Hey Guys, it's been a really long while hasn't it, more so than usual as I try to update this one every several weeks max.
But recently, I've been swamped with a myriad of nonsensical bullshit and have been working on new material overall so I had to take time off this one.
Have no fear though as I have no intentions of abandoning this diamond in the rust of crossovers. I never expected this oddball of a crossover to get so popular so there's no way in hell I'm leaving this one. It's my pride and joy.
And you can also thank the Spider-man Homecoming trailer for reinvigorating my love for this crossover to an absurd degree.
However I cannot deny that I have been severely exhausted both mentally and physically. There's nothing worse than having both of that at the same time and usually my mentality is what allows me to write as fast as I can but I just got hit with that shit and bam, just slumped in tiredness for some time.
But now I'm back, I've got a bunch of new content on the way both for this story and my newest crossover The Avengers: The Clone Wars along with my Noble Justice story, League of Avengers and another new Crossover I'm working hard on. It's a surprise.
So that's all I have to say for now
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day
Along Came A Spider Chapter 19: This job can be a real pain in the ass. A real stinger
It was a rather somber month really.
Nothing eventful whatsoever.
Except for the fact that no sooner did Tali depart, Wrex left a month later as well.
Something about returning the Krogan to its former glory, whether it be through bloodshed or diplomacy…..bloodshed, yeah mostly head-butting bloodshed.
And now Garrus was splitting time between C-sec and whenever the Normandy had a mission. Which up to this point had none. And because of this, the team has been mostly separate from one another with Garrus and Peter being the only ones who kept up daily contact, the rest conversing with one another and meeting each other sporadically throughout the quiet month
It was a rare moment of utter silence in the Citadel in terms of crime or turmoil.
Well, big crime to be fair.
Spider-man still went on his daily patrols, snagging the occasional mugger, car jackers, robbers, attempted murder and yadda yadda yadda.
Garrus had been his main partner for most of the month with even Ashley and the others sometimes joining in to pass the time.
Still, things could be more interesting.
Tali had already message them several times now, telling them of her resettling back into Flotilla life while also expressing how much she missed them all.
She spoke with Peter the longest about the typical science stuff, specifically on arc reactor technology.
Other than that, typical by the numbers day.
Peter currently sat atop one of the various buildings on the Citadel, mask up to his nose while eating lunch.
The hero overlooked the civilization that floated through space, seemingly impervious from the problems outside, though untrue.
Humanity was now a part of the council and was now even more rapidly expanding in their role as a part of the citadel.
Some would say they are too aggressive as they have before. Others have come to respect them, seeing their eagerness to prove themselves admirable and they cite Shepard and the Normandy team as a sign for the bright future of unity to come in the galaxy in time.
Of course there are those who would call that foolish optimism but Peter can be counted amongst them. After all, he was a part of that team.
Finishing off the last of his meal, Peter wiped his mouth before sliding his mask back on.
Standing up into a stretch, Peter did a quick limber up before flipping several times in the air, freefalling downwards before firing a web line to swing once again from building to building.
"Ha, face it Peter" Spider-man said to himself "You're officially somewhat bored now"
Spider-man kept on swinging, not putting much effort in using his senses to detect any trouble. Besides, they were already dialed up to eleven, so if anything would happen, he would react instantly.
Deciding he had nothing better to do, Spider-man managed to discreetly swing into and alley way, the Symbiot receding beneath his civilian clothes.
He walked out onto the streets casually, strolling around the Citadel.
Peter soon realized that he was nearby the same park where he captured Electro.
Thinking of Electro, Peter wondered how exactly is he being held prisoner right now. He isn't exactly a typical run of the mill bad guy in this universe. He's pure energy by this point. So how exactly is C-sec or whatever authority figure is keeping the enhanced human on lockdown?
Peter will have to find out later for himself, idly looking up at Citadel skies as he walked towards the intersecting paths
Unbeknownst to our favorite wall crawler, a certain someone was walking down the opposite path, coming right towards Peter without knowing it.
She was so engrossed in her files that she didn't see and currently daydreaming Parker walking right in her line.
Miranda Lawson was intently studying over the battle between Spider-man and Electro, pulling up a file on the recent studies made by Elector by the Salarian Science Department over at one of the many C-sec prisons here on the Citadel.
To say that he was a shocking discovery was an understatement(pun intended). Recently the galaxy has been undergoing rather monumental shifts. Where Biotics were once considered something one would call "Superpowers", what she has seen can truly be described as super powers. New suits that are pushing the foundations of science from spring action to literal shockwaves. Individuals whose actions are so immense that they are being heralded as heroes. Beings made of PURE ENERGY that can absorb Biotics with ease and fire bolts of electricity. And it all seemed to have begun with none other than Spider-man. Somebody who has done something extremely rare; capture Miranda Lawson's full attention and interest.
That of course came to a halt momentarily as she bumped into someone and nearly fell over had it not been for said persons quick reflexes in catching her arm and pulling her up back to where she stood.
"Whoops" The man cringed, "Sorry, I didn't see where I was going. I….Miranda? Hey Miranda, how's it been?"
Blinking in confusing and recovering from her fall, Miranda looked up to see that it was none other than Peter Parker giving her a toothy friendly smile.
Blinking once more, Miranda shook her head and actually gave Peter a coy smile.
