The Invincible Spider-Man

Chapter 94: Through The Mud

"Here's hoping that no one is burning the midnight oil," thought Spider-Man as he stealthily landed on the top of the Horizon Labs biology laboratory, crawling down the walls and opening the window, before gingerly crawling inside.

"I should really contact Max and see if I could get another internship here. Kind of miss this place. Great Peter, you're talking to yourself again," said Peter, jumping to the ground and pulling out the syringe of Stegron's blood from his utility belt.

He injected the sample onto a glass slide and placed it inside an analyser, carefully examining the red blood cell, focusing the lens and squinting his eyes to observe the blood plasma.

"This person's DNA has been contaminated by…what kind of foreign DNA is this? Looks like a prehistoric reptile, like a stegosaurus," thought Peter. He took a rack of chemicals and slowly added them to the sample.

He looked back in the analyser and saw the human and foreign DNA begin to separate.

"Voila! I've got enough of a clean DNA sample to put in a cyclic PCR machine," remarked Peter, taking the sample and placing it in a polymerase chain reaction machine, to amplify the small amount of DNA present.

Once there was enough DNA, he connected the PCR to a computer, and logging into the NYPD database.

"Yuri wouldn't mind if I hack into the criminal database…I hope," he gulped, taking out a small, spider themed pen drive and inserting it into the CPU. Almost instantly, he was able to bypass the login and had access to the database.

"Now to match the DNA…" thought Peter, as the computer ran. He lay back in his chair, looking around the lab.

"Reminds me of when I used to work with doctor Connors in his lab, a whole 5 years back. Man, was I naïve back then," reminisced Peter, remembering his first day in an actual biology laboratory.

"Gwen was so excited for me to start working with him. So was Dr Octavius. Ugh, how does everyone around me somehow get dragged into all of this," lamented Peter, thinking about the past 6 months.

At least I managed to keep Anya and Max safe…for now. I think it's best if I just don't associate with this place, last thing I need is another Mister Negative on me. God…that cop," thought Peter.

"Wonder what Anya is up to these days? Haven't spoken to her since the Li incident-"

Before Peter could finish his thought, he heard a ding from the computer. The database had found a DNA match with a sample.

"The DNA belongs to…Vinnie Sanchez, a 16 year old high schooler?" asked Peter, befuddled. "How did a 16 year old turn into a walking dinosaur, let alone figure out how to reconfigure his DNA, unless…" he continued to think, searching up his address and criminal record.

"Petty theft and attempted carjacking, looks like he's from Harlem. I should check out his neighborhood, in case something…suspicious is up with that place," said Peter to himself, swinging out of the window.

The Sun had come up, as Spider-Man stood in line for a hotdog at a stand outside Central Park. He peered past the line and met eyes with the owner, who squinted narrowly at him.

"Used to get free hotdogs here, not anymore," sighed Spider-Man, as his turn came up. The owner fixed him a hotdog and handed it to him.

"Fernando, how are you doing?" asked Peter, handing him the cash. Fernando didn't respond, and instead called up the person behind Spider-Man in line. Peter sighed and swung away to a rooftop, pulling the bottom of his mask up and eating the hotdog.

That's when he heard his phone buzzing, and read the most unexpected name as the caller.

"Harry Osborn?" gasped Peter, nearly choking on his hotdog. He put it down and hesitated, but picked up the call.

"Harry?" he asked.

"Hey Pete," replied Harry. He sounded much calmer than the last time he spoke to Peter.

"Uh, MJ said you wanted to talk about what happened? I'm not going to lie, I've wanted to patch things up between us for a while too," confessed Harry. Peter sighed lightly.

"Yeah, me too. You think we could meet in person, today?" asked Peter.

"Of course. Where do you want to meet?" asked Harry, brightening up.

"I'll text you the address and time. See you then!" answered Peter enthusiastically. Harry chuckled and cut the call.

