What If Flash's Pep Talk Hadn't Convinced Peter in "Intervention"?

Submitted by: SpideyFan914

Peter's cell phone rings. "Gwen. Aw, crud. What does she want with us now?" He shuts off his phone. "Forget it. She and Brock can attend a 'Pete's such a disappointment' dance together."

"You sellin' tickets to that or can anyone who thinks you're a jerk attend?"

Peter turns to see Flash. "Don't push me, Eugene. I'm not in the mood."

"Yeah, yeah. Your aunt's sick. Poor puny Parker. Even Sally feels bad for ya, but not me. If you're hanging up on the sheek geek, that proves you're still a stuck-up egghead." Flash sighs. "A guy who can't even see that his friends are trying to help...."

Peter shoves him against the wall. "We said, don't push us."

"Excuse me, this is a hospital! If you're going to rough it up, do so outside!" Peter turns to see the nurse giving him an annoyed look. He drops Flash and walks out....

---

The rest of the month passed by. He fought crime on and off, frequently looking the other way as Tombstone requested. They had begun to get along with each other quite well, in fact....

---

It was early December now, and Peter received a call from L. Thompson Lincoln.

"Hello?"

"The bridge. Now. Let it out. Enjoy yourself." Lincoln hung up. Peter shrugged.

Some sort of competitor, we suppose. Well, whatever pays the bills. Sure, Aunt May's back and all, but those bills are wreaking havoc....

---

Elsewhere, in the office of the Daily Globe, Eddie Brock stumbled in.

"Hey, whose the boss around here?" he asked, and they pointed him towards the office of their editor-in-chief, a Mrs. Nora Winters.

I can't believe I've been reduced to this.... No job, no money to pay for college.... I'd have to have ditched college if I didn't see that ad.... I just can't believe I'm doing it....

"Yes? What is it?" Ms. Winters asked when she saw Eddie.

"I'm here to.... to apply for the photographer job...."

---

"Dormir!" The people below Mysterio collapsed onto their hands and knees, suddenly weary. "This technology of yours must be vanquished!"

Suddenly, Spider arrived, all in black. "Hey, you with the, um, the fishbowl.... Who might you be?"

"I am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!"

"Oh, so you're another fraudulent bozo, then?"

"How dare you!" Mysterio covers himself with his cloak and bat-like creatures suddenly appear out of nowhere. Spider webs onto one, swings it into the others, over his head, and slams it into Mysterio's stomach. He falls out of his elevated position then and lands hard on the pavement. Spider leaps into the air and comes down on top of him, preparing a punch. Mysterio manages to roll out of the way and get to his feet just in time to see Spider's punch slam through the bridge.

Not losing his cool, he shouts out a syllable, "Dor-" but it's too late - Spider doesn't miss again, shattering the fishbowl and sending Mysterio falling to the ground.

"Master of the Arcane Arts my -"

---

In a base somewhere off the pier, Phineas Mason sits in front of a large screen, with a shadowy figure and a deep but staticky voice.

"Mysterio has failed," he exclaims.

"I see.... How much did he manage to steal, then?"

"He got some of the stuff, but we're still missing a few goods from Oscorp...."

"Hm.... What we need is a distraction...."

---

"Class dismissed."

The lecture emptied out rapidly.

"Wait, Eddie," Dr. Connors hold out his hand and stops Eddie from proceeding.

"What is it, Dr. Connors?"

"You've seemed so distant these past few weeks.... I've been worried about you. You're not.... mad at me, are you?"

Eddie sighs. He knew this was coming. "You did what you had to do. You didn't want to do it.... Parker's the one who really caused the problem...."

---

Tombstone hears a knock on his window. He turns around and sees the Spider sticking there.

"I told you: this is not the best place to make our dealings."

Spider punches and shatters the window, then crawls in. Tombstone grinds his teeth.

"I want my pay," Spider says.

"I don't think you understand. You work for me. And, as such, I decide when you'll be paid and how much. The expenses for that window will be reduced from your pay. Now good-b-"

Spider spins Tombstone around and grabs him by the shirt. "How about I just throw you out of it? How much would be reduced my pay then?"

Tombstone looks at his coldly. "I suggest you remove your hand from my shirt. Now."

Grunting, Spider tosses him to the floor. Tombstone crashes into the pool table and it breaks in two, sending several of the balls to fall on his head. He gets up, brushes off the dust, and neatens his tuxedo.

"One more burst like that and you're out."

Spider wasn't happy. But he left it, swinging out the open window. The next person he saw wouldn't be very happy.

Suddenly, Spider was hit by a dart. It didn't hurt much - the alien kept catching and reducing impacts. It was, however, quite annoying how it also messed with his spider-sense. He missed the knowledge of knowing when there was danger. He missed knowing when someone couldn't be trusted. But it wasn't that big of a deal: he simply wouldn't trust anyone.

Spider pulled out the dart and turned. A man wearing lion skin stood there, shooting more darts. Spider jumped over them and drop-kicked him.

