A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

Yeah, this is Blaque Cell, the author. I just wanted to say thank you for all the positive reviews from all of you guys. Also, I wanna give a shoutout to Appreciative Reader, my most loyal reviewer. Lots of thanks for the reviews, you're my inspiration for continuing this story. Also, Jonathon, I know the Lizard's real name is Curt Connors, but for some reason, the mood struck me to make Mendell Stromm the Lizard. It was either that or make him Gaunt, and hardly anybody knows who Gaunt is (basically it was Stromm's psyche inside of a big robot). IwillMarryJustinTimberlake, you know I love you, baby, and I gotta give you lots of props 'cuz you're a damn good writer yourself. Thanx for the reviews, this series is far from over.

With that said, on to Chapter Four.



CHAPTER FOUR: They Say That A Hero Can Save Us...But They're Lying



I surveyed the situation from high above. There, on the ground, was the pusher. Some punk who went by the name of Shocker. Rumor has it, the only reason he had that name is because he got his stupid ass electrocuted at the age of fourteen when he stuck a paper clip into an electrical outlet just to see what would happen. I watched him from high above, in the shadows, just like a spider.

There was a kid standing next to him. The kid couldn't have been any older than ten. I heard the Shocker call him Tyrone. The kid was trying to walk away, but Shocker wouldn't let him leave. I just stayed perched upon the wall, hidden in darkness, and listening.

"Look kid, I don't give a damn what your momma said. When I tell you to make a delivery, you do it, got it?" Shocker asked harshly.

"I...I don't want to..." Tyrone said slowly.

"You know what? Get the hell out of here. I'll get you when I need you. Go home to your momma."

With that, Tyrone ran as fast as he could out of the alley. Shocker lit a cigarette and began to puff on it.

"Worthless piece of shit..." I heard him mutter.

That's when I dropped down on him. I used my left foot to push him down, and then I stood over him with my fist cocked back. He stared up at me in shock.

"Who the fuck are you?" Shocker exclaimed.

"Shut up," I replied just before slapping him in the face.

I felt that buzz in my neck again. Shocker had just grabbed a gun and was about to blast me. Instinctively, I grabbed the gun and crushed it in his hand. Shocker began to scream again. It was...irritating, to say the least. So, I slapped him again.

"I said, 'shut up'. You speak English, don't you?" I said.

I could see that Shocker was trying to stare at me through my mask. I lifted him up by his throat and slammed him into a nearby wall.

"Listen up, pussy, 'cuz I'm only gonna say this once. If I ever see you trying to get Tyrone, or any other kid, to make a delivery for you, I'll rip off your arm and repaint this alley with it. Got it?" I asked him. Almost immediately, I could see the defiance in his eyes.

"Fuck you," he replied through gritted teeth. I only smiled.

"Figured you'd say that," I said to him.

I turned and tossed Shocker at the wall behind me. With his arms outstretched, I pinned them both to the wall with webbing. He now stood in a pose that was much like a crucifix.

"Are you going to leave the kids around here alone?" I asked him.

"Suck my dick!" is what he screamed in my face.

I cracked my knuckles and punched his right hand. I could hear his bones splintering and see blood oozing out of his hand. Shocker screamed in agony from the blow. I immediately grabbed him by the face, cupping his chin in between my thumb and index finger.

"Are you going to leave the kids around here alone?" I asked again.

"Yeah...yeah man, I'm gonna leave the kids alone...just...just let me go, man..." the Shocker replied through tears.

I stepped back, cracked my knuckles, and destroyed his left hand, just as I had done to his right hand. He screamed again.

"What was that for?" he asked of me.

"That was because you are the scum of the earth. You and your kind, who prey on innocent people just to make a quick dollar. From now on, you are no longer a dealer. Get a real job, or sit and do nothing until the day you die, one or the other. But if I ever find you selling drugs in my city again, your balls are gonna suffer the same fate that your hands just did. You are no longer a drug dealer, got it?"

"Yeah...yeah, I got it..."

"Say it."

"I'm...I'm not gonna sell drugs anymore..."

"Louder!"

"I'm not gonna sell drugs anymore!" he screamed back at me. I smiled through my mask and stepped back.

"And who am I?" I asked.

"I...I don't know, man..."