"Well, at least something's going right. Since I have time, I should probably go check out Vinnie's address," thought Spider-Man, continuing to talk to himself so he doesn't fall asleep because of exhaustion.

He dialled up Mary Jane, who picked up within seconds.

"I'm guessing Harry called up?" asked MJ slyly.

"I don't deserve you," laughed Peter. "Anyways, how'd your night go?"

"Well, I have to take a Spanish class for extra credit, so that's going to suck. But something pretty interesting happened. A modelling company contacted me and they said they'd love for me to audition as a model for some of their clothing," replied MJ, excitedly.

"My God, that's great! The modelling, not the Spanish part. Are you going to take their offer?" asked Peter.

"Hell yeah! Here's hoping no "Morris Benches" come after me though," joked MJ. Peter chuckled at the thought of Hydro-Man.

"So what are you up to, tiger? I had come to your room last night but it was empty," said MJ.

"Wait, why were you going to my room?" asked Peter. MJ didn't respond and simply cleared her throat.

"Oh, OH. Got it," replied Peter, turning red. "Anyways, I'm trying to find out what happened to this kid from Harlem. He seemed to have turned into some weird human dinosaur hybrid," he informed, doing a backflip in midair and shooting another web.

"Wait, a dinosaur? Like the Lizard?" asked Mary Jane.

"Well, kind of. Someone may have gotten their hands on Connors' research. I'm going to find out what happened to Vinnie, then investigate what happened to him," said Peter, landing at the address.

"Good luck. And you better be in your dorm tonight," instructed MJ.

"You bet," chuckled Peter, cutting the call. He found himself staring at a rundown apartment building, covered in graffiti and decaying bricks. It was as if the building was built a hundred years ago.

The broken windows were boarded up with wood, but Peter could make out lights behind them.

"And I thought May and I had it rough," thought Peter. He noticed a group of teenagers playing with a football across him. Clearing his throat, he approached them.

"Hey kids, do any of you know a kid named Vinnie Sanchez?" he asked. All the kids exchanged a look.

"You mean, Bitchass Sanchez?" asked one of them. Peter raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"I…guess? Did something happen to him?" asked Spider-Man. Another child came forward.

"Vinnie went missing a few days back. There was this guy with him, he showed up in like a shiny, black car. You don't see a lot of that around here," replied the kid.

"A guy wearing a dog mask stepped out and began to talk to Vinnie. Then Vinnie sat in the car and left. He hasn't come back," said another child.

"Where did this happen?" asked Spider-Man.

"HEY, GET AWAY FROM OUR KIDS!" shouted a man waving a baseball bat, rushing up to Spider-Man.

"Sir, please. I'm trying to solve a kidnapping," replied Spider-Man, calmly. The man stared at him, then lowered the bat.

"Vinnie's disappearance?" he asked. Peter nodded, and the man slowly lowered his bat down.

"He was taken by someone rich. That's all they do to neighborhoods like ours. They just want to tear everything apart with us. It started with our homes, our lives, and now it's our families," ranted the man, tears forming in his eyes.

Spider-Man placed a hand on his shoulder. "I found Vinnie, but the man who kidnapped him…he ran experiments on him. I'll find a way to bring him back, I promise," reassured Peter.

"He was wearing a dog mask took him. It was a black mask, with long black and golden ears. Vinnie saw the car and jumped in, and god knows what that man did to him," said the man, weeping.

Peter placed his left arm around the man and gave him a hug.

"I'll find him."

Detective Macendale wheeled himself out of the elevator, entering the chaos that was the Daily Bugle's bullpen. He adjusted his blonde hair and cleared his throat, catching one reporter's attention.

"Oh, may I help you sir?" asked Ned Leeds, rushing over Jason.

"I want to speak to Jonah Jameson, is he here?" asked Jason. Ned turned around and gave his fiancé, Betty Brant, an uneasy look.

"Yes, he's in his office, what would you like to speak to him about?" asked Ned.