"You caught me at a bad time," Spider warned. "Now, who are you?"

"I am Sergei Kravinoff. Born to Mother Russia, but raised by Mother Africa!"

He took out a few knives and charged at Spider, who dodged the attacks and uppercut him in the nuts, sending Kravinoff hurling into the streets. Unfortunately, the guy had a grappling hook. Spider slip down it.

Kravinoff tossed some sort of rope at Spider, and it wrapped around him. So Spider just flexed and snapped them. Now both falling, they fought with fists. Kravinoff was bleeding. Spider was still going.

They slammed onto the ground. Spider's fall was cushioned by Kravinoff. He swung away....

Nearby, Eddie Brock shook as he snapped his camera.

---

JJJ had gone ballistic. "Perfect! Perfect! I can see the headlines now: 'Spider-Man: Murderer'! I love it!"

"But you see, Jonah, the thing is, Kravinoff attacked Spider-Man. It could have been self-defe-"

"Wait, wait!" JJJ blared, interrupting Robbie mid-word. "I've got a better headline! 'A Killer Amongst Us'!"

"You're acting like he's already been convicted! Fact is, there's not even a threat of a trial! The police only want him for questioning!"

"No, no, no! I have it this time! 'The Blood Spilt by Spider-Man'!"

---

"Questioning?"

"Yes, Eddie, that's all the police want. I'm afraid this photo seems too biased. It leans in favor of one side, and it's really too risky to print anything but the facts...."

"But, Ms. Winters, what's more factual than picture-proof! This wasn't self-defense, it was cold-blooded murder!"

"Listen, Eddie, I'm sorry. You're new at this, but you'll learn in time...."

"What's there to learn? It's not like this is first time! He stole the alien from Dr. Connors' lab, remember?"

"There's still no proof of that. And besides, theft is hardly the equivolent of murder."

"But -"

"Better luck next time, Eddie."

---

Mason looks down at his copy of the Daily Bugle.

"The Spider Feasts," he reads aloud, "an editorial by J. Jonah Jameson." He looks up at his screen.

"This is.... most disturbing...." the voice booms. "I noticed something different about Spider-Man the last time I met him, but I never suspected anything like this." He chuckles. "The hero's going rogue. How intriguing.... I wonder, does it have anything to do with that suit?"

"Maybe," Mason suggests, "Spider-Man is dead. Perhaps this is someone new entirely."

There is a moment's silence.

"Put all other plans on hold, Tinkerer. This demands immediate attention - up close and personal...."

"Then -?"

"Yes. It's time."

---

"I don't know, Eddie. I mean, Spider-Man? A murderer? Isn't that a bit wild?"

"I know it sounds crazy, Gwen, but I was there. I saw it. Kravinoff was dead before he hit the ground."

"I think you're getting a bit obsessive about this...."

"Why doesn't anyone believe me? Am I wrong to believe that there should be a price to pay for murder? Okay, maybe I overreacted to the alien thing, but this is for sure!"

"Eddie, it's getting to your head! What you saw was disastrous and though I'm no psych major, I understand what it could do to you...."

"So what, you're worried about me too?"

"Eddie, I - let's change the subject. I heard you got a new job. Daily Globe, right? How's that going?"

"Not well at all. It's not my thing to be a stuck-up, snobby, selfish tabloid journalist...."

"Tabloid? Since when is the Daily Globe a -"

"I'm not Peter Parker, all right!"

There's a moment's silence.

"Have you seen Peter, Eddie?" Gwen asks suddenly.

"Why would I even care about that guy?" He notices a tear run down Gwen's cheek. "What - what's wrong?"

"Peter, he...." Gwen sniffles. "He's been missing for three days...."

---

We get it now. All that time of trying to figure what was "wrong" with our life. We kept thinking that if we stopped being the Spider, all our problems would be miraculously solved. But what kind of a life did we lead before it all? A damn hell! The Spider's not the problem. Peter Parker is. So the answer is simple: Peter Parker no more....

The Spider swings down to Peter Parker's house. Loose ends must be severed.

For the last time, Peter Parker steps into his room and picks up his phone off his bedroom floor. He dials for Gwen.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Gwen, it's Peter."

"Peter! What's happened to you?"

"I'm no more."

"Wh- what?"

"Somebody else is with you."

"Eddie's here. Why?"

"Good. We want a last word with him, too."

"We?"

"Put him on."

Gwen passes the phone to Eddie. "It's Peter. I.... think...."

"Peter, you son of a -"

"Rot in hell, Brock. We don't give a damn what you have to say about anything. Taking a few pictures never hurt anyone, but you being an ******* did. It didn't hurt us, though. You should've realized a long time ago that you had no other friends. Now, you have none. You think Gwen cares? She'll turn on you just like everyone else when she realizes what an idiot you truly are. Now put her back on."

Eddie's about to retort, but Gwen grabs the phone out of his hand, realizing what he's about to say.

