The Extraordinary Spider-Man - Vol 1

Chapter 11: Pains of Love

Likenesses used

Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz

A few weeks had passed since Peter's fight with Mac, and since then, nothing extremely intense had happened. As the vigilante, all Peter really did was take out a couple criminals and stop a few robberies in that time. And now, he was at Starbucks with Harry and Gwen, studying for finals.

"This sucks," Harry sighed as he filled out his biology final study guide.

"I doubt finals are a fun time for anyone," Gwen admitted. "World history's kicking my ass."

"I need to get at least a B- on my bio final if I at least want an A-. I legit don't give a shit about cells, or what chlorophyll is," Harry vented. "And as for English, that's hit-or-miss for me."

"Hey, at least you didn't have to read The Tempest for English. I'm four chapters behind," Peter chuckled.

"In that case, thank God I didn't sign up for Honors English. How many finals do you have, Pete?" Harry asked.

"I've got chem, geometry, English, Spanish, world history, and a final sewing project in home ec. So five finals and one project," Peter answered.

"Shit, man. Good luck," Harry said.

"Yeah, seriously, Pete. I hope the geometry one isn't too much of a pain for us," Gwen said, worried.

"You guys will be fine. And so will I in algebra. I wonder who I have to thank for that," Harry teased.

Gwen smiled. "Stop."

"Again, you had the ability the entire time, Harry. We just helped out a bit," Peter insisted.

"Never gonna change my mind on that, but thank you," Harry replied. "I have to get as many A's as I can. Dad will definitely be proud."

"He already is," Gwen assured.

While Harry sighed in disagreement, Peter logged into his student portal to check his grades. While he still had an A in chemistry, geometry, and home ec, and a B+ in Spanish, there was an unfortunate C in world history and English.

"Shit!" Peter exclaimed. "Goddamn it."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Got a C in world history and English. God," Peter sighed.

Harry's eyes widened. "You? A C? Let alone two."

"Anything going on, Pete?" Gwen asked. "The classes too difficult?"

Peter sat back. "Well, I can't exactly say I love history as a subject. And as for English, two words. The Tempest."

"It's seriously that bad?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"It's so boring. I can attest to this," Gwen confirmed.

"No disrespect against Shakespeare, don't get me wrong. But I'd rather just watch the movie," Peter admitted.

"30% on Rotten Tomatoes. Good luck," Gwen chuckled.

Peter sighed. "I don't know, though. I feel like I've been getting distracted lately."

Harry looked confused. "By what?"

"Well, let's just say I've been getting a lot of exercise in," Peter explained.

"That's evident with how buff you already are," Harry commented. "But the only advice I can give is to go over the final study guides as much as you can."

Peter nodded. "You're right."

"Crap, I forgot I have to babysit my brothers in two hours," Gwen sighed.

"I only saw them in person once. Yeah, I saw them and your parents at Uncle Ben's funeral a while back," Peter recalled.

Gwen looked concerned. "Speaking of which, Peter. We haven't talked too much about it recently. Has everything been okay with you and your aunt?"

"Yeah, how are you guys doing?" Harry added.

"We've been doing better. Our therapist has been really helping, and we've been spending more time together," Peter answered. "Thanks for asking."

Gwen nodded. "Anytime, bud."

"Always, man," Harry assured.

"What about you, Harry? How's everything been with your family since that insane attack at Oscorp?" Peter asked.

"Oh, it's been fine. Thanks for asking. Dad never seemed too fazed by it. I doubt a disemboweling would stop him from going to work. If not for that vigilante, I can't imagine what would've happened, though."

"That whole incident still hasn't changed my dad's mind about that guy, though," Gwen said, annoyed. "I swear, you just can't appease him."

"I mean, it does look like he's been trying to do good. Provide a service. That's alright in my book," Peter defended.

"I agree. It's been fascinating reading about him or watching videos on YouTube, though. You get to do the exciting stuff by taking pictures of him, Peter," Gwen pointed out.

