Chapter 10
Last Time on Infinite Crisis in the Amazing Universe (in Chapter 6)
The Amazing Identity Crisis: Amazing returned to his own world after missing for three months. He found out Aunt May died of a heart attack and Mary Jane upset over his disappearance. Next the Amazing Spider-Man was captured by the mysterious Armoured Spider-Man, rescued by Black Cat, and then faced off against Chameleon Noir. Using the Tablet's power to grant him a new life and new morphing powers similar to symbiotes, Chameleon impersonated Nick Fury to take over SHIELD and attempted to take over the United States by becoming President Barrack Obama. Amazing and Cat defeated Chameleon but at a cost: The Armoured Spider-Man shot Black Cat to death. While the Armoured Spider-Man fled, the Amazing Spider-Man was left looking over his friend's corpse not feeling all too amazing…
Amazing Universe: "I am Spider-Man"
"Peter!"
"Hold on I'm coming!" Peter Parker screams as he runs through the alley way.
"Peter!" screams through the alley followed by sobs.
"Just hold on!" As Peter continues to run through the alley his hands and feet are in his suits gloves and boots.
Screams of pain echo through the alley as Peter Parker reaches the end and finds nothing.
"Where are you!" Peter screams with his legs and arms now in the suit.
Turning, Peter sees a blonde woman falling to her death. Parker leaps high into the air webs high and catches her just in time. Landing on a nearby building, Peter checks the blonde woman and finds her neck broken…and he knows her…Gwen Stacy. Placing Gwen down, Peter finds his torso is now covered in the suit. Fighting the fear and terror, Parker looks back when he sees his Aunt May sitting on a park bench. Parker leaps forward to his Aunt, but as Peter gets closer Aunt May grabs her heart and falls over. Reaching his Aunt May, Peter finds her lying over lifeless with her hand on her chest. Peter goes to stroke a tear off of his face but finds the suits mask is now on his head. A gun shot is heard and the Amazing Spider-Man leaps out and finds Black Cat holding her bleeding side helpless. Amazing looks to his left hand and sees a smoking pistol. He pulled the trigger…
"Me, I like action. How about you Kitty-Cat?" Amazing mutters having no control over his own actions now. Trying to keep it down, Amazing's hand with the pistol shakes as it raises pointing at Black Cat.
A flash of bright light covers his eyes. Once the light clears, Peter Parker stands in his normal clothes with a hold, used pistol on one hand and a dead Uncle Ben bleeding from a gunshot wound on the ground.
"Night, night"
…
Peter Parker wakes up screaming in a cold sweat. After taking a few moments to breathe, Parker looks around the room to make sure he's safe. An abandoned, run down house in the bad part of the city. Probably the only safe place by Amazing to hold up. That other Spider-Man acted like he knew everything about him so assumingly the only safe place to hold up is somewhere no Spider-Man has history with, so random run down house wins it. Also its Amazing's birthday, not that he or anyone cares. Best birthday week ever.
"Happy birthday to me," Amazing whispers to himself.
A week ago Black Cat died. Amazing got the tablet piece, defeated a Chameleon from an alternate dimension with morphing powers, rescued the President of the United States, revealed the Shield was being ran by a fake Nick Fury, and watched one of his closest friends who risked her life for him time and time again die in front of him…shot by someone who was him perhaps…the Armoured Spider-Man.
For the last week it's been chaos as Shield was withdrawn out of the city by the orders of the President. Since Shield was withdrawn, the crime rate in the city has gone berserk. Thefts, muggings, and murder. The police are trying to cope with the return of the crime wave but they have to do so without the heroes. All the heroes related to the Avengers into any way were pushed out of the city due Shield entering the city as its defenders. The Avengers have been trying to return to the city but due to the growing tension created by a super powered being trying to kill the President, anyone with powers and special abilities is now under scrutiny. With the Avengers already locked out of the city, the government wants to try to have more control over the heroes and villains so the Avengers are forced to go through the political hoops before they can return. That leaves New York to Amazing and the other rag tag heroes left behind to defend it along with the police.
Thankfully with the city on lockdown that means he's out there and can't get out, not that the Armoured Spider-Man is on the run. On the contrary Amazing has been on the lookout for the other Spider-Man and keeps finding clues. Though the clues were not left behind absent mindedly, but rather left deliberately by Amrour for Amazing to find. Each clue has led Amazing to believe that Armoured is holding up in a mall of all places. Gearing up, Amazing puts on his suit which is now fairly torn since going home for materials or back-up suits is not possible. After opening the window to leave Amazing finds an envelope webbed to the side of the house.