"I see you're just as clumsy as you are when I last saw you" Miranda teased
Peter's face gaped in false disbelief before scrunching up into frowny like face, looking away with a 'hmph'.
"I see you're friendly disposition hasn't changed in the slightest" Peter remarked, crossing his arms for emphasis.
Miranda let out a huff of amusement as Peter's visage broke, giving her a grin.
"Seriously though Miranda, How are ya?" Peter asked "I haven't seen you for a while now"
"I have been rather busy" Miranda said that much "The organization which I work for has been hassling me with work giving very little time to myself"
"Looks like you're still working now" Peter said gesturing to several data pads in her arms
"These are more of personal projects of mine" Miranda stated causing Peter to brighten up
"Then that means you've got some free time on your hands" Peter declared "Since we haven't seen each other for a while, you wanna go get something to drink? Eat?"
Miranda quirked an eyebrow on her incredibly beautiful face.
"Why Peter Parker, are you asking me out on a date?" Miranda asked teasingly
Peter scratched the back of his head sheepishly a small blush on his face.
"Is it too much to ask that we pretend that it is?" Peter asked with false hope
"Yes" Miranda deadpanned "Too much indeed"
Peter comically deflated, his arms dangling at the Cerberus agents coldness, before snickering which turned into laughter and Miranda couldn't help but give Peter a small laugh in return.
"Coffee sounds nice" Miranda said with a small smile.
Within her thoughts, Miranda was once more stumped at her behavior around Peter Parker. She had very little interactions with the man over the course of the past year almost and every time the two met, she seemed to become more and more at ease around him.
What was it? Was it his personality? The demeanor he holds that somehow endeared its way into her heart? Or just his friendly disposition?
Miranda didn't know what it was exactly but honestly, she really didn't feel like questioning it right now. She had a good thing going here with someone who seemed to be made to exist outside all the madness in her life and just be someone she can speak to without giving anything away.
It was practically a getaway of sorts and she took advantage of every chance she had with Peter.
"WHOO" Peter cheered "Come on, I know just the spot"
Shaking her head in amusement, the two walked together to a coffee shop, taking a seat side by side at the window bar.
"Ah" Peter took a large gulp of his coffee "Haven't had one of these in a while"
Miranda merely smirked, taking small sips out of her espresso.
"Don't be such a brute when you drink" Miranda chastised playfully "You make yourself look dull-witted"
"Ah, but that's one of my redeeming charms" Peter whined like a child jokingly
Miranda rolled her eyes, nudging the man with her shoulder.
"You're best feature is this right here" Miranda poked his temple with her hand
"Ah, that's sweet Miranda" Peter gave her a one armed hug
"Hand off" Miranda said sweetly with laced danger making Peter instantly retract his arm and shiver
Miranda grinned to herself, glad to know that she still had that 'lethal' edge over men. Still though, Peter felt like a different case altogether but that was for another time.
They had small talk as they drank their coffee, just enjoying one another's company during this moment of peace in the galaxy.
but both knew in the back of their heads that this was only temporary. That something was just waiting around the corner to end the brief respite.
And Peter felt it coming to an end sooner rather than later. He looks down momentarily and he felt as though half his face was covered by his mask.
"Peter?"
The web-head blinked his head shooting up at the sound of the voice breaking his thoughts.
"Huh? What?" Peter looked to see Miranda staring at him inquisitively "What?"
"I asked if you were alright" Miranda said "You suddenly zoned out on me"
"Oh" Peter shook his head a bit "Sorry about that, a lot on my mind right now"
"Clearly" Miranda remarked "You're face became intense there for a moment"
"Heh, must have been important"
Miranda smirked momentarily before noticing the time. She had business to attend to and sadly that meant that this little get together had to end. That actually made her frown. She was enjoying this time off right now.
But the agent pushed those feelings aside, knowing she couldn't skive off on her duties.
Remorsefully, Miranda turned to Peter.
"Peter" She said softly but smoothly "I'm sorry to do this but I have to go. I have a job that needs me"
"Hey, there's no need to say sorry" Peter said understandably "We all have our responsibilities. I'll see you some other time Miranda. I have your contact info….I think….wait do i?"
Miranda simply shook her head in amusement, watching Peter fiddle with his Omni-tool in search of Miranda.
When he didn't find her, Miri just snorted and sent him her contact information which she received a grateful grin and thumbs up.
"See you around Peter" Miranda said, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder before it slid off.
Peter nodded his head with a smile, Miri returning it as she turned to walk away.
Peter couldn't help but notice that there was a bit of a sway in her hips. Whether it was intentional or not, Peter couldn't help but stare wide eyed at the near perfect figure of Miranda Lawson.
'HOLY HELL! HOW DID I MISS THAT?!' Peter thought, nearly dumbfounded at just how gorgeous Miranda's body looked
Snapping back to look forward, Peter violently shook his head as his face turned crimson from humiliation and old teenage hormones exploding back up to the surface.
Luckily Peter didn't see Miranda look back with curious look as she felt eyes on her. Realizing it was Peter and seeing him shake his head back and forth like crazy, Miranda couldn't help but smirked, feeling a sense of accomplishment in seeing him in such a state, not knowing that she herself had a light tint of pink on her cheeks.
