The Extraordinary Spider-Man - Vol 1
Chapter 3: Responsibility
Likenesses used
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer
Randy Savage as Crusher Hogan
Denis Leary as NYPD Captain George Stacy
Emily Blunt as NYPD Officer Jean DeWolff
Cillian Murphy as Burglar/?
Dave Franco as Ralph/Waiter
Bruce Campbell as Cage Fight Announcer
Larry Joshua as Promoter
Tyrese Gibson as Bone Mutilator
"Not bad. Not bad at all," Peter said as he admired himself in his makeshift costume through the mirror. It consisted of a red hoodie, blue pants, a red mask, black sunglasses, and red sneakers.
"Peter! Supper's ready!" Aunt May called from downstairs.
"Hold on!" Peter called back.
Peter quickly took the costume off and stuffed it in his backpack. He headed downstairs to see Aunt May taking a meatloaf out of the oven, and Uncle Ben sitting at the table, looking on his laptop.
"Hey, sorry, guys, but I promised a new friend that I'd help him with bio at the library," Peter lied. "I'm gonna head over right now."
"Seriously? You're not gonna eat?" Aunt May asked.
"I'll have some leftovers later. I'll be back at 8:30!" Peter promised.
"Stay safe, kid!" Uncle Ben instructed.
"Will do! Quick random question, though. My friend Harry. He's a huge fan of wrestling and fighting. Any of you guys know anything?" Peter asked.
"I never told you this, but I was quite the wrestler in my freshman and sophomore years of high school," Uncle Ben revealed. "I was captain of the team."
"Jesus, how much more do I need to learn about you?" Peter chuckled.
"Well, good thing I haven't seen that dreadful suit of yours in years," Aunt May said.
"You got a suit?!" Peter exclaimed in hope.
"Hey, that thing has a lot of memories. Anyone in this family touches it, they're a dead man," Uncle Ben said with a mix of goofiness and seriousness.
Peter heavily sighed, clutching his backpack. "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Oh God! Shit!" the famous Bone Mutilator yelled as Crusher Hogan pinned him against the cage.
"Couldn't last thirty seconds, huh, sweetie?" Crusher Hogan taunted as he threw Bone Mutilator to the ground, effortlessly placing his foot on Bone's chest.
"I-I give up! Please! Let me out!" Bone Mutilator screamed.
Crusher Hogan scoffed and compiled, and the cage was opened up. The audience cheered and went wild over their hero. Paramedics arrived to take Bone Mutilator away.
"HOGAN! HOGAN! HOGAN!"
"Ladies and gentleman, Crusher Hogan beats the Skull Mutilator after twenty-seven seconds!" the cage fight announcer yelled in his microphone. "Our champion remains undefeated! Who's man enough to get destroyed by, I mean, take on Hogan next?!"
A majority of the audience started booing, and the announcer turned around to see a young new challenger jump on the ring.
"Whoa, whoa, you can't just jump in here like that!" the announcer protested, walking over.
"Afraid I just did!" Peter responded, facing Crusher Hogan.
"What the hell's that cheap little get-up you got going on? Kid, you might as well head out. Mommy might want to change your diaper!" Crusher Hogan mockingly suggested.
"I could say the same about you, Hogan! Your husband's probably waiting to make you dinner!" Peter retaliated.
The audience blew up at the response, laughing and ooh'ing. Furious, Crusher Hogan threw a fist, only for Peter to duck and throw a punch at Hogan's chest, causing him to stumble on his feet a little. Peter next threw a kick at Hogan's stomach, knocking him back a bit.
"Could this be? Has someone landed two good hits on our champion? Talk about a challenge!" the announcer rambled. "Shut the cage, guys!"
The cage proceeded to close down on the ring, encasing the two fighters.
"You've made a huge mistake, kid," Crusher Hogan declared as he charged at Peter. "Prepare for the ass beating of a lifetime!"