"Spider-Man," replied Jason, involuntarily clenching his fists. Ned stood for a second, then walked back to Betty.

"Isn't that the police officer that Spider-Man "shot?"" asked Betty. Ned put his hands on his hips and nodded.

"Yeah, and he wants to talk to Jolly Jonah about Spider-Man. Safe to say we're gonna get another "Spider-Man: Threat or Menace" headline on the front page," said Ned.

"If you ask me, he's more "menace" than "threat", y'know?" said a voice from behind Ned. He turned around to see a woman in a pink shirt and blue blouse behind him, as she sucked on a lollipop.

"Norah, where'd you come from?" asked Ned. Norah shrugged.

"I'm wherever I need to be," she winked, walking back to her cubicle. Betty folder her arms and scoffed, then stared at Ned.

"The day she stops flirting with you is the day Jameson sends Spider-Man a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day," said Betty, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, she wasn't flirting with me. It was probably just office banter," suggested Ned. Betty stared at him blankly.

"Okay, I'll keep my distance," chuckled Ned, throwing his arms up comically and walking back to detective Macendale.

"Right, I'll take you to Jonah's office," said Ned, manoeuvring the wheelchair through the bullpen and knocking on Jameson's door. Jonah walked up to the door and opened it up, wordlessly sitting down.

"Detective Jason Macendale," started Jonah.

"You know who I am?" he asked.

"Of course. I personally keep record of every person injured due to Spider-Man's miscreant misdemeanours. I'm truly sorry for what happened to you, no one should go through what you did," replied Jonah. Ned subtly rolled his eyes.

"I want to speak out about Spider-Man, using the Daily Bugle as my voice. I know you do a weekly live broadcast, could I possibly be featured on it?" asked Jason.

"Of course! When would you want to host it?" asked Jonah.

"Today." Replied Jason, clenching his jaw.

Harry waited at the table in the Coffee Cabin, holding his Iron Man themed "Arc Reactor Espresso" in his hands. He looked out the window and saw a group of children walking back from school. He smiled thinking of those days.

"Hey," said Peter, sitting down opposite him. "Thanks for agreeing to meet with me," he continued, as the waitress came by to take his order.

"I'll take the "Spider-Man Webshot" please," requested Peter.

"Oh, we don't serve that here anymore," replied the waitress, a disappointed look on her face.

"Of course you don't," muttered Peter under his breath. "Just a Cappuccino America then,"

The waitress wrote his order down and walked away, and Peter cleared his throat and looked back at Harry.

"You recognize this place?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"Junior year of high school. You got two free coupons to this place and gave them to me and Mary Jane, trying to set us up together," chuckled Harry. "Most wingman thing you've ever done,"

"Harry, I'm really sorry about the last time we spoke. I was way out of line and I really do regret not speaking to each other for the past 6 months," apologized Peter, sincerely.

"It's not your fault entirely, Pete. I was…losing control. Losing myself. Part of me just didn't want to accept that I'm an Osborn, and I spiralled out of control because of that," replied Harry, fidgeting with his fingers.

"But I'm better now. I've been sober for a while, and I have been seeing a shrink. I guess MJ's lecture really helped," said Harry. Peter chuckled.

"That's her, the glue that holds me together," said Peter, sighing. "You and MJ are the only connections I have to high school. Flash is still in Afghanistan, Liz is in Europe, I have no idea where Hobie went and Carlie moved out of the city,"

"Whatever happened to Carl King?" asked Harry.

"Heard he got expelled in junior year. Never heard from him again. Good riddance, I say," said Peter.

"I miss the way things were back then. All we had to worry about was homework and whether some girl liked us or not. Now it just feels like things got so complicated. After what happened to your uncle, my dad, Gwen and her dad, Flash's dad…it just feels like we're cursed," said Harry remorsefully.

"Tell me about it. Feels like my life just got turned upside down in one night. Then got thrown into a blender," remarked Peter.