"Gets old after a while," Peter jokingly said.

"I do have to ask, though. Does the guy have a name?" Harry asked.

Peter shrugged. "Not that I know of. Maybe Human Spider or something like that?"

"I don't know. I kind of like Spider-Man," Gwen suggested.

In the break room at Hammer Industries, Mac was sitting on a couch in boredom, while Justin was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"It's been weeks, and I've been stuck in here!" Mac vented. "I swear, I'm losing my mind."

"It's either that or go out there again and risk getting caught. Be my guest," Justin responded.

"Very funny."

"Look, you know I'm doing this for both of us. Any of us risk anything, and we're both fucked."

Mac got up. "I'm aware, but there's literally nothing for me to do! I'm practically isolated from the rest of the world, and I haven't talked to anyone outside of this damn building!"

"Listen, I know it sucks, but it's much warmer here than a prison cell. There anything I could do to help?"

"I think you know what I want."

"If my intuitive skills aren't failing me, you want to talk to her," Justin deduced.

"There anyway I could?"

"I mean, I can set it up if you want to, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it."

Mac groaned. "She's my wife! I have a right to speak to her if I want to. Whatever happens happens."

Justin pulled out a phone and handed it to Mac. "If you say so. Phone is untraceable, so don't worry about that."

Mac took the phone and dialed Carmilla's number, putting it to his ear.

"Hello?" Carmilla's voice said through the phone.

"Don't hang up, please. Just hear me out," Mac pleaded. "You have no idea how-"

"Stop, just stop."

"Carmilla-"

"Just shut the fuck up! You don't have the goddamn right to be sorry anymore! You realize everything you've done?!" Carmilla raged.

"Look, I know, but-"

"You murdered a man! And you nearly killed Norman Osborn! Because of you, the news has been trying to swarm me, and since then, I've been staying with my mom. She's been keeping me sane. Barely."

"I know everything's gone to shit since the experiment, but I promise, this doesn't need to be over," Mac begged. "Please."

"You bet your fucking ass this is done, Mac. I was so stupid to even give you any chances in the beginning. In the past few weeks, you haven't been my husband. Only a burden."

"Carmilla, please-"

"Goodbye, Mac."

Carmilla hung up. Mac handed the phone back to Justin before proceeding to collapse on the couch.

"I'm really sorry, Mac," Justin said.

"Just go. I need to be alone."

Justin nodded and complied. Once he was out of the room, Mac proceeded to throw a breakdown.

"I'm really glad to hear that you're spending more time together," Lilly told Peter and Aunt May in her office. "Sounds like it's really been helping."

"It has," Peter agreed.

"It's given us much more time to bond and connect. Which is especially important during this time," Aunt May said.

"That's good. You're both finding levity in a difficult time, and you're clearly getting closer as a result," Lilly observed.

"Yeah, honestly," Aunt May said. "It still hurts, but hanging with Peter has definitely been helping a lot. Especially since I know it's what Ben would want."

"Same. It's honestly been such a relief," Peter expressed. "It's always a great time."

Lilly took some notes in her notepad. "Good progress, guys! Anything else that's been going on?"

Peter hesitated before speaking. "Well… one of my friends I've told you about. Gwen. I - I, well, I like her. Like a massive crush."

Aunt May and Lilly both smiled.

"Young love," Lilly commented.

"It's quite something," Aunt May reminisced.

"She's just so pretty, literally everything about her. I don't want to sound cheesy, but she's gotta be one of the most beautiful girls ever, legit. And she's a nerd like me," Peter exclaimed. "Plus, she's so nice. She reached out after what happened with Uncle Ben, and since then, she's been there for me."

"That's amazing," Lilly said, genuinely pleased.

Peter poured his heart out further. "Believe me, it really is. And the fact that I'm friends with this girl, too. Seems honestly too perfect to be true. You don't know how much I want something to happen. At the same time, I don't want to get my hopes up in case it doesn't work out. It's just… she's just so great. And as both a friend and a crush, I couldn't be more thankful for her."