"No thanks!" Peter declined as he jumped over Crusher Hogan, causing the latter to hit the cage wall.
Peter then took Crusher Hogan and slammed him on the ground, throwing a few punches at his face, which Hogan blocked. Crusher Hogan kicked Peter off, and grabbed his leg. Hogan started slamming Peter repeatedly on the ground, though Peter kicked himself off of Hogan's chest. Crusher Hogan threw three punches, as Peter ducked under the first two and jumped over the third.
"You're really starting to annoy me," Peter admitted as he swept Crusher Hogan's feet, knocking him to the ground.
Crusher Hogan got up and dodged Peter's punch, proceeding to kick him in the chest, knocking him back. Raging, Hogan charged at Peter.
"I don't think so!" Peter declared, grabbing Hogan and slamming him against the cage wall.
Hogan punched Peter twice in the face, breaking his grasp. Hogan threw another punch, only for Peter to jump to the top of the wall, sticking to it.
"The hell are you doing up there?! Get down, chicken!" Crusher Hogan demanded.
Peter smirked underneath his mask. "If you insist."
Peter jumped down on Crusher Hogan, wrapping his legs around his face. In that pose, Peter managed to get Hogan to fall to the ground. Getting off of Hogan, Peter looked at the famous wrestler, struggling to get up. Chuckling, Peter pulled Crusher Hogan up, throwing three punches at the chest, and one to the face, knocking him down for good. Hogan reached out his arm for three seconds before completely giving up. The referee ran over to the fallen wrestler.
"One! Two! Three!" the referee counted as he pounded the ground. "It's done!"
"WINNER!" the announcer roared as the audience erupted in cheering and claps, with the referee holding up Peter's arm.
The cage opened up, and the announcer ran up to Peter. Paramedics arrived to take Crusher Hogan away.
"Everyone, our champion has finally been defeated after twelve years of an undefeated cage fighting streak!" the announcer exclaimed. "Give it up for our new champion, the…"
The announcer put the microphone down and turned to Peter. "You got a name, kid?"
"The Human Spider."
"Give it up for the terrifying… the amazing HUMAN SPIDER!" the announcer yelled, holding Peter's arm up.
"HUMAN SPIDER! HUMAN SPIDER! HUMAN SPIDER!"
In the promoter's office, Peter excitedly waited for his money, smiling underneath his mask. At his desk, the promoter begrudgingly took out two hundred dollars, before admiring the rest of his money.
"Now skedaddle," the promoter rudely said.
Confusion went through Peter's head. "Two hundred? The ad said five thousand!"
The promoter scoffed. "Five thousand for whoever lasted five minutes with Hogan! You took him down in around forty seconds! Not just that, but I heard you just jumped in without permission! So you get two hundred, end of discussion!"
"That's not fair!"
"Fair? Jesus, you kids are so entitled! I also heard that you stuck to the cage wall! If you ask me, that's cheating!"
"I earned that money!" Peter protested.
"Not my problem!"
Scoffing, Peter furiously grabbed the two hundred dollars and headed out, slamming the door shut. A few seconds later, a man walked in, throwing a bag at the promoter.
"What the hell are you-" the promoter started before a gun was drawn on him.
"Shut up. Money in the bag, now!" the burglar instructed.
Outside, Peter had just opened the elevator before hearing yells in the office. The burglar burst out of the office with his gun and bag of money, sprinting towards the elevator. The promoter ran out, and a cop started making pursuit.
"Stop him! Kid, knock him out!" the promoter yelled as he chased the burglar.
Hatred boiled through Peter as he simply stepped aside and allowed the burglar to run past him and into the elevator.
"Thanks!" the burglar thanked as the elevator door closed.
"Goddamn it!" the cop yelled as he ran down the stairs, hoping to make chase.
The promoter turned to Peter in anger. "The hell's wrong with you? You could've taken him out! Now he's gonna get away with all my cash!"