Realizing what she was thinking of, Miranda felt mortified, also shaking her head trying to stamp out those thoughts.
Honestly, she was a stone cold agent of Cerberus. How in the blue hell was this happening right now.
Those thoughts remained with her as she speed walked away from the coffee shop leaving an equally flustered Peter Parker with his head still on Miranda's godly like figure.
His thoughts were interrupted by his Omni-tool beeping, meaning someone was contacting him.
Peter pulled up the Omni to see that it was Shepard.
"Hey Shepard, What's up?"
"Something of exciting but terrible note" Shepard said grimly "We've gotten word of some kind of systematic attack on lab stations that warrant the attention of the Citadel Council seeing as they had a personal hand in establishing them. We're being called in to investigate what's going on"
"Murder mystery most foul, eh?" Peter hummed "I haven't done one of those in a long time"
"Tell us about it later" Shepard said "Meet with the team at the Normandy docking bay. I got a weird gut feeling about this one"
"Knowing your gut feelings, it's better that we go as a team" Peter said "See you in a bit Shepard"
Peter cut off the line, dropped a credit chit on the table as he quickly downed his coffee and ran off.
Peter ran into and alleyway and once he reached the other opening came out swinging as Spider-man, the Symbiot covering his face at the last second.
"HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAAY~~~ LAAA LALA LA LA LA LAAAA~~~~" Peter sing-sang his way through the Citadel skyline
It took a matter of a few minutes for Peter to arrive at the specifically designated Normandy docking bay.
He saw Shepard, Liara, Kaidan and Garrus already there, waiting for him.
"Hey guys" Peter announced himself and the assembled team glanced up to see Spider-man swing off from a web line, doing a flip before landing before them "Hope I'm not too late"
"Nope" Said the voice of Ashley as she walked up towards them, geared up and ready "We all came in relative time"
"So what's this about Shepard?" Spider-man asked, hanging upside down
Shepard brought up his Omni-Tool in response. The Omni Tool brought up a screen displaying a wrecked lab.
"Beta outpost 17B, stationed in the Pegasus system is one of many Council sanctioned and funded joint controlled lab stations scattered throughout the Pegasus system" Shepard explained "This is the most recent one in a string of attacks done by a single individual"
"How many are we talking about here?" Garrus inquired, looking intently at the images Shepard had shared between the team
"Several labs" Shepard answered "Close to about seven. This most recent one makes this the eighth lab that's been attacked"
"Is there some kind of motive behind all this?" Liara inquired
"Not sure" Shepard stated, furrowing his brows "One thing is known, whoever this person is, is quick efficient and leaves few to no survivors. The only thing really missing is footage of the attacks and some very important data. The ones who managed to survive the attacks unfortunately were struck hard in their heads and did not see the assailant"
"So whoever this person is, they're precise, efficient and make sure that there's no survivors left" Garrus listed down
"Doesn't sound very encouraging really" Kaidan remarked
"Neither was taking on Saren" Ashley said confidently, eliciting grins from the team
"A shame though" Liara said melancholy "I really wish that Wrex and Tali were here with us"
The team held a sense of longing for a moment for their comrades and friends who are currently on their own personal journeys forcing them to separate from one another.
"We'll see them again in the future" Shepard said warmly, placing his arm around Liara making the Asari blush somewhat
The team all nodded.
"Now, let's do this" Shepard said and the team proceeded to board the Normandy.
A few minutes later, the Normandy detached itself from the docks and was flying off towards the closest Mass Relay.
Peter immediately went to the cockpit of the Normandy.
"Hey liver punch" Peter said cheerily "How are ya man?"
Joker groaned in annoyance and amusement
"UGH, Are you ever gonna let me live that down?" Joker said
"Did you say you wanna be called broken kidney stone? OH JOKER, you don't even have to ask" Peter remarked with a shit eating grin
"I hate you" Joker Deadpanned, though obviously not meaning it
"Ship on the up and ready Joker?" Shepard asked, entering the helm
"As always Commander" Joker said with the thumbs up "Coordinates locked in and ready to fly. Waiting on your word"
"Prep for flight and take off when ready" Shepard said with a nod, exiting the Pilots room
"So how's it been Web-head?" Joker asked, flicking some switches for the ignition "How's the daily round up been?"
"Oh you know, the usual" Peter said leaning on the back of Jokers chair "The everyday mugger, occasional thief, that kind of riff raff. Thankfully but at the same time, unfortunately, no super big baddies like Shocker or Electro cropping up"
"And how is that a bad thing?" Joker asked, clearly befuddled
"No big bad guys means they're planning something" Peter explained "And no big baddies means that Karma is gonna be a bitch with this quiet period cause after that, there's gonna be nothing but straight up noise"
Joker stared, unblinking at Parker who gave him a wry look that said 'Well? Am I wrong?'.
Joker groaned "Fuck I'm gonna hate what happens next"
"Exactly" Peter said, fiddling momentarily with his belt that held some new features.
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Garrus said, now entering the helm
"Garrus, in our line of work, especially after we know what's coming, it's only going to get worse" Spider-man reminded, shaking his head in disappointment
"Good point" Garrus said dejectedly "Hmm might as well get prepared. I'm gonna go…"
"Calibrate a gun" Peter finished for him "Yes, Garrus we know about your hobby already"
Garrus stared at his friend for a good long while "Wow just kill all the fun"
Peter snickered whilst watching Garrus stomp away comically.
