Author's Note: I apologize for the extreme delay between issues 6 and 7. I teach and that obviously takes precedence over my stories, as much as i love to write them and enjoy other people getting to read them. I hope to have Issues 8 and 9 out by the end of the week.
ISSUE #7: Showdown
As Spidey approached S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, he got a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Most people get butterflies, but for Peter it was more like wasps. God, I really hope Ben can follow through on the plan. I really don't want to get my butt handed to me like last time. Of course, even if this DOES go according to plan, I still might. He saw the building up ahead, and readied himself for the pain that he remembered the blackness inflicting last time. Using his spider-sense, he swung toward where a window was and went straight through it. As he crashed through, he didn't feel any of the pain he remembered from last time. He looked up, and realized he could see everything in the building. Using his spider-sense, he knew that Blackout was two levels above him. He looked back outside, to see that Blackout had only surrounded the building in black, not completely engulfed it as he had the bank. I wonder why he only surrounded the building. Does his power have a time or size limit on it? And where are all the S.H.I.E.L.D. people? Curious, Peter went to face him.
Outside the building Mirage got off the bus and sprinted past the policeman standing outside the building. She heard the cops shouting demands at Blackout, but there was no reply from inside. She took the stairs and just kept running 'til she heard Spider-Man's voice from the floor above her. I really need to visit Tony Stark and see if he could hook me up with a faster way to do this kind of stuff. Jet Pack! That's what I need! I really hate taking the bus or the subway. Takes so long, I'm just surprised that I made it at all. And it is so gross! Ew! But that's to think about later. Now though, if only spidey's plan we set up will work. Taking a deep breath she charged inside the door to see Blackout and Spidey going at it.
Ten Minutes before
As Spidey climbed in the window to the room where Blackout was, he gasped in surprise. Every single agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. that had been in the building was tied up in the middle of the floor, including Colonel Nick Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Hey, Blackie! Is this a private party, or can anybody join? And did I have to bring a date? Cause I think she's coming.'
Blackout turned and faced Spider-Man and gave a wicked laugh. "You think you're so funny don't you. Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you are quite wrong. Oh, and I'm going to kill you in fifteen minutes, along with everyone is this room. Isn't that right, Colonel Fury?"
Fury, a middle aged black man missing an eye from an unknown previous encounter just spit at Blackout. "I hope you die, you pathetic miscreant."
"Come now, you're just mad that I humiliated you, stole your tech and information, and am about to kill you and your other members of this pathetic operation."
"Come now, leave the poor Colonel alone. Pick on someone with superpowers."
Blackout smiled, even though no one could see it beneath his inky mask. "Very well, although I can promise that you are going to regret that statement."In less than a second, he had crossed the entire room and was battering Spider-Man with countless punches. Although normal punches usually didn't even faze Peter, the sheer number of punches in a few seconds was almost numbing, and quite painful.
"Oh, please," Peter muttered painfully, "Is that all you got."
Blackout slowed down, and all of a sudden, the room was gone, replaced by a desert, hot and dry. The heat baked Peter and his injuries felt worse. He concentrated on his spider-sense, and realized something. "You're a big faker! Faker, Fakey, Fakest! Did you really think that one of Mirage's illusions was going to fool me for more than a few seconds? Come on now, surely you aren't that stupid."
The illusion disappeared, and Blackout stood before Spider-Man. A very imposing figure, he stood tall over Spider-Man. "Very well, I'm in a generous mood. I have the information I needed thanks to a very generous technopath two weeks ago. And, you will die in ten minutes anyways, so I might as well make this a little work out for me. From now on, I'll be using your Spider-powers."
"Well, gee Blackie, you're just too kind. It's a wonder you didn't become a girl scout!"
"Shut up! Just let me squash you"
"No thanks, although I must say, I'm glad you didn't absorb my ability for witty quips, 'cause that would have been quite awkward."
"Silence!"
Blackout moved on the attack, swinging as hard as Peter could, never relenting or giving ground. Peter ducked and dodged, swinging back as much as he could. Thanks to the fact that both Blackout and Peter had spider-sense, each avoided the others blows, although they were fighting more than twice as fast as normal humans. Peter realized that thanks to his injuries from their last battle, he wouldn't be able to outlast Blackout. Because he had used it longer, he knew he had to trick Blackout's spider-sense. As Blackout's next punch came near Peter's face, Peter moved to act like he was dodging, when he suddenly grabbed Blackout's hand and spun hard. He threw Blackout into the wall, leaving a huge dent in the metal. "Betcha didn't expect that, Blackie. Now please say you are down for the count so I can web you up and take you into custody."
"Never! I will defeat you, you MORON!"
