Through Green Eyes: Contest of the Gods
Spider-Man looked at the pyrokinetic dumbfounded at his challenge. "A…contest? Are you…are you for real, dude?" He asked fully believing this guy to be a nutcase of the highest order.
"Of course I'm serious! Superheroes are always serious!" He screamed, the flames roaring around his hands. Spidey, ever attentive, failed to notice the distortion beneath his adversary feet. He held up one flaming hand, making the flames recede to encase his hand like a glove and held up three fingers. "Three contests! Each will prove who, i.e. me, is the real hero!"
"Dude, seriously, I have no frickin' clue who you are!" Spider-Man exclaimed.
"Don't lie!" He yelled, unleashing a twisting, spiraling serpent of flame at the young hero, who pushed off with his left side and spun three feet to the left before latching back on the side of the wall as the river of fire, seared the building. Spider-Man cursed, feeling the heat from the dissipating fire. "Every time I try to save some one or stop a robbery or anything, you get in the way!"
"What?" Spidey said total confused at this point.
"GRR! Remember? That bank robbery a week back! I was on my way to stop it when he came out of nowhere and beat up the crooks!" He shouted at the young hero.
Spider-Man scratched his chin, thinking back to any crimes that occurred a week ago. He snapped his fingers and laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember that! These two idiots tried to rob a bank so I dropped down, grabbed their guns and then they panic. One of them runs into a lamppost and the other slammed his crotch into a mailbox! HAHAHAHA! That was to good."
The flying fireman's eyes narrowed and his burning hands flickered and trembled. "SHUT UP! You followed me so you could jump in and take the glory!" He screamed, waving his fist in the air like…more of a lunatic.
"Glory? Is that what your in this for? Than you are in the wrong business pal." Spider-Man said, growing tired of dealing with this idiot.
"Shut up! Enough talk! Lightening Bug will show you who the real hero is!" Lightening Bug screamed, fire dancing around his floating form.
Lightening Bug? He has fire, powers and calls himself Lightening Bug? And who refers to themselves in the third person? Spider-Man thought."What ever Lightening Butt. Let's just get this over with so I can do something far more interesting than talking to you. Like, hitting myself in the groin with a hammer! Less painful, and more fun."
Lightening Bug, seemingly ignoring Spider-Man's taunt pointed his burning hand down at the streets before a ball of fire the size of a watermelon shot out, split into three smaller balls. The first ball spun wildly through the air before striking a car, which was thankfully empty, causing it to burst into flame. The second ball sailed through a store window, flame exploding out the window followed by the curses and screams of those inside. The final ball spiraled into the air before striking an, air-conditioning unit, making it explode, sending flaming pieces of shrapnel down to the streets below and setting the roof on fire.
Spider-Man's hidden pupils dilated in horror. He turned to Lightening Bug and screamed, "What the Hell is wrong with you?"
Ignoring Spider-Man, Lightening Bug smiled. "First one to put out the fires is the winner! Get set, GO!" Leaving behind a heat wave, Lightening Bug flew toward the burning roof, unconcerned about what was happening below.
Spidey's first instinct was to chase after the psycho and beat him to a bloody pulp, but his higher reasoning won out in the end. Spider-Man leapt down from the wall, rebounding once off the opposite building to the empty road on all fours. Those still on the streets saw Spider-Man and immediately drew conclusions based on fear and panic.
"That Spider-Freak started these fires!" Screamed some one just out of the web-garbed heroes feild of vision. Spider-Man stood fully erect shocked that someone would accuse him of such an act.
He threw up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Wow, wow, wow! I didn't start these things! That wacko in the suit did!" Spider-Man pleaded.
"You're the only wacko I see Mutie!" A man with a thick Jersey accent yelled, hurling a broken piece of metal at Spider-Man who easily ducked the jagged projectile.
"Oh yeah, that's mature, throwing things at people and calling them racial slurs that don't even apply to them! This will probably help that potty mouth of yours!" With a flick of his wrist, an odd thweep sound cut through the air and a glob of webbing smacked the Jerseyman in the mouth, effectively sealing it shut.
Even as the mob continued to grow more agitated, picking up refuse that lay crumpled on the streets ready to throw them at the young hero, Spider-Man turned his attention to the burning store across from him. Narrowing his hidden eyes, he made a single, mighty leap into the inferno thirty feet away. Sailing through the air, Spider-Man covered his head with his arms, tucking his head down so his chin touched his chest. His spider-sense wailed away, screaming at him for being so stupid as to leap into the blaze.
