Midtown High

Over the next week both the media and school are a buzz about Spider-Man. All the students can talk about is New York's newest superhero and celebrity. Peter's pride grows every time someone mentions how amazing Spider-Man is or the spectacular way he saved that woman he gets a broad smile on his face.

"What are you smiling at Peter?" Gwen asks inquisitively, "Oh hey nothing, just how cool this Spider-Man guy is" he replies.

"I know, he's sensational, saving that woman from the fire, stopping criminal, he's just what this city needs" Gwen boast excitedly.

Flash, MJ and Liz join them, "Hey guys look at this" Flash opens his jacket to reveal a Spider-Man shirt, "How cool is this."

The guys ask him questions about where he got it, how much it costs, all Peter could think of is, shouldn't I be getting a cut of this?

The conversation now moves onto where Spider-Man came from, the group begin discussing many theories to Peter's amusement, "He's a super soldier like Captain America" Gwen proclaims, "No he's a government experiment, they're messing around with DNA and things" MJ joins in "He's shooting webs from his hands, I mean that means his a mutant yeah?" she finishes.

"Actually it would make him a mutate, mutants are born with abilities, mutates abilities are made after birth" Peter adds.

"Maybe it's the Masked Marvel, the guy who saved us in the Auditorium last year?" Liz suggests, the group goes quite in contemplation. Finally Gwen breaks the silence, "It makes sense, the same guy who saved me at the dockyards as well."

"Nah this guys is super strong and shoots webs from his hands, totally got to be a different guy" Peter disagrees.

The bell rings and the group go to class, all quietly thinking about Liz's comment and who is Spider-Man.

Oscorp Tower

Later that day Peter, Harry and Gwen attend their Science class in Oscorp Tower. As they sit down waiting for the class to start they notice Dr Connors and his assistants are very nervous and checking all their papers, experiment enclosures and facilities.

"What's up with Connors?" Gwen asks the boys, "I don't know, they look on edge, nervous even" Peter replies.

"I know what it is" Harry jumps in, "The king is coming to visit his subjects."

Gwen and Peter look at each other with confusion, then Norman Osborn walks into the room accompanied with Mendel Stromm, the student cheer, Peter and Gwen look at each other with surprise and Harry mumbles profanities under his breath.

Norman begins with a speech to the class, outlining how discovery is the essence of science, how pushing the boundaries of science can benefit society, humanity and the bottom line. Norman describes how he was a budding young science student and through his discoveries and perseverance he began a company which is now one of the largest in the country.

The students all applaud with enthusiasm, they take to their experiment stations whilst Norman examines their experiments.

Harry and Peter measure the strength of the spiders, they've given each one a name and cheer and high five as one exceeds the previous generation. Norman speaks with Harry and Peter, he's impressed by the results they are achieving. Norman comments that Peter must be carrying the load, it appears he has a good influence on Harry. Norman continues that maybe if Harry was more like Peter he would be fit enough to lead Oscorp one day.

After Norman leaves the class returns to normal. As the class begins to leave Connors asks Peter to stay behind. When the class has gone Connors asks Peter whether he was behind the Spider-Man incident, Peter admits he was. Connors tells him that he can't wrestle anymore and he needs to be more careful, people will kill to learn about his super powers. Peter agrees and leaves the room smiling and waving to Connors.

Dr Connors looks over at Peter as he leaves and begins daydreaming.

Connors kneels down, pain shoots up his right arm as blood forms pool at his knees. His ears are ringing, his head spinning and he feels like he's in a bad dream. Through the ringing, the explosions and burning fires, Connors hears something that draws his attention, the screams of the child. Connors suddenly breaks out of his dream state and forces himself back to his feet. Connors, in pain, weak from blood loss, dazed, he stumbles back through the hole in the plane fuselage. As he enters they are many people injured or dead in the seats, whilst others scramble past him to safety. Connors looks down and sees a young boy still in his seatbelt crying for help. Connor's reaches down and opens the boys seat belt with his only hand, pulls the boy up out of the seat and stumbles back out of the plane. As Connors walks away from the plane he begins to lose consciousness, he stumbles and falls to the ground still holding the boy as the plane explodes.