"That's right. You don't know. Let that be the mystery that keeps you up at night."

With that, I made my way up the wall, leaving the Shocker, with his two mangled hands, stuck to the alley wall. I ran along the rooftops of Philadelphia, bouncing back and forth between buildings, leaping from one roof to the other, until I finally made it home. Once I had made it to my roof, I glanced around to make sure nobody was looking, and then I entered through my bedroom window.

Closing the shades to my window, I turned around and stared into the mirror. In it, I saw what most would see as a reflection, but to me it was a different person entirely. I had on a black muscle shirt, with black sweatpants, boots, gloves, and a ski mask. I removed the mask and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

Why had I beaten on the Shocker as badly as I had? When I saw him, I saw the Rhino. When I saw him, I saw every drug dealer who had ever done anything wrong to anybody, including my mother. When I saw him, I saw...

"Aaron...:" I said aloud.

I thought about my brother. My brother was no different than he was. Aaron had sold drugs to people just like Shocker did, and he probably ruined just as many lives as the Shocker did. My brother had become what I hated so badly. At first I felt a tinge of pain in my heart, but I brushed it aside quickly.

"He brought it on himself..." I said to myself.

Just then, I felt the buzz on my neck again. The front door to my house opened and closed. I listened intently to hear who it was.

"Rob?" my dad called from down the stairs.

Hooray for me, my dad was home from his trip. Meaning, the party was over. I quickly had to get the alcohol and women out of the house.

"Yo, I'm up here!" I yelled down to him as I slipped off my gloves and threw them, along with my mask, into a nearby drawer. My dad came upstairs a second later.

"It's good to be home," my dad announced, as if I had actually asked him whether or not it was good to be home. "I see you didn't burn the house down. What, couldn't find any matches?" My father began to laugh as if he had actually said something funny.

"Ha. Ha. Oh yeah, and ha," I replied dryly.

"What were you doing while I was gone? Lifting steroids? Taking weights?" he asked.

"What are you talking about...?" That's when I realized that he was making another one of his stupid jokes, in regards to my newly developed muscles. "Try not to take this the wrong way, Dad, but you're not funny."

"Oh, yes I am. I'm a comedic genius who's just held back by mental illness." Suddenly my dad's face took a much more serious expression. "Listen, son, I spoke to your grandmother while I was gone. She told me about Aaron. You want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"Well, I know it must be hard to accept. I mean, you've known him your whole life..."

"Doesn't mean a thing to me. So he'll be gone for fifteen years, who cares?"

"Fifteen years is a long time, Rob."

"I don't care. It's not like somebody put a gun to his head and made him sell drugs. Let him rot in prison."

"Rob, he's still your brother."

"Says who? I have no brother!"

I turned around right after that and closed my door. The last thing I needed was to be reminded of that worthless waste of flesh that was once my brother. I grabbed my CD Player and put the headphones on my ears. In it was the Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem's second album. I immediately skipped to Track Seven, "The Way I Am", put it on repeat, and drifted off to sleep.

*******

That Monday, it was back to school. I was, as usual, bored. That is, until we reached my favorite class, gym. Mr. Harris, the teacher, had us out in the field behind the school, playing football. Well, I was feeling particularly aggressive this day, so I decided to hurt a few people. I didn't toss people around, mind you, but I made sure that they felt my rage. Mr. Harris just stood back, watching. I could tell that he was impressed, so I decided to do a little showboating. For instance, when Superhustler, who was also the world's greatest wide receiver, ran for the ball that our quarterback had thrown, three guys began to converge upon him. Yes, he was a great wide receiver, but remember that wide receivers are generally small guys. That would describe Brian. Seeing that my buddy was about to be crushed, I ran after him. One of the guys, who easily weighed a hundred pounds more than me, tried to bump me off so I couldn't defend Brian. Instead, I shoved him away with my left arm, which sent him sailing for about eight feet. Another guy tried to clip my leg, but I leapt over him easily and took off running. The last guy was running straight for Brian and was ready to destroy him. I lowered my head, charged, and plowed right into the guy. He flew away, leaving Brian staring at me in shock. I saw him staring at me and immediately pointed up at the ball that was soaring toward us. If I hadn't pointed it out, the ball would have flown right over his head, but Brian was able to get back to his senses and run backwards. The ball hit his chest, he clutched it, and took off running toward the end zone. I immediately relaxed, because it is a known fact that when Brian gets the ball, it is an automatic touchdown. I mean, the guy runs like a crackhead. To quote Ice Cube in "Friday", which is my favorite movie of all time, "You ain't catchin' no crackhead."

