SPIDER-MAN: THE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY (CHAPTER 3)
8:15 am Mason Consolidating Repairs…
The next morning, Herman and the Chameleon made their way to Phineas Mason's little workshop in order to push forward their crusade at both Hammerhead and Spider-Man. Herman was all suited up and followed Chameleon's word from this moment forward.
Chameleon disguised as a Hammerhead thug started knocking on the garage door while calling Phileas's name out, "Phineas, the boss wants to see you." "Oh please, give me some time to work things out." Phineas called back. "Heh, heh... He's a puny coward." Chameleon whispered to Herman.
The garage door slowly unveiled with Phineas standing in front looking timid yet brave at the same time. The timidness engulfed Phineas the moment he saw Shocker standing next to Chameleon. "What's he doing here and where is the boss?!" Phineas asked.
"Thank you for letting us in," Chameleon said, "We'd like to observe some of your work." "Work? Oh, there have been some complications last night…" Phineas blurted as he backed himself to his secret workshop. "Tell me…" Chameleon continued.
"It's Spider-Man; he came down here and stole some blueprints off me!" Phineas exclaimed. "Spider-Man, now what did he want your work for?" Chameleon asked curiously. "He came here committing robbery and now Mr. Cavallaro is gonna kill me." Phineas whimpered.
"Oh, Phineas, Hammerhead is not here yet." Chameleon said switching to the Russian accent and peeling away his face mask. "In fact, you are going to have answer for me." Chameleon continued. "Dmitri? You shouldn't be here. You're on the wanted list." Phineas said reaching for his plasma knife in his pocket.
"He was never my boss to begin with and his fortune will be mine," Chameleon proclaimed while menacing Phineas, "You can start helping me out. It's your choice." "Well…Sure, but my business will…" But before Phineas could finish, Chameleon suddenly grabbed the plasma knife in his hand and drove it into his heart.
Herman was startled by the act but did not want to say anything in fear that Chameleon will somehow silence him as well. "In my line of work, trust is important. If you can't decide on your loyalty then you are out…" Chameleon whispered to the dying Phineas's ear. Hammerhead's chief weaponry engineer slowly slumped to the ground, his glasses fell off and his eyes went cold in an instance.
Herman stared at the lifeless body before asking Chameleon a question, "Why did you do that?" "It's a shame really… He's a gifted man. In my homeland, he would have been a great recruitment for the 'shipon' agency. Sadly, his pitiful nature wouldn't do us any favours." Chameleon explained with a little regret.
Turning to Herman, Chameleon continued wielding Phileas's plasma knife in admiration, "We don't really need his assistance… We can build things from scratch ourselves. Grab as many of the supplies here and once we got everything, I'll leave Hammerhead a message…" Herman looked at his own gauntlets before mumbling, "Yeah…"
9:32 am Forest Hills Shopping Centre…
During the weekdays, Peter would do the shopping and pick up the usual groceries while Aunt May would stay at home and occasionally chat with some friends of hers. "Bread, milk, eggs…. The typical must needs in every household and hopefully some stuff to start building on the suit I always wanted." Peter said in his own head.
Peter pushed his trolley and looked through each and every item carefully while thinking of his money. As he was pushing the trolley, he came to a halt in front of a familiar face. Gwen Stacy stood there with headphones in her ears and a basket on her arms. As soon as she noticed Peter, her face lit up to greet him.
"Peter, hey! Fancy running into you." Gwen said with a smile while taking her headphones out and pausing the song. "Uh, hi Gwen. Didn't expect you to be here." Peter said with a laugh, "You look nice." "Oh thanks…" Gwen replied as Peter noted her green shirt and skinny jeans.
"I don't see you here often. What brings you out here?" Peter questioned. "Me? I'm actually here on 's recommendation. I'm looking for kitchen stock." Gwen explained. "Oh that makes it more than just a coincidence then…" Peter said looking away a little. "Why? Am I distracting you?" Gwen teased.
"Yeah, I'm just focused on my grocery list now…" Peter answered. "Well in that case… Have fun shopping… "Gwen said, "See you around….Tiger." "Wait, Tiger? Oh my god… Is she is trying to replace Mary Jane?" Peter asked himself in a confused state, "Anyway gotta find all the essentials and see if I can find some crafting materials."