He felt the flames lick across his body, scorching his costume and sizzling his flesh. He hit the floor and rolled to a stand, batting his arms free from flame. Parts of the suits forearms had been burned away, leaving smoldering, blackened rings in their place. Spider-Man felt luck that was the only thing that had caught on fire.
He turned his attention to the burning shop. The sprinklers had been melted and the ceiling was charred and crumbling. The fireball must have hit the ceiling! The hero surmised. Racks of clothing had been set on fire, which quickly spread to the carpeted areas of the floor. Support beams that once dwelt in the ceiling had collapsed down into the shop trapping a small group of shoppers and two store employees, seven people in total, at the far right side of the store. Spider-Man cursed at the thick black smoke, which obscured his vision and burned his nose. He could barely see anyone else, but knew there had to be more people in here.
Taking a deep breath, which he promptly regretted as his lungs were filled with smoke making him cough and wheeze, he ran toward the trapped group who were screaming in terror as the flames roared around the prison.
Spider-Man ignored the burning sensation on his feet and legs he skidded to a stop on the near molten linoleum. "Don't worry, I'm here to save you!" He cried, trying to calm the trapped people. With a grunt, he grabbed the closet support beam that blocked their path and lifted up with his gigantic strength. The beam, touched by fire and scorched by heat, burned his hands as he pushed it away. Spider-Man grabbed a second beam and yanked it away, throwing it behind him where it collided with a burning rack of clothes. The finale obstacle was a large piece of plaster, remnants of the ceiling, which had given away allowing the beams to fall in the first place.. With a heave, Spider-Man lifted the block of scorching hot ceiling off the ground and dropped it out of the way of the seven.
They ran screaming with their path cleared, uncertain if they were more afraid of being burned to death or being near someone who had just lifted massive pieces of wood and plaster over his head. Only one person, a woman stayed behind. She grabbed him by the shoulders and with a pleading look in her eyes she said, "There're still more people in here! A bunch of teenagers! Please, save them!"
"No problem, now go!" Spider-Man exclaimed, ushering her away. He turned to the fire and steadied himself. With a burst of energy the young, somewhat reckless, hero dashed into the choking smoke. The plastic lenses shielded his eyes from the stinging smoke, but with each breath he took in more and more of the toxic fumes.
Spider-Man's head felt like it was being pounded from the inside by twenty jackhammers. His neck was a blaze with pain; Spidey prayed that it was not literally a blaze.
The hero's foot caught on something firm, but softer that wood or ceiling tile. A person! He realized. Quickly, he knelt down and picked up the body and slung it over his shoulder, hoping against all odds that he was alive. With all the speed and agility his superhuman body could muster, Spider-Man dashed from the burning, smoking building.
Out in the streets, he was once more assaulted by the cries of the frightened, paranoid masses. Spider-Man blocked out their angry shouts and curses, putting down the body, a young black haired girl to be exact, and felt for a pulse.
"Damn it." He muttered. Not even a weak one. She was dead. He stood back up and raced into the inferno once more, hoping against all odds that someone had survived.
He reentered the burning store, flames now spewing out of the shattered window like from a dragon's maw. Spider-Man's brain felt as if it was ready to melt out of his ears as the flames danced and toyed with his body while the acrid smoke choked his lungs and stung his eyes, seeping through the fine mesh of fiber and cloth. He found a second body like he did the last and threw it over his shoulder. Once outside he placed the body, a young Latino male, beside the corpse of the girl. He was breathing, but barely.
With one final burst of speed and agility beyond the average human, he fought through the smoke and fire, stumbled over fallen racks of clothes that had caught fire and found another body. Like twice before he raced out of the store his spider-sense going mad as he did. Spidey's head throbbed, feeling close to exploding just as he reached the exit. With one final leap, he narrowly escaped as the roof of the one story, clothing store collapsed, sending this plums of smoke and pillars of fire skyward, while flames gushed out into the streets. Spider-Man cried in pain as, his back was licked by the fiery tongue of a, dragon.
He stumbled hacking and coughing, biting the vile rising in his throat, on the street. He opened his sore, stinging eyes and gasped at whom he held. Dressed in a scorched yellow sweatshirt and blue jeans was Mary Jane. His breath was caught in his throat; laying her down he begged the Heavens that she was alive. He didn't feel a pulse! Spider-Man rolled his mask up to the top of his nose and placed his hands, locked with each other, on her solar plexus, all concepts of modesty lost in a panicked haze, began to perform C.P.R. on his friend.
