SPIDER-MAN: DARK WOUNDS

STING:

I burst through the elevator doors, the need for information running ramped through my body. My shoulders bumped into people and my feet knocked some off balance. I was sick of being so polite to people. What do they ever do to me?

"Hey, Peter." Betty welcomed as I neared her desk positioned in front of Jonah's office.

"Uh, hi…" I was still shy around her. Too many attractive woman in my life.

"Seeing Mister Jameson, I assume."

"Yeah."

"Can I see the pictures?"

"Actually" I began, scratching the back of my head. "I don't have pictures. I just need to talk to Jonah."

Betty looked at me surprised for a second and shrugged. "Be quick." She answered, a gentle smile following.

"Thanks."

I opened the door quickly. I wanted to get in and out fast. The hinge snapped as I flung the door open. My head snapped towards Jonah, expecting a verbal lashing.

"Damn door's been broken for a few days now." He huffed, rolling his eyes.

"I never noticed." I lied cautiously.

"What do ya want, Parker?" Smoke poured from his half open mouth; a cigar balanced between his lips.

"Phil…I need to talk to Phil…" I swallowed hard, expecting a lashing.

"Does Ben know?" Jonah asked, suddenly interested in what I had to say.

"I'm not buying."

"Sure." More smoke. "Just checkin' up on a total stranger."

"I-"

"Look, kid. Either you're buying or you're busting." His hand snatched the cigar out of his mouth. "I don't like busters…" His tone became shrill. Jonah liked his cocaine.

"Jonah, I only want to know where you meet him." I sighed, hoping it would lighten the mood.

"Oh, so you're a 'Curios George'. Ya know what they say…" Even more smoke clouded the room. "…'curiosity killed the monkey'."

There was an awkward silence as Jonah searched through his desk.

"Cat…curiosity killed the CAT." I corrected.

Jonah stared at me for a second, about as long as it took me to decide whether to correct him. "You're gonna shut the hell up if you ever want to see this address, kid." He flicked a small piece of paper up into sight.

xXx

December 26th, 9:55 PM.

I perched myself atop an alley light. I had my back leaned against the wall, my feet stuck to the light in case I fell. Phil was five minutes late. I was getting worried that Jonah had screwed me over before a shady man in a leather jacket walked briskly through the alley and stashed himself next to a dumpster. I was unsure whether or not this was Phil so I waited it out until a customer came by.

Another shady man entered the alley from the opposite side a mere three minutes later. I moved myself towards the front of the metal pole and waited for them to move into the light. The first man bounced off the brick wall and stopped directly under me. The other man came over just the same and parked himself half a foot from my supposed target. I leaned forward hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Have fun." The one in the leather jacket laughed, reaching for something in his pocket.

Got him.

I whipped out both my arms and snagged Phil's head in webbing. The buyer fell down in shock as I yanked up Phil, his screams muffled by the thick layer of web. I grabbed Phil by the collar and ripped the webbing off his face. Phil shook and his eyes darted from me to the street, hoping for someone to help.

"Hey, Phil." I smiled, hoping it would scare him more.

Phil didn't respond, he nodded his head lightly, beads of sweat gathering at his forehead. My free hand dug into my pocket and pulled out the small vile I got from the druggie a few nights ago.

"You know why I'm here…don't you." I was remaining calm. If I started to yell, Phil might pass out.

"Yea-yeah…" Phil gulped "Oz…it's called Oz…"

"Tell me more."

"The seller-one of the sellers, uh, his name is Sco-scorpion. He's the guy I-I get my…'stuff' from…"

"What's with the name?" I questioned, leaning in on him.

"Some-something to do with the drugs he sells. He-he…laces them. Some shit that…that kills the buyer within a few weeks. Ya know to cut off any leads to him. It's un-untraceable and highly addict-addictive. He sells it at an…um, an extremely high price."

"Where do I find him?"