At the front of Oscorp Gwen and Harry waits and asks if he got in trouble, "Nah not really, Connors just wanted to ask me something, about our experiment."

"You never get in trouble, you're his favourite, the teachers pet" Gwen pokes fun at him, Harry joining in. Gwen kisses Peter goodbye and heads for her lift

Gwen finally leaves for her car and the two boys walk to the nearest subway station speaking about the shuttle launch next week. As they walk the boys hear yells coming from an alleyway, they walk down to investigate and see a man getting mugged, Peter quickly pulls out his wrestling costume, Harry tries to stop him, "Is this a good idea?" he asks, "Harry, remember Uncle Ben's words" Peter replies, "Ok" Harry finally agrees.

Peter places his webslingers on and runs up to the mugger, grabbing him form behind, relieving him of his knife and throwing him across the alleyway. The mugger recovers from his knock, as he looks up and realises he's facing Spider-Man fear pulses through his body, he tries to run but Spider-Man shoots a web, sticking his hand to a pole, "Stick around" Spider-Man says laughing to himself, the victim thanks him, "You're the spider-man, you're a hero, thank you so much."

Spider-Man becomes embarrassed, "No sir I'm just a concerned citizen trying to help those in need" as Peter continues explaining, the victim interrupts him, "Hey he's getting away."

Spider-man turns around to see the thief has cut the webbing with a spare knife and runs down the alleyway. Spider-man runs down after him, past a hiding Harry, and turns the corner seeing the thief entering the subway. Spider-man stops and shrugs his shoulders taking a mental note, next time web both hands.

Forrest Hills - Internet Cafe

The next morning before school Peter enters the local internet cafe, using Harry's specially made encryption usb, he logs onto his secure email, Spider-Man92 . As Peter reads through his emails he see a new email from the wrestling promoter.

The email asks if Peter is available to fight Crusher Hogan for $5000, and to call him for more details.

Peter's eyes light up, I can do so much with five thousand. Peter considers Connors warning about going back to the wrestling.

It'll be fine the men in black are gone, what possible problems could I have.

Peter decides against Connors advice and rings the promoter who explains that his prominence in the Daily Bugle means people are desperate to see him wrestle, the place will be full.

Peter agrees to the match up until the promoter includes one more point, Peter will need to reveal his identity. Peter is shocked and refuses, the two discuss back and forth until a compromise is made, "If Crusher Hogan defeats me, I'll reveal my identity, but only if he defeats me." The Promoter agrees and the deal is done.

Wrestling Hall

Peter and Harry walk towards the wrestling hall as they have many times, but this time there are crowds of people heading towards the stadium. Peter struggles to find a quiet place to get changed, as Harry joins the masses. Peter eventually gets changed behind a bin and steps out in costume as Spider-Man. Spider-Man notices the masses heading towards the hall at each end of the alleyway, he realises he can't casually walk to the hall anymore. Spider-Man takes his boots and gloves off, looks up at the side of the building, climbs to the top and travels along to the rooftops until he is across the road from the hall. As lines of people wait to purchase their tickets and get into the front door Spider-Man swings overhead to the front door, sticking to the wall overhanging the entrance. The crowd cheers and Spider-Man waves to them and the security guard who invites him in.

In the change rooms all the other wrestlers are excited to see Spider-Man, they crowd around asking questions about where he's from, how he can climb up walls but Peter resists the temptation to show off and leaves the rest of the group to sit alone with the promoter. Firstly the promoter congratulates Spider-Man on his entrance, the two speak about the fight and their agreement, Spider-Man will reveal his identity if he loses, but only if he loses. The promoter agrees and shows Spider-Man to his private change room, he gives him one word of advice, "Remember, you're an entertainer, not a wrestler if you put on a great show they'll keep coming back and you'll keep getting paid."

