Pikatwig: Uh… apologies about this story having gone onto hiatus for a while. It's just been some busy times for the lot of us.
KKD: Not to mention the holidays and all that stuff that went down behind the scenes.
Pikatwig: And then… well… we lost the Spider-Man co-creators last year. ...that bites.
KKD: Really stings. I already started my personal massive crossover story in memory of them, the late great Stan Lee in particular. Shameless plug is shameless.
Pikatwig: The opening author bit needed to be re-written, which is likely a thing I'll need to do for a few things I've been working on, because of how dated it is. It was the day Wibble Wobble stopped being run and Cross Tag Battle came out in Japan. So… yeah. That was a while back and now we're set for the future. It is the first day of 2019 as we're starting this. T-minus 80 years until Miguel o'Hara.
KKD: I get it. But for now, let's cut back to the story. Ready?
Pikatwig: Yeah.
Disclaimers: Neither KKD nor Pikatwig own anything in this story as it is a fan-based project. Spider-Man and any associated properties within are owned by Marvel Comics, Walt Disney Studios, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and their respective creators and owners. The only things the authors own are the original concepts and idea introduced within.
It was an early Sunday morning in New York City. Mary Jane was out on a jog to get a bit of a workout in, trying to stay fit for a volleyball game, but on her way she spotted a head of red hair in the grass by Central Park and looked to see a young girl with red hair, a white top on top of a black on, a pink and lavender skirt with a purple belt, and white, purple, and lavender shoes.
"Wait…"
"...oh… uh…" a blonde girl started to stutter as she nervously held her sketchbook up to MJ, showing pictures of the blonde herself and a red-haired girl, "Uh… th-th-this is… my… my uh… sister… have you s-seen her?"
"This must be her…" she muttered as she walked over to the girl, "Hey. You ok?"
The girl didn't respond.
"Hello?"
The girl barely opened her eyes, showing they were blank and almost lifeless...
Later that day, Peter was standing over at the cafe. He looked at his phone to see a text from MJ.
-Sorry, can't make it today. Something came up. See you around, Tiger.-
"Man… of all the days…" Peter sighed.
"Hey, Pete," Harry called out as he walked over, smiling as Peter looked up to see him, "How are you?"
"Oh, fine, Harry… but, no MJ today. She got caught up with something," Peter informed.
"And Gwen said she was busy doing something with her dad today since he had time off. So I guess it's just us today," Harry commented.
"Yea… seems like it," Peter nodded.
Harry then guided Peter towards a limo, the latter still amazed as they got into it.
"So… dad recently implemented a new policy at the Oscorp building. No phones that can use cameras in work areas, so don't have your phone out," Harry informed.
"Ok, ok. I won't pull it out," Peter assured, "Mind my asking why?"
"Something about an experiment breaking out because an ex-employee had pictures of access codes."
"Huh… alright…"
"It's kind of scary that somebody would try and sabotage us…" Harry commented, looking around a moment and getting nervous, "Y'know, I worry about enemies of my dad trying to hurt me… and criminals… and crazy people… and-"
"Harry… your paranoia…" Peter calmly said.
In response, Harry started to take deep breaths. After a bit, he calmed down enough to look forward and managed to guide Peter into the Oscorp building. The two then found Norman in the middle of looking over some papers, looking a bit annoyed, but clearly focused.
"Hey dad," Harry greeted.
"Oh. Harry. Good to see you…" Norman responded, "Oh, Peter. Good to see you as well. What can I do for you boys?"
"We were wondering what you were up to," Harry asked, "We were going to go hang out upstairs, but I wanted to see you first."
"You're more than welcome here to hang out with Harry, Peter. Just remember the new policy I put in place is all," Norman calmly told them.
"Alright," Peter nodded.
The two boys then found themselves upstairs and began to take some things out, including some board games, card games, and a couple video games. They quickly set some stuff up and prepared to begin having some fun.
"Me and Harry… dorks at heart, friends for life. ...so I thought. But… spoilers for way later. For now, Harry and I were just going to hang out and do our normal thing. Even if there were some shady rumors about Norman Osborn… nobody as bad as that could've raised Harry."
"I now roll the dice of magic to decide how much my attack will do!" Harry declared, rolling 20-sided dice, landing on a 13, "I cast my spell and you'll lose over 1000 HP."
"Not if I can cast my call of defense first! Go dice go," Peter countered, rolling his own die, landing on a perfect 20, "Perfect! Instant counter, I take no damage, AND you take half the damage you would've dealt me!"
"Dang it…" Harry growled.
The duo continued on until a buzzer went off.
-I brought some pizza!- Norman informed from an intercom.
"Cool!" Harry smiled as the two quickly opened up the door and let Norman in, "Thanks, dad!"
"No problem, Harry. Mind if I join you?"
"Uh… well, you don't usually do that…"
"I have the time to for once. So… do you mind?"
Harry gave a smile as he motioned for his dad to come in.
The trio happily ate the pizza and managed to get through two of the five boxes.
"Sorry if it's not to your liking, Peter. I keep forgetting what you like and end up getting something that's plain…" Norman told him.