During 10:15 am, Peter now held handbags of items in addition to items such as superglue, fabric and rubber. As he was walking, he came across the newspaper agency with the latest Daily Globe article stacked in front of him. "What the heck is this?" Peter wondered picking a copy up.
FREAK EXPLOSION DAMAGES POLICE AUTHORITY IN QUEENS
By Edward Brock
After New York's historic battle between Spider-Man and the Shocker, a sudden explosion was triggered inside a Middle Village police precinct yesterday. The result of which caused the death of at least 10 people with 4 being officers. Herman Schultz, the man behind the 'Shocker' moniker is nowhere to be found after this tragic incident leaving many to wonder if it was part of his plan.
What remained of the security footage captured a brief snippet of a police officer seemingly incapacitating his fellow officers which lead to a theory that Herman Schultz had help from the outside. "We don't know which one of us has attacked and we don't know the motive," Captain Christian Young commented, "For all I know is that Herman Schultz was working for the mob leader Joseph Cavallaro aka Hammerhead. However for us, it's hard to make a move against him without disturbing the community of Queens."
The officer refers of course to how organised Hammerhead is. The man has amassed a large amount of wealth originating from his ties with the Maggia syndicate. Police are now on high alert for Herman Schultz with additional evidence that his gear had also been stolen from other police precincts. The mourning for those who had died yesterday will commence at 10:30 am tomorrow at St John's.
"Oh no…" Peter said after finishing the paper.
10:05 am Chang residence…
"Herman got out and it's my fault…" Peter said to Phillip looking guilty. "I don't know what to say, Peter. It's hard to say since it's all calculated. Fact is, it doesn't feel Hammerhead's people are responsible for it. Some of the people who died are suspected of having ties to him." Phillip replied.
"I really don't want to mope about it. If there's trouble going on than we gotta keep fighting the good fight. We can put Herman back to where he belongs." Peter said optimistically. "I never seen you that optimistic with deaths before," Phillip noted. "Well… That accident in the past has taught me a lot." Peter answered reminding Phillip of Uncle Ben.
"So, you said you found blueprints the other day and you want to make some upgrades right?" Phillip asked. Peter turned to his friend, "That's the plan…" Unpacking his schoolbag, Peter put out certain materials which included things such as superglue, duct tape and fabric. "There's no way you can just put together the stuff you need from the supermarket. Maybe you need some things from your friend, Harry." Phillip said looking at the stuff.
"The research stations actually don't offer a lot plus all the Oscorp labs are in Manhattan which are tightly secured. Trust me; I've seen it before when I got my powers." Peter assured. "Right…Then where you gonna get your things from?" Phillip wondered. Peter looked at Phillip giving him a reassured smile.
The course of several days…
The first step into making the things they need was looking for inspiration online. "I need something like an athlete's uniform. Spandex or whatever…. Something that is both flexible and comfortable." Peter explained. Phillip jotted these notes down on a piece of paper.
The second step was to start small by brainstorming the gadgets. "Harry used to show me pictures of bomb prototypes. Like little balls except I'd like mine to feel more like rubber instead of a killer one. Also I'd like some voltage to go with the webs. Just enough so that I don't fry my targets." Peter continued.
The final step involved the course of action as well as the finalisation of materials. "'Okay, here's the deal… I can get some stuff from school. We also need training dummies… Think you can sort that out for me?" Peter requested. "No problem, Mr. Stark…" Phillip sarcastically remarked.
The next few hours spent was doing exactly as coordinated. The process even included Peter sneaking back to Midtown High to collect some items from the science labs. "I think they restock these anyway. It's just the web fluid I need to make." Peter remarked as he stealthily exited out of a vent with a bunch of contained chemicals in his bag.
While Peter built the web bombs, trip mines and other web-related gadgets, the creation of the natural web fluid generally causes an odour to which people close to Peter such as Aunt May and Ned noted when he was at home or school. Even during the F.E.A.S.T. volunteering, Gwen could not help but notice Peter acting weird.
"Okay, uh… Can we test these now?" Peter asked Phillip holding a shiny metal ball in the palm of his hand. Phillip nodded acknowledging that he was prepared for the testing. Together, the two would head down to Rockaway Beach where they could place the dummy on the sand and test out the gadgets. As soon as the electric webs were tested, the training dummy got burnt a little.