"So how long has it been since we all had a mission together like this?" Joker had asked
"It can't have been that long?" Peter said, leaning on the top of Joker's rather tall chair
"I guess…maybe, I'm not really sure" Joker said with a shrug of his shoulders "I've honestly gotten used to going on constant missions with you guys that these quiet days feel way longer than usual"
"Yeah well join the club" Peter said, fiddling with his Omni-tool "Whenever I got these few moments I enjoyed the hell out of them…as best as I could"
"Wallowing in self pity" Joker joked
"Yeah mostly" Peter said with no regret making Joker sweat drop in response "But also eating and just hanging out with any hero who wanted to"
"So nothing new has been happening then?" Joker asked
"Other than the occasional crime, nope" Spider-man said "That's usually the worst kind of thing actually"
"I know, you just said that a few minutes ago"
"Hmmm, just like to repeat it to myself" Peter said "God knows how many times it's happened to me and how much it's gonna happen to us"
"Got that right" Joker murmured, punching in his commands before the ship detached itself from "Ship has liftoff, heading for the Mass Relay, strap yourselves in guys"
"I'll check back with you Joker" Peter said, leaving the cockpit
"Copy that" Joker said, maneuvering the ship around, flying towards the relay that will take them to the Pegasus system.
Peter headed down to the mess hall, his stomach growling in hunger.
He already saw Kaidan, Ashley and Liara sitting there, eating together. Grabbing some food, peter went over to join them.
"Hey guys" Peter greeted them
"Hey Pete" Ashley said in turn, the other two doing the same "How have ya been?"
"Just happy to know we're doing some good in the galaxy like always" Peter said with a grin "It's been a while since we all got to do something together"
"Well like Liara said Earlier, it's a shame Tali and Wrex aren't here to help us out" Kaidan remarked
"Yes, it does feel incomplete without them" Liara said with a somewhat downcast expression
"Hey now, I don't think the two of them would like it if we did this to ourselves" Peter said which made the group pause and think momentarily
Peter then realized something
"Actually, Wrex would be laughing it up right now but Tali wouldn't"
"There we go" Ashley said in agreement "That makes way more sense"
They chuckled heartily at the thought of that, spirits lifted.
"Hmmm" Kaidan hummed, munching on his lunch "Wonder what we're going up against this time. This seems pretty serious"
In Kaidan's other hand was a datapad that displayed the images of the attacked labs. While there were no videos of the attacks since it was somehow deleted, there were images that came out afterwards.
"Look at this place" Kaidan said, handing the pad over to Liara
"Hmmm, whoever attacked this lab did so with unconventional means" Liara noted "Look at these markings"
Ashley and Peter now looked at the images on the datapad together. Specifically the ones Liara brought up.
"Those puncture holes, gashes and scratches don't look like they were made from gun fire or biotics" Ashley noted
"Hmmm, more like claw marks" Peter said "Or A claw mark. Seems to be only one big claw with some tiny ones here and there"
"That does seem to be the more viable option" Liara said "But that just begs the question, who or what caused this?"
"Don't know about you guys but this seems entirely new" Ashley remarked "Whoever did this must have had some major tech at their disposal. The likes of which we have yet to see"
Peter silently contemplated on Ashley's words when his mind went into overdrive. It was like a storm had taken over inside the thoughts of the superhero as he processed just what they could be walking into.
He was so engulfed in his own thoughts he had failed to realize that the others were staring at him.
"Is that a thundercloud forming over his head or am I just dreaming?" Kaidan asked
"Peter" Ashley said aloud
No response
"Peter!" Ashley said a bit louder this time
Still nothing
"KAKAH" Ashley screeched abruptly making Peter jump and fall out of his seat
Liara and Kaidan just stared in complete bewilderment at what just happened
"The hell was that?" Said another voice which belong to Garrus who came to join them for lunch "Did we get a banshee or something as a pet bird?"
"No that's just Ashley" Peter said, now rubbing his ears "What was that for?!"
"You spaced out like crazy" Ashley stated
"Doesn't mean you have to screech like a parakeet that's being held down by metallic hands in order to get neutered" Peter said
That made everyone stare at Peter.
"What?"
"That was, WAY too specific of a comparison" Garrus stated "You're gonna tell us about that"
"No way" peter said immediately "Way too many bad memories"
"Another story for another time then" Garrus said, sitting beside Peter "Pass me the salt"
The group continued to chat with one another for the next hour, simply catching up or just idle subjects being thrown about here and there.
It wasn't long until Shepard joined them and thus they spent the entire trip together before at long last they arrived at Beta outpost 17B.
It has seen better days.
The Normandy saw a landing pad built into the asteroid space station and landed there. Once they landed, there was a VI heard and above them, the bay doors closed. The crew prepped their armor, weapons and equipment and disembarked from the ship.