"It's fine," Peter assured.
"I like some plain pizza from time to time too," Harry stated.
The two friends smiled as they finished their slices and then looked to Norman.
"So… what do you even do all day?" Peter asked, "I've known you for a long time, but I've never heard what you actually… y'know… do."
"Well… I suppose if you can keep a secret, I can tell you."
"Promise."
"You know the Super Soldier Serum, right?"
"Of course. It's what made Captain America into Captain America."
"Well… it's never been recreated ever. My company is working to try and recreate it. Imagine what we could do with more of it. We could defend our shores with people as strong as him, have disease be less transmutable, and prevent the development of ailments like diabetes for instance."
"Wasn't Captain America an asthmatic?" Peter asked.
"You'd think a Super Soldier Serum would be capable of curing that, but it couldn't and somehow he stayed that way…"
"How long do you think that will go on for?" Harry asked.
"It's never been capable of being tested on humans, so we've mostly tested on animals…"
"And boy does it have interesting effects on animals…"
Meanwhile, in another building in New York, a large, seemingly obese man with a bald head, wearing a white suit with gold accents, a black tie, and what looked to be gauntlets covering his hands was sitting in a room and waiting for a phone call. The phone soon rung and he picked it up while looking at a picture of Captain America.
"Hello?"
-We have confirmation of a testing prototype of Super Soldier Serum at Oscorp's main HQ. We are prepared to extract it on your orders.-
"Excellent. Be sure to follow the plan to a T…"
-Yes sir.-
He hung up and continued to observe New York with a calm look on his face.
"Well, it was nice to hang out with you," Harry smiled, "See you at school."
"I'll be sure you get home safely, Peter," Norman told him calmly as he guided Peter out of the apartment, "So, just wondering, what was the curiosity about what I do?"
"I've known Harry for how long and you've never once brought up what makes you busy…" Peter responded.
"Fair enough," Norman conceded, "At least you know one of the many things on my current list of things to do. For now, many of the other things are far too classified, so-"
There was a sudden flicker of lights and then an alarm began to sound off.
"Oh no…"
Clicking noises were heard before people began to run in fear from something.
-This is the the sledgehammer school! We work for Hammerhead! Surrender the Super Soldier Serum research now and nobody will be hurt!-
"Ordinarily… I'd appreciate a good play on words…" Peter muttered. He then heard sparking and the power shut off completely, "Oh boy…"
"Peter, find somewhere to hide. This might get a little messy…" Norman told him.
"Got it," he nodded as he quickly started to run.
Norman eventually reached the leader of the squad and saw that the man in question was wearing a mostly blue outfit and had what looked to be a shark mask over his head and swat-grade armor along with wielding several rifles, pistols, and other assorted military-grade weapons.
"Hand over what we want…" the leader told him.
"I don't have what you want…"
Webbing suddenly hit the guns of the troops before they were yanked away from them.
"What the?!"
"Honestly, you sharks really want to bite into something, bite into something that won't cost millions of dollars to replace," Spider-Man joked as he got on a pedestal.
"The spider?!" one of the squad members yelled.
"Waste him!"
The troops tried to fire at Spider-Man, but he swiftly dodged every shot and managed to web up the guns. He swung on down and began to beat up the squad.
"...and now I know something important…" Norman muttered.
"Hindsight… had the villain not pulled this plan and made me appeared, I think things would've turned out a heck of a lot better for Norman and Harry. But as for now, this looked to be a good thing…"
The group was able to counter attack Spider-Man, yet he quickly managed to knock them back. One managed to grab his gun and approached Spider-Man as he was quickly fighting off the other guys at high speeds, flipping around to avoid various punches towards his chest.
"Spider Sense is useful… but if I have to many things to process at once, well…"
The grunt with the gun managed to smack Spider-Man on the side of the head with the butt of his gun, causing the wall-crawler to land flat on his back.
"It may not work…"
Spider-Man held his head and groaned in pain as he backed away, "Ow…"
"Get him!'
Spider-Man managed to quickly disarm the grunt and use the gun as a melee weapon with his webbing. He swung the firearm around until all of grunts were knocked out.
"Alright… that's it…" Spider-Man muttered as he headed towards the exit. Suddenly, the exit began to close, "Must be trying to keep those guys in. Better get out…"
He quickly webbed the outside and pulled himself out just before the entrance got sealed up.
The police had arrived and were investigating the crime scene, making sure to inspect everything as people were being taken out of the building for safety's sake.
"How's Harry?" Peter asked when he managed to locate Norman.
"He had a bit of a panic attack, but he's calming down now," Norman informed as he turned to Peter and noticed a bump, "What happened to you?"
"I guess I bumped into something while I was looking for a good hiding spot…" Peter responded.
"I'll make sure you get a police escort to the hospital to make sure it's not serious…"
"Thanks," Peter smiled.
"Nice to meet you, miss…" Peter began as he was guided to a police car.
"Watanabe. Yuri Watanabe," the officer politely said as she opened the door so Peter could get in.
"Peter Parker."
