The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 88: Positive Thinking
Peter pocketed the Yin-Yang patch as he walked through the revolving glass doors of Horizon Labs. Men and women in white lab coats were running left and right, grasping onto clipboards in the reception.
Peter whistled to himself as he walked up to the chemistry lab. Anya seemed to be analyzing something in the spectrophotometer.
"What're you up to?" asked Peter. Anya smiled as she looked back at him.
"Small pet project of mine. I'm trying to calculate the concentration of lycopene in different fruits with beta-carotene," said Anya. Normally, those words would go over a layman's head, but Peter's brain caught them like a spider catches flies.
"Ah, so you're gonna use Beer-Lambert's law to calculate it? Once you get the spectrophotometric reading?" asked Peter, putting on a lab coat and walking up to a microscope.
"I would… but the only issue is that I don't know the molar extinction coefficient of lycopene," said Anya glumly, looking back at her test samples.
"200,000. It's the value I got when I did a similar experiment…in high school," replied Peter, hiding a smirk. Anya gave him an impressed look before she began to work on the calculation using the value Peter gave her.
Peter took a small sample of the liquid slowly oozing from the patch and placed it on the glass slide under the microscope, but was met with frustration when he tried to see through the lens.
"A black and white substance? But what is that supposed to be? It doesn't move randomly, and ignores Brownian Motion…is it alive? Or is it simply that viscous?" thought Peter.
"What do you know, Mr. Parker? The value you gave was true, correct!" exclaimed Anya. She looked over to Peter, only to see him flustered about the sample.
"What's up with you?" she asked. Peter broke out of his trance and looked back at her, flashing a fake smile.
"Oh! Nothing, just a project for my professor. I can't seem to get it to work," said Peter.
"Well, maybe you should ask him about it?" suggested Anya. "Nothing wrong in asking for help when you need it. And you know, positive thinking and whatnot,"
Peter thought for a second. "You know what, I probably should ask him," replied Peter, an idea forming in his head. Just then, Max walked into the lab.
"Peter, there you are! I've been looking for you," called out Max. "I was hoping you could take up a project, to familiarize yourself with the instruments," he continued. Peter quickly pocketed the patch and smiled at Max.
"Sure! What is it?" asked Peter.
"Well, it's about a new material we wanted to test out. It's a nanocomposite, but built like a fabric," continued Max. Peter squinted his eyes as he began to think about the possibilities. Max handed him a file.
"This has all of the details you'd need," said Max. Peter nodded and walked towards the exit.
"Okay, see you guys!" waved Peter, hanging up his lab coat and walking down the stairs, clutching the file. His curiosity was most definitely piqued, as he walked out of the reception and to an alleyway, changing into his costume.
Spider-Man swung to a building and began to read the file, ideas flowing through his head.
"This new fabric...I bet I could incorporate this into my suit. It would definitely make me more bulletproof and increase the suit's durability," thought Peter, staring at small cuts that were over his suit, which he was still yet to stitch.
"Ever since the Tinkerer went back into hiding, it's become way tougher to manage the suit. Oh well, I can figure something out...I hope," thought Peter. He noticed the Sun setting, then began to fiddle with something in his pocket.
"The patch! I better get this to Dr. Connors first, then I'll work on my suit," said Spider-Man to himself, leaping off of the building and swinging towards Empire State University.
Spider-Man gracefully landed on the roof of the building adjacent to ESU. He peered through one of the windows in the outer chemistry lab and noticed Connors there, grading papers.
"Okay. Just need to make sure no one sees me…breaking in," though Spider-Man, swinging to the roof of the main building in the university, then stealthily jumping onto the roof of the chemistry lab.
Slowly opening the skylight, he rappelled down from the ceiling halfway through the room.
"Ahem, Dr Connors?" asked Spider-Man. A startled Curt looked up and fear crossed his face, as the scientist almost fell out of his chair.