"So anyone get the idea that we're I don't know, expected?" Kaidan said, the team walking towards a broken double door entrance "Like, this is some Aliens type vibe just waiting to spring up on us"
"I think we already encountered something like that before" Ashley said "The Rachni"
"True…but at least they 'sing'. Not hiss or leave a horrible sense of ambience" Kaidan said
"Can't deny that" Shepard agreed "This is some horror movie type shit. B-level sci-fi horror"
"Maybe it's a vampire" Spider-man through out there and everyone once again stared at him
"What? I've dealt with vampires before, they're a real thing and more importantly a real pain in my ass"
"You know, from here on out, I am not going to deny anything Spider-man says from here on out" Garrus declared "We've dealt with enough crazy shit and he's from another universe. By that point, you really have to put in an effort to surprise me"
The crew was silent for a few moments before all of them agreed.
Garrus and Spider-man were on point(As usual), entering the outpost first, coming into a decently sized hangar bay with other small ships and ground vehicles meant to get around the asteroid and gather materials.
It was completely trashed save for a few vehicles that got lucky and survived the assault. Of course that wasn't the main concern here.
There were several dead bodies scattered across the bay.
Shepard signaled the team to scatter about, checking on the bodies.
"These two right here" Liara said "They must have died from similar causes"
"You mean from deep gashes, stabs and/or large sliced open slashes" Ashley stated, taking a look at an Asari who had a large cut running down her shoulder down to her center stomach
"Whoever attacked here had a consistent pattern" Shepard said
"This is the same in all the other outposts" Kaidan noted
"This isn't" Spider-man said, inspecting a several odd holes on the floor and the walls. Next to these holes was a pillar missing a large chunk of itself.
"These don't look like they came out of an explosion" Garrus observe
"What could have caused this?" Liara asked, walking over to Spider-man to check out the damage for herself
Peter opted to lean down and remove his gloved hand and the Symbiot retracted to reveal his bare hand. He gently ran his hand across the area, noting very unusual shapes that faced within the holes.
"Any ideas on these holes?" Shepard asked
"My best guess is some type of…fast acting corrosive acid" Spider-man said "There's some weird indents around each hole, like it was splattered about. This has to be something along those lines"
"Great, more problems to add" Garrus said, checking over some of the vehicles, specifically their bumpers
"What are you doing?" Ashely asked Garrus
"Checking to see if any of these vehicles got any outward cameras" Garrus said, pulling away a vent bumper from a Mako like car "More and more vehicles these days have a small one installed in the front for many purposes"
"Why would they do that?" Liara inquired
"Insurance reasons" Said all the guys making Liara and Ashley glance at one another before looking at them
"Aha" Garrus said in victory "Found something"
Garrus pulled out a wire attached to a box of some sort. He briefly examined the wire which if you look closely enough you'll find a lens at the end.
"Let's what we can find" Garrus said, detaching the wire from the box, tossing it aside "Let's see if there's any functioning computers in there, we can find some footage from this box"
"sounds like a plan" Shepard said
"I'll stick to the shadows then" Spider-man announced jumping high up above, vanishing from sight thanks to the shadow cast by the structure itself
"I must admit, that was somewhat terrifying to see" Liara stated
"Got that right" Ashley said, unslinging her gun with the others as they entered the next room which was a decently size rectangular locker room….which also had dead scientists strewn about, claw marks and blaster fire everywhere
"God, more horror movie bullshit" Ashley remarked "Honestly I feel like we're walking right into a death trap here Skipper"
"You and me both Ash, you and me both" Shepard said, kneeling down to a dead human man, closing his wide open shocked eyes
"Man the ventilation shaft smells" Spider-man said through the comms "Thankfully, no dead bodies. The smell on the other hand…"
"Just keep your spider-sense ready, Pete" Shepard said, opening the door that lead them into the main lab of the outpost
The ventilation next to the group fell down and out jumped Peter.
"No problem Commander" Peter said with a thumbs up.
"You know with the lighting, those white eyes of yours doesn't exactly comfort me" Ashley said
"Lights on people" Shepard said.
Their guns had lights flash on, along with some shoulder lights, helmet lights and Peter even had a flashlight.
The lights in the lab kept flickering truly adding a more foreboding sense to the team as they inspected every inch of the lab.
"Wonder what they were working on" Kaidan said "Must have been pretty damn important for them to get so savaged like this"
"What were they working on here then?" Ashley asked, picking up what looked like an ammo mag
"Element zero" Shepard answered
"Huh?" Everyone said
"How the hell do you know that?" Garrus asked
"It's all here on this computer" Shepard said, sitting down in the chair, beginning to clack away "This is one of several labs all working on different uses of Element zero, how to minimize use to maximize with what little they have. Kind of like the Quarian Flotilla"
"So maybe the attacker came here for this information" Liara said "For their own personal gain"
"Maybe" Shepard said "Or maybe not"
"How so?" Liara said
"I'm hacking into everything they got right now….nothing's gone missing" Shepard said "There wasn't any sign of this data being tampered with…none that I could see to an extent at least. Not even any sign that the data was copied"
"So what in the spirits name was the point of all this?" Garrus exclaimed "What this was just some message"
"Let's find out then" Shepard said "The recording"
Garrus handed Shepard the memory box and the Spectre grabbed a chord sticking out from the computer which had USB that could attach itself to the box.
The computer than displayed the video recording. It was for a few moments uneventful with the occasional passerby.
Shepard fast forwarded the video for a while until they reached past the point of t he attack.
Fumbling slightly, Shepard rewinded and stopped right on the ball where there was a panic.
