Foggy Nelson

Things had been on the up and up for Foggy since he began working for Hogarth's law firm. Not only had income become a steady thing, but he didn't have to deal with crazy people trying to kill him. That and not having to worry about a certain someone getting himself killed every other night Out of sight, out of mind, as the old saying went.

All of which was a damn lie.

Matt was his best friend. Just because they didn't work together anymore, it didn't mean Foggy didn't worry about him. Yes, he never condoned his vigilante ways, but he loved the guy. They'd always had each others back. And Foggy tried to watch Matt's back. He did everything he could in hopes his friend would come to his senses, that he wasn't some guy with super powers - like Captain America or the Thor guy. God, Matt couldn't even see - at least in the conventional way anyway. When he got punched, he got punched. Foggy had seen enough bruises and stitches on the man to last him a few lifetimes. How many times he'd call Claire to fix Matt up?

Well, now there wasn't a need for that anymore. No more calls to Claire in the middle of the god damn night, because Matt was gone. Six feet under. He'd died saving them all from the Hand, and against Electra... who was ironically his ex.

After Matt's funeral of an empty casket because they couldn't even find his body under the levelled building, he and Karen had made a pact to not let grief consume them and to stay in touch. This had been one of those Friday's where the two of them would meet at the bar where Matt and them used to meet after a long days work.

They were in the midst of light hearted chit-chat when the Spider-Man literally waltzed in the front door of the bar and started to fire off some sort of acidic webbing.

If it was halloween or something, no one would have batted an eye. If the guy was drunk, that would have been fine too. But this wasn't either. They'd all heard the news about the Spider-Man having gone crazy, but it had all been pure speculation.

Foggy had heard about this guy, and for all terms and purposes, there was zero evidence supporting that the killer was Spider-Man. From previous news footages, this man was notably one of the good guys. He was stopping potential accidents, taking down criminals... Foggy didn't believe what he was hearing in the news at all.

Until now.

Gone were the bar noises of laughter and cheers of those watching the game by the bar counter. Instead, in its place were screams and cries of pain. Some of the men who were quick to react, pulled out their firearms to shoot at the Spider-Man, but unsurprisingly, they hit nothing but air.

The Spider-Man dodged them easily and at one point grabbed a server and used her as a shield. Picking up random objects, he flung them at those who were attacking him. The strength and also the expert aim was chilling. Behind the bar counter where both he and Karen hid, Foggy saw something as innocuous as a coaster, decapitate someone.

Foggy's stomach lurched, and it took all his will power then to keep it together. His knuckles white and with a death grip on his cell, Foggy started to dial for the cops. He froze when he heard a name that Spider-Man lulled out from his nonexistent lips.

Never had a full on mask been creepier.

"Would Karen Page please step out? Cause you know, I can stop this. I'll let 'em have a fighting chance if you come out Miss. Page."

Foggy only had to glance at Karen's face to know what she was thinking about. It was that look . God, no. No playing hero. Matt had done that, he'd saved people and the cost was his life. Foggy seriously couldn't take another hit like that, not so soon.

"No, Karen, please, don't," he whispered more harshly than he wanted to. Karen shook her head, and said, "I have to. I'm sorry Foggy."

Damn it.

Karen abruptly stood up then and Foggy on impulse to stop her, stood as well.

Ah shit, were the words that popped into his mind when Spider-Man took notice of them.

"Hey, don't you dare touch her!" He had said, raising his right arm protectively in front of Karen, keep her behind him.

Chivalry may not have been dead, but the way the Spider-Man inclined his head and moved towards him, it gave the sickening impression to Foggy that the man found him amusing.

As nervous as Karen was, she was fearless when she gently pushed Foggy's arm down, and took his place in a protective stance.

"You leave him alone, or I'll be difficult. I don't know what you want with me, but I won't be trouble if you just leave him and everyone here alone."

The man nodded slowly, "Okay, I guess I could do that."

The Spider-Man's voice sounded gruff and a whole lot deeper than Foggy expected. From the past footage, the man always had a higher pitched voice. A younger voice.

"Karen, don't," he warned his friend, but she shook her head said, "I'll be fine Foggy."

"Foggy?" The Spider-Man said the name aloud and laughed. "What kind of stupid name is that?"

"It's short for Franklin, not that it matters to you," he snapped back on reflex.

God, what am I doing? I'm agitating a super powered crazy man!

The Spider-Man though just laughed. "You got some guts, chubby man."

Foggy's face burned at the man's insult on his weight, but he bit back his retort.