When the main event starts, Spider-Man v Crusher Hogan is announced, Spider-Man enters the packed stadium to cheers from the crowd, "Spidey, Spidey." Spider-Man waves to the crowd, pumping his fists like a heavy weight boxer about to fight for a world title. This week the promoter has even organised a theme song for him, "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does what ever a spider can." As Spider-Man approaches the ring he doesn't use the stairs to enter, he bounds onto the turnbuckle in one leap, crouching on top of it then jumping up, summersaulting before landing in the middle of the ring to a deafening roar.

The crowds delirious applause then falls silent as the hard rock theme song for Crusher Hogan. Crushers' fans yell in excitement as the nearly six foot supreme athlete enters the arena and heads to the ring. The announcer lists the achievements of the still undefeated champion, maybe this wasn't the best idea, Peter thinks to himself.

Crusher enters the ring, though the same height as Spider-Man, Crusher is much larger and unlike Spider-Man's previous opponent, Crusher is fast, strong and smart. The announcer explains the rules to the wrestlers and crowd, including the outcome if Spider-Man loses. The crowd go wild at the notion of finding out who Spider-Man is, they're as interested in seeing him win as finding out who he really is.

The bell rings and the two begin circling, sizing each other up. Peter as always doesn't engage first but reacts to his opponents, Crusher however knows this and doesn't engage. The two continue to circle each other as the crowd begins to boo and hiss in frustration, "Boring, Boring" some begin to yell. Peter is mindful that he's an entertainer, seeing the promoter on the side urging him to attack Spider-Man leaps in to grab Crusher who slips to the side, throws Peter into the ropes and elbows him in the face as he rebounds off. Spider-Man hits the canvas but quickly rolls away and gets up before Crusher can land another blow on him.

This time Spider-Man is more cautious in his attack, he approaches Crusher slowly and as he gets close Crusher grabs him, picks him off the ground and flips him onto the canvas with crusher on top of him. Peter is winded, Crusher grabs Spider-Man's leg for a count, on the second count Peter comes back to his sense and pushes Crusher off him with his arms, sending him into the air, a collective gasp of astonishment comes from the stands, even Crusher looks at Spider-Man with disbelief. Spider-Man gets to his feet but Crusher is again on top of him and grabs him in a bear hug with one arm and the other he places on Spider-Man's mask asking the crowd if he should remove it to which they frantically agree.

As Crusher is about to remove the mask, Spider-Man breaks free from his hold, pulls Crusher's arm behind him to the cheers of the crowd. Spider-Man now takes crusher into the ropes, rebounding him off and slamming him into the canvas. As Crusher best back to his feet Spider-Man has climbed the turnbuckle and leaps through the air with an elbow hitting crusher square in the face. Crusher grabs Peter and tries to pull him onto the canvas but Spider-Man's strength now shows, he pulls Crusher up and above his head, slamming him into the canvas then promptly laying on top of him, holding up his leg to a three count by the referee and Spider-Man is now the victor.

The announcer enters the ring presenting Spider-Man as the new champion, Peter waves to his fans and leaves the ring to meet the promoter in the change rooms. In the rooms the promoter tells Spider-Man he needs to send his winning to a bank account, only the undercards are paid in cash. Peter is extremely disappointed and angry, "Why can't you pay cash like before?" he asks.

"It's government regulations kid, nothin' I can do about it, plus I don't have 5k in my wallet"

"What about all the cash you made tonight?" Peter asks angrily, "And all those t-shirts you're selling, where's my commission for that? That's my intellectual property" Peter growls.

"No worries kid, we can work it out when you give me your bank details and take off that mask, otherwise there's no deal."

Peter is enraged, I can't believe he's doing this to me, maybe I should reveal my identity, for the money, for Aunt May? Peter sits quietly thinking about the money, but also contemplating what could happen if the men in black, Maggia or anyone else knew of his power.