After the game, I stood around talking to all of the guys that I had just annihilated. They were all praising my moves, saying that I should join the team and stuff like that. I thanked them all and watched them walk off. Looking to my side, I could see Brian, who was trying to coerce everybody into carrying him back into the school on their shoulders, as if he had just won the Super Bowl. Naturally, his efforts were for naught.

That's when I noticed somebody out of the corner of my eye. Turning around, I could see Tiffany coming towards me. She was smiling at me, so I smiled back. Why did I smile back? I dunno, she smiled at me first, what do you want?

"Hey, Rob," greeted Tiffany.

"What's the deal, Tiffany?" I said, greeting her back.

"You almost killed them on the field, you know."

"They were gonna kill my boy first."

"Brian could have taken that."

"You must be talkin' about a different Brian. He acts tough out there, but just let him get a little scrape. He won't shut up about it for a week."

"I don't believe it. Oh yeah, Rob, do me a favor and tell him that I do not want a CD. He won't stop asking..."

"He doesn't mean to. It's just that he asks so many people that he ends up forgetting who he asked already."

Tiffany smiled and walked with me as I made my way back to the school.

"Where's your other friend?" Tiffany asked.

"Other friend?"

"You know, Angel."

"Oh, Angel. She has gym after us."

"I see...Can I ask you a question, Rob?"

"You just did."

"Shut up! I mean it."

"Unless it's about how much money is in my pocket, go right ahead."

"Are you and Angel more than friends?"

"Nope."

We walked in silence for a moment. We entered the school, and found ourselves in a small alcove that led out to the field. Tiffany grabbed my arm and stopped me while the rest of our class filed in. Once they were all gone, the questioning began again.

"Have you ever been more than friends?" asked Tiffany.

"Nope," I said again. "Any more questions?"

"No, I don't think so..."

I was about to walk away, but then something stopped me. What stopped me, you ask? I dunno, maybe it was that Tiffany had just turned me back to her and kissed me. What, you expected me to be subtle about it? Well, that's too damn bad, 'cuz the kiss sure wasn't subtle. At first I stood there, trying to comprehend what was happening. But, about one-one-hundredth of a second later, I found myself wrapping my arms around her waist. I closed my eyes, moving my hands slowly down her backside. She had both hands on each side of my face, which she then moved around my neck and embraced it. We stood there kissing for a good minute in silence. That is, until I felt the buzz on the back of my neck again. I pulled back and turned my head to the side. There was somebody there.

Angel stood there, staring at us in shock. I guess I was in shock too, because I had no idea what to do or say. It probably didn't help that both of my hands were planted firmly upon Tiffany's ass. Angel didn't say a word. Before I could even begin to speak, she walked past both of us and out of the alcove, leading onto the field where her next class was to begin. Tiffany and I found ourselves staring at the ground silently, and eventually we quietly made our way to our next classes.

Things were especially awkward for the rest of the day. Especially lunchtime, which would normally be our chill time. Angel, Brian, and myself sat at our normal seats, but Angel was not engaging in her favorite pastime, talking. Instead, she was doing some homework from one of her classes. I sat there quietly, and Brian was looking back and forth between us. Eventually I spoke up.

"Need some help?" I asked Angel.

"No, thank you," she replied without bothering to look up from her books.

"Enough! I can't take this!" Brian exclaimed all of a sudden. I swear the guy has mental issues.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"You two have been sittin' here, not saying a thing, and if you think I can't feel the tension between you two, then think again! Now I'm not gonna leave either of you alone until you tell me what's going on!" proclaimed Brian.

"Nothing's going on over here," said Angel, who was still engaged in her book.

"Rob?" Brian asked, turning to me.

"Everything's gravy," I replied.

"Liar!" Brian immediately reminded me of that lawyer from Law and Order.

"Anything further, Mr. McCoy?" I asked him.