"It's like there's something about us that just invites bad shit. I don't blame the others for moving away, but now I just feel stuck," replied Harry.

"We're the last of our friends to stay back in New York. I know it feels like we got left behind, but that doesn't mean we can't get ourselves out of whatever rut we're stuck in," said Peter.

"I just want to go back to high school again. Leave all of this bullcrap behind," sighed Harry, as the waitress brought Peter's coffee.

"You remember in 8th grade when the two of us would play Dark Souls?" asked Peter.

"Uh yeah, why?" asked a befuddled Harry.

"Every time we lost a boss fight, or just died in the game, we never quit. We just always kept going forward, no matter how many barriers we hit. I mean, remember we pulled a sleepover just to beat one boss?" chuckled Peter.

"That's a good analogy, Pete. Thanks," replied Harry, smiling.

Just then, Peter's Spider-Sense began to tingle. He turned around to face the mounted TV on the wall, only for his heart to completely sink.

Detective Macendale was live on the television with Jameson, the two of them outside the Daily Bugle building.

"If it weren't for Spider-Man, I would still be able to walk. If it weren't for that masked terror, I would be able to do my job! Now because of him I can't go back to my workplace without feeling pitied by everybody!" exclaimed Jason, as Jonah ate it all up.

"I can't imagine how humiliating that must be. Uh, once again for the viewers, this is because of Spider-Man, correct?" he asked. Jason nodded, and continued to describe Spider-Man's "attack" on him.

"Uh Harry, I need to go. Dr Warren needs me in the lab ASAP," explained Peter, rushing past him and out of the door.

He ran into an alley and quickly changed into his Spider-Man suit, stuffing his clothes in a bag and swinging out of the alley, towards the Daily Bugle building.

"This is probably a bad idea, but what the heck?" he thought, swinging onto a building. He jumped down and walked towards Jason and Jonah.

"GUARDS! GUARDS, IT'S HIM! CALL THE NAVY! THE AIR FORCE! CALL THE-"

Before Jameson could finish, Spider-Man webbed up his mouth.

"Are you here to finish the job, Spider-Man? Well, go ahead," said Jason, dramatically.

"Detective, I'm trying to help you. I never meant to hurt you, I was under the influence of Martin Li. You can ask Captain Watanabe, I was only trying to help!" reasoned Spider-Man.

"UNDER THE INFLUENCE?!" exclaimed Jonah, ripping off the webbing. "YOU MEAN YOU WERE HIGH WHILE TRYING TO "SAVE" A MAN'S LIFE?"

"Can you shut that fat mouth of yours for TWO SECONDS?!" raged Spider-Man, prompting other civilians to cower a bit.

"You took everything from me, Spider-Man. Do you know how humiliating it is to not be able to get off of the bed yourself? To not enjoy life the same way ever again? No, you're a thrill seeking adrenaline junkie who doesn't give a rat's ass about who gets hurt. And now that one of your "collateral" victims is finally speaking out, you jump in like that to save face," retaliated Jason.

Spider-Man didn't say a word, as the public stared at him. Even Jameson was silent.

"You think you can swing high in the sky and not care about who you hurt, but the truth is you hurt everybody! Anyone who comes in contact with you suffers, Spider-Man. All because of your indecent recklessness and utter disregard for the laws held up in this city. Laws that officers like me follow like a religion!" finished Jason.

Spider-Man lightly nodded and swung away from the scene, landing behind the Daily Bugle. He pulled a backup bag with civilian clothes that was webbed to the wall and changed into his daily attire, before walking out of the alley and into the building.

Peter sulked into the Bugle bullpen, which seemed surprisingly empty. Everyone seemed to be watching Jason's interview live, as well as how Spider-Man was told off by him.

"Jonah's got a point this time,"
"That poor man,"
"Hey there, handsome,"

Peter blinked hard and turned around at that last comment, seeing Norah Winters leaning beside the doorframe.

