The Extraordinary Spider-Man - Vol 1
Chapter 9: Growing Instability
Likenesses used
Kirsten Dunst as Lilly Palmer/Therapist
Jack White as Jack Graves
When Peter heard the commotion going on inside the subway station, it was safe to say he didn't expect what he walked into. The man he had talked with days prior, and this bloody scene?
"Holy shit," Peter muttered, his eyes widening underneath his mask.
"Th-this isn't, this isn't what it looks like!" Mac stuttered. "Just walk away."
"This guy's a fuckin' psycho! Help us!" one of the injured thugs begged.
Mac kicked the thug in the face, knocking him out. "Don't listen to him. It-it was an accident, I swear!"
Peter slowly started walking towards Mac. "It's all good. Let's just talk this out."
Mac backed away. "Get away from me. Right now!"
"Hey, just take it easy! It's all gonna be okay," Peter responded with nervousness.
"Stop! Don't even try to bullshit me!"
"I'm not lying to you, sir. We can handle this."
"Shut up. Right now," Mac demanded. "And just walk away."
Peter continued to approach Mac, only for the latter to keep stepping away.
"Sir, please-" Peter started.
"I said, get the fuck back!"
"Help! Please!" another injured thug yelled.
Mac kicked the thug in the face, knocking him against the wall, cracking it and knocking him out. On reflex, Peter ran forward, only to get punched in the chest by Mac, knocking him back. Getting up, Peter clenched his stomach.
"God, how are you so strong?!" Peter exclaimed.
Mac charged at Peter, who flipped over him. Peter shot a web at Mac's back and yanked him forward. As Mac was pulled toward Peter, the latter punched him in the face, knocking him down. Mac sweeped Peter's foot, knocking him down as well. Mac got on Peter and started pummeling him in the face, though Peter dodged and blocked some of the blows. Peter managed to kick Mac off, sending him crashing against the wall.
"You need to be taken in. Right now," Peter declared as he prepared to throw a punch.
Mac managed to grab the punch, throwing Peter to the ground. Peter's enhanced senses started warning him, prompting him to roll out of the way as Mac's fists bashed the ground.
"Might as well call that my Spider-Sense," Peter commented as he jumped back up.
Peter threw two punches, which Mac dodged. Peter threw a kick, though Mac grabbed Peter's leg and punched him in the chest and face. Mac prepared to throw his elbow onto Peter's leg, only for Peter to punch Mac in the face twice, breaking his grip. Peter managed to pin Mac against the wall, throwing two punches that Mac dodged, cracking the wall. However, Mac managed to grab Peter and have them switch positions. Mac punched Peter across the face and started slamming him against the wall. Peter shot webbing at Mac's eye, distracting him and breaking his grip, allowing Peter to escape. Mac quickly ripped the webbing off, though Peter shot webs at Mac's legs, pulling him down.
"Damn, I outdid myself with these," Peter admired, looking at his web-shooters.
Peter's Spider-Sense started warning him, though it was too late for him to dodge Mac body slamming him to the ground. Mac punched Peter in the face, and started choking him. Peter struggled, trying to break Mac's grip.
"Freeze!" Officer DeWolff yelled as she ran over with two other cops, pulling her gun out.
"Get off him, now!"
"Hands up!"
Mac looked at the cops, groaning. "Great."
"Hands up right now, or we'll shoot!" DeWolff demanded.
Mac got up, holding his hands up. However, he started running at the cops, dodging and jumping over their bullets. Mac jumped on one of the cops, knocking him down. He punched the other cop into the wall, cracking it and knocking him down. He then grabbed DeWolff's gun, crushing it, and punched her across the face, knocking her down. Mac ran out of the subway, escaping. An injured Peter ran over to the injured cops, helping them up.
"Shit, are you guys okay?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, but I'd be more worried about them," DeWolff admitted, pointing at the three injured thugs and the dead one.
"My God," Peter sighed. "I'm gonna go look for him, but stay safe!"
Peter ran out of the subway, though Mac was nowhere to be seen outside. More sirens were heard, prompting Peter to swing off. Once he made it home, Peter crawled in through his window, quickly throwing his mask off. Luckily, Aunt May wouldn't be home from work for another hour. Sighing, Peter took off his further-ruined costume, as it was torn and bruised in various places. A shirtless Peter walked over to the mirror.
"Holy shit!" Peter exclaimed as he saw the bruises on his face and chest.
Peter quickly ran to his closet and changed into different clothes. He pulled out his near-complete new suit from under his bed.
"Let's finish you up," Peter said.
That same night, Carmilla was sitting on her couch, watching the news. Tears were going down her face as she heard every word coming out of the TV.