"Sorry, I can only work in cash" Peter informs the promoter who is genuinely disappointed, "I'm sorry as well kid, we could have made a lot of money together."

Peter gets up to leave despondently when the promoter stops him, "Here's the five hundred at least, it's the most I can give you in cash." Peter takes the money and leaves through a back entrance avoiding the crowds.

Outside Wrestling hall - New York

Peter walks down the alleyway still in costume, head slumped, alone and disgruntled with the promoter and the failure of his plan to help his Aunt May. Approaching the street Peter suddenly feels his spider-sense tingle with danger. Peter looks up, darting his gaze back and forth then upward where he sees a net flying down in his direction. Peter jumps to the side out of the nets path narrowly avoiding being it. Peter now sees multiple figures dressed in black fatigues, the same as Tombstone's men from the shipyard, approaching from all directions.

Peter begins to flee away from the road but more men appear, armed with tazers. The leader of the group stands on his phone taking orders, "I want him alive" he is told, "Capture, don't kill" the leader tells the soldiers.

All the men converge on Spider-Man who leaps over two of the oncoming men, turning them around and pushes them into the group of on coming soldiers leaving them in a heap. Two other soldiers close in on Spider-Man firing tazers at him, his reflexes are too quick avoiding them and attacking both men. One of the men has a bionic arm, he grabs Spider-Man who struggles to break free. The other soldier takes out a tranquilliser gun and fires it at Spider-Man who quickly darts out the way. The dart put the other soldier to sleep whilst Spider-Man attacks the gun wielding man, punching him firstly in his metal chest causing him much pain, but then finding his soft human parts and pounding them. The rest of the soldiers catch up and try to tazer Spider-Man but he fights through, injuring the soldiers in their human flesh.

Though Spider-Man injures many of the men, putting them out of commission, there are too many for him and he fires his webbing onto the side of the building and pulls himself to safety. Climbing up the side of the building tazer and tranquilliser darts fly but none hit him.

Spider-Man arrives at the top of the building, breathing heavily, relieved to have escaped. After a few deep breaths he looks across at the two soldiers approaching him, guns pointed ready to fire. As they're about to shoot Spider-Man darts across the roof as more soldiers emerge from the roofs access door.

Spider-Man leaps off the building and fires a webbing to an adjacent building swinging away wildly with little control, he flies down through another alleyway crashing through lines of laundry and into a fire escape. After a few minutes, dazed, he gathers himself together returning to the street and waits for the wave of attacks. After a few minutes Spider-Man realises that he's lost them, he takes off his suit and returns to being Peter Parker, walking cautiously along the streets to the subway. As he approaches the nearest subway he notices more men in black fatigues, Peter turns to avoid them when Harry screeches to a halt in front of him, "What the hell was that Pete?" Harry asks, "We need to get out of here, quick" Peter responds, "It'll be safe in my place" Harry reassures him and the two boys head off.

Harry's Apartment

Peter rings Aunt May and tells her he's staying at Harry's place after a long night studying. Peter fills Harry in with all the details from his encounter with the soldiers and the wrestling promoter.

"I'm going to give up wrestling, and crime fighting, its just too dangerous with the Maggia still after me."

"That's too bad Pete, I got you a special wrestling suit" Harry brings it out, it's a lot more darker and the patterns are more clearly defined on this suit. Pete forgets about his problems as his face lights up with excitement.

"I got this from my contact in the R&D department, Stanley" Harry explains, "It was a prototype for the space suits the Ares shuttle astronauts will use, its biosynthetic, which means it enhances your body's normal actions, it keeps you warm when it cold, and vice versa, enhances strength speed and its thermochromatic."

Peter looks at Harry with bemusement, "Thermochromatic?" he asks, "Yeah, when your cool, not moving or in a dark place the colours are dark, but when your hot, in the light or moving a lot the energy transforms into light, brightening the colour of your suit."

Peter finishes putting the suit on, but doesn't put the gloves or boots on, "Try the gloves, and the boots" Harry suggests, "Why? Then I can't crawl up walls."