"Not my problem," Peter coldly responded, walking away.
In disbelief, the promoter walked back to his office.
Dressed in his most expensive power suit, Justin Hammer waited at his table. People dressed in fancy attire were talking and eating around the restaurant. Nobody could turn down a visit to Piccola Venezia. He smiled when he saw Mac and Carmilla being led to his table by the host. They were both dressed very well.
"Thank you, sir," Mac thanked as he sat down with Carmilla. "Justin, how are you?"
Justin shook Mac's hand. "I'm good, Mac. Thanks for asking. Carmilla, how are you tonight?"
"I'm fine, thanks," Carmilla responded.
A waiter came over. "Hi, I'm Ralph, and I'll be handling you guys today! Can we start off with any drinks?"
"Water for me," Justin said.
"Whiskey for me, water for the lady," Mac replied.
Ralph nodded. "Sounds good!"
Ralph left, and Justin pulled out some files.
"Let's get straight to business. The Super Scorpion Experiment. Mac, I have to say this again, but I cannot thank you enough for volunteering. Hammer Industries owes you a massive debt," Justin thanked.
"It's not at all a problem, Hammer! If anything, you guys are the ones helping me out," Mac insisted. "All I ask of you is to assure my wife that it's not going to go haywire."
"Sounds good. Anyways, the experiment will utilize a performance enhancer serum that's been spliced with scorpion DNA. The serum will be injected in Mac through specialized vials and protective rays," Justin explained.
"And tell me why I shouldn't be concerned about his health?" Carmilla sighed.
"The serum's gone through multiple trials and experiments, and we've finally crafted a perfect version of it. The experiment will genetically enhance Mac's strength, speed, agility, and durability."
"So, what, I'm gonna be a fuckin' superhero?" Mac asked. "Sounds crazy if you ask me."
"Just remember that all these new abilities can always be used to your benefit, whether you want to help others or become some pro wrestler for all I know. The serum will intertwine really well with your bloodstream, so your body will correlate really with it. You'll be at your healthiest and most capable stage," Mac promised. "Also, you'll be proving how big of an asset this'll be to the military. Essentially, you could be the next Captain America."
Carmilla shrugged. "I'll admit, this is starting to sound more appealing."
"And that's not even it," Justin said in excitement.
Ralph came back with everyone's drinks. "Alrighty, folks. What are we having today?"
"Oh, I'll have my usual, which is the chicken parmigiana with pasta and broccoli on the side. The lovely couple here will have the same. Trust me, you won't be disappointed," Justin guaranteed.
Ralph wrote down the order. "Sounds good."
Ralph walked off, and Justin opened up another file. "Trust my word on the food. Also trust me on the armor."
Carmilla's eyes widened. "Armor?"
Justin showed the blueprints and outline for a mechanical Scorpion armor. "You heard that correctly. Your enhanced body will instantly correspond with the armor. Obviously, it'll resemble a scorpion. And it'll have a bulletproof exterior and a spiked tail, resembling the scorpion's metasoma. Oh, and it'll spew poison. I know that sounds dangerous, but this armor could be extremely beneficial to soldiers in the military. Think about what they could do with this in combat."
Mac was in pure shock. "My God. You've really outdone yourself, Hammer."
"Thank you! You'll be befitted with the armor days after the serum to make sure your body is given time to adjust well to the effects."
"I got to say, I'm feeling better about this," Carmilla admitted.
Mac held up his glass. "You should. Your husband's gonna help make the world a better place."
Opening the door, Peter walked into the dark house, throwing his backpack down. He turned the lights on, only to see the unpleasant sight of Aunt May and Uncle Ben sitting in the living room. To say they looked unhappy would be an understatement.
"Where have you been?!" Uncle Ben asked. "Do you know what time it is, Peter?"
Peter's heart started racing. "Uhhhh…"
"It's 10:50!" Aunt May exclaimed. "You've never been out that late!"