"Reports have been coming in that the murderer of the thug earlier tonight has been identified as MacDonald Gargan. A former Royal Marine who fought in Afghanistan, Gargan brutalized three of the thugs, who are in the hospital under critical condition. He also had an altercation with the vigilante that surfaced-"
Carmilla turned off the TV, continuing to cry as she collapsed on her couch.
At the Daily Bugle, Peter and Ned were sitting at one of the desks near Betty's. Peter was doing homework, while Ned was typing up an article on a laptop.
"What are you working on, kid?" Ned asked.
"Good ol' geometry," Peter responded. "This new unit isn't exactly the definition of fun."
"Ouch. I literally hated any form of math when I was in high school. You should've seen my calc grade senior year," Ned chuckled.
"Oh, damn. I will say, you're lucky you don't have to deal with school anymore."
Ned shrugged. "Eh. Sometimes, I miss it."
"Yeah, I bet you just hate reporting for one of the best newspaper publications in New York," Peter joked.
"Trust me, there are days where I do. Though I never would've met my beautiful girlfriend had I not joined," Ned pointed out, signalling to Betty talking on the phone.
"How long you guys been together?" Peter asked.
"Going on two years in a month. She's the best and worst thing that's ever happened to me."
"In that case, you can get yourself a new girlfriend," Betty jokingly retorted, putting the phone down. "But I know the Tinder game is not gonna go strong for you."
Peter started laughing, and Ned and Betty both smiled.
"Get yourself a sassy one, Peter. That's the way to go," Ned advised.
"Hey, when you talk with as many people as I do a day, you learn to develop quite an attitude," Betty admitted.
Peter chuckled. "I can imagine."
"Anyway, how are you liking this place so far?" Betty asked.
"Don't get me wrong, it's cool to hang here with you guys and all. But I haven't gotten any real assignments or events to cover," Peter sighed.
"Hey, man. I know it sucks now, but your first assignment will probably be here before you know it," Ned assured.
"Ned's right. Chin up, bud," Betty agreed.
"What the hell does he think he's doing in my city?! Little runt better start backing off!" the angry voice of Jameson yelled as the editor-in-chief walked over to his office.
"Jameson, for the last time, he was helping out!" Robbie protested as he followed Jameson.
"Helping out? That guy's a fiend! He or she should've just let the cops do their job instead of butting their nose into those criminals' business!" Jameson ranted.
"Sir, I'm with Robbie on this. I think he was just trying to do the right thing. Why else would he have stopped those criminals?" Peter defended.
"So, he could take over as the greatest criminal this city has to offer! The guy's been doing nothing but beating on criminals for weeks! And if things weren't bad enough, that Mac Gargan guy on the news is a goddamn murderer! Oh, and that fight between him and the vigilante? Criminals all the way!"
Peter stood up. "Well, how 'bout I get some pictures of the vigilante, then? I promise I'll change your mind about him!"
Jameson raised an eyebrow. "Change my mind, huh? You got guts, kid. I'll admit that."
Peter's face looked a bit more hopeful, while Robbie, Betty, and Ned kept looking in shock.
"Ah, what the hell! Go for it. Get me pictures of that guy!" Jameson agreed, walking into his office.
"I won't let you down, Mr. Jameson." Peter promised.
Peter sat back down in excitement.
"Well, that was faster than I expected," Ned commented. "Good luck, though. It is not easy to change Jameson's mind."
"He's a very close-minded guy," Betty warned.
"Peter, are you sure you want to do this?" Robbie asked. "Don't get me wrong, Jameson and I are tight, but he's a stubborn man. But this gig of yours probably isn't gonna be easy."
"Oh, it won't be a problem. I roam throughout the city a lot, so I see the vigilante a good amount of times. And as for Jameson, I really do need the money," Peter said.
Robbie nodded. "If you say so. Congrats on your first assignment!"
Robbie, Betty, and Ned started clapping.
"Thanks, guys!" Peter exclaimed.
"Usually, we have a toast for everyone's first assignment. Sorry, kid. You're still fourteen," Ned apologized.
"I'm fifteen," Peter corrected.
"Don't worry, Peter. When you turn twenty-one, we'll all have a drink together," Betty assured.
Walking near the street, Mac had a stolen hoodie on to conceal himself. He'd been living like a homeless man for the past few days, and it obviously wasn't fun.
"What's my life come to?" Mac asked himself.
Seconds later, a limousine pulled up, and a man in a suit came out of it.
"You're a hard man to find, I'll admit," the man admitted.
"You come any closer, and I swear-" Mac started.
"Calm down, Gargan. My name is Jack Graves. Justin Hammer's personal assistant and butler. Come with me to Hammer Industries, and we'll figure out what happened to you. You want answers, don't you?"