The man took a firm grip on Karen's arm and moved to leave the bar. All Foggy could do was tighten his fists in frustration. He couldn't just let the guy leave like that! The right thing to do was just go after the Spider-Man, get him when he wasn't paying attention, like now when his back was turned. It seemed, however, two other guys in the bar had that exact same idea. They drew their weapons, but before they could even fire them, the Spider-Man turned his head and shot them point blank in the face with his web fluid. The shots went wild as the two men clawed at the webbing on their faces.

The Spider-Man shook his head.

"Here I was, trying to be honorable, keeping my word," the man spoke as if what he had just done was reasonable .

No, you're f-ing crazy , thought Foggy. So crazy, there were no words to describe. But the masked man was going to show the price for pissing him off.

"Look, please, stop. Just let them go. I'll come with you," said Karen desperately, not even trying to run out of the bar.

Sacrificing herself.

Jesus, maybe all their talking they should have talked about not channelling their inner Matt, thought Foggy the sick feeling in his stomach increasing..

Yeah, don't you judge her buddy, you were just thinking of rushing the crazy masked guy a second ago.

"Oh I listened to you, pretty girl. But f*ck, these guys, they're not playing nice. See that guy over there," the man pointed to a young blond man partially hidden in the back corner of the bar under two overturned tables. "That guy just called the cops on me. Along with what, those guys over there? Tsk tsk. I was going to let you guys live cause Castle's girl here asked me real nice."

Wait, Castle? Frank Castle… this had something to do with him?

"But, looks like I'm gonna had have to do a bit of housekeeping before heading out. Why don't you sit tight, Miss Page." As he said that, the man fired his web fluid on her, literally fixing her between the counter and a stool. But unlike the agony that the others experienced when they had contact with the webbing, it didn't hurt Karen at all. But it did solidify on her.

So the Spider-Man could control this power of his, to whether the web was acidic or not, thought Foggy partially curious about it.

The Spider-Man didn't forget about Foggy it seemed, and he too was fixed to the stool next to Karen a second later.

Picking up two a pool cues, the Spider-Man strolled across the room and In the next few minutes, he used the two cues to literally slay every living person in the bar - save for Foggy and Karen. It was a bloodbath - where the floor of the bar ran slick with blood.

Foggy couldn't hold it in anymore and he gagged out his breakfast, lunch and dinner all at once.

In between his heaving, Foggy did feel a bit of relief as he heard the distant sirens coming closer to bar.

Yes. There was hope. The Spider-Man had spent so much time killing that it slipped his mind on the phone calls for help. Now if he could keep the guy occupied until the NYPD showed up, there would be hope of a rescue.

Foggy opened his mouth for his first phase in distracting the bad guy - like there was a manual for that of course. Yet before he could even voice the words, Karen's gaze caught his eye.

Her eyes said it all: There was no point - doing anything would only get him killed. Foggy seriously wanted to argue with her, because there was no way in hell he was going to let Spider-Man take her without a fight. Even if it meant to be literally over his dead body.

"No," she said aloud in a hushed whisper. There were tears in her eyes, even Foggy himself had them, but they remained unshed. Damn it, If Matt were here, he'd would have made a move already! Thought Foggy angrily to himself. What the hell was he doing, just thinking. He had to do it. He was going to. He -.

"No, Foggy. Please. Not you. I can't lose you too. Not like this."

Foggy looked to where Karen was staring at. Spider-Man still strolling around the bar, using the tip of a pool cue to pike through anyone that gave semblance of life or just because he could.

Sadistic son of a b*tch, cursed Foggy inwardly.

As if sensing their dual gazes, the man turned and started back towards them.

"You did good Miss Page in stopping your buddy here from playing heroics. Otherwise he'd have been a part of the pile. Now, though, it's time for us to go along our merry way."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Oh, somewhere nice. Kinda scenic. It's got a nice view if I recall. Can't believe a nurse could afford that with her salary. Maybe she got busy with the execs?"

Spider-Man strolled over to Karen and ripped off the webbing. Taking her arm, and not exactly gently, he guided her towards the door.

Foggy struggled against his web bindings, but it was pointless. He wasn't going anywhere.

"See you later, Foggy. Enjoy the game. Think the Yankees were winning."

Foggy swallowed the angry responses he had prepared in his mind at the man.

Spider-Man did a backwards wave at him as he left through the front door of the bar with Karen.

Just like that.

Damn this.

Foggy Nelson was not going to just sit here while his friend was in danger. God damn it , he cursed inwardly as he struggled desperately against the webbing that binded him.

Minutes went by, and for Foggy things were ever so hopeless. He was losing time. Every second the Spider-Man had Karen, the chances in finding her were growing slimmer.

All Foggy had as a lead was that it had to do with Frank Castle. God. Did that guy just never stop being in the headlines? How many times had he roped Karen into the crazy shit of his?

