Chapter 7: Troubled Mind Part 2: Resolve
A/N: this combines the other part of Superior Spider-Man 7 and Superior Spider-Man 8 and 9. In issue 9, Otto Octavius buried Peter Parker in his own mind when he deleted Peter's memories, leaving Peter with only 31 of his memories intact. This is going to be different for obvious reasons.
It had been two months since Spider-Man had brutally beat Jester and Screwball, and no one had seen him since. Some said that he had moved to Philadelphia, having heard rumors of a hero with spider powers in the city of Brotherly Love. Others say he had been killed in an Avengers mission, others saying he had decided to hang up his web shooters. However, our story doesn't begin with our friendly neighborhood hero. No, we start at the former location of FEAST, the front for Mr. Negative's criminal enterprise, where Dr. Elias Wirtham was being interviewed by Norah Winters.
"I'm proud to announce the opening of the Hospital for Emergency Aid and Recuperative Therapy, or HEART, here at the former location of FEAST." Elias said.
"Dr. Wirtham, do you think this location's reputation as the headquarters of crime lord Mr. Negative will scare away any potential patients?" Norah asked.
"The thought has crossed my mind, and I would like to say that this place is 100% dedicated to helping those who cannot afford care at regular hospitals." Elias said. "Any who wish will receive the finest care for only a fraction of the cost at, for example, Mercy General. We have top of the line equipment, and specialists qualified to use every piece in here."
"Thank you for your time, Doctor." Norah said, before leaving.
'Of course, I'm not going to go into detail about how I obtained the equipment.' Elias thought. 'Unfortunately, I'm forced to steal new equipment as Cardiac.' You read it right, true believers. Dr. Wirtham doubled as the vigilante Cardiac, and his main target were corrupt corporations who financed several criminal enterprises. 'But it's for a good cause. The corporations like BainTech or Hammer Industries don't want an instant cure for diseases or injuries, instead preferring to drag out the treatment and charge ridiculous fees. But not here.' Elias was pulled out of his thoughts when one of his employees came up to him.
"Dr. Wirtham, it's about the Chen girl." The doctor said. "I'm afraid her neurological damage is worse than we first thought."
"How bad?" Elias asked, and the doctor handed him some MRI's.
"This is a scan we just took." The employee said.
"Dear god…it's a miracle this girl's still alive." Elias said. "Are we equipped to deal with this?"
"If we had some time yes, but at the rate the damage is growing, we risk her going brain dead if we give her the available treatment. Right now, her only hope is a Neurolitic scanner." The doctor said.
"I see…so in a way, Otto Octavius is making up for doing this to her." Wirtham said.
Apartment of Peter Parker
Peter Parker awoke to a heavy weight on his chest. "G'morning tiger." Mary Jane said, snuggling closer to him. "How'd you sleep?"
"Well, we didn't exactly do a lot of sleeping…" Peter said. Since Peter decided to take a vacation from super heroics, he'd been spending more time with his friends, family, and more importantly, Mary Jane. That included spending nights at both her place and his.
"I don't hear you complaining." Mary Jane said. "Remember, you have to go take May to her therapy today after school."
"I haven't forgotten. See, the old Peter Parker would always forget birthdays, anniversaries, and appointments, but the Superior Peter Parker never forgets!" Peter said.
"You mean your Spider Bots never forget." MJ said.
"I'm not denying or confirming that." Peter said. "Have you heard what happened in Philadelphia?"
"What?" MJ asked.
"Apparently some some sort of monsters attacked West Philadelphia High." Peter said.
"Isn't that where Flash works?" Mary Jane asked. They didn't know why Flash had moved to Philadelphia, but she was willing it had something to do with how he would often disappear for days at a time.
"Don't worry, he's ok. Heard from him yesterday." Peter said. "But that's not the weird part. They say that Venom and a red and black symbiote protected the school."
"Venom? But why would it do that when it kidnapped Betty? I thought it was a supervillain." Mary Jane said.
"I don't know. Whoever's in that suit needs to figure out if it's a good or bad guy." Peter said as he got out of bed. "As for the other one…I don't know. Maybe it was Toxin?"
"I'm sure they're a good guy, otherwise you'd have already had to deal with it." Mary Jane said.
"I let the Venom symbiote go after Doverton. Guess it's using that free pass I gave it." Peter said. "But I get the feeling that we haven't seen the last of whoever's in that suit."
"Relax, Peter. I don't think Venom's going to come here and give birth to another symbiote." MJ said. "So for now, let's get dressed."