"Come on MJ, come on!" He pleaded squeezing her nose shut and lowering his mouth to hers and breathed into her before compressing her chest four more times. Panic set in for the young hero. "You are not going to die MJ!" Clasping his hands together, Spider-Man raised them above his head and brought them down on Mary Jane's chest, making her whole body jump. Then, she sputtered and coughed. Moaning like she had just woken up from a poor night's sleep, she opened her green eyes slowly, barely making out the face of her savior as he pulled down the rest of his mask.
"Thank God," He sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked, worry filling his voice.
With the thinnest of whispers, Mary Jane spoke. "Who are you?"
Spider-Man simple smiled under his mask, fighting back tears. Just as he was about to answer, he felt an intense heat wash over his back and the air came alive with a crackling whoosh. He threw his head over his shoulder and saw the fire was being pulled from the smoldering wreckage…and right above Lightening Bug's raised hand, amassing in a gigantic star.
He tilted his head cockily. "I won." Lightening Bug said. With a gesture of his hand, the fireball dissipated.
Adrenaline surged through Spidey's body. He shot up, fists clenched and teeth gnashing. "You sick little freak! Do you relieve you killed a woman, and almost killed everyone else in that store? You think this is just some kind of game?!"
Lightening Bug snorted and raised two fingers. "Second challenge, a race to the Empire State Building. Ready. Set. GO!" The pyrokinetic sped away, leaving a distortion in his wake.
Spider-Man was about to give chase, wanting to put an end to the psychopath and his little games, but his fear that there were still people trapped under the rubble held him on the ground.
He dived at the ruins, digging through the still hot wreckage, trying to find any signs of life. The sound of footsteps crunching through the burnt timbers and mortar made the costumed avenger look up to see Mary Jane walking toward him.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we where the only one's in the store. You go get that psycho."
Spider-Man stood up and thanked her, having to catch his tongue before he said her name not wanting to have a repeat of George, and swung away as fast as he could. Watching the masked mystery man vanish into the sky, Mary Jane smiled. "Go get 'em Tiger."
Wind whistled in his ears and tickled his exposed flesh while he swung nearly a hundred miles an hour. Each web line carried him faster and faster; each bound farther and farther. Lightening Bug killed a girl and almost killed MJ and maybe that other guy and for what? Too prove that he's some kind of hero? This bastard needs to be stopped now and I don't play on letting him get away to!
Spider-Man's spider-sense activated, drawing his attention above him where he saw Lightening Bug sailing over his hot air currents with an arrogant smirk on his face. There was a rush of adrenalin and a dance of hands and muscle, and the next thing Spider-Man knew, he was being catapulted right into the pyrokinetic sociopath who was blissfully ignorant of the twin fists that were mere nanoseconds from impacting his chest.
Lightening Bug saw a flash of white, pass before his eyes, pain ripped across his body rending his mind. He looked underneath himself and saw Spider-Man, costume burned and torn, with both arms embedded in his gut.
With his left hand, Spider-Man grabbed a handful of the black leotard Lightening Bug wore and aimed his right arm down at a buildings roof and fired a web line, making its trademark thweep sound. The thin, silvery rope adhered to the rough, pigeon poop covered roof and grew taught as the webbed mystery man gave a mighty pull.
With the force of a cannonball, Spider-Man and his prey flew at the roof. Moments before impact, Spider-Man flung Lightening Bug across the roof where he skipped like a stone across a pond before he hit the entrance to the main building with a thud.
His legs like jelly and his brain quite similar to what the public service announcements said drugs did to it, the pyrokinetic stood up, bracing himself against the hard brick surface with his hand. He looked up just in time to see a blur of red and black connect with his chin, catapulting him into the air and down on top of the roof exit/entrance, knocking him out cold.
Breath rapid and ragged, Spider-Man collapsed on his butt, most exhausted. The burned, bruised and beaten hero took slow, deep breathes to try and relax his throbbing heart. Spidey's triceps, calves, back, neck and abdominals stung from the exertion put on them. "Spider-Man-2, Murderous Crazies in Costumes-Zippo!" He said with a satisfied smile, which was quickly dashed when he remembered the young girl that had died. Had that boy passed as well?
His pondering was interrupted as a high-pitched whine, growing closer from behind, tickled Spider-Man's sensitive ears. He leaped to his feet, spinning around to face the source of the noise. What he saw made his jaw drop. And bounce along the ground.
Hovering in midair was a seven-foot tall, iron giant. Or more accurately a seven foot tall Iron Man. His upper torso was a gleaming ruby red, three blue circles embedded just below the collarbones and the largest of the three circles was placed over the armored sternum. His arms, legs and lower chest were gun metal gray. His knees and shins were protected by thick red armor, plating. Mounted on both forearms were weapons that reminded Spidey of the shoulder plasma guns that The Predators had except far, more clunky in appearance. Small thrusters were mounted on his outer thighs, providing stability as he hovered while four concealed jets were placed the feet, two on each. The head looked like a custom biker helmet with a yellow visor and glowing green eyes.
