Chapter Seventeen

Several minutes earlier. Spider-Man and Chloe had returned to street level as the lights started coming back on across the city. They now stood in front of an electronics store that had a display window full of television sets. Each TV was displaying the same broadcast… Clark Kent, standing in shadow, still wearing the yellow visor and demanding that the governments of the world relinquish their power to him.

"What have they done to him?" Chloe gasped.

"The Ultimates didn't do this," Spider-Man said. "But I think I know who did. There was this thing, the Eradicator… it was some kind of artificial intelligence from Clark's home planet. I think it's possessed him. It's making him do these things."

"How can we help him?"

"Look, I think I may have an idea, but I need to get back to the Ultimates headquarters. I'm going to drop you off at the Bugle again, and I need you to promise me that you'll stay there."

The broadcast ended. Chloe pressed her hand against the glass window, near where Clark's face had been. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the glass. "All right," she said weakly. "Just save him. Please."

"I will," Spider-Man said, taking her hand. "Now come on, we have to-"

There was another gust of wind over their heads, heading back toward New York Harbor. They looked at each other, concerned.

In a matter of moments, Spider-Man had web-slinged their way back to the Daily Bugle rooftop. From there, they could just barely see Clark hovering above the Statue of Liberty. If they could have looked closer, they would have seen him drop a crystal down into the water.

What started out as a low rumble grew louder, until it was a wild roar. Everything began to shake. Then, out of the water, huge spires of crystal shot up like spikes, intertwining with each other. They rose up, interlocked around the statue itself, forming some kind of bizarre palace in the middle of the harbor.

"What is that?!" Spider-Man cried.

"It… it looks just like Clark's fortress. The one he has in the arctic," Chloe said, softly.

"This is bad," Spider-Man said. "If Nick Fury reacts to this the way I think he will… Chloe, I have to go." He leapt to the edge of the rooftop, preparing to swing away.

"Wait," she said, running over to him.

She threw her arms tightly around him, in a warm hug. It caught him off guard.

"Just… just be careful," she whispered.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his forehead gently against the top of her head.

"…Okay," he whispered back.

. . . . . .

The Triskelion. Nick Fury stood in the control room, surrounded by Clay Quartermain, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, and Black Widow.

"All right, here's the plan," Nick declared. "Thor, we've seen that your hammer has some effect on him. Hopefully you can use it to do some damage. Iron Man, your thought scramblers and sonic disrupters may be able to throw off those super senses of his long enough for Thor to get in close. Cap, you'll be in the Quinjet, along with-"

"Hold it," Iron Man said, raising his hand. "We saw what he did to Mysterio, Shocker, and Rhino in a matter of, what, minutes? Seconds? Cap, Thor and I barely took him down in Smallville, and that was before he was hopped up on this Eradicator thing. You really think we're going to be able to take this kid out?"

"No, I don't expect you to," Nick replied. "This is just a distraction. Your job is to keep this kid busy until Hank, Janet and the other science nerds we've got finish putting together the warhead."

The door slid open and Spider-Man walked in. "What warhead?" he asked.

"Get the hell out of here," Nick said, pointing a finger at Spider-Man. "Your clearance has been revoked. Your membership in the Ultimates was contingent on Clark Kent joining up, and he seems to have made it pretty clear that he's no longer a team player."

"What warhead?" Thor asked disapprovingly, echoing Spider-Man's question.

Nick looked annoyed. He sighed. "We're assembling a warhead made of that green meteor rock and arming a missile with it."

"You're going to kill him?" Spider-Man said, clenching his fists.

"Look, this kid may be the most powerful being in the universe right now, and he just threatened to literally take over the world!" Nick yelled. "What do you want to do, Parker? Hold a peace conference? We're a little bit past diplomatic negotiation right now!"

Spider-Man grabbed Nick by the shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. Clay Quartermain whipped out his gun and aimed it at Spider-Man.

"Drop him!" Clay yelled.

Cap stepped up and put a hand on Quartermain's arm, lowering the gun.

"Let's hear him out," Cap said.

"Clark isn't himself right now and you know it," Spider-Man said to Nick. "He's possessed by that Eradicator thing. Somewhere inside, he's still just Clark Kent, Kansas farmboy with a heart of gold who would do anything he could to save lives, and here you are ready to kill him. Didn't what he said to you earlier mean anything? About holding yourself to a higher moral standard, and being better than the enemies you fight?"

Nick stared at Spider-Man, cold and hard. There was a long, tense silence that hung in the air.

"Fine," Nick said, angrily. "I'm open to suggestions."

Spider-Man unhanded Nick and took a step back. "Good," he said. "Because I happen to have one. When the Eradicator first appeared, it said that it was made of electromagnetic energy, right?"

"Yeah…?" Fury replied.

"And that cylinder that housed it, that implanted itself into the computer system," Spider-Man continued. "That was made of metal. I mean, it was probably some kind of alien metal, but, it was metal nonetheless."

"Where are you going with this, son?" Nick asked impatiently.

"General Fury," Spider-Man said. "I know who you have locked up in Cell 47."

Nick ran his hand over his face in frustration. "Kid, even if I knew what you were talking about, what makes you think I'd want to go along with a crazy ass plan like that?"

"Because it's the only way to safely separate Clark Kent from the Eradicator," Spider-Man answered. "You save the day without killing anyone. And that's what the good guys do… right?"

Nick just stood there fuming as he considered what Spider-Man was suggesting.

"And what makes you think he'll go along with it?"

Spider-Man shrugged. "Offer him something he wants."

. . . . . .

Several minutes later, in Cell 47. A white haired man dressed in prison grays sat at a chessboard that had been left mid-game, pondering his next move for when his opponent would return for their weekly visit. The cell he sat in, and all the objects that occupied it, were made entirely of plastic.

Nick Fury barged into the cell.

"Mister Lensherr," Nick said. "Your country needs you."

The man known as Erik Lensherr didn't bother to look up from the chessboard. "Nick Fury," he said. "I wasn't aware that you possessed a sense of humor."

Nick pulled out a gun and pointed it at Lensherr. He looked up from the chessboard.

"Before you get any ideas, this gun is made of ceramics," Nick said. "We use them to get through airport metal detectors. Now listen up you piece of scum, because I'm only going to make this offer once. I am giving you a specially classified government assignment. Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be extradited to the island nation of Genosha, where you will be a free man. If you should ever return to the United States, you will be considered an enemy of the government and placed back on the Most Wanted List. Do we have a deal?"

Erik rubbed his chin. "My freedom, in exchange for helping the government?"

"With this one specific mission, yes," Nick replied. "And Lensherr, let's be clear about something. If I so much as feel a tingle in one of my metal fillings, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your skull."

Erik laughed and leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands in front of him. "In that case, I wonder if you wouldn't mind putting the terms of my extradition in writing?"