Mercy General
Peter entered the room to see his aunt working with Sha Shan, Flash Thompson's old flame and Aunt May's physical therapist. "Hey Sha Shan. How's our favorite Golden Girl doing?"
"At this rate, she'll outlive Betty White." Sha Shan said.
"That's good to hear." Peter said. A few months ago, Aunt May and Jay had been traveling back to New York from Boston, when Andy Magiure, who had gained powers from a horizon experiment gone awry and became Alpha, got over confident and nearly caused the plane May was on to crash, severely injuring her knee. But thanks to the good doctors at Mercy General and having Sha Shan as her physical therapist, she was a lot better. Of course, Peter felt guilty about the whole thing because is was his experiment that created Alpha.
"Mr. Parker, can I talk to you for a minute?" One of the doctors asked, and escorted Peter to a quiet corner. "Your aunt has made amazing progress in the past few months. Another few weeks, and she won't even need to come here."
"That's wonderful, Doc." Peter said. "Are there any surgeries that would give her back full motion in her knee."
"I'm afraid not." The doctor said. "With current medical technology, there are no safe procedures that would repair her knee at her age."
"I see." Peter said. "Well, you have to remember one word you said."
"What's that?"
"'Current.'"
Horizon Labs
"Living Brain, can you get me some neurocircuitry and hydraulic pumps?" Peter asked Horizon's robotic assistant.
"Whirrrr -click!- Yes, Mr. Parker." Living Brain said.
"Let's see…I'm getting the feeling I'm forgetting something." Peter said. "Spider-Bots?"
"Phone Flash Thompson." The robots said.
"Ah, right. I need to pop on down to Philadelphia soon and see him." Peter said as he got out his phone. "I'm proud of him. A fresh start was what he needed. He's finally got his act together…if only the same could be said about his love life." He listened as it rung.
"Hello?" Flash's voice said.
"Hey Flash, it's Pete. This a good time?" Peter asked.
"Right now?"
Philadelphia
Agent Venom kicked one thug in the face before ducking under the swing of a crowbar. "Yeah. I'm not too busy."
Horizon
"You sure? Because I think I hear various languages yelling in the background." Peter said. "And with my mad language skills, I know it's either 'the black demon has come for us' or 'my pants eat mice' in Spanish."
"Yeah, I'm on my lunch break at the moment, and our foreign language teacher has a temper." Flash said, when Peter heard what sounded like a gunshot.
"Flash? What was that?" Peter asked.
"Someone's car backfired." Flash said. "Sorry for not calling sooner."
"Don't worry about it. You were busy with the move, and settling in to your new job." Peter said. "Are you alright? I heard your school was attacked by Venom."
"I think you heard wrong." Flash said on the other end. "When my school was attacked by those creatures, it was Venom and the other one that saved us. And I've seen on the local news that there's a rumor of some sort of Spider-Man like person running around, fighting crime and keeping us safe."
"So it's, what, protecting the city?" Peter asked, remembering when Eddie Brock moved to San Francisco as the city's 'Lethal Protector.' Maybe the symbiote was impressing that trait on its current host.
"I guess. It's still weird not seeing superheroes flying and darting all over the city, so it's a little…comforting, I guess, that there's someone watching over us." Flash said. "Hey listen, I got to go. Some idiot is trying to start a fight with the school's running back."
"Alright. Hope to see you soon, buddy." Peter said as Flash hung up. 'If I went back 15 years and told my past self I would be best friends with Flash Thompson, he'd call me insane. Of course, if I told him he'd be an Avenger, a scientist at Horizon Labs, dating the most beautiful woman on the planet, friends with both the smartest people on the planet AND Earth's mightiest, and member of the Future Foundation, he'd ask ' what's an Avenger?'' Peter thought.
"Whirrrr *click* Mr. Parker, I have brought the materials you requested." Living Brain said.
"Thanks, LB." Peter said, and began working on the procedure.
That Night, The Boneyard
A man with white armor and a black face with blue markings on it overloaded the electronic lock with electricity, causing it to short out before opening. "Alright, I'm in." Cardiac said, and began walking through the evidence locker for super criminal equipment. "Let's see…Beetle Armor, Shocker's Gauntlets, Trapster's Glue Gun, Vulture's Anti-Grav harness, Razorfist's blades, Goblin Glider…here we are." Cardiac said, stopping at a bag labeled 'Doc Ock's Brain Scanner.' He picked it up and put it in a bag he had.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" A voice yelled, and Cardiac looked to see a police officer pointing a gun at him. "I need back up at the Boneyard! I think this is Cardiac! Yes, that guy!" He yelled into his radio.