In order to handcraft the suit, Peter continued his research into spandex as well as materials that are used to make clothing with reference to the blueprints. It was at that time; Peter had to practice using the sewing machine. In addition to being more faithful to what he had envisioned originally, Peter made the armoured modifications. The adjustable eye lenses this time around were also given a flat shape rather than a google like appearance this time around.
After Peter put on the suit in Phillip's bathroom, we walked out refreshed as ever. "Oh my god, this feels incredible… It's less stuffy." Peter commented. "Whoa…" Phillip commented as he witnessed the new suit. Picking up his old suit, Peter said a couple of words, "It's been good swinging with you. Time to add you to my vintage suit collection with the wrestler outfit."
3:30 pm Chameleon's hideout in Jamaica, Queens…
During the days Peter was making the suit and other gadgets, crime had time to catch up. Hammerhead's activities were reduced in the wake of Chameleon's betrayal with Chameleon building up his own empire.
Some of Hammerhead's men were persuaded to join Chameleon in defiance against Hammerhead for not getting paid well. Once the circle was formed, Chameleon for once in his life earned his sense of triumph. "It's great to see you all, my friends…" Chameleon said lifting his hands in the air like a leader with his true white face in full glory and wearing his black and green bathrobe.
Chameleon's hideout was mainly the longue in his house that looked suitable to act like a private bar or a nice holiday retreat. Chameleon had prepared a presentation for his allies using his own projector. "Friends, I would like all of you to listen carefully." Chameleon instructed, "Together we can end Hammerhead for good and take over his assets. We may also take joy in bringing Spider-Man to his knees."
"You really sure you can bring Spider-Man down, ya bastard?" A blonde middle-aged Australian man called out. "Absolutely, my friend. Unlike Hammerhead, I have been trained to fight like him and infiltrate places like him. Now carefully…" Chameleon hissed.
Chameleon clicked the next button on his remote controller which led to slide containing one big blueprint. "When I trained to be a spy, I tracked down plans from across the globe and fed back this information to my comrades. Stark Industries, A.I.M., you know the rest. I replicated these without needing to steal them. Which is why I can afford to betray Hammerhead…" Chameleon said confidently.
The Australian man nodded with a scowl on his face. "As a matter of fact, I don't just want guns and knives in my crew. I want good technology to help us. Which is why I broke my friend, Herman out." Chameleon said spelling out his plans, "What is your name again?" "Me? The name's Frank Oliver. I'm an escaped convict from Straylia. Came here to escape my sentences and now here I am on this side of the world helping people like you." The Australian man said with the crew looking at him.
"Frank, my friend. Do we wish to set yourself as a fine example?" Chameleon asked. "What is it do you want me to do, lizard-man? You're gonna kill me and take my good looks?" Frank asked back. "They call me 'Chameleon' first of all and I am not a psychopath. I kill for my own survival and I don't want to deal with disloyalty in my clan…" Chameleon said walking up to him.
"Hey, I'm just messing with ya. Course I want to be in this party. Old Hammerhead never pays the big bucks." Frank insisted while backing away when Chameleon showed the plasma knife that had been previously used by Phineas Mason. Chameleon nodded before putting the weapon away, "Good… There will be a place for jokes, Frank…"
"Okay back to the original question then…" Frank said sighing in relief. "Since Herman dons the yellow suit, I want someone else to try something similar on." Chameleon explained skipping a few slides, "I made something similar beforehand… Something almost as similar to Spider-Man."
Frank saw on the slide a suit that looks like Herman's except this time around the boots were also capable of air launching. Frank laughed before commenting, "Mr. Chameleo, where is my super suit now?" Chameleon snapped his fingers with one man carrying a box. Inside the box was a replica of the Shocker suit only this time it was red. "See? It's red like Spider-Man's…" Chameleon said.
6:35 pm Hammerhead's penthouse…
In his new suit, Peter made his way to Middle Village where he started to begin his crusade in taking Hammerhead down. Before he would attempt the infiltration, he texted Phillip that he was about to begin his mission as the new Spider-Man. "Okay, time to shut this guy down…" Peter said to himself.