Suddenly, Blackout disappeared. "Gee, Blackie, I've heard of Hide-n-Seek, but this is just ridiculous!" Just then Blackout reappeared on the other side of the room. Spidey ran toward him, but something screamed at Peter not to. In the heat of battle, though, he ignored it and concentrated on Blackout. As he got closer, he realized what it was that was bugging him. Wait a minute, Blackout's not moving! Oh, no, I think I just got duped by an illusion. Crap! Blackout suddenly appeared right in front of Peter, and the Blackout that Peter had been running toward disappeared. As Spider-Man saw Blackout step to the side and extend his arm, he realized what was about to happen and his spider-sense tingled like mad, but he was unable to stop or change direction. "Oh, sh. . . " was all he managed before the clothesline caught him full on the neck, taking all the breath out of him, and flipping him into the air, before he landed hard on his side. "Well," Spidey choked out, "at least now I know how Charlie Brown feels after trying to kick the football."
"You have spoken your last words, wallcrawler! Let's hope they were not as frivolous as they sounded to me." He brought his fist for the finishing blow, when the room disappeared, replaced by a holding cell. "What the?"
"Leave him alone!" Mirage cried out, "Try me now."
"You will regret this, child." Blackout concentrated, and the room went pitch black. Both Spider-Man and Mirage screamed in pain, and Blackout hit Mirage hard enough to knock her out. "You really should have gotten a different shtick; this one just didn't work out how you thought it would." He swung down at her unconscious form, about to punch through her skull when suddenly there was nothing there. His fist hit the concrete floor, and it cracked under the blow. He looked up and saw Spider-Man with Mirage jumping out the window. "Spider-Man! Come back here you coward!" he snarled with rage.
"Sorry, Blackie, but I have special appreciation for this thing called life, and I don't really want you taking it from me. Oh, and Fury told me where your bomb was. It's already been defused and destroyed. See you on the ground floor!" Spidey jumped out the window, and onto a web cushion he'd fashioned on the ground. He got Mirage over to the medics and instructed for them to leave her mask on. He then looked up and saw what he'd hoped for, a red figure using a billy club to do what Spidey did with his webs. "Good old Ben," he managed to mutter then he collapsed. Just then, a figure jumped out the window where Spider-Man had come from.
As Ben swung toward the building, he could sense Peter down on the ground, and by the sound of his pulse, he knew Peter was badly injured. Oh, Pete, what have you gone and done? I just hope this crazy, stupid scheme works. He angled down and swung at the figure that had just jumped out of the window.
Two minutes earlier
On the street below, Nick Grey surveyed the scene. The blackness surrounding the building had lifted and it looked normal, but because of their bond, Nick had been able to tell that Blackout was still inside. As he scanned the building, and on the sixth floor, he saw the darkness concentrated in one room. He looked to his right and saw a man drive up, when he recognized him from his picture in the newspaper. "Mr. Harvey! Over here." David looked up when Nick called his name.
"And who are you, exactly?"
"My name is Nick Grey. I called you on the phone the other day. The police think Blackout has left, since the blackness around the building is gone, but I can tell he's still inside. I tried to tell one of the policemen, but he ignored me. I need you to tell them to get away from the building."
Just then, Spider-Man and Mirage landed on the ground. As Spider-Man handed Mirage to the medics and collapsed, Nick saw Nick Fury jump out of the window that Spider-Man had come out of. One of the policemen ran up to him, "Oh, Colonel Fury! It's so good to see you made it out safely! How did you survive the jump?"
Fury smiled wickedly, and Nick realized why. He tried to scream out, "That's not Nick Fury! Get away from him!" but his warning came too late. The illusion surrounding Blackout disappeared, and he lashed out at the officer, punching clean through his chest. "Spider-Man, I didn't realize how strong you were. This will come in quite handy."
"Not for long, it won't! You really shouldn't have done that." Daredevil swung down and kicked Blackout in the face. Blackout recoiled slightly from the blow and laughed again.
"Obviously, super-strength isn't your ability. Why don't we find out what it is?"
Before Ben could even move, Blackout had moved to him, using his super-speed. He knocked Ben back onto the ground, and grabbed his face. Ben screamed in pain as Blackout absorbed his ability.
"Now, let's see EXACTLY what your ability is."
As he stood there, he suddenly screamed and collapsed. This time, it was Daredevil's turn to laugh. As he stood weakly, he went over to Spider-Man and helped him up. "You were right, without him being blind, my power was too much for him to handle. Even though he was surrounded by darkness, he could see straight through it. When he activated my power, all of his senses went into overload, and his body shut down. It looks like his disguise is gone, so let's see who is inside the suit.'
As they walked over to reveal Blackout's identity to the world, suddenly the entire block was filled with darkness. Amid the screams and cries of pain, a sickening voice could be heard. "You have defeated me this time, but I will recover, and I WILL return to kill you."With that, the darkness was gone, and Blackout with it.
The next day, Peter looked at the paper and sighed. Once again, Jameson was blaming him, saying he had some part in helping Blackout escape. At least Mirage and Ben got good press. Geez, what is it about that guy that makes him hate me so? Oh, well, I'm glad I webbed Aunt May's camera to the building across the street in case the battle came outside. That picture of me looks nice, even if it is the one where I'm collapsing in pain as Daredevil kicks Blackout..
At the Bugle, David looked at the footage of Blackout's defeat. "Oh, I haven't proven it yet, Zane, but I know you're Blackout, and I'm going to show the world. They deserve to know the truth."