"Put the gun down, and no one has to be hurt." Cardiac said. As a doctor, he despised fighting, as it went against the Hypocratic Oath of 'Do No Harm' all doctors took, but he would do it if he had to.
"Freeze! Remove your costume and put your hands in the air." The officer said.
"Very well then." Cardiac said, raising his hand. A bolt of lightning shot out of his hand and hit the police officers gun, the heat igniting the gunpowder in the bullets and causing it to explode in his hand. Cardiac ran past him, and exited to a searchlight in his face.
"Get down on the ground and relinquish the evidence!" A voice blared over a loudspeaker, and Cardiac's vision cleared to reveal several SWAT teams all pointing their weapons at him. Turns out, Elias had underestimated just how much the NYPD prioritized supervillain equipment.
Cardiac created a bolt of electricity and sorted out the searchlight on the helicopter, before doing the same to the street lamps. He ran down a back alley, only to come face to face with Wolverine.
"You picked the wrong night to steal something, bub." Wolverine said, and his claws popped out with their infamous *snikt!* he charged at Cardiac and slashed, forcing Cardiac to dodge.
"Dammit! I'm sorry, but you don't understand what's at stake here." Cardiac said as he continued to dodged the feral mutant's slashes.
"Bub, you must take me for an idiot. That there's a Neurolitic scanner, which Doc Ock used to calibrate his tentacles to follow his mental commands back when he was still kicking." Wolverine said, and Cardiac was surprised at his answer. "What? I read the file after the creep tried stealing my friend's body."
"I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but nonetheless, I have to proceed. A life depends on this!" Cardiac pleaded.
"Ya got that right: yours, whether you give it up or not." Wolverine said, and pinned the vigilante/doctor to the wall.
"Your skeleton is composed of metal, correct?" Cardiac asked.
"Yeah. What's it to ya?" Wolverine asked.
"Well, I believe you have forgotten how conductive metal is." Cardiac said, and Logan's eyes widened as Cardiac placed his hand on his chest and began pumping electrical currents into Wolverine, his adamantium skeleton conducting the current and making him scream in pain. "This isn't enough to stop your heart, only knock you unconscious. I'm sorry about this, but I'm afraid it's necessary." Cardiac said as the Feral Avenger slumped over unconscious. "And with that, I bid you farewell." Cardiac said as he disappeared into the night.
Peter Parker's Apartment
Peter awoke in a room he had not seen in a while. "This…this is my room at Aunt May's house! It's hard to believe it's already been two years since Aunt May sold it." He said. "But, why am I here?"
"To show you something, Peter." A young voice said, and Peter looked to see a boy he didn't recognize.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" He asked.
"You really don't remember? Well, I suppose that makes sense, seeing as how you haven't been me in years." The boy said, and walked towards Peter. "I'm you, Peter. I'm the you from before you were bitten by the radioactive spider." The boy said, and Peter took in his features. His smooth brown hair was slicked back, his eyes were obscured by thick glasses, and he was wearing a sweater vest.
"Is this a dream, or did I travel through time?" Peter said, and past-Peter chuckled.
"Sort of. Think of this as a 'what if' you had never been bitten." Past-Pete said.
"What are you talking about?" Peter asked.
"Don't play dumb. I know what you've been thinking: of never putting the mask back on." Past-Pete said. "That it would have been better if you had never been bitten by that Spider."
"Well…yes. I have." Peter said. "These past two months, I've had a normal life. I haven't had to worry about any Supervillains or Avenger duties, instead doing what normal people."
"Normal sucks." Past Pete said. "Follow me. I'll show you what would have happened."
"Alright." Peter said, and climbed out of bed. "So, ghost of Spidey's past, show me my life."
"Ok." With that, they were at the science hall. "This is the place. The place where your life changed forever. Look, there's you over there. And here comes Jessica Jones to ask you out." Past Pete said.
"What?!" Peter asked in shock, and turned to where his past self was. Indeed, a teenage version of his friend in the New Avengers was walking towards them. "Holy crap."
"Yeah, it's weird isn't it?" Past Pete said. "Hold on. I'll be right back."
"Um, hey Peter." Jessica said.
"Oh, hey Jessica". Teenage Peter said, and he didn't notice a spider lowering itself towards his hand.