Sighing, Mac nodded. "Okay."
Mac stepped inside with the man, and the limousine drove off. Around half an hour later, the limousine pulled up to Hammer Industries, and Jack escorted Mac inside.
"Hammer! I got him!" Jack called.
Justin walked over, panicking. "Thank God! The media's a shitshow. You're literally a wanted man now, Mac!"
"You better be honest with me right now, Hammer! You said the experiment was gonna be stable! Look what you fucking did!" Mac yelled.
"Look, I think I've gotten closer to figuring out what happened with the experiment. It wasn't my fault!" Justin exclaimed.
"Tell that to my wife, or the man I killed! Go ahead and explain to everyone why I'm a psychotic murderer right now!"
"Mac, I'm almost done looking over the experiment. Just give me a few hours, and I should be done. I'll say this again, it wasn't my fault."
"It better not have been," Mac warned.
"Jack, if you'll take Mac upstairs, let him have a proper shower. And cook him the best meal possible," Justin instructed.
"Right away," Jack agreed, as he started to lead Mac upstairs.
Mac looked back at Justin in anger. Justin sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
"May Parker? Peter Parker?"
In the therapy waiting room, Peter and Aunt May looked up to see a woman standing in front of them.
"Yeah, that's us," Aunt May said, getting up with Peter.
"I'm Lilly. Pleasure to meet you guys," the woman introduced.
"And, well… you already know who we are," Aunt May joked.
The three laughed as Lilly led them to her office. There, Peter and Aunt May sat on chairs while Lilly sat on the couch across from them.
"So, what's going on with you guys?" Lilly asked.
"Basically, the whole story is, my husband was murdered a few weeks ago. Since then, it's been devastating for both of us. I've been trying to move on, but I'm starting to get worried by the possibility that I never will. It's impossible for me to describe how much I miss him, and how angry I am that the killer was never caught," Aunt May vented.
Aunt May started tearing up, prompting Lilly to hand a box of tissues to her.
"Thank you," Aunt May responded, wiping her eyes. "I just-I don't know what to do, sometimes."
Lilly nodded. "So, there's clearly a lot of anger and devastation going on as a result of this tragedy. And I take it you're still finding out how to deal with it."
"You could say that. I just feel so helpless," Aunt May admitted. "Seems like there's nothing I can do."
"Can I say something, now?" Peter asked.
"Of course," Lilly encouraged.
"To add on what May said, it all feels horrible. But, we both know that Uncle Ben wouldn't want us to act like this. The problem is, it's much easier said than done. It seems like I all want to do is vent out my anger at the world, or literally just smash something," Peter ranted. "Like, why did it have to be us?!"
"And the worst part is, it seems like things are never gonna get better," Aunt May sighed. "Feels like nothing's gonna happen."
Lilly took some notes in her notepad. "I understand you feel like nothing better will happen. Have there been things you've been doing to cope with this?"
"Well, I went back to work at a marketing firm. Other than that, I've usually been watching TV, reading, cooking, crying, the basic stuff," Aunt May answered.
"I see. How about you, Peter?" Lilly asked.
"Well, I've still been getting through school. Though, I made two friends this year, and they've been trying to help me through it. I also got a job taking photos for the Daily Bugle," Peter answered.
"It's impressive you got a job like that! And it's great that you have these two friends that care about you a lot," Lilly emphasized. "How often do you two spend time with each other?"
"Not much," Aunt May said. "We see each other at home, but that's it."
"I'd say we chat every once in a while," Peter responded.
Lilly put her notepad down. "Okay, so it seems like there's still a decently normal dynamic going on with you guys. Would you say the overall atmosphere feels stable?"
Peter nodded, while Aunt May replied, "I'd say so."
"Would you both say that it feels nice whenever you guys hang out?" Lilly asked.
"It's pretty nice," Peter said.
"Yeah," Aunt May agreed.
"Do you both think it'd be helpful if you two spent more time with each other?" Lilly proposed.
"Honestly, yeah. Could give us some more bonding time," Aunt May agreed.
"It's what Ben would want," Peter pointed out.
Aunt May nodded in agreement, while Lilly smiled.
Mac and Jack walked into the testing room at Hammer Industries, where Justin was waiting with two armed men aiming guns at Blane Ordway.
"So, Mac. Just gonna get straight to the point. The experiment was tampered with by this son of a bitch right here. Blane Ordway," Justin revealed.
Mac looked at Blane with rage. "What?!"
"Guy was under the payroll of Norman Osborn. Messed with the experiment, causing this shitstorm to happen," Justin further explained. "He switched some concealed chemicals and pressed some buttons here and there at the last minute."
Yelling in rage, Mac made his way to Blane, only for the two armed men to aim his guns at him.