"Peter, where are you?"

"For now, at my house. But soon, I'll no longer exist. You'll never see us again. We just wanted you to know that we have no regrets. So good-bye."

He hangs up and then, Peter Parker is no more.

There is only the Spider....

---

He was on the TV that night. Doc Ock, that is. He was in Central Park, apparently, and had challenged the Spider to a on-one-on duel to the death. The Spider accepted.

When the Spider arrived, it skipped conversation. Its pride was on the line. Reporters were everywhere. No one was going to miss it. No one.

Eddie close to the center of the action, ready to watch as the fight unfolded.

The Spider got in the first move, kicking Ock in the lake of Central Park. He shot out his tentacles, using three to regain his balance and one to assault the Spider, who leaped to the side and shot a web-bullet of some kind at Ock, heading his directly in the stomach.

Doc Ock stumbled backwards, coughing up blood. But he wasn't out. Not yet. He leapt into the air and came down on top of the Spider, pinning it with one tentacle. The Spider tore it off. It lunged upwards and launched an uppercut, knocking off Doc Ock's sunglasses and sending him flying backwards.

But Doctor Octopus had a plan. As he stumbled, he knew that he would have a moment before the Spider could attack again, and used it to tear off a piece of the Spider's costume. Finally, Ock hit the ground, watching as the Spider's suit repaired the missing piece, which itself was struggling to return to its host.

"Interesting," he said, "your costume seems.... alive.... Like some sort of.... alien...."

Eddie heard him loud and clear. He dropped his camera. The Spider hadn't sold the alien after stealing it. They had bonded....

Suddenly, the separated piece of alien slid down Ock's tentacle. "Now, show me the power!" What emerged was a fiend of horror and revolt. A crimson beast with yellow teeth, and four sharpened tentacles growing out of its spine. Even the fourth tentacle had been repaired. Monster Ock, they would call it....

And Monster Ock seemed to gain the advantage over the Spider, striking out relentlessly and at four times the speed. But the Spider seemed unalarmed. Unworried. Cool and calm.... It simply evaded Monster Ock's strikes.

It tore out trees and tossed them at the Spider. It lashed and lunged and slashed at the Spider. And the Spider did not fight back.

They would soon know why.

The Spider held out its hand then, as Monster Ock fell over, seemingly exhausted. The alien slithered away and reattached with the Spider. Beneath the surface, Doctor Otto Octavius had been transformed into a corpse.

Eddie Brock ran over. "What the hell did you do to him??? You freak!!!!!"

The Spider looked down. "Rot in hell, Brock. We don't give a damn what you have to say about anything."

His eyes widened with realization. And he snarled. "Peter Parker."

The Spider swung away....

---

"Quite a display that was in Central Park," Tombstone said as the Spider creeped into his office. "The cops will be looking for you now. You must be extra careful not to associate yourself with me."

"Won't be necessary," the Spider hissed. "We won't be associated with you any longer. Don't need you anymore...."

Tombstone barely had time to turn around before he found himself plunging to the street below...."

---

Months passed. Criminals cringed in corners, fearing the Spider. Many reformed. The Spider didn't care.

The police had faded away. They weren't needed anymore. Neither was government, really, but it stood as a figurehead. Everyone knew that the Spider's word was law.

Few challenged it. Those few met together. They were led by the one who hated him the most. Eddie Brock. He was their strategy. Their only strategy.

Sacrifices had been made to learn of the Spider's weakness. They knew it now.

So Brock had his own suit. And he would do whatever it took to defeat the Spider once and for all....

---

The Spider watched over the city, as they looked up at it. It was something to be feared, they knew that. But to oppose it - wouldn't that mean death?

They recalled the fates of those such as George Stacy and others, and so they cringed in fear.

Eddie Brock did not. He didn't even bother with a sneak attack. He flew up to the Spider's perch and simply said, "Die, freak," and attacked.

The Spider dodged his first strike and grabbed ahold of Brock. They spiraled down to the lower skyscrapers before Brock broke free and struck back. The Spider zipped out of the way, skidded along the side of the Empire State Building, spun around it, and lunged after Brock.

Brock didn't run though. He wanted to end it quickly. So he fought back during the Spider's mid-strike.

The blast was incredible. The Spider was halted in his tracks, and fell onto the rooftop. Eddie walked up and resumed the blast.

"Your one weakness," he smirked. "Sonics."

The Spider winced and screamed and hollered in pain, but it was too much. And then, the alien left him. The shell of Peter Parker was left on the rooftop.

"And now, Bro, it's time to die."

"No!" It cried out. "The power! I need my love! Come back to me!" It shouted over the edge of the rooftop, down towards the squirming alien.

Jean DeWolffe caught the alien at the bottom, sealing it in an airtight container.

"That's mine!" The shell yelled down. "I need it!"

"Bro," Eddie said, "you're a very sorry case. But then again, you've lived a life with no regrets. I have not."

And so, he lifted the shell and tossed it down the building....