"Look I was wondering I you'd like to, ya know, go out sometimes." Jessica said, shocking Peter enough that his hand moved, causing the spider to fall to the ground.
"R-really?" He asked, and time froze as Past Pete turned to talk to Peter.
"See? That's all it takes to change the course of your life." Past Peter said. "Now, let's move down the timeline a little more." The science hall was replaced by Past Peter and Jessica walking through Queens.
"I had a great time Peter." Jessica said.
"Me too, Jess." Past Peter said. "Say, would you like to-" That's when he saw it. Police sirens coming from what he knew was in front of his house. "Oh god." He said as he rounded the corner, and saw that police were indeed in front of his house, talking to his crying aunt. "Aunt May, what happened?" He asked, running over there.
"P-Peter, I-I'm sorry. A b-b-burglar broke in, a-and-" that was as far as Aunt May got before she broke down crying.
"I'm sorry, kid." One of the officers said. "Like your aunt said, a burglar broke in, and from what we can tell, your uncle went to confront him, and-" at that moment, paramedics wheeled a body bag out of the house.
"Oh my god." Past Peter said, and dropped to his knees. "No no no no…this can't be happening! Why? Why did this have to happen?!" He yelled.
"I'm sorry, kid." The officer said, when another cop ran up to him.
"They found the guy! They've got him cornered at a warehouse few yards from here!" He said, and Past Pete rose and turned to Peter.
"And so, just like it actually happened, Uncle Ben was dead." He said. "But unlike what actually went down, you had no Spider Powers, and this couldn't go after him. They caught him, and he was sentenced to life with no parole, but the anger remained. It stayed with you, festering and growing with each passing year." Past Pete snapped his fingers, and they were in a lab where Peter was still wearing glasses, but had an Oscorp lab coat on. "12 years later, and here we are. Peter Parker is a skilled scientist working in Oscorp's Bio-Research department, but what he has in brains, he lacks in confidence."
"OK, so I don't become Spider-Man, instead I become a shy scientist at the company run by one my worst enemies. But what about the people who's lives were changed by Spider-Man for the worst?" Peter asked.
"Take a look." Past Pete said, and Peter turned to a TV screen.
"-in other news, Eddie Brock, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist known best for his Sin Eater expose, was found murdered in his apartment earlier this morning." The report said. "Whether this was a follower of the Sin Eater, or a crime of convenience, remains yet to be scene."
"Parker!" A voice yelled, and all three Peter's turned to see Norman Osborn walking towards them. "Your deadline's almost up! Tell me you have something good!"
"Uh, yes sir." Alt-Pete said. "This serum I've made should be able to increase a person's strength to near-Captain America levels."
"I don't want 'near' Parker. I want 'above'!" Norman said. "Pack your things! You're done here."
"B-but sir! My aunt, she's terribly sick. She could die if I don't have the money to pay for her surgery!" Alt-Pete said.
"Parker, look at me." Norman said. "Does this look like the face of someone who gives a f**k about your financial problems?"
"No sir." Alt-Pete said.
"That's because I don't!" Osborn said. "You have until the close of business today to get out of here. Otherwise, I'll have you arrested for trespassing!" With that Osborn left.
"Ok, so this guy got the old Parker luck in spades." Peter said. "But he'll find another job. Max Modell, Tony Stark, there's no way they'll let someone like him go unemployed for long."
"Wait for it. This is the part you'll want to see." Past Peter said.
"Goddammit!" Alt-Pete said. "I've given my life to this company, and Osborn's going to just toss me aside because I don't meet his standards, just like everyone else? Well no more! Uncle Ben told me with great power comes great responsibility. Well, I have the powerful intellect, so it's my responsibility to put people like Osborn in their place!" He walked over to where a vial contained a green liquid, and grabbed in and filled a syringe with its contents, before jabbing it in his arm and emptying it. Instantly, Alt-Peter's skin turned green, and his body began to grow in size. "The world may mock shy Peter Parker, but he is no more! Now, the world will tremble before me! I…" when the substance finished flowing over him, he was a monster with a green body, a scaly face, and two horns. "…am The Goblin!" As the Goblin began to tear through the building, Past Pete turned to Peter.
"You saw right. After years of abuse, bullying, and being harassed, you finally snapped, becoming one of the worst threats since The Leader." Past Pete told his future self.
"What was the point of this?" Peter asked. "Yeah, I toyed with the notion of permanently hanging up my web shooters, but I would never do that."