"Uh, uh, we met to-tonight…at the-uh, next to the-the, um, old Roxxon building." The stuttering was becoming worse and I knew he was on the verge of passing out.

"Thanks." I acknowledged as I wrapped his legs in webbing and hung him from the light post. Roxxon was my next target and with any luck, 'Scorpion' was still there.

xXx

I launched myself off the strand of webbing I was holding onto which was latched onto the old Roxxon building. My feet landed quietly along the edge of the building next door. I took a quick look over the edge cursed at myself angrily. No one. I stood up slowly, feeling deprived of my victory. I turned around ready to go home when I heard a quiet creaking of metal from the alley. I ran over, a nervous smile forming on my face. My eyes set fixed on a man running out of a hidden door on the side of the building. it was painted the exact same color as the building and fit in perfectly during the night.

"Smart little bastards, aint ya." I smiled, feeling very lucky. I reached over the edge as I far as I could and pressed my fingertips against the brick wall. Slowly, I pulled myself over and crept down the wall, making sure to avoid the sight of the occasional pedestrian and dirty low-life. Eventually, I reached the hidden door and pressed my ear against it. The conversation between two or three men echoed back to me.

"Here goes nothing…" I sighed, reluctantly. I knocked on the door quietly, making it sound like I wanted to keep it a secret. The conversation stopped and I slid backwards, into the darkness above the door. A built man in his mid-twenties slowly opened the door, armed with a .44 revolver.

"Hello? Hmm…Wei-" He commented before I dropped from the wall, pinning him to the ground. I cracked his head against the pavement to knock him out. The cool, crisp air filling my lungs as I took a long breath felt good as a slight flutter of snow began to come down. I checked the guy to see if he was, in fact, 'Scorpion.' I didn't find anything that proved it.

"Crap." I sneered, realizing that means 'Scorpion' either wasn't here or he was one of the two guys inside.

"Whe-where'd Ox go?" one of the men inside asked, concerned. .

"How the hell would I know?" the other one yelled, in a high-pitched voice.

"Check it out." the first man ordered, angrily. "And you better not tell me it's the Spider-man." Long pause. "Hate that guy."

"Flattered." I commented to myself as I gained some distance from the door.

It flung open again, this time a tall, thin man carrying a simple .45 colt stepped out wearing a thick jacket. The second the door closed I whipped out my hand, my middle two fingers pressed against my palm sending my webbing towards the thugs skull. It made contact with his temple and engulfed the rest of his head in a nano-second, his screams hidden behind my man-made webbing. His body lunged fast as I used all my strength to pull him towards me. His light frame floated through the air before being caught by my hands and pinned up against the wall. He was rendered unconscious immediately by the lack of air.

"Now, are YOU 'Scorpion'?" I asked nobody, ripping the web off his face.

"Montana…you OK?" the last remaining man called from inside.

"Nope, guess not…"

The last guy coughed a few times and cursed to himself. A rather loud, clanking sound emitted from the room. I positioned myself ready for one last takedown.

The door burst open, the lackey swinging a M4 around with an equipped flashlight. He spotted me instantly.

"Holy shit!" I shrieked.

"Gotcha!" he laughed as he fired away.

I rolled out of the way; towards the brick wall again. The bullets hit various parts of the pavement leading towards me. I ran across the wall, the bullets still following as the maniac laughed. His shots were catching up and I leapt across the alley, landing feet first on the old Roxxon building. I knew the gun would eventually run out of ammo. Until then I would just have to stay out of the way. The gun-toting freak stopped for a second to find me. My chance.

I jumped towards him, arms outstretched. He turned around fast, the gun acting as a club. The barrel whacked me across the side of the head and sent me reveling to the ground. The hit disoriented me for a second as I propped myself up on my right arm, my left arm webbing the front of the gun. The gun clicked a few times as the thug tried firing more shots.

"You have got to be freaking' kidding me…" he gasped. His eyes fixated on me as I brushed myself off, hands forming to fists. "What the hell are you?"