Suddenly the front door of the bar swung open, interrupting Foggy's thoughts. For a moment he thought maybe that the Spider-Man had returned. For better or for worse, he'd rather that the man be back here with Karen than elsewhere doing who knows what.

But at one glance, Foggy knew it wasn't him. It was just a regular guy, drunk off his ass.

Wish I was like that right now. Being lucid seriously sucked right now.

"Oh hey, Bobby, sorry mate, I forgot my wallet. Think you can spot me a cab –", started the man but his voice froze when he saw the state of the bar and the people within it.

"Holy shit," he said as he stumbled backwards.

"Hey, hey buddy, can you help me? Help get out of this?" said Foggy quickly, seriously worried the man would just either pass out or bolt out the door.

The man looked at Foggy, his face ashen white.

"Yeah, yeah. F*ck, what the hell?!"

"Yeah, agreed. Spider-Man happened," said Foggy trying to keep his voice leveled. "Now, can you help get me out of this and call the cops, will you?"

The man nodded and reached for his phone.


It was nearly an hour that Foggy spent at the precinct, giving his statement, going over and over to pretty much anyone who would listen - that Spider-Man had taken Karen and Frank Castle was connected to all of this.

One of the detectives, Grahams, had acknowledged that this could be a lead. And that was it. The station was on high alert, especially with multiple reports of officers down in several districts. Something about exploding spiders. Yet really, none of this mattered as much as having someone check out the only lead Foggy had. Each minute that passed, it was time that Karen didn't have. Seeing the level of violence the Spider-Man unleashed, Foggy didn't want to imagine what the man was doing to Karen.

Grahams had been empathic with Foggy's desire to use this as a clue to the whereabouts of Karen. But the fact was Frank Castle seriously had too many enemies to count. The guy single handedly killed off some of the most dangerous street gangs in Hell's Kitchen.

So they had left Foggy sitting there since he didn't want to leave. He was better to be here than anywhere else.

His waiting paid off when he caught sight of three very familiar faces being brought in by several officers. Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Claire Temple... in handcuffs. Detective Grahams and Pagent were both rough with them, angry, shoving them along. God, they all looked beat. There were bruises on Jessica's face, but nothing compared to the blood stained clothing of both Luke and Claire.

Jesus, what happened to you guys?

As if Claire and he were psychically linked, that moment the thought crossed Foggy's mind, Claire eyes met his. They locked gazes for a moment and Foggy knew what he had to do.

The two detectives, he was pretty sure was going to be pissed at him. But Foggy honestly didn't care. He knew it was going to be these guys, not the cops, that would be able to help him save Karen.

He made his way towards them, and then in a clear voice said to the detectives, "I would like to represent these guys."

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

"Oh my God, Peter! I've been trying to reach you all night! Are you okay? May's really upset right now, she's actually here . I hope you're not mad, but I kinda called Happy too, but haven't gotten an answer yet. I haven't stopped calling though. Where are you? Are you on your way back to Queens yet? Wait, what, my help?"

The questions Ned had, all came out in one long sentence. One thing was certain: May was there, and she was really mad at him, and rightly so. He had promised her he wouldn't put himself in harms way. The surprise was that Happy hadn't answered – all night. While Happy wasn't an easy person to reach, it wasn't like him not to even check in on him if he or Ned ever called. Something serious must have happened to Mr. Stark and Happy, Peter could feel it in his gut. But right now, he couldn't really do anything, he could barely handle this Russo fiasco. But Peter made a mental note that he would check in the Stark compound the minute he was able to.

Trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, Peter began to answer Ned's questions.

"I'm… okay, and also still in Hell's Kitchen. The fake Spider-Man, his name is Russo, and he's amped up on something that's making him stronger and stronger. I … I can't leave yet, Ned. If I do, I think he might kill Frank Castle."

"What... wait, the Frank Castle, as in the Punisher?"

"Yeah… it's a long story Ned. I'll tell you more about it later?"

"Um, okay. Wait, uh, I think May is coming in. She's not happy. What should I say?" Ned sounded worried.

It must have been bad.

"Tell her…," Peter swallowed, hating himself to do this, "tell her it's a spam call."

"What? Peter you can't do that -,"

"No, please Ned, I can't… I can't talk to her right now." Peter knew that the minute he heard May's voice, whatever resolution of taking down Russo would go away in a puff of smoke. If May didn't know, then…that would be better. Peter could handle the aftermath of May Parker, but not the present distressed version.

"Okay, okay. She's coming in," said Ned reluctantly. Peter could feel the distress his friend was under.

Sorry Ned to put this on you. But if she comes on the phone… I can't not come home.

Peter held his breath as he stayed on the line to hear Ned lie to the person that mattered the most to him.

"Ned? Is that, is that Peter?"

God, she sounded terrible, it was a cross between being really upset and worried out of her mind.