Peter checked his phone. "Sorry, guys. Must've lost track of time."
"You lost track of time? This has never been a problem for you! You said you were going to the library, but if I recall correctly, the library isn't open past nine!" Uncle Ben exclaimed.
"Where the hell were you, Peter?" Aunt May asked, her stern look turning deadlier. "Is this Harry friend of yours even real?"
Peter chuckled. "Language, Aunt May."
"Peter…"
"Bad time, sorry. I-I just went out for a walk after the library closed," Peter lied.
"You walked on your own for almost two hours? Peter, are you insane?!" Uncle Ben practically yelled. "Think about what could've happened to you!"
"Believe me, I'm fine. I could've handled it," Peter scoffed.
"When did you get so arrogant? I swear to God, that's gonna get you killed someday!" Aunt May worried.
"Guys, look, I know I came home really late, but-"
"But, you had us worrying all night!" Uncle Ben interjected. "How could you be so reckless, going out there on your own?! Especially with all the tragedy in the family? Your aunt and I wouldn't stop worrying! We almost called the police!"
"Well, I'm fine, aren't I?!" Peter responded, annoyed.
Uncle Ben sighed. "I know, but the bottom line is, you shouldn't have gone out like that on your own! You didn't even answer our texts! What the hell were you doing out this late?"
Peter rolled his eyes. "I already told you-"
"Peter, how gullible do you think we are? What were you doing? Meeting some drug dealer or something? Jesus, I should've known that-" Aunt May started.
"You seriously think that I'd be doing drugs? Me! Are you serious?!" Peter yelled.
"May, come on," Uncle Ben said. "I think we both know he wouldn't be doing this stuff."
"Then why is he all of a sudden playing football and hanging with the jocks? Now, he's going out late at night?! Peter, you have to tell us what's going on!" Aunt May exclaimed.
Peter rubbed his eyes. "It's too complicated."
"Pete, whatever it is, your aunt and I probably went through the same thing you did at your age," Uncle Ben insisted.
Peter shook his head. "No. Not exactly."
"Peter, listen to your uncle," Aunt May instructed.
Peter scoffed. "I don't have to listen to anything! A lot's been changing, and I don't know how to deal with it, okay?! Give me a goddamn break!"
"Peter, if you'll just let me talk!" Uncle Ben stressed. "You're a lot like your father. He was one of the most brilliant men alive, but it wasn't his brain that drove his actions. It was his heart. He wanted to do good with his research, which is why he never stopped trying to discover and create. He motivated me to push harder not just in my studies, but in life."
"Way to preach," Peter snarkily said.
Ignoring his nephew's comment, Uncle Ben continued. "Richard always believed that if you had the ability to do things better than others, then you had a moral obligation to do those things if it meant helping others! Putting others before yourself, figuring out what your place is in this world! Peter, he always told me that with great power, there must also come great responsibility."
Peter looked down at the ground, his eyes starting to water a little. "Wh-why isn't he here?"
"Peter?" Aunt May said in concern.
Peter looked up, a few tears going down his face. "You know, as far as guilt trips go, that was low!"
"Pete-" Uncle Ben started.
"Why'd that plane have to kill him and mom? Oh, so you could use them as a fucking weapon to try and teach me some bullshit about responsibility? Yeah, real mature of you! Thanks a lot! Well, why couldn't dad have just told me that himself?!"
"Son…" Uncle Ben said.
Peter looked his uncle dead in the eyes. "You are not my father, and you never will be."
Sadness crossed Uncle Ben's eyes as he looked at Peter in regret. Aunt May's jaw dropped. Peter even looked shocked for a few seconds.
Aunt May put her hands to her mouth, resisting the urge to cry. "Peter…"
Peter turned around, opened the door, and ran out. Aunt May walked over to Uncle Ben, who embraced her.