Peter saw that there were men in front of the gates and men patrolling the front yard with German Shepard dogs on leash and rifles on hand. "Dogs? Oh my god… "Peter said as he swung to the top of the penthouse. "Okay time to see if my gadgets work…" Peter said picking out certain things out of his pocket.
Stealthily, Peter picked apart the guards who were by themselves with no dogs using his trip mines which webbed them against the wall. In order to stop the dogs from barking, Peter picked them off with the electrical webs with web bombs being used to take down the person walking them.
"Ha! Everyone worked out well in the end…" Peter said, "Let's pay this guy a visit now." Once all the men were in capitated, Peter swung onto the balcony and attempted to open the glass door. The door opened with a slight creak to which Peter tried to silence.
"Okay, this looks about as nice as the time I went to Harry's place…" Peter said as he tiptoed in. The first thing Peter noticed was a note on the kitchen table. Peter picked up and read it to himself.
Dear Joseph,
I'm sorry to call this off but there is hardly anything left I could do for you to fix your head. Modern surgery is just not up to standard yet but hopefully we are close. I suggest you give yourself plenty of time to rest during hours of pain and when you eat, take a tablet.
On the bright side, your head is remarkable. You would be able to reduce the damage you could take from incoming physical objects. Stay healthy and stay safe.
Sincerely,
Dr. Harrow
Suddenly Peter's 'Spidey-sense' went off as a shotgun shell narrowly missed him and shattered the window from behind. Peter saw a looming shadow in front of him at first before the lights switched. "Trespassing in my domain?" Hammerhead asked as he stood there in his pyjamas with a shotgun in hand.
" … Or Hammerhead, which one do you prefer? I'm surprised I didn't hear you walk." Peter said. "I prefer the reputation I have…" Hammerhead said with his bulging forehead intriguing Peter. "I don't believe we met until now. Gosh how are you holding now that I read about your condition?" Peter asked in a jokingly concerned manner.
"This is high tech vibranium," Hammerhead said pointing to the stitched forehead. "I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry now that I see you. But you've been causing a bit of trouble around here for quite a long time." Peter talked back. "I'd actually kill you now but unfortunately I have some explaining to do." Hammerhead said dropping his shotgun to the floor.
"What is it? Did your friends betray you?" Peter asked. Hammerhead laughed before answering, "Yes, I haven't been in business for a bit because of someone. Please, take a seat and don't try and stop me for a brief moment." Hammerhead then motioned Peter to sit near the dinner table.
Peter did as he told and sat on a chair in front of the dining table. Hammerhead then walked out with a folder in his hand and took out a black and white photo of Chameleon in his full facial glory. "This is Dmitri Smerdyakov, I hired this man to do my bidding. To kill you." Hammerhead said.
"Does this guy have an actual face?" Peter wondered. "Heh, heh… The tricky part is he impersonates a lot of people. His talent was incredible and now, he's gone rogue in our little neighbourhood." Hammerhead continued. "Okay Hammerhead, I'm interested…" Peter said.
"He's been on a killing spree lately. He took out at least eight of my men in an alleyway and one of them came back with a bleeding stomach. He's recently gutted my top mechanic. None of which has been reported by the media." Hammerhead said shaking his fist. "Is this mechanic named Phineas Mason?" Peter asked.
"Yes, that one." Hammerhead answered. "What do you want?" Peter asked confused that he is talking with a crime lord. "Dmitri is the bigger problem than me. He's the one who released Shocker out of one of my favourite police precincts." Hammerhead said as he tried to appeal to Peter.
"It sounds like you're making me an offer I can't refuse…" Peter quoted before Hammerhead grabbed him by the wrist. "Listen to me carefully, kid. I'm giving you the slip now. If we don't take him out then Queens will be ruined and things won't be as normal as you think." Hammerhead said in an intimidating manner before letting Peter go.
Peter then stood on his chair and back flipped off. "Okay, but if you mislead me on this one the next time we meet, I will take you out without question." Peter said as he stepped out of the broken glass window to leave. "My men will escort you out if you don't mind…" Hammerhead insisted. "Took care of that…" Peter said as he swung out into the night.
7:00 pm Juniper Valley Park…
Peter sat on a tree taking a break after his run-in with the infamous crime lord. "That actually still was intense even with the new suit…" Peter thought as he went to check with Phillip on his phone. Ringing his number, Peter informed Phillip of his findings.