"I'll figure this out sooner or later. You better believe I'll figure this out," said Brian as he walked away and approached the lunch line.

I looked back to Angel. She was still doing her homework, acting as if she hadn't heard a word of Brian's outburst. I'm not even gonna lie. There was a lot of tension there, and it was driving me crazy. I found myself leaving the lunchroom and heading down the hall to clear my head.

I was walking away from the lunchroom, with nowhere in particular to go. Looking ahead, I could see Tiffany, who was walking down the hall as well. I began to walk toward her, and that's when I felt that tingle again. I looked up and saw three guys come from a side door and rush Tiffany. She began to scream, but one of her attackers managed to clamp his hand over her mouth. The three of them drug her a few feet away and into the boy's bathroom. I sprinted in their direction immediately.

I opened the door to the bathroom. I could hear them in a nearby stall. Two of the guys were standing outside of the stall. They advanced upon me as soon as I walked in. I dodged a cross from the first one and retaliated with a cross of my own, which knocked him out immediately. The second guy, who was a bit bigger, tried to swing at me with his right fist. I caught him by the forearm and squeezed it. He swung at me with his left, which I also caught. I then rammed the back of his head against the wall behind him. His unconscious body slumped to the ground.

I opened the stall that they were guarding. Whoever had grabbed Tiffany had his back to me. He was trying to pull up her skirt and force himself on her. Suddenly I got this strange feeling in my head and neck. It was like the tingle that warned me of danger, only stronger. It was like an enhanced sense of anger. All I could see was red. I grabbed the asshole by his neck and tossed him out of the stall. He slid across the floor with his pants still around his ankles. I advanced upon him and stared down at him. That's when I recognized his face.

"Mark..." I said aloud as I took note of his face.

It was Rhino's little errand boy. The same one that I had beaten the other day. Why he was already out of jail was beyond me, but there he was. I stared down at him with my fist in the position to implant his head into the floor. I was about to commit the deed, but then I heard something that stopped me in my tracks. I looked over my shoulder, and I could see Tiffany crying. I looked back down at Mark, who was making his way out of the bathroom while trying to pull his pants back up. He didn't even bother trying to wake up his partners, whom I had already knocked out. Once he reached the door, he pointed a threatening finger at me.

"You're dead, motherfucker. You should have just stayed out of this..." said Mark before he ran off.

I turned back around. Tiffany looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I could feel my heart becoming heavy from the very sight. She stepped out of the stall and toward me. I placed my hand on her cheek and felt gently for any potential bruises.

"Are you hurt?" I asked her.

"No, I'm alright..." Tiffany replied.

Tiffany embraced me, and I found myself returning the embrace. I could hear her softly crying with her head buried into my chest. Rocking back and forth, I rubbed her back with my left hand.

"You're gonna be alright, baby. Don't worry about a thing, alright?" I said in my most reassuring voice.

"Okay..." she said quietly.

I looked up, and there in the doorway was a very stunned classmate of mine. I don't know what was so shocking to him: the fact that there were two unconscious people on the bathroom floor, or that a female was in the men's room. I stared him squarely in the eyes.

"Get some help," I said to him.

The stunned student nodded his agreement and ran off to get somebody. Tiffany and I made our way out of the bathroom slowly.

For the next few hours, school officials and cops were busy asking us both a lot of questions. Her mother, Melinda, and my father were both called in to be there while we had a long and pointless conversation with the cops. In the end, Tiffany decided not to file a report against Mark. Now before you scoff, let's be realistic for a second. Filing a report would not result in a positive outcome. Think the way criminals think: that's only grounds for stronger retaliation. Of course, the cops would still look for him.

When it was all said and done, Tiffany and I found ourselves standing in the school parking lot. Her mom and my dad were talking about God knows what. We stood there staring at them, wishing that they would both shut up and that this long day would just end. Eventually our respective parents approached us. My dad had his "Wholesome TV Dad" smile on, which made me very worried.

"Son, Tiffany and Melinda will be joining us for dinner tonight," my father announced.

I found myself smiling, although I don't know why, and I turned to Tiffany. "Cool."

"How do feel about that, Tiffany?" Melinda asked her.

Tiffany returned my smile. "Cool."



END OF CHAPTER FOUR