The team leaned in and saw the commotion. At first all they heard was the noise of metal being cut, gun fire, shouting and so on.
They watched on intently until they finally saw what was attacking the post. The light's went out for several moments but the group was able to distinguish a large hulking hunched over with a large metal contraption attached to its back. And out from the bottom of the contraption was a metallic tail with a stinger. The figures arm was then hidden away from a pincer that formed around it.
"Jesus Fuck/Holy shit/By the Goddess/Spirits hell/Damn"
"What in the spirits name was that?!" Garrus exclaimed
"I don't know, but I'm really regretting taking this mission up right now" Shepard admitted "That looked a little bit above our pay grade"
"Really Shepard?" Peter deadpanned
"Ok, not really that much" Shepard said sheepishly "Was a in the moment kind of thing"
"So we…kind of know what we're up against now" Kaidan said "Whatever the hell that thing is"
"But the big question remains unanswered" Liara said "Why is it doing this?"
"Can't we just place it under the it's a big monster that wants to cause havoc category" Ashley suggested
"Maybe" Shepard said with a shrug "This doesn't answer anything though"
"We won't get any until we find this big guy" Peter said resolutely "How recent was this attack?"
"Well" Shepard brought up the mission file "This attack happened at least three days ago"
"Is there any consistent gaps between each lab that was attacked?" Spider-man asked "Any linear pattern at all?"
"Hey" Garrus caught on to what Peter was doing "Yeah, if we can recount and see just how these attacks occurred we can pinpoint this monsters next target"
"Good thinking" Shepard praised until
"Shepard!" Joker chimed in from the Normandy "We've got an emergency!"
"What is it?" Shepard responded immediately
"There was a transmission of a citadel outpost under attack" Joker said in complete seriousness "I managed to get down the coordinates but the transmission has been cut off. It's the planet Utaka(I made it up, it's just a plot planet, don't look into it)"
The team stared at one another
"Or that could happen and the attacker will lead us right to him" Garrus stated
The team then all began to run out the base as fast as they could. When they ran out to the Normandy, the ship was already powering up, prepping its departure.
The side door opened and the team clamored in and the Normandy steadily rose.
"Coordinates locked on Joker?" Shepard said through the comms
"Locked on and stayed on" Joker said before sighing "We really need to talk about our bad habit of flying head first into danger"
"Come on Jeff old boy, that's what we do best" Shepard said with a grin making the others nod in agreement sharing Shepard's expression
"Now get us out of here and punch it"
The Normandy then angled itself upward and flew out at full speed.
"How soon can we get there?" Shepard asked, running into the flight room
"Since we don't need to going into a Mass Relay, twenty minutes" Joker said
"Think you can make that timeframe shorter?" Shepard asked
"Is that a challenge" Joker rhetorically asked with a grin, he then spoke to the other pilots and the engine room "Divert all power to thrusters"
"Hold on tight" Joker said to Shepard.
The ship shuddered before it rocketed forward at full speed and gaining, right towards its destination.
Shepard also decided to take this time to look up their next destination. And wouldn't you know it, it was another asteroid. Only this one was much larger and thus had a bigger base stationed there.
"Keep up this speed Joker" Shepard said "We'll waster too much time with a landing. So a fly by with a Mako drop will do. Come round to get land later"
"Copy that Commander"
Shepard ran back to the rest of his crew and saw they were all around the Mako, awaiting him.
"I take it with the speed that we're going, this is going to be a drive by" Spider-man correctly guessed
"Yup, so we've got about…" Shepard checked the time "8 minutes until our arrival"
"Everything we have on us is still prepped and ready" Garrus said
"Good, so everyone into the Mako" Shepard said
The crew complied and piled into the Mako, Shepard getting into the drivers seat before being promptly pulled off by the entire crew.
"HEY NO FAIR" Shepard whaled "I'm a Spectre dammit"
"Tough shit, Skipper" Ashley grunted puling his leg
"We revoked your Mako rights remember" Garrus strained, pulling the other leg
"Don't make me break out the webbing" Spider-man said from the ceiling
Surrendering, Shepard got pulled away from drivers seat.
He went over to an empty seat in the back and slumped in defeat, his lover Liara moving over to him to comfort the Spectre. He simply leaned into her and childishly cried
"I thought they respected me"
"We do Shepard" Kaidan said, getting into the chair "Just not behind a steering wheel"
This only fueled Shepards comical crying as Liara fretted over him rubbing his head, telling him how much she loved him and so on to cheer him up.
"Jesus, you've really gotten soft Skipper" Ashley teased
"Shut up" Shepard said, his voice muffled as he had his face Liara's lap
"Destination time, 3 minutes" Kaidan said from the drivers seat.
"I hope we make it on time" Liara said nervously
"We will" Shepard said confidently, now sitting up before laying back down onto Liara's lap "I never realized how comfortable this was"
"Lovey dovey crap later please" Garrus said
Scene cut
The Normandy flew right at the asteroid base, positioning itself to be parallel to the ground.
When it was aligned perfectly, the Mako was deployed.
It had a bouncy rough landing but that didn't deter Kaidan as he floored the acceleration.
The lab was up ahead and they saw that there was a commotion up ahead meaning the attack was still in full swing.