"I had to be sure you lived up to your promise." Past Pete said. "You promised me you would become a Superior Spider-Man. Tell me, would a Superior hero spend two months wallowing in his self-pity?"
"What the hell are you talking about? I only promised something like that to-" it was then Peter realized it. When he'd taken breaks due to his own gulf and self-pity, his past self had never appeared to him before.
"That's right." With that, Past Pete began to change. His hair became a bowl cut, his glasses turned square and dark, his clothes changed into a green jumpsuit with yellow boots and gloves as his body became more rotund, and four mechanical arms sprouted out of his back. "It's me. Otto Octavius."
"What? How the hell are you still here?!" Peter asked.
"When you switched our bodies back, a small piece of my psyche remained inside your mind." Otto said.
"But wouldn't a telepath or the Avenger's tests have detected you?" Peter asked.
"It was such a small piece that no one would have been able to detect it unless they were specifically looking for it." Otto said. "At first, I plotted to steal your body back the moment an opportunity presented itself. But I guess some time in your brain humbled me a bit, and I watched as you carried out your promise. Until now, that is."
"So why now? Why not right after the Massacre business?" Peter asked.
"I wanted to see how you handled it." Otto said. "Of course, seeing how well you handled it, I wish I had spoken up sooner."
"Well, now what are you going to do? Fight me for my body?" Peter asked, readying himself for a mental battle.
"Heavens no." Otto said. "I only wish to put you back on the path. The Path of the Spider."
"I'm flattered, Otto. I really am." Peter said.
"Despite the fact that several of them despise you, the people of this city don't realize that they depend on you." The dead scientist said. "It's subtle: a hot dog vendor subconsciously looks up, expecting to see you swing by; a police officer fighting criminals expects you to show up; a supervillain cringing whenever they see a spider. I could go on, but you get the idea."
"What are you getting at, Otto?" Peter asked.
"I'm asking what's the REAL reason you're not swinging around the city right now?" Otto said. "And don't try to tell me that it's because of Massacre. We both know it was only a matter of time before he died."
"I guess…it's because I'm scared." Peter said. "In the station, I was literally close to death. If I hadn't grabbed that gun, I would be feeding worms right now."
"But you also came close to death in my body." Otto said.
"That was different. It wasn't MY body, and I knew I would succeed in switching us back." Peter said. "But that wasn't the case in the station. There would be no fallback, no escape plan, no Parker luck, no back up. Only a shot spider."
"I see." Otto said. "That…has to be one of the saddest things I've ever heard."
"Pardon?"
"Don't get me wrong. It's a perfectly legitimate reason, but it's still pretty pathetic." Otto said. "You've faced death plenty of times before. Myself, Scorpion, Venom, Carnage, Vulture…I heard talk of them starting a whole new wing in the Raft for your enemies. So you were almost dead. Captain America WAS dead, yet that didn't stop him from jumping right into the fight against Osborn. If he can get over being dead, then you get over being almost dead."
"Well, maybe you're right." Peter said. "I need to get over myself. I don't need to forget what happened: I need to use it to make me stronger." Otto smiled.
"That's the Peter Parker I know." He said, and began to vanish.
"What's going on, Doc?" Peter said.
"I'm deleting my consciousness." Otto said as his arms and legs vanished. "Otto Octavius's time has come and gone. It's time for Peter Parker to shine." His chest disappeared, leaving only his head. "Farewell, Peter. I'll be sure to keep an eye on you." With that, Otto Octavius was no more.
Peter bolted upright in bed, disturbing the sleeping Mary Jane. "Peter? Are you ok?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Peter said, and explained his dream. "It was really him, Mary Jane. I'd never forget what his mind feels like."
"Talk about an intervention." MJ said. "And he just deleted himself?"
"Yeah. There is no longer any trace of Otto Octavius's mind anywhere on this planet." Peter said. "He's right. I can't keep wallowing in self-pity and fear. I promised him I'd be better, and by god I'm going to deliver."
"Well, whatever you do, I'll support you." Mary Jane said, and she kissed Peter. "I love you, tiger. Whatever you decide, you have nothing but my full approval."
"Thanks, MJ." Peter said, and his phone began ringing, a picture of Wolverine giving him the middle claw appearing on the screen. "Wonder what Logan wants." He said as he answered it. "Hello?"
"Peter, it's Logan. I hope I'm not waking you up." The gruff voice said.
"I was already awake. What's up furball?" Peter said.
"I just fought an Electro rip-off named Cardiac." Logan said.