Sighing, Amazing opens the envelope and reads the card inside. 'I know where you are. Say hi because you're in the scope of my sniper rifle…' Amazing immediately rolls and hides further in the house before reading the card further. '…and no I will not shot you dead, yet. I think it's time we ended this today. We would have done this sooner but I wanted to get us both a present first. Before we fight over what I did to your Kitty Cat, I think we both deserve this treat. If you're worthy of being Spider-Man you should have figured out where I am by now. Come to me and take the ear phone with you, if you don't then there will be a lot of dead people today. PS…'
Suddenly three shots are fired through the side of the building. None of the shots are near Amazing meaning those were just a warning. Amazing goes back to read the letter and it finishes with '…PS I know you so well I know how long it took you to read the letter that I shot your building just when I know you got to the end. Imagine what I can do when we meet again. –Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man'
…
"Not that it wasn't official before but this guy is a psychopath," Amazing talks to himself as he swings towards the mall, "but he knows what he's doing. I don't know why but he's made it clear, he knows me very well and knows how to mess with me." Just as Amazing lands in front of the mall, he's already stopped seven muggings and four thefts and it's only the middle of the afternoon. New York has gotten that bad.
Just as Amazing comes closer to the mall he hears over the earphone "Testing, Testing, can you hear me Peter Parker?"
Though he's not surprised this guy knew his name, it's still chilling to hear a villain say it out load. "Yes I can hear you."
"Good. I left a bag for you to the left of the building with clothes for Peter Parker. Come in as Parker, not Spider-Man. You can keep the costume on underneath I don't care, we just don't need people panicking with you walking around.
Getting dressed, Amazing takes his suit off and enters into the mall as Peter Parker.
"BANG!"
Amazing flinches than realizes Armoured played a recording of a gunshot over the earphone.
"Made you flinch. I just couldn't resist." Armour laughs then continues. "Must annoy you that your spider sense doesn't work with me."
Amazing starts to question how he knows he can't set off his spider sense when he hears a quiet shot and a slight rumble by his left foot. A bullet hole an inch from his foot. Amazing thinks to himself 'He's right. He doesn't set off my spider sense but why let me know that?'
After hearing a sniper cocking over the earphone, Armoured starts to speak again "Don't worry I won't kill you yet. You will know when it's coming, I promise you that." Taking a moment to breathe, Amazing waits for further instruction. "Come closer into the mall and you'll see a man wearing a trench coat standing by the fountain. Go and talk to him."
Amazing walks up and finds the trench coat man beside the fountain. Walking up to him, Amazing dressed as Peter Parker taps him on the shoulder. The man in the trench coat turns around and it's Mac Gargan, the Amazing Universe's Scorpion. Mac looks grim and then turns to shock recognizes Peter Parker.
Quietly under his breath Mac Gargan says, "Peter Parker…you're Spider-Man?"
Again feeling stunned from hearing a villain say his name, Amazing doesn't respond.
Whimpering in fear, Gargan pulls his handcuffed hands up asking, "Please if you are save me." Gargan tries to walk but trips over his handcuffed feet. Must be pretty strong metal to keep Gargan chained up. Groveling loudly at Amazing, Gargan looks up and pleads, "I don't want to die! Please!"
And all Amazing can hear over the earphone is "Happy Birthday Parker. A present for us both." And a red dot appears on Gargan's head.
Sweeping Gargan's legs, the bullet barely missed him. Spotting the bullet coming from the right, Amazing immediately plants Gargan lying down to the left of the fountain. People begin to spread out running having seen the bullet that time.
"Shame, that was our birthday present," Armour announces over the earphones then continues, with, "but I figured you'd save him. You never understood what a hero has to do. This criminal has attacked the innocent and put them in danger countless times. I'm trying to do something better and I hoped that maybe you would join me. Be one and the same."
Listening to what Armour said over the earphones, Amazing realizes what he is dealing with. Amazing then takes time to check over Gargan. Both his hands and feet are handcuffed but he's still in his Scorpion suit, which must be disabled.
As Gargan sobs in fear, "Oh God. Thank God. I knew he wasn't you. You were never like that. He jumped me two days ago, disabled my suit, and tortured me. I haven't eaten in three days. It's just…"
"Shh!" Amazing snaps out, "Listen can you get out of here on your own? Can you walk with those on?"
"No, no I can't. He'll shoot me, I wouldn't be able to move fast enough."
As Amazing finishes getting the rest of his suit on he says, "I'll keep his attention."
"You know I can hear you right?" Armour beckons out on the earphone, "but that's fine. Tell you what, I have eight shots left for this sniper rifle. Want to test those reflexes of yours and see if you can make me run out?"