"Looks like we arrived just in time" Shepard said
"Better step on it Kaidan" Garrus said
"Already doing that" Kaidan said with a grunt, the acceleration pedal being pressed further down.
The lab was on the horizon.
Not waiting, Spider-man placed on his helmet, opened the top hatch and climbed out.
Once the Mako screeched to a halt at the entrance of the lab, Spider-man used the momentum to launch himself forward and right at the front of the lab.
The door opened for him and he dashed into the lab just in time for his spider-sense to tell him to duck. A desk flew overhead and crashed into the wall above the entrance.
"That's one way to welcome us" Spider-man quipped
"SPIDER-MAN" The rest of the crew had arrived, guns ready
"THANK THE GODDESS" An Asari scientist rushed in looking completely terrified.
She ran right into peter who stumbled back in surprise as she clutched him desperately
"Please" She pleaded, tears running down her cheeks "Please help us"
Peter was completely calm, giving off a reassuring air.
"That's what we're here for" Spider-man said assuringly "Wait outside"
The Asari shook her head trembling as Kaidan guided her to the door.
"Let's move now" Shepard ordered and the team rushed in cautiously
"Right towards the danger" Ashley murmured "Just like usual"
The team entered into the main lab and froze.
There before them was truly a bizarre but also frightening situation.
there were dead scientists strewn about with some fleeing for their lives with others putting up a futile fight as the thing they were fighting was proving to be extremely difficult to kill.
It was larger in person than it was in the video. The behemoth was armored in scaly type armor, the joints being made out of a flexible carbon fiber. The arms were metallic pincers which retracted to reveal hands that had a top layer of metal that had claws at the ends of the fingers. There were only three fingers.
"Is that a Turian?!" Ashley exclaimed making all heads turn towards the newcomers
The giant armored Turian faced its covered face. The moment its eyes landed on Spider-man and Garrus the visor turned red, shaking furiously before the Turian erupted in a roar of pure fury.
The helmet covering the face hissed, then retracted into the back contraption.
Peter and Garrus's jaws dropped in total disbelief and shock.
"GAIUS?!" Peter/Garrus shouted in complete disbelief
"Hello Spider-man" Gaius said with a manic grin "And Garrus Vakarian is here as well, my luck just seems to be increasing since I went under"
"Gaius, what the fuck happened to you?!" Garrus asked/shouted
"Don't know don't care" Gaius exclaimed, the insane grin still on his face
It was then the crew noticed the metal tail that was swaying next to Gaius's head.
"And by the way, I got myself a new name" Gaius said laughing like a madman
"After I got this huge upgrade, you can call me The Scorpion" The newly named Supervillain proclaimed with insane pride
"Oh god he gave himself a name" Spider-man moaned in annoyance and nervousness "That means he's serious"
"Very" Scorpion screamed, his stinger flying right at them
Thanks to Peter's enhanced reflexes, awareness and strength, he spread his arms out as he jumped back, catching the entire team in his leap.
They all blinked in surprise as they found themselves stumbling, but Garrus, being the more accustomed one to Peter's sudden movements by this point was the first to recover and opened fire on Gaius but the transformed Turian simply raised its hand, the bullets deflecting off of it.
"EVEYRONE OUT NOW" Shepard shouted to all the survivors in the base
"WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS GUY" Spider-man added "NOW GO"
Spider-man instantly jumped at Gaius, using the imbedded stinger tail as leverage to run up to attack Gaius.
The Turian growled, mentally commanding his stinger to retract, collapsing in on itself to cause Spider-man to lose his footing.
This proved to do little as Peter simply jumped right on time and fired webbing to Gaius's face, temporarily blinding the man.
"There's your chance" Shepard said to the rest of the people in the room "Run out NOW"
The remaining scientists didn't even need to be asked twice, bolting from the lab, Spider-man already fighting Scorpion.
"You always think you're so tough" Gaius cried out, swinging at Spider-man who nimbly dodged the attacks "So full of walk and talk, always thinking you're hot shit"
"Hey, that stuff smells" Peter quipped like "Like really badly. You ever been on a Manhattan subway train?"
"AND YOU NEVER SHUT THE FUCK UP" Gaius roared, launching his tail in an attempt to skewer the web head
Spider-man jumped into a corkscrew, narrowly dodging the tail as it scratched the back of his armor(Remember? The armor? The mark III armor?).
"Wow, I actually felt something there" Spider-man said, landing in a crouch on the tail
"But seriously, Gaius, what the hell happened to you?" Peter asked with actual concern "Who did this to you?"
"Does it even matter" Gaius barked back, eyes glinting with madness "I finally have the tools necessary to finally take you down"
"By subjecting yourself to this?!" Spider-man said incredulously "Gaius, what the hell did they even promise you?!"
"Just power" Gaius said, now sounding more deranged "Power to finally rule"
"Never struck me as the conquering type" Garrus now stepped in, gun leveled at Gaius's head "You were already a petty criminal. You jumping to this is actually….weird"
"Are you guys seriously trying to reason with him?!" Ashley shouted out "This Asshole has killed dozens already!"