"Bio-synthetic remember? Enhances physical attributes? It might just work."

Peter rolls his eyes and tries them on, he walks over to the wall and places his hand on it, pulling himself up he lifts his entire body off with the one hand. Peter proceeds to walk up the wall and onto the roof with his boots and gloves on.

"It actually worked" Harry remarks to himself, Peter jumps down from the ceiling, "This is the coolest thing ever Harry, thank you so much"

There's one more thing Harry ads, he shows peter a small button on his index finger, he pushes it softly, when he does the costumes eyes light up bright white. Peter looks in the mirror and is amazed. Then when Harry pushes hard the entire suit flashes a bright red and blue colour. "If you're in trouble Pete just flash them like a gazelle and run" Harry advises.

"Thanks Harry but I can't risk it, I barely escaped tonight."

"Ok Pete, that's fine, just keep it with you, just in case."

"Will do Harry."

Oscorp Tower

At the Cybertek division of Oscorp head of robotics Spencer Smythe looks over his injured cyborgs who have returned from their battle with Spider-Man. Osborn enters the room accompanied by Mendel Stromm, Osborn looks around at the squad who are severely injured.

"What is this Spencer? I thought your cyber soldiers were going to capture the Spider-Man, what is wrong with them?" Osborn asks angrily. "Sir, the cybernetic components are fine, it's the human parts that are weak" he replies.

Osborn stamps his feet in rage, picks up a spare mechanical leg and throws it into a cabinet smashing the glass and collapsing the shelves.

"Fix it" he yells, staring insanely with rage at Spencer, "I could fast track the slayer drones we are designing?"

Osborn's rage subsides, "Slayer drones?" he asks "Yes, they're designed to remotely kill or capture neutral or enemy combatants."

Osborn stands and ponders for a moment, "Put all resources into building those slayers to capture, not kill the Spider-Man."

"So you'd like a squad of Spider-Slayers then?" Spencer asks with a grin, "Yes thats exactly it, how long will they take?"

"A few weeks" he responds, "That's too long" Osborn demands and storms out of the office followed by Stromm.

In the elevator Norman laments the cyborgs failure, "Why do we bother with these machine men, they are human, they are weak."

"Sir, these cybernetics, combined with the super soldier strength and the healing factor will create you the greatest army in the galaxy." Osborn smiles at this notion, "It's why we're funding the A.I.M. think tank and their research, and our research on the OZ formula" Mendell finishes.

Osborn suddenly stands to attention, realisation floods over him and he presses floor 61. The elevator opens and the two men approach Dr Connors who is working late on his research.

"Connors, there is a super soldier running around the streets climbing up walls, shooting web from his hands" Osborn states but without a follow up questions.

"I'm sorry?" Connors asks, "The super soldier, could it be a trans-genetic, from your spiders?" Osborn continues.

Connors laughs out loud at this notion, Osborn's expression doesn't change. "That's impossible, we can't event combine arthropods DNA together, the two species are too different" Connors replies, "Plus if it really was a man-spider then it would have six arms, eight eyes and be shooting webs out its arse not its hands" Connors continues barely containing his laughter.

"How does it walk on walls, shoot webs?" Stromm joins in, "Suction caps, release valves, its all technology not biology" Connors explains. "Very well" Osborn concedes as he turns and storms off.

As the two leave in the elevator Connors thinks back to when Connors and Osborn's friendship began to fall apart.

Connors sits in the lab surrounded by fellow scientists two Russian, two American and Osborn. Connors vehemently argues with Osborn, "We can't experiment on them, they're human beings not lab rats." Osborn waves away his protests, "What is the price of saving the world Curt? Would you risk the lives of millions, for the sake of a few?" Connors looks at Osborn with despair, "What kind of world would be left to save if we don't?" Connors grabs his coat and storms out the lab, Osborn looks at two of his men lurking outside the door of the lab, he nods his head in Connors direction and the two follow him.