"Uh, hey May. Sorry, um, it's not Peter. Just spam," and Peter could almost hear Ned's flipping the phone to show her the random number.

"Oh. Okay."

May sounded so disappointed and distressed in just two words, it broke Peter's heart.

Parker, you're the worse nephew in the world. You don't deserve her.

Peter made a mental note to make this up to May. Somehow. Any way possible.

That's IF you make it back tonight. And another big if was if May would ever forgive Peter. Or if Peter could forgive himself for causing her so much worry.

"You should get some rest, Ned."

"Yeah, for sure May. You should too. Good night."

Once the retreating sound of May's footsteps disappeared, Ned came back on the line.

"Okay, she's gone," he said, sounding slightly out of breath despite not having moved from the room - at least from Peter could tell.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Can you help me get the address of a nurse that may have mysteriously disappeared in the past month in Hell's Kitchen?"

"Uh, Peter that's a really wide range … can you be more specific?"

Specific. Think Peter. Think!

Peter remembered reading from some classified files when he was at the Guardian Initiatives workshop that people who didn't 'transform' via the terrigen mist, they just turn to some sort of metallic dust.

"Ned, were there reports of anyone mentioning finding metallic fiber-like dust on the ground of the missing person's report?"

"Okay, that's definitely a lot more specific than I expected. Give me a sec," said Ned as he began to type.

As Peter listened to his friend type on the laptop, he could feel himself start to almost doze off. The adrenaline spike he had earlier from the imaginary pep talk from Mr. Stark was wearing off. His body was starting to really feel his injuries too. The bloodloss definitely was making him super light-headed and weary.

Peter needed to stave it off until he took down Russo. He had to.

"Okay, got it. There's a few."

"How about ones who are nurses?"

A few more taps on the keyboard, and Ned announced, "Yess, I've got one hit. This has to be it, Peter," said Ned sounding excited.

Thank God it's only one hit , thought Peter. He really couldn't imagine himself swinging around the city looking at various apartments for a laptop that may or may not be there.

"Says here a Nora Gibson reported her roommate Deborah Lewis missing about 4 weeks ago. No traces of her, just a mess in the living room, some metallic stuff."

That had to be it.

"Where's the place?"

Please please let it be close by!

"The place is 160 Leroy Street, 15th floor. Wow. Penthouse suite," said Ned sounding slightly astounded. "On a nurse's salary, she's doing pretty well. Wonder why she left town?"

"Russo, the fake Spider-Man, killed her Ned. He tried to change her into an In-Human, but it didn't work… that's why there was metallic dust."

"Oh."

Peter hadn't meant to sound so blunt on it, but he felt he needed to tell Ned exactly how dangerous this guy was.

And maybe it was a cry for help on a subconscious level, because the next words that came out from Ned's mouth was, "I'm still calling Happy and Mr. Stark, Peter. This guy sounds really sick... maybe you shouldn't try to take him on your own."

Ned paused a beat before adding, "You sure you can't just … come back to Queens?"

"Russo's on a killing streak, Ned. He's also got Frank Castle… if I don't go, the cops will for sure, but how many… how many would die?"

Peter could almost feel Ned's nod from where he was.

"Yeah, I get it. But... yeah. I'm just worried for you, you know? But I know you've got this."

That's what best friends were like. Peter never felt so lucky to have someone watching his back. Ned, his guy in the chair.

"Thanks Ned. Thanks… for everything."

God, did that just sound so final?

Ned didn't miss his tone, "Peter, you okay?" His voice filled with worry and concern, it made Peter doubt himself a bit.

Am I okay? I've been singed by a fire, impaled by a pipe, and shot in the side. Probably lost more than the average amount of blood any one is suppose to… am I really okay?

The answer was no. He wasn't okay. But he had to be okay. And besides, he wasn't your average person. He was Spider-Man . He had abilities and one of them was a healing factor that Peter was positive was working overtime.

"I'm okay, Ned. I am really. Thanks."

"Okay," said Ned, though he didn't sound convinced.

"You call me if you need anything. On that, why aren't you using your cell?"

"Uh… it sort of melted."

"Melted?!"

"Yeah. Sorry, it's a long story, uh, I've got to go," said Peter. Better to end it before he freaked Ned out. He'd have to tell him more about the summoning of spiders another time.

"Okay, good luck. And be careful!"

"Yeah, I will."

Once Peter hung up the phone it took a bit of energy to get himself out of the phone booth. He needed to get to Leroy street. He knew that area, quite the upper end in terms of condominiums. In his condition and where he was now presently, it would take a bit of time to get to, but at least the location wasn't at the other side of town. Peter now only hoped that this lead would result in finding a way to stop Russo once and for all.