"Oh no we're gonna take him in" Peter said, narrowing his eyes at Gaius "But first we'll need answers"
"And if he's not willing to talk, then we'll beat it out of him" Garrus said, glancing over to peter "Well, Spider-man most likely will, but you get the idea"
"You honestly think you can take me out?!" Gaius said, laughing maniacally "I'M INVINCIBLE"
"Said every bad guy that I put away" Peter said, now jumping at Gaius with a roundhouse kick that got the enhanced Turian stumbling back.
Gaius then stopped moving and glared full force at Spider-man
"Open Fire" Shepard shouted and everyone unleashed a flurry of bullets upon Gaius who yelled in pain.
However his new exo-skeleton was more than capable of withstanding the onslaught as it did barley any damage on his, only leaving scorch marks.
Gaius let out a frustrated shout, whipping his tail out to smack everyone aside before managing to grab Spider-man by the..
"Throat" Peter chocked out "Why does it *COUGH* *URK* always have to be the throat?"
"It's a point of emphasis" Gaius growled, holding Spider-man up to eye level "A way of saying, 'I'm taking this shit really seriously'"
"Wow" Peter wheezed, struggling against the grip "That actually was really impressive. Your argument made sense"
"Thanks"
"Grammar could've been better though"
"Do I look like the educational type"
"Well that depends" Garrus chimed in "Everyone has their fields where they excel"
"PETER GARRUS NOT NOW" Everyone shouted
"Sorry" Gaius, Garrus and Peter said all at once before resuming their brawl.
Peter managed to land a kick to the jaw of Gaius, in order to kick flip out of the Turians grasp allowing Garrus to fire a powerful sniper round at Gaius.
Luckily for the super powered criminal, he dodged in time with only the bullet grazing the shoulder. It did however wound him, making him clutch his shoulder.
Growling, Gaius leveled his stinger a foot above his head before it opened up.
*SPIDER-SENSE*
Spider-man jumped back in time to dodge the freaking LAZER BEAM.
"Ok, I did not know that existed" Shepard said, now choosing to resort to his Biotics
He attempted to lift and launch Gaius but the villain only laughed as the biotic field around him did little to deter him
"It's going to take a lot more than one fool with Biotics to take me down" Gaius said smugly
"Then how about three" Liara declared as she and Kaidan joined the Commander
It did managed to lift him up, albeit barely. Gaius growled again and then let out a yell, freeing himself from the field using brute force, now charging at Shepard.
He was intercepted by spider-man who jumped right on top of him, grabbing his head and tugged him into the wall beside Shepard and Kaidan.
Of course they didn't account for the fact that the wall would be weak enough for Gaius to just plow through it.
Now they were outside the lab which actually was just what Peter wanted.
With a powerful jump from Gaius, Peter was now in the air firing a web line at the building swinging around an antenna several times to gain momentum.
When he reached the right amount, Peter swung down at Gaius
"Hey Scorp snorp, you think you can take a hit?!" Spider-man shouted, swinging right at Gaius "TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE"
Gaius threw up both his arms, now armored up in pincer mode
Spider-man delivered a powerful double kick to Gaius, the results of which launched Gaius back a few yards.
Gaius grunted, clearly in pain, using his pincers to get himself back up. Stumbling to his feet, Gaius saw Spider-man land in front him, prepared to continue the fight.
Gritting his teeth, Gaius began swinging at Spider-man with his tail, Spider-man dodging each attack.
Gaius then added with swiping at Spidey with his pincers attempting to grab the Spider-man.
'Well at least it ain't four limbs' Peter wryly thought to himself, dodging every swing.
Peter then grabbed Gaius's left arm, firing a web at the right to pull it down and wrap it around the left.
Gaius then attempted to get at Peter's head but Spidey's reflexes were to good as he grabbed the stinger mere inches from his face.
Gaius grinned
*SPIDER-SENSE*
The very tip had a small hole at the end of it. Spider-man tilted his entire body in time just as Gaius fired a green viscous liquid which turned out to be…
"YOU CAN SHOOT ACID NOW?! THAT IS SO UNFAIR!" Spider-man said, noticing too late that several drops fell from the tail right onto his arm.
Peter flailed momentarily, ripping his armor off, the acid eating away at it to a certain point.
*SPIDER-SENSE*
THWACK
Spider-man flew back, his helmet flying off as he landed hard on the ground.
Peter groaned, leaning up to see Gaius running away towards a pod like ship awaiting him.
Scorpion ran into the ship just in time as the rest of the Normandy crew arrived to see the ship lift off and fly away.
Spider-man was sitting on the ground, panting somewhat, the rest of the crew staring at the retreating ship.
Only one thing was said that pretty much summed up what everyone was thinking about the situation, particularly and specifically Garrus and Peter.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me" Garrus said, making Peter groaned and slump down onto his back, rubbing his jaw.
HAHA, you thought I would just abandon this story willy nilly, guess again.
I just needed some time before returning to this story and what better time than on the second night of Hanukah which just so happened to also be Christmas Day!
So hey, a double gift for two holidays at once!
Yeah I've been busy with life and my other new crossovers(Check them out) so it's been distracting me from this one but don't worry I'd never abandon this one.
It's a personal endeavor and favorite of mine so there's no way I'm giving up on it.
I'm back into the swing of things with this one as I've also dealt with some writers block but hey, all that matters is I'm back.
And to all you Noble Justice readers, don't worry I'm working on the next chapter as well, should be out soon enough.
That's all folks
Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day