"Mac, we can't kill him now," Justin protested. "We still have to-"
Mac grabbed one of the men's guns and rammed it against his head, knocking him down. He then leaped down and swept the other armed man's leg, sending him to the ground. Mac punched the two men simultaneously in the faces, knocking them out. Blane tried to run away, only for Mac to tackle him to the ground. Mac grabbed Blane's throat and held him up.
"Pl-please, Mac! I'm sorry, I g-got a family, I need to support them, I really ne-need to-" Blane stuttered.
"Boo-hoo. Because of your family, my life's permanently fucked now. Hope you're happy," Mac mocked. "Maybe I'll give 'em a visit after this."
Mac threw Blane up to the ceiling, bashing him and instantly killing him when he fell back to the floor. Mac then grabbed a gun from one of the unconscious armed men and aimed it at Justin.
"Give me the suit. Now!" Mac demanded.
Justin put his hands up. "Mac-"
"Try and test me one more time! Do it before I blow your face off!"
Reluctantly, Justin walked over to a computer and used it to open the testing platform. The armored Scorpion suit elevated above the platform. Mac walked over to the suit, ready.
In his office at Oscorp Tower, Norman was filling out files on his computer until he started hearing screams. Gunshots were then heard, as well as things smashing. Norman quickly pulled up the security feed to see a green-armored scorpion-like creature attacking his security guards, making his way through the building.
"Shit," Norman muttered.
Norman opened a secret compartment under his desk, pulling out a shotgun. He made his way out of the office and into the hallway. Before he could make it to the elevator, a security guard was thrown through the wall, and Mac jumped through the hole. Norman shot Mac to no effect. Mac jumped in the air, taking another bullet with no damage, and landed on Norman, knocking the CEO down. Mac then snapped the shotgun in half and grabbed Norman, pinning him against the wall.
"Norman Osborn, you son of a bitch! You fucking did this to me! Because of you, I lost everything!" Mac raged.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Norman lied.
"Blane Ordway? Don't be stupid, I know you fucked with the experiment. Now, you're gonna pay with your life!"
Mac pulled Norman off the wall and dragged him over to the office.
"Listen to me, Mac. You do this, and your life's over! Any miniscule chance you have at normality after this is gone!" Norman protested. "After this, you'll be nothing more than a mindless creature ravaging New York!"
"My life's already over because of you. It's only fair that I return the favor. Have a nice fall," Mac declared.
Mac threw Norman through the window, smashing it and sending him down. As Mac turned away, a familiar web-swinging was heard. In rage, Mac turned around to see Norman being thrown back into the building. Peter then swung in, wearing a red-and-blue spandex suit with webs plastered all over it, dark yellow reflective sunglass lenses, and a black spider on the torso and back.
"You again!" Mac angrilly growled.
"Right back at you," Peter said. "Looks like we both got a costume upgrade."
Norman took that chance to run, and Peter shot some webs at Mac, stopping him from pursuing. Mac grabbed the webs and yanked Peter forward, punching him in the face. Peter was knocked to the ground by the impact, and Mac stood over him.
"Don't even try defending that scumbag. Give up now. Before I really get angry," Mac threatened.
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.
I'm back, and with the newest chapter. It's one of my longer ones, so I hope you enjoy it! I hope you're all continuing to stay safe with this coronavirus insanity. I've just been trying to find a lot of ways to pass the time. And I can't stress how happy I am that people are reading and getting invested with my series.
To provide an accurate description of how Peter and Mac's costumes look, Peter's suit exactly resembles the Spider-Man suit from 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. Lol, I'm rewatching it now as I write this for inspiration. As for Mac, imagine the Scorpion armor from the PS4 game, only in live-action.
As always, favs, follows, and reviews are appreciated, and for the Peter+Mac shippers, holy shit, I can't stress how flattered I am that you all are this passionate about it. Sorry to disappoint with the events in this chapter lol. Next chapter around next week, and as always, thank you for reading!
FateBe Changed - Thanks for the feedback! It's interesting that his appearances in the games are like that. Your ideas for how the plot could advance are really interesting, though as always, you'll have to read to see what happens next lol!
Marvel Nerd - I'm glad that I executed the parallels in the way that I did! And it is an interesting point you bring up about Spider-Man and Scorpion's connection to each other in comparison to the Green Goblin. And as for Blane… well you just read and saw what happened lol.
Geek4Life - Haha I thought it'd be funny if I used Michael Mando from Spider-Man: Homecoming in a tiny role in the last chapter. Glad you picked up on that! Three Scorpions in my story haha.
Guest - Lol what if Peter did shave his head though? I'll admit Tom Holland doesn't look too bad in a buzzcut, but I definitely prefer him with hair.
-redbird12