Yuri got into the driver's seat and drove off. Norman, meanwhile, gave a sigh as he looked around. He then heard his cellphone buzz and picked it up.
"Hello?"
-Good day, Osborn.-
"Fisk? What do you want?"
-I'm watching the news right now and saw Hammerhead attacked your company. I know how important your company and family are, and I'd like to consider myself as much of a family man as you. So from one man to another, I will help tighten security around Oscorp, as long as you tell me about one research project,- Fisk offered.
"Just one thing?"
-Any one thing.-
"Well… there's something in beta that the researchers have decided to call 'Devil's Breath' for some reason…"
About an hour or so later, Peter had finished being looked at and the doctor looked to him and Aunt May.
"It's nothing too serious. You'll need to keep an ice pack there for a few days though," a doctor informed.
"Thanks, doc," Peter smiled.
"Let's get home," Aunt May told Peter as the two walked out of the two walked out and, as they left, saw MJ talking to another doctor.
"So… how's her condition?" MJ asked.
"Honestly…? We don't know. Her heart is beating quite erratically and she seems to have ended up in quite a deep coma. That girl is quite the mystery seeing she just won't wake up no matter what we try. I think we're going to need to bring in somebody mystical to look her over."
"Alright," MJ nodded, "I'll be sure to let her sister know that she is here."
"...hey, sorry about making you worry about me for just a head bump I got from hiding…" Peter told Aunt May as she drove him home.
"...you got that from being Spider-Man, didn't you?"
"Yes…"
"Peter, you should know better than to hide that…"
"Sorry… just was a little worried somebody might be listening since it was Hammerhead's men…"
"And, if I know you, you're going to keep superheroing even with that injury."
"...I have a great power and a great responsibility as a result…"
"It is important you understand that… but please don't let that get in the way of your health."
"Gotta keep upholding Uncle Ben's words as best I can… even if it means at the risk of my health…" Peter told her simply, "But… I will try to keep my health in mind as I keep doing what I can."
"That's all I ask."
Peter nodded as Aunt May continued the drive home...
In memory of the Creators of Spider-Man and the kings of Marvel Comics…
Steve Ditko
1927-2018
and Stan "The Man" Lee
1922-2018
Soar high in the heavens you amazing creators, for bringing tales of fantastic, mighty, sensational, colossal, and spectacular proportions for the ultimate heroes of modern fiction. You have brought such great joy to readers everywhere. And to every true believer out there reading this, I thank you for taking the time to read this dedication to these great men we lost too soon.
R.I.P. Steve and Stan.
'Nuff said.
...Excelsior!
(After writing)
KKD: I realize this is pretty much the same thing I wrote in honor of the aforementioned men AND Jack Kirby in my Ultimate Secret Wars story, but let's just go with it since Pika is fine with it.
Pikatwig: I remember there was rumors that the falling out Steve Ditko and Stan Lee had didn't have anything to do with the identity of the Green Goblin, but if that is the case, well, the true reason is forever lost to the great beyond.
KKD: Yea… shame they broke up. They set up many great things about this iconic hero.
Pikatwig: This was going to be dedicate to just the memory of Steve Ditko… then we lost Stan Lee. ...kind of makes the theme of 'loss' in the PS4 game a bit harder to stomach. No spoilers about why I say the theme is 'loss'.
KKD: Right.
Pikatwig: For the record… have you even finished the main campaign?
KKD: Not yet.
Pikatwig: Ugh. ...I want to talk to SOMEBODY about that game, but nobody wants spoilers. Ugh… *sighs* Ah well. Anyway… a slight thing that got inspiration from the game is the appearance of Yuri Watanabe. I never heard of her before the PS4 game and I've grown fond of the character. What helps her bond with Peter in that game, in my opinion at least, is how their VAs are married in real life.
KKD: Huh. Neat.
Pikatwig: Which, without spoiling the DLC, makes stuff that happens there all the more tragic.
KKD: Ouch.
Pikatwig: Yuri hasn't appeared in the comics for a long time given a dramatic turn of events… and if the game gets a sequel, that turn is likely going to be there. Again, no spoilers for the DLC. We will be having some influences from the PS4 game going forward, but nothing that'll risk spoiling.
KKD: Right.
Pikatwig: And… sorry if this chapter is short. It's been months since we last worked on it and I kind of forgot what we were going to do with it beyond having Peter interact with Norman.
KKD: Oh yea.
Pikatwig: Our bad…
KKD: Sorry.
Pikatwig: So… thoughts on the chapter, though?
KKD: Overall, I thought it was fun, and I'm glad we could get back to this.
Pikatwig: Same. Favorite part? Mine was kind of the small introduction we had to Yuri and the pizza scene.
KKD: I don't really have much of one at this time, admittedly. But this was a good chapter regardless.
Pikatwig: And… are you going to make any references to a certain game and pizza?
KKD: …Spider-Man 2? Maybe.
Pikatwig: Well… I think that's about it for now. Rest easy Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and know your legacy will remain alive for a long time.
KKD: Excelsior, my friends.
Pikatwig: Just Live More.
KKD: *salutes* Jaa ne. Now let's go grab a slice.