Amazing closes his eyes and simply says, "Deal." Knowing where the shots are coming from now will at least make it easier to dodge.
Amazing leaps out from behind the fountain into a somersault landing on a nearby wall. Jumping out with great speed Amazing dodges the first shot. Turning in midair 360 degrees, Amazing dodges the second shot. The third shot just scratches Amazing on his left thigh, followed by the fourth shot just skimming by his ear barely missing. Attaching onto a wall, Amazing sprints up a wall out running the fifth and sixth shots.
"You know I expected more from a clone haha!" Amazing yells mockingly.
"What did you call me!" Armour roars as he fires out his seventh shot without even aiming and misses Amazing by two feet.
"Oh come on! You should be comfortable in your own skin…or mine I guess," Amazing quips as he easily dodges the eighth and final shot, "thinking now that just sounds creepy. Well from the way you're shooting I'm definitely under your skin."
"Shut up! Shut up!" Armour screams as he fired off a ninth shot.
Amazing stays still unsure where the shot went. Then a scream. Mac Gargan is six feet from the fountain lying on the floor in a pool of blood coming from his neck….dead. Amazing looks on in horror at another death he failed to prevent.
"But, but…I…" Is all Amazing can whimper at the sight of his once mortal enemy who moments ago begged for protection.
"Happy birthday to us, happy birthday dear Peter Parker….Happy Birthday to Spider-Man." Rings out into Amazing's ear as Armour has the last laugh.
With the mall all cleared out after the shots, sirens can be heard racing to their location. Amazing looks out to Amour still hiding up above and spots his armoured double standing with a pistol pointed at him.
Armour calmly says over Amazing's ear piece, "We've had our present, now it's time to end this."
Amazing quickly sends out two web lines, which pulls both the pistol out of Armour's hand and Amour down to the ground. Armour easily (and purposefully) falls prey losing his gun and falling to the ground. Amrour lands on his feet as Amazing takes the pistol in hand, then the Amazing Spider-Man points the pistol at the Armoured Spider-Man.
Furious, Amazing screams, "What have you done! You cold blooded murderer!" You're no better than…than…"
Armour then places his head at the end of the pistol and whispers, "No better than the man who killed Uncle Ben, right?"
Amazing stutters but holds the pistol firm.
Armour laughs slightly then continues, "Since I found that tablet piece things have never been clearer. I was a clone of the Spider-Man of my dimension and was called the (The Ultimate) Scorpion. I was quite insane and could barely understand who I was or what was going on."
"Get to the point…"
"The point is the tablet cleared my mind and gave me all the memories of the Peter Parker of my dimension and of this one…your memories. I saw the pain experienced across two dimensions and the sacrifices made. That needed to change. We needed to change."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"With Great Power comes Great Responsibility."
"Don't you dare say that. Not after what you've done."
"Too many people we have cared about have died and let's face it, it will continue to happen. Just look at what I did to the Cat. Your way doesn't work. Having Peter Parker and Spider-Man at the same time doesn't work. No one is safe unless we take control and let the boss do what he needs to do. To bring power and organization to the city and then world."
"Who is this boss…"
"You know I won't tell you that…now you can either shoot me dead right here or…"
"Or what!"
Armour then stabs Amazing with a needle. "Or I can just knock you out with this paralytic serum. I knew you didn't have the guts to shoot. You can never be a Superior Spider-Man like I am."
Amazing falls to his knees and slowly but surely, his eyes close and falls unconscious.
…
Amazing wakes up in an office he has seen before…King Pin's central New York Office. 'So this is the boss' Amazing thinks to himself as he soon realizes his legs and arms and tied up. The Kingpin with the Armoured Spider-Man then enter.
"So why did you bring here? That was not a part of our arrangement." Amazing Kingpin mutters to Armoured.
Armoured quips back, "Thought it'd be fun to see how you'd torture me if you had the chance. Plus I just don't like his face."
"Now my boy, wouldn't you two share the same face."
"Yeah but I can pull it off. Just don't pull his mask off, I like my privacy."
"Hm, you do know I will need to know your identity under there eventually for our deal to work, don't you?"
"And here I thought we were BFFs. I thought you knew me well enough. I'm just not ready to give that up quite yet. You still have that monster around?"
"Why yes. Why would I give up such valuable resources such as that beast, besides for you anyways?"
"Why we just might be BFFs after all!" Armoured quips at the King Pin.
Amazing looks over and sighs, "You're just not as funny as the original."
Armoured punches Amazing in the gut and states "Hey I'm good with a punch line!"
Amazing sputters trying to catch his breath but manages to say "That's not funny either."
With that Armoured throws another punch knocking Amazing out cold.
