Leni asked, hopefully.

Chuckling, Lincoln rubbed her back gently. "That's right, Leni. No more bird man." Hopping off the couch and walking back up the stairs to his room. Locking the door, he went to his desk where his notebook was. Opening the pages, he went to work with making up new designs for potential support items in his superhero crusade, his powers are good and all but they shouldn't be his only source, that last Venom Blast took a lot out of him. "Alright, spider-trackers were a success. Now, would web wings work?"

People like the Vulture and the Enforcers prove that there will be enemies who'll bring a lot of big guns to the table, so he might as well amp up his own arsenal.


"The Vulture's wings and technology found in the steel mill were collected as evidence but it has been reported that Tetherby Corp is looking to confiscate those tools themselves, ruling them as company property. There'll be more on the subject later."

A phone call turned Mr. Tetherby's attention away from the TV. "Gentleman, if you'd please." he gestured his men to leave him to some private business of his and they complied. He set the phone on speaker and shut the television off while pressing a button that lowered the blinds of his main office, out of any possible prying eyes. "I take it you've seen the news?"

"Even I hadn't, I still would've known. Nothing happens without my knowing. Gotta hand it to Toomes, he showed great tenacity, sure made him go all screwy in the head, but that's a respectable quality. Guess you underestimated him."

"Perhaps. Didn't help him or Phineas in the end though, now did it?" Tehterby retorted, bringing up camera footage up that showed both men in containment. "Now Adrian, if it weren't for his hate for me, maybe he could've earned a right to be included. But in my honest opinion, I like to think Phineas can be just as good." he looked to the other inventor with an inquisitive gaze. "He always was such a hard worker and though he aided Adrian, whatever problems he had with me was overshadowed by his need to work on something like those wings. That and he's always had nothing but respect for Adrian."

"So we know he can be loyal when it suits him. Heh, not bad."

Smirking, Tetherby then observed secret files on a pad. "Although, he should know that are no secrets in my building. So of course, I'd do an thorough check on his background, same with all who commit to my name. Must say, it surprised me when I found that he had a history of offering his own inventions to-for lack of a better term-shady characters to make extra money."

"Hammerhead got some of his stuff to pull a few jobs, used a fake name but you're not the only one who's thorough. He seems okay, but like I said before, Toomes could still prove to be useful."

"Even though he'd be working for someone who's aligned with me?" Tetherby raised a brow.

"Come now, Anthony. Whoever said he had to know about that little detail?"

"Indeed." Tetherby's smirk grew at that, looking at another screen which showed the destroyed wings.

For this city and for Spider-Man, this was only the beginning.