Aunt May put a hand on her nephew's shoulder. "I'm really happy for you, Pete."

Peter sighed in happiness. "Thanks. I just really hope she hasn't noticed. According to Aunt May and Harry, I don't exactly make it subtle. But at the same time, I just really want us to be a thing, you know? It'd be a dream."

"It definitely sounds like a huge crush. It also adds a hint of excitement to your close friendship with her, it seems," Lilly pointed out.

"It does. But it's also pretty painful because I can't stop thinking about what would happen if she didn't feel the same way. It's painful even now not dating her."

"Well, Pete, I'd love to see you two get together. You guys already seem so close. Imagine how you'd be as a couple," Aunt May commented.

"It'd be a dream," Peter admitted.

Norman was sitting at a table in the Brasserie, dressed in one of his finest suits. He scrolled through his phone, looking at reports of the vigilante. He also looked at past news articles on Mac and his attacks.

"Osborn."

Norman looked up to see Wilson Fisk standing in front of the table. Smiling, Norman got up and shook his hand.

"Fisk," Norman acknowledged.

The two sat down, and their waitress came over.

"Hi, what can I get for you two this evening?" the waitress asked.

"Hi, can I please have a caprese salad with pesto sauce? A glass of unruly red wine would also be great. Thank you," Norman ordered.

The waitress wrote down the order and turned to Fisk. "Sounds good. How about you, sir?"

"I'd like the mushroom risotto, as well as a glass of champagne. Thank you," Fisk stated.

The waitress nodded and wrote down the order, walking away.

"You know, I have nothing but fond memories for this place. I used to take my mother here on her birthday. It's also where I took my fiancée Vanessa on our first date. Food's also solid," Fisk reminisced.

"Sentimental thoughts. But there's something urgent that we both have to address before it can further get out of hand," Norman pointed out.

"The vigilante?"

"Not just him. Hammer. Gargan."

Fisk sighed. "It's been a few weeks, and they've done nothing."

"Exactly. Either they've permanently gone into hibernation or they're planning something. With Hammer, I'm willing to bet it's the latter," Norman speculated.

"Well, you're thinking a lot about how reckless he is. You can't forget how much of a genius the man is, though," Fisk pointed out.

"I'm not saying the man isn't intelligent, but all he cares about is three things. Money, power, and attention."

"Fair point, but we also have to think logically. What else could he do with Gargan at this point? It's clear he's hiding him, but realistically, what other options does he have? Wreak havoc on Oscorp again? We don't even know for sure if Hammer intentionally had Gargan carry out that attack, or if Gargan was just an idiot."

Norman nodded. "You're right. Hammer can't do much with Gargan at the moment, indeed. But what if things go haywire? What happens when Gargan goes insane again? Or if Hammer decides to be stupid and unleash him on my family? My company? We have to plan ahead for everything."

"I can't completely tell if you're being rational or paranoid. If any of that happens, we release the evidence of Hammer Industries' ties to Gargan and the Super Scorpion Experiment. Ordway is dead, so there's no evidence of him tampering with the experiment," Fisk proposed.

"And how do you suggest we find evidence of Hammer's ties to the experiment?"

Fisk smirked. "It's me. Remember?"

"There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance."

"I've been doing this for over thirty years. I've fought my way out of situations worse than this, and it only gets easier every time. With experience comes strength. And with strength comes perseverance."

Norman smiled. "I'll admit, they don't call you the Kingpin for nothing."

The waitress came back with the drinks and set them down. "Here you go. Your food should be out in around twenty minutes."

"Thank you," Norman thanked.

"Thanks, sweetie," Fisk followed.

The waitress smiled and nodded before walking away.

"Looks like we've officially decided our next course of action with Hammer and Gargan. Let them be the ones to strike first. But the question is, who's our protection?" Norman asked.