…
Amazing's eyes slowly open in an empty room with a monster standing chained down across from him. The gigantic scorpion-like monster roars and tries lunging forward but is stopped by his chains. Drool slides down his mouth making Amazing feel both disgusted and worried at the same time.
A PA system sparks up with Armoured Spider-Man announcing, "Welcome Spider-Man to the final battle. We've already seen one Scorpion die today, so let's see how another one fares today. Spider-Man of today versus Scorpion of the future!"
Amazing looks across to Scorpion 2099 standing across from him.
Armoured Spider-Man pipes up over the PA system again, "FYI, This is Kron Stone from the year 2099. You saw him before as Venom of the future but King Pin managed to capture him and pull the symbiote off of him. Turns out he was a Scorpion too after the tablet and symbiote from pulled away. We weren't sure what to do with him, though I originally voted to burn him in a furnace, but I'm glad we kept him alive because I will personally enjoy this match the most. AND FIGHT!"
Both Amazing and Scorpion 2099 are freed at the same time. Scorpion charges like a mindless monster and Amazing dodges with ease. Unfortunately, as Amazing climbs the walls to escape Scoprion climbs the walls with ease chasing down the wall crawler. Scorpion starts to spit out acid and Amazing manages to dodge. Webbing up Scorpion's mouth, Amazing jumps out throwing punches and kicks trying to knock out the scorpion-like monster. Ripping the webbing off, Scorpion throws his giant claws at Amazing. Amazing manages to dodge one but not the other, which sends the spider flying across the room and against the wall. Scorpion charges ahead full steam but Amazing sends out a webline to trip the giant monster. Leaping high into the air, Amazing comes crashing down on Scorpion's chest and lets out the final punch knocking out Kron Stone, the Scorpion of the future.
Armoured pipes up over the PA system "Seriously…are you kidding me! He didn't last like 5 minutes! Shouldn't stuff from the future be like 10 times better or something!"
Seeing a weak spot in the wall from Scorpion's acid, Amazing pulls the metal wall back and crawls into the walls themselves.
"Wait, where are you going!" Armoured yells over the PA.
Crawling through the building, Amazing finds himself coming across a laboratory containing the future venom symbiote from the year 2099 and a tablet piece. Seeing an easy grab, Amazing goes for the tablet but Armoured appears behind Amazing. Armoured pulld out a rifle and empties a chamber into Amazing's chest…with a series of rubber bullets! Not dead but severely hurt and winded by the rubber bullets, Amazing staggers backwards as Armoured tosses him across the room with ease.
"I am fed up of Scorpions failing me today." Armoured mutters to himself. "The one from this dimension was easy to capture to kill and the one from the future you beat up in like minutes! Makes me happy I gave up that mantle and took over ours once more."
Armoured grabs Amazing again and throws him into the ceiling. Amazing hits it and comes falling right back down. Armoured steps on Amazing's neck and puts on some pressure.
Armoured laughs saying, "At least my deal with the King Pin will be ending shortly."
Amazing between heavy breaths manages to get out, "This was your deal? To kill me? Lets be honest you've had plenty of chances to end me since we met."
Armoured sighs letting out, "You just don't get it yet do you? King Pin will keep Mary Jane and Peter Parker safe, meaning you. No more me being late. No more disappointing. No more me hurting my loved ones. I will not only be a Superior Spider-Man to you, but you can be a Superior Peter Parker as well." Armoured then kicks Amazing across the room through a series of beaker and chemicals. "You see the best Peter Parker that can exist is one with no Spider-Man around. Same thing for Spider-Man being better without a Peter Parker."
Before Amazing can get up, Armoured tosses out an electric grenade that takes our hero down another peg. Amazing screams and falls to his knees.
"You see Peter Parker," Armoured Spider-Man continues, "the deal I made with King Pin was the best for both of your identities. You get to be the best Peter Parker you can be with Mary Jane, while I remain Spider-Man. With the King Pin's protection, you will never have to worry about people important to us dying, like Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, and Aunt May. We have let all three of them down but this way we will never do that again. You worry about Peter Parker and I worry about Spider-Man."
Sputtering blood through the mask, Amazing looks up to his clone saying, "You killed Black Cat. How does that prove you're the better Spider-Man?"
"Look Peter, I didn't want to be you dragged her into this. She got in my way and I need every criminal out there to know what I'll do to them when they get in my way. Between her and Scorpion, I'm sure everyone will understand to back down when they see me."
Amazing finds some power in him and manages to clip Armoured on the chin, his first contact with him since they met.