He made a mad dash for the street where a few drunk wanderers had formed a crowd. They departed as he ran towards them. He didn't get far as I tied his feet together in my webbing. His hands clawed at nothing while I dragged him towards me across the alley way floor. I picked him up by the neck and pushed him against the wall.

"Scorpion…I presume."

"Now you're a psychic?" Scorpion joked.

"Cut the crap." I pulled the Oz formula from my pocket and dangled it in front of his face. "What do you know about this?"

Scorpion's eyes widened at the sight of it. "Get that shit away from me!" Something in his voice showed real fear. What was I missing? "Do you have any idea what that does to a person?"

"Yeah…I do. Which is why I need answers."

"No way, dude!" he laughed. "I would like to make it to forty."

"Ok…" I sighed as I took the cork top off the vile. "Open up."

"What…? Dude, no, you're crazy!" he stuttered as I forced his head back. "What are you gonna do after it takes affect?" His voice was becoming shaky. I was hitting a nerve.

"I gotta plenty of guns to choose from."

"Uh…uh, shit. I'll talk!" he breathed deeply. "This guy…never gave a name…he-he had a weird head. It was…square. Wore a nice suit. That's all I know…I swear." I put the cork back on the vile and dropped Scorpion to the ground.

Hammerhead.

"Thanks" I acknowledged, baring my teeth. Hammerhead was hired to kill Octavius and now to sell the Oz drug to all of New York. Some sick bastard was getting a few broken bones Spider-man style. Scorpion began to crawl away silently. Too bad I was looking right at him. His jaw popped as I kicked him in the face with my heel. I pocketed the Oz and sent my webbing high into the air sticking the top of the old Roxxon building.

Blaring sirens and bright lights stopped me. I was stunned for a few seconds. My first real encounter with the police. That's when I realized that I was illegal.

"Freeze!" a woman yelled. My mind flashed back to the night of Aunt May and Uncle Ben's murder.

Murder.

"Hands in the air!" she continued. I did as I was told, the lights from the police cruiser were too bright to escape quickly from. A familiar face emerged from the driver seat of the car. Captain George Stacy.

"DeWolfe…" he began, putting his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off.

"Down on you're knees." she barked, her eyes trained on me.

"DeWolfe!"

"Now!"

"Lieutenant!" he shouted, causing DeWolfe's head to snap towards him. "Put the God damned gun down…" No response. "…now!"

"Sonofabitch."she swore quickly, holstering her gun. "Why?"

"He's cleaning up more of this city than you or me can in our whole life. He's-"

"He's a vigilante, George! These freaks should be strung up by their eyeballs and beat with their own limbs." she interrupted.

"Harsh." I commented, hands still raised.

She ignored me.

"What do you have against him, Jean?" Stacy asked intently. He was a good foot taller than her, and it made the scene look intimidating rather than sincere.

"A man in a mask is nothing to worship, but something to fear." she began, looking away. "This city worships people like this. They feel safe, contained…clean. Then one day, when they get shat on by their false 'Gods' they will fall deeper than before, and this city will drown in its own filth." she turned her attention back to Stacy. "I don't plan on picking up the pieces…neither should you."

Captain Stacy was silent as was I.

"I'll be in the car…" she whispered as she walked away towards the neon lights.

Captain Stacy sighed and pulled off his cap to pull back his neatly kept hair. He darted his eyes toward my direction and found, to his surprise, I was no longer there. I had escaped to the roof of the old Roxxon building during the fiasco.

"Sly bastard…" he smiled as he put his hat back on and walked towards the car.

The snow was getting worse now, blanketing the city in a bright gleam of white. The police car pulled away from the building and I watched it drive away. Was Spider-man someone to fear? Or was it all in DeWolfe's head?

I stood up slowly, shivering for the first time that night and swung away with mixed feelings.

Either way, Spider-man wasn't going way until the piece of shit behind the Oz was brought down.