"I have different men and connections everywhere," Fisk responded. "We'll figure it out."

"I'll admit. I wasn't expecting most of this to happen. Back when I hired Ordway to mess with the experiment, I figured Hammer Industries would be destroyed from the inside after that. Looks like the destruction will have to come in smaller doses."

"Eliminating the competition is essential, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a thrill out of it."

"Can't say I feel any differently. Hammer Industries is mainly known for weapons manufacturing, and its main competitor is Stark Industries. But when I first received word that they were starting genetic experimentation, I knew what had to be done," Norman explained.

"You destroyed the seed before it could grow and sprout. I respect that."

"Thank you. But there's something else we have to address. That vigilante on the news."

"I've already had my fair share of vigilantes dressed in red. I can already tell this new guy's gonna be an annoyance," Fisk admitted.

"He's been primarily fighting criminals and stopping robberies. Makes me wonder if he has any sort of vendetta," Norman said.

"Who knows. He hasn't been a huge problem to us so far."

"So far. It's a matter of time before he starts interfering with our operations, intentional or not. We'll have to rely on your different men and connections to take him out."

"Not a problem with me. We'll just have to see what happens."

Fisk paused a little, before continuing to speak.

"Though it's interesting that he's been shooting webs and crawling around like a spider."

"Fisk, I guarantee you that none of the genetically modified spiders have been tested on humans. There's still tests being run, and we don't know for sure if they're stable yet," Norman assured.

"Okay, but it's like you said. We have to plan ahead for everything," Fisk reminded.

Herman Schultz entered his basement, dropping his bag of money against the wall with the rest of his loot. Sighing heavily, Herman walked over to his workshop, where his near-complete gauntlets were. Also spread across the workshop were blueprints and newspaper clippings of Herman's robberies.

"Let's get you finished," Herman declared.

He picked up a power drill and started putting the finishing touches to them. Once he was done, he put on the specialized gauntlets and ignited them. The gauntlet let out an electrified charge, and Herman punched through a block of wood, smashing it.

"Hell yeah!" Herman yelled.

Herman proceeded to smash a watermelon, a chair, and a cinder block. Afterward, he went outside, walking to a nearby alley. He turned a dial on his gauntlet, amplifying the power. He then blasted a dumpster, completely blowing it apart and scattering debris everywhere. Before Herman could yell in excitement, he started hearing commotion. He quickly fled to his house. Inside his basement, he waved his electrified gauntlets around in excitement.

"The next job will be much more exciting," Herman declared.

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.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Hope it's fun for all of you! There's a lot that's been going on in my life, specifically zooming with friends and finals for school. Hopefully I'll be able to go to sleep soon lol. But yeah, I just introduced a new villain, and put in some references to the wider Marvel Universe. Though don't expect this to be the end of Scorpion…

Something absolutely big will be coming in the next two chapters, so I'll leave it up to your imagination on what that is. Hell, I'm getting excited just thinking about writing them! I've also been drafting out more of the volume, specifically the rest of Peter's freshman year. I think you guys will be satisfied.

Favs, follows, and reviews are always appreciated, and again, the massive support I've received for this series has been amazing. And for that I'll always be thankful. Until then, see you guys next Sunday for a shocking (Both in villain and revelation regards) chapter!

Fate-Be Changed - Lol you'll just have to keep reading and see what happens! I got quite a plan…

Marvel Nerd - Yeah I really do love that suit, it's so underrated. It also does look good in the video game, which I remember playing on my iPad. Yeah, Ordway's death does definitely benefit Norman and Fisk. And you're right, I absolutely picture Vincent as the definitive Kingpin!

Geek4Life - Lol it'd be quite a scenario!

Guest - I definitely do appreciate the unique idea you had! Thanks for sticking with the story though!

Rollerparty - I'm glad you appreciate the quips! And HELL YES, I definitely plan on referencing or introducing future villains! There's such an excitement to it. Lol maybe I will mention Batman one day…

-redbird12