"Cardiac? That's a name I haven't heard in a while. Why'd you call me?" Peter said.
"Because he stole Ock's brain scanner." Logan said, making Peter's blood run cold. "I don't know what he's planning to do with it, but it can't be anything good."
"Alright. I'll take care of it." Peter said as he hung up. "Listen, MJ, I need to-" Peter started to say, but when he turned to face her, she was already holding his costume for him.
"Go get 'em tiger." She said.
HEART Clinic, Operating room, 15 minutes later
"Goddammit!" Elias said, looking at the device attached to the head of a young girl. "It's too complex. I have no idea how to work this. The only person capable of understanding something like this is dead, and I don't know who else could!" He said.
"Dr. Wirtham, what should we do now?" A nurse asked.
"I-I don't know, Sandra." He said. "This whole thing was riding on this device, and now? I've failed the little-" he was cut off by a nearby radio crackling.
"Dr. Wirtham, it's Spider-Man!" The voice on the other end said.
"This day keeps getting worse and worse." Cardiac said. "I'll be right there. I still have more than enough charge to take him down.
At the reception area, Spider-Man leapt through the doors, and moved to where his spider-bots indicated. "Man, it's been a while since I was here!" Spider-Man said. "It seems like only yesterday I exposed Mr. Negative to the world."
"Spider-Man!" Cardiac yelled as he tore through the halls, electricity crackling at his finger tips. "I will not allow you to interfere here!"
"You don't have much of a choice, Cardiac. You're about to go into arrest." Spider-Man said as he leapt over Cardiac. "Get it? Because you're name is Cardiac, and the term for a heart attack is cardiac arrest and…y'know what, never mind."
"You don't understand what's at stake here! How'd you even find this place?" Cardiac said.
"The Neurolitic Scanner's energy cells operate on a specific frequency. Finding it was like finding a needle in a tool shed." Spider-Man said as he webbed up Cardiac's hands. "Don't try sparking through that. That's rubber webbing, made for people like yourself and Electro. You're not getting out of that any time soon." With that, Spider-Man began walking in the direction Cardiac came.
"Wait, don't! You don't understand what's at stake!" Cardiac pleaded, desperately trying to undo his armor.
"Do I? I know you're mainly a Robin Hood type guy, but I don't understand why you would need a-" Spider-Man started as he opened the doors, seeing a young girl with the brain scanner on her head. "-Brain scanner."
"This is what I meant." Cardiac said, having removed his costume. "When Otto Octavius used his Octavian Lens to try to destroy the world, he didn't think of those who were already sick, like Amy."
"What happened to her?" Spider-Man asked.
"Her parents died in a car accident caused by one of his schemes, and she barely survived, but with severe brain damage. This Neurolitic Scanner is her only hope. Unfortunately, it's so complicated, no one on the planet is able to work it." Cardiac said, and Spider-Man was silent for a moment.
"I'll do it." Spider-Man said.
"What?" Cardiac said in disbelief.
"I said I'll do it." The Arachnid Avenger said. "I've studied Doc Ock's technology for years. There's no one who knows his technology better than me. So consider me the Amazing Spider-Surgeon. Nurse, pass me that scalpel."
One Hour Later
Cardiac and Spider-Man sat in the waiting room, drinking bottles of water. "Thank you, Spider-Man. I don't know what we would have done without you." Cardiac said. "If you need anything, you call me. Got it?"
"Got it." Spidey said. "I'm just glad I was able to help."
"I think a lot of people are going to be glad you're back, web head." Cardiac said. "So why'd you disappear, anyway?"
"I needed to find myself." Spider-Man said. "But I'm back, and now? Criminals are gonna piss their pants when they see a spider from now on. By the way, you may want to apologize to Wolverine for shocking him like that." Cardiac chuckled at that.
"I'll be sure to do that."
The Raft
Alistaire Smythe, the spider slayer, sat in his cell reading a bible. "I hope you don't plan on finishing that book, Smythe." The warden said. "You're days are numbered."
"Oh I know, Warden." Smythe said. Next week, he would be executed on the orders of Mayor Jameson, after the death of his wife Marla at Smythe's hands. "And trust me when I say that when that day comes, someone will get exactly what they deserve."
A/N: so I decided to combine the other parts of Troubled mind into one chapter, because I thought 'why drag out just one conflict?' I'll be doing this for 'No Escape' and 'Run Goblin Run' as well, and I might do this for 'Necessary Evil.'
Next Time: No Escape