Armoured staggers back as Amazing webs his clone counterpart and whips him against the wall. Amazing leaps and gets in a few good jabs across the ribs and skull. The Armoured Spider-Man's helmet goes flying off revealing the younger version of Peter Parker underneath. Blood pools down the clone's lip as he looks up at Amazing furiously. Armoured lifts Amazing off the ground and slams this dimension's hero into the ground. Armoured then webs Amazing's feet and arms to the floor.
"You still don't get it," Armoured is seething trying to hold his anger back, "This is for the both of us, yet you still fight me! I did this for both of us! This and Mac Gargan are our Birthday present for each other." Armoured stomps on Amazing possibly cracking a rib. "The tablet has made me stronger than you. Gave me powers like you. Made me better than you!" Armoured stomps againt breaking another rib.
"You let Aunt May die!" Amazing screams.
Armoured stops and looks shocked at Amazing.
"You were here when she died. She died because we were not around! You could have been with her, been the Peter Parker she needed. I had no choice when I was taken for 6 months, but you did." Amazing pulls his arms and legs free of the webbing as he continues. "And Uncle Ben, he died doing the right thing trying to stop a thug like you with a gun! He was a great man." Amazing gets to his feet. "Gwen Stacy died because of a lunatic who thought he knew better, just like how Black Cat died because of you!" Amazing clenches his fists as Armoured looks down from the hero with tears building up.
Armoured looks up to Amazing with a face full of tears. "How dare you compare me to the Goblin and the man who took Uncle Ben away. How Dare YOU!"
Armoured throws a punch but in his rage, Amazing ducks the punch and tosses the clone over his shoulder with ease. Amazing runs and tackles Armoured into the wall. The two Spider-Men begin to throw punches but Amazing gets to edge with Armoured distracted by his emotions running out of control. Armoured forces Amazing off into a lab table.
"Screw the deal, I'll kill you!" Armoured screams rushing for Amazing.
Amazing whips out acid against the clone's armoured chest weakening the metal, and the face.
"Ahhhhh, what have you done to me!" Armoured screams with the acid scalding his face.
Armoured screams in pain as Amazing throws a base onto the clone's face to stop the acid's effect. Scarred and hurt, Armoured's superior strength and speed becomes meaningless as his rage takes over losing all sense of skill. Easily webbing up Armoured against a wall, Amazing goes for the final attack. Throwing punches and ribbing armour off, Amazing eventually leaves the Armoured Spider-Man webbed against the wall crying, webbed to the wall, and with most of his armour ripped off.
Now the clone is neither Peter Parker nor Spider-Man. The clone has lost the Spider-Man armour and the face of Peter Parker, evidence of both identities gone. Discovering the tablet piece amongst the broken armour bits, Amazing takes the tablet piece. Hearing guards trying to enter the lab, Amazing runs and crawls into the closest air shft. Breaking out of the King Pin's tower in Manhattan, Amazing takes a long, quiet swing to a new hide out having a lot to think about.
…
Back at King Pin's lair, the defeated clone is discovered but due to the acid to the face, no one can discover Spider-Man's true identity. When King Pin and his men try to take the clone's blood and finger prints for analysis, the former armoured clone freaks out finding his strength back and kills all of King Pin's men. King Pin himself tries to stop the clone, but he takes a shot to the stomach from a retrieved gun from one of the henchmen. Searching the building and killing everyone he comes across, the clone from the Ultimate Dimension loses a bit more of his mind with each step. Slowly the clone is turning back into the mindless monster his was before. Finally the cloned Peter Parker finds what he was looking for…the final piece of the Tablet of Order and Chaos resting beside the Venom Symbiote of 2099.
"We're…not done…yet…Amazing…Spider-Man," the clone speaks to himself in broken stutters.
The Ultimate clone of Peter Parker then merges with the symbiote forming a new into Venom 2099 with the final tablet piece being absorbed into the symbiote!
"We're poison to you Spider-Man. We are no longer symbiote or clone, we are Venom!"
With the skull-like head and dripping acid from his teeth, Venom lets out a loud roar before disappearing from the room, then building, and then into the night sky.
Next Time on Infinite Crisis
Amazing Spider-Man confronts the killer of Black Cat and finds out the true identity of the Armoured Spider-Man
...
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Characters from Chapter 10: I Am Spider-Man (spoilers if you haven't read yet)
Amazing Spider-Man
Amazing Scorpion (killed by Armoured Spider-Man)
Ultimate Scorpion/Armoured Spider-Man (Last seen merging with Venom 2099)
Venom 2099 (currently merged with the Peter Parker clone from the Ultimate universe)
Scorpion 2099 (last seen at King Pin's base in Manhattan)
Amazing King Pin (killed by Armoured Spider-Man)