"Yo-you're…you're Tony Stark!" Spider-Man exclaimed, nearly wetting himself with excitement.
A computer-like chuckle came from the head of the armor. "MOST PEOPLE GET GIDDY ABOUT MEETING IRON MAN." Iron Man looked over at the prone, beaten form of Lightening Bug and sighed, which sounded something like someone breathing too close and too hard near a microphone. "JOHN. SHOULD'VE KNOWN SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN."
Spider-Man arced a hidden eyebrow. "'John'? That guy's name is 'John'?"
"YEAH. JOHN ZADDY. HE WAS A MEMBER OF MY R&D IN STARK TECH. THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING…WELL, THAT'S REALLY CLASSIFIED BUT THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT AND KILLED SEVERAL SCIENTISTS BUT JOHN, HE SURIVIDED AND WAS…MUTATED. I BUILT THAT SUIT TO HELP HIM CONTROL HIS PYROKENISIS. I SHOULD HAVE JUST TAKEN HIM IN TO GET FIXED BUT..." Tony paused, looking away from the web slinger just momentarily. "I HEARD ABOUT THE FIRE SO I THOUGHT I SHOULD COME AND HELP. I GUESS YOU DID ALL RIGHT AND TOOK HIM DOWN. SO, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
Spider-Man snapped out of whatever fanboy trance he had been in and stood up straight, put his fists on his hips, cleared his throat and said in a much deeper voice than normal: "I'm the Amazing Spider-Man."
There was a pause, during which Spidey heart most likely stopped. Then, Iron Man laughed again in the same computerized voice.
"'AMAZING SPIDER-MAN', HUH? SO, YOU'RE THE NEW VIGILANTE THEY'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THEN? I'M GOING TO DO YOU A FAVOR AND SAY THAT WE'VE NEVER MET AND I JUST FOUND ZADDY ON THE ROOF KNOCKED UNCONCIOUS AND…DAMN KID, YOU SHATTERED A COUPLE OF RIBS AND HIS JAW! ER, ANYWAY, YOU SHOULD JUST HANG UP THE COSTUME AND GO BACK TO PLAYING VIDEOGAMES OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO. SEE YA." Iron Man grabbed Lightening Bug, or rather John Zaddy by his leotard and hoisted him off the roof entrance/exit and flew away with roar of thrusters.
Five seconds after he had vanished from sight, Spider-Man was able to move once more and promptly cursed. "I forgot to ask him for his autograph!"
Parker Residence
Peter had managed to sneak into the house and quickly scurry up to his room before Aunt May even caught the briefest glimpse of her nephew. Over all Peter was not badly hurt, only a few minor burns and splinters in his hands and feet.
Peter's costume however, was a completely different tale. The back, from the shoulder blades down, had been completely burned away from the heat. Black patches and burn holes covered the chest and legs. The right shoulder and left forearm had been burned up along with the several cuts that cover the costume. It also had a very prominent odder of smoke. Peter had been sure to take a shower to eliminate the smell of ash and smoke that had clung to him.
Later, Peter had called Gwen and told her that Harry had woken up and said he was about to call MJ when she told him what he already knew about her situation (MJ had called her parents and Gwen on her cell phone after the ambulance arrived), but let nothing on to give suspicion. Apparently, Mary Jane had been sent to the hospital to get her lungs and brain checked out, but would be able to leave for her home.
Now, Peter lie on his chest on top his bed, thinking of how to repair his costume, which was in tatters. He barely had any black thread left and did not have any red for the spider on the back. He would have to buy it, but did not have any money. What Peter needed was quick easy chase.
The answer came to him the day after when he was going for a simple walk for exercise purposes. Plastered on a billboard was an advertisement for the Daily Bugle. It was simple. They wanted photographs of Spider-Man and where willing to give mucho dinero for authentic pictures. Peter just had to smile. Who better to give them photo's of Spider-Man, then Spider-Man himself?
Wahoo! Another, rather short, story arc done! If you didn't already know (which would be rather horrifying as I said this in the beginning of the story arc) Lightening Bug is a creation of PadawanCassy. If she is reading this, I thank you for this rather interesting character to work with.
Please, take time to leave a review and maybe take a look at my other works, ahemGhostN'Ghoulsahem, and leave a review on that too.
Next Story Arc-Get a Haircut and Get Real Job.
See you then!