"Hey Phil, I actually just had a friendly chat with Hammerhead and he's given me something to look into. Can you help search up a dude called Dmitri…Uh…Smerdyakov… Yeah that's it." Peter requested. "Copy that, how did you end up talking to a guy like him?" Phillip wondered.
"It's a coincidence really… Otherwise I would have been killed on sight." Peter explained. "Lucky you then, I'll look into your subject. We also have another problem going on." Phillip said. "Yes?" Peter asked. "There's been a bit of a ruckus at Forest Hills at the moment believe it or not. There's police firing going on against a man who's leaping up and down in the air. Looks an awful lot like our friend, Shocker." Phillip explained.
Without a word, Peter swung immediately and turned off his phone. "I knew you wouldn't stay out of trouble, Herman…" Peter said.
7:35 pm Forest Hills Station…
NYPD police cars formed a blockade against Frank Oliver donning a red Shocker suit who is causing nearby parked cars to flip over to the fear of many nearby residents. The police tried to shoot Frank but had little effect over his digital gauntlets made for him.
"Bloody hell I'm having a ball!" Frank yelled as he crumbled the bullets into pieces with the vibrations produced by his gauntlets. In the nick of time, Peter perched on the side and called out, "Hey Herman, I see you have a new suit. You and I definitely have some common colour preferences."
Frank turned his attention to Peter and spoke, "You there! Get yer ass down here and face me!" "I'll be there." Peter said as he swung down onto the road. "Okay, you're talking with an accent. You can't be Herman then who are you?" Peter asked.
"None of yer business, ya farking twat. Chameleon is paying me for your corpse!" Frank yelled in an over the top fashion. "Chameleon? Well then, also please be mindful of your language." Peter said as he rushed up to Frank and dodged an incoming blast from him before repeatedly shooting webs at him.
"Argh!" Frank yelled as his hands were now stuck. Peter then shot out another web that attached to the body of Frank and jumped towards him pinning him down. "I can tell you're from Australia. Can I tell you something? Did you know the red kangaroo is one of the largest species of kangaroo out there and they're also the most aggressive? Especially the males." Peter joked.
"Good one, kiddo. Did ya know the funnel web is the most venomous spider?" Frank quipped back before using his technological boots to lift himself out and escape. As Frank's boots sent out a blast of air waves that moved him away, Peter held onto his web in order to stick with him.
"Ow!" Peter yelled out as he felt himself being lifted up and down from Frank trying to escape. Frank attempted to escape from the direction of the police until he hit his head against the railway bridge of Forest Hills due to a lack of care. This helped Peter by sheer luck as he still held onto the rope of his web.
"You got lucky there!" Frank called out as he stood up to face Peter. "You're right," Peter said holding on, "I am lucky." Peter then fired an electrical current from the web which sent jolts of electricity that deactivated the gauntlets and the boots as well as stunning Frank.
"Okay, the final touch…" Peter said as he swung to both sides of the bridge to tie Frank up in the air leaving him trapped. "Hang in there!" Peter said as Frank was bound together in mid-air. Peter then jumped onto the hanging body of Frank and lifted his red mask.
"Okay, serious question about the Chameleon? What does he want?" Peter asked. Frank replied by spitting only for Peter to slap him on the face leaving a web mark. "I'll get you talking in no time…" Peter answered before jumping to the ground.
The residents who had been terrorised clapped at the act of heroism with police putting away their guns. "Thank you all…" Peter said before seeing a police captain walk up to him. "Spider-Man, thank you for the help." "No problem, officer." Peter said shaking his hand.
"I'm Captain Stacy." The police captain replied which caused Peter to widen his eye lens. "Nice to meet you… Uh… I got some information I can relay you." Peter said before explaining both Dmitri Smerdyakov and the Chameleon. "Noted…" Captain Stacy said as he wrote it down on a book, "We'll be taking Mr. Frank Oliver to Supreme Court now for his sentence and he'll back in his home country as soon as possible."
"I got places to be now!" Peter said before swinging away. Captain Stacy paused for a brief moment before he spoke, "Take care…" As Peter swung away, a part of him blushed. "Oh my god… That was Gwen's dad…" He said to himself.
TO BE CONTINUED…