"Norah?" asked Peter, recognizing her as the new reported who has begun to work there since the past couple of months. She smiled at Peter and walked up to him, a lollipop in her mouth.

"Haven't been here in while," she remarked.

"Yeah, I got accepted into a scholar program at ESU, so I've been working double time," explained Peter.

"Looks and brains? I like that," she said, winking at him. Peter nervously chuckled and looked around the bullpen. Ned and Betty were fixated at the window, looking down towards the interview.

"Yeah, Jameson is really busy shit-talking with his new best buddy down there," said Norah. Peter pulled out the photos from his handbag and handed them to her.

"Could you give these to Jameson when he comes back up?" asked Peter. Norah held the photos up and began to pretend like she was examining them. That's when Peter felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey Ned, Betty," said Peter.

"Why the long face?" asked Ned. Peter shrugged.

"One of those days, I guess," he replied. Betty put a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll get better, Peter. Don't you worry," she reassured him. Peter smiled and nodded, then turned back to Norah.

"Yeah, just give these to Jameson. I'll be on my way," he said, but Norah held his arm.

"Before you go- oh wow, you've got strong arms. Uh, I mean, I normally like to get to know my coworkers better, so if you want you could take me for a coffee someday, to catch up since we barely meet here?" suggested Norah.

"You're asking me to take you out for a coffee?" asked Peter.

"Yep," replied Norah, smirking.

"In a platonic way, sure," replied Peter.

"Cool, I'll see ya!" replied Norah, skipping away. Peter turned back to Ned and Betty, and was met with disapproving faces.

"Need I remind you that you're dating Mary Jane?" asked Betty. Ned lightly chuckled, and Betty nudged him with her elbow.

"Hey, I made it clear that it's platonic, relax," joked Peter.

"She'll literally flirt with anything with a beating heart, you're right," remarked Ned, turning to Betty. Betty smirked back at him, then looked back towards Peter.

"Just…watch your back, okay?" asked Betty.

"Trust me, I'll be on guard," replied Peter.

Jason wheeled himself into his small apartment, which kept getting more and more unkempt after he was unable to take enough care of it since his injury, and he had refused any help.

That's when he noticed something: A pack of cigarettes on the coffee table. Jason slowly reached for the gun he kept on his wheelchair at all times, as he never smoked cigarettes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a voice to his right. Jason turned the gun to that side, only to see a man in a purple tuxedo and white shirt, with a purple tie. He was wearing a mask that resembled a dog with large ears.

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?" asked Jason, his hands trembling. The man in the suit put the glass of whiskey he was holding down, and straightened his tie.

"I want to give you an opportunity," he said.

"Yeah? For what?" asked back Jason.

"To hurt Spider-Man. You want to hurt him, don't you? After everything he did to you? Everything he took from you? Your legs, your life, your respect?" asked the man in the suit. Jason's hands stopped trembling, and he put the gun down.

"Yeah," he replied, holstering the gun.

Jason could notice that his mask had golden ears with black stripes, and a long snout. But the lower half of his face was a little visible.

"Who are you?" asked Jason.

The man smirked.

"The Jackal."

Wonder who this "Jackal" is, and how Jason Macendale is connected to all of it? Read on to find out!

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know that I'm truly grateful for each and every one of you. I'm having a hard time mentally and honestly going through my worst days right now, so uploads may be less frequent again. I don't want to go into details, but things genuinely have never been worse for me. I'll try my best to take care and upload though.

vfc15650: Thanks!

Geek4Life: Maybe…

Fate-Be Changed: Unfortunately he's not going to be super involved in the plot lol.

Marvel Nerd: Yes!

I am the Voice: I wonder who…

SpideyXBC: Ahahaha yep!

Teller-Story: Someone definitely did something to him…

Guest: Probably not considering he's not going to be super prominent this season lmao sorry.

Yours Truly,

Shadow Strike.