"Let him be alone for a little while," Aunt May suggested. "Hopefully, he'll be fine."
Uncle Ben sighed, holding his wife. "I-I don't know if…"
"You're a good man, Benjamin Parker."
It was around two in the morning, but Peter didn't care. Walking down the street, Peter looked down as he contemplated everything. How his anger over getting cheated out of his money made him lose track of time. His uncle's words. With great power, there must also come great responsibility?
"What happened?"
"Oh my God!"
"Did someone get hurt?"
Peter looked up to see sirens, specifically police cars heading towards the curb, where a crowd of people were surrounding something. More people were heading over. Curious, Peter started to head over.
"Shit, what happened?"
"I can't see!"
"People, step back!" NYPD Officer Jean DeWolff called out.
Peter made his way through the crowd, where he dreadfully spotted a familiar figure laying on the ground.
"UNCLE BEN!" Peter screamed, pushing his way past the people and being held back by DeWolff.
"Sir, I'm gonna need you to-" DeWolff started.
"That's my uncle!" Peter shouted, pushing her arms away and falling to his knees, grasping the bloody wound on his uncle's chest. "What happened?!"
"Guy stole his car and shot him. I'm really sorry, kid," DeWolff explained.
"U-Uncle Ben. Ben, I'm so sorry about all the things I said!" Peter rapidly apologized, tears going down his face.
Uncle Ben slowly took Peter's hand. "Yo-you're a good kid…"
"I'm here, Uncle Ben. And I love you," Peter assured, still sobbing.
"I-I…"
Uncle Ben's eyes closed forever, his hand still holding Peter's. Peter's crying increased as he planted his face in his hands. The civilians either looked sympathetic or were crying themselves.
"I'm extremely sorry, son," DeWolff said, putting her hand on Peter's shoulder.
Back at the house, Aunt May was sitting at the table with NYPD Captain George Stacy and two other cops.
"Right now, eyewitnesses state that they failed to get a clear look at your husband's killer's face. All they've said is that he moved too fast to be seen, and he took off with the car immediately afterward," George confirmed.
"We're clearly dealing with an expert here," one of the other cops observed.
"We're gonna bring your husband's killer to justice," the other cop promised.
Aunt May nodded, tears going down her face. "Thank you, officers."
The doorbell rang, and Aunt May got up to go get it. Opening the door, Aunt May saw Peter and Officer DeWolff at the entrance.
"Peter!" Aunt May exclaimed, hugging her nephew.
"Aunt May! I'm so sorry!" Peter apologized, still crying.
"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."
George got up from the table. "We should probably leave you guys alone for now. We'll contact you if there's any updates. I'm extremely sorry for your loss, ma'am."
Aunt May wiped away some tears. "Thank you."
The other two cops got up from the table and followed George to the door.
"Thanks for taking the kid home, Jean," George thanked as they started to leave.
"Always," DeWolff responded, being the last one to leave.
Once the cops were out the door, Aunt May walked over to the couch, sitting down and crying. Peter followed, collapsing on the couch. His head fell on Aunt May's belly, as she placed her hand on her nephew's hair.
"May… I-I…"
The two continued to cry and embrace together, knowing Uncle Ben was gone.
Disclaimer: Spider-Man and any other Marvel characters are created and owned by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. I do not have any ownership over them.
Here we are with one of the most defining chapters in the story. Sorry I'm a bit late, I'm not kidding when I say this week was one of the busiest ones in my life. Because I really can't recall many other times where I was really stuffed. Friends, school, stuff like that.
Let me just say how insane this coronavirus phase is. Places getting closed down, events being cancelled to delayed, movies being delayed, don't even get me started on all the schools closing down to online classes. In a way, it feels like the world's ending.
Anyways, sorry again for this late chapter, but thanks so much if you've still stuck to it! Like, follows, and reviews are always massively appreciated. The origin is beginning! Look out for the next chapter around next week!
-redbird12