"Spider-Man? I swear I haven't turned! I haven't since that night," protested Curt. Spider-Man gracefully landed on the ground and held his hands up.
"Believe me doc, I think I would've noticed if the Lizard returned. There's already Basilisk, Stegron, Iguana and many other overgrown reptiles for me to deal with," chuckled Spider-Man.
"So…you're not here to arrest me?" asked Curt.
"On what grounds? Being a teacher?" joked Spider-Man. Curt sighed, looking at the paper he was correcting.
"Anyways, I need your help," said Spider-Man.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm forever indebted to you for saving me and my family all those years ago," replied Curt. Spider-Man smiled, unable to believe that it had been years ago when he fought the Lizard and the Green Goblin on the same night.
He pulled out the patch and showed it to Curt.
"I tried analyzing it, but I got more or less nothing. Since you're experienced, I was hoping you could help me?" asked Peter. Curt looked at the patch and examined it closely.
"I'll take a look at this and let you know about it. Uh, how do I contact you?" asked Curt.
"Oh, you can contact Peter Parker. He's my photographer," replied Spider-Man. Curt raised his eyebrows and looked back at the papers on his desk.
"Looks like Peter certainly lives quite an interesting life. I'm planning to shift him up a few classes," Curt confessed.
Spider-Man's eyes went wide, as his jaw figuratively dropped on the floor.
"Wait, shifting m- my photographer up a few classes? Like in terms of academic years?" asked Spider-Man. Curt chuckled and nodded.
"There's a special program at ESU, since a lot of alumni turned out to be next-level geniuses. I suspect that Peter could be among them, so I gave him a booklet of papers to solve, completely out of the syllabus," explained Curt, gesturing to the papers on the desk.
"And…how did he do?" asked Spider-Man.
Curt chuckled to himself. "A few mistakes here and there, but overall he's done really well. At least as far as I've corrected," remarked Curt. "If he passes, he could graduate early. As early as in the next few months," continued Curt.
"That is…huge," commented Spider-Man. Just then, his phone began to go ring. It was J Jonah Jameson.
"Uh, one second," said Spider-Man, excusing himself as he walked a good distance away, then picked up the call.
"PARKER! IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A WEEK, WE NEED MORE PHOTOS!" yelled Jameson. Spider-Man held his phone a little away from his ear, lest he goes deaf.
"I'm on it, JJ. I'll have new Spider-Man pictures for you by tonight," said Peter.
"YOU BETTER! GOD, YOUR GENERATION IS JUST WHAT I EXPECTED! NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF SELFISH, ENTITLED-"
Peter cut the call before he would have to schedule an appointment with the ENT. He turned back to Connors.
"Sorry doc, it's work. I need to head out," said Spider-Man. Curt nodded at him.
"I'll let Peter know when the results are here," assured Curt.
"Got it. Thanks doc," said Peter, swinging out of the skylight.
Peter quickly ran through the door to the Daily Bugle office, waving hi to Ned and Betty.
"Hey, Pete! We don't see you around here as much," said Ned, shaking his hand.
"Yeah, I took a bit of a break after the uh…Brock incident," said Peter. Betty offered him a reassuring smile, before turning towards the office.
"Uh, Jonah's pretty pissed at the moment. Robbie's trying to calm him down, but it's up to you," warned Betty, as Ned chuckled.
"Well, I've survived worse," muttered Peter, walking through into Jameson's office. Robbie Robertson, a former Bugle chief editor who was recently rehired, was sitting with his hand on his forehead. Meanwhile, Jonah was yelling as he walked back and forth in his office.
"AND SO I TOLD JANE THAT NO, THE SCRAMBLED EGGS WERE IN FACT UNDERSEASONED, AND THEN SHE- PALMER! GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE FIRED!" shouted Jameson, pointing at Peter.
"Jonah, you called him for the photos," sighed Robbie.
"Oh right. PRESLEY, YOU'RE REHIRED! WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS?!" shouted Jameson.
"About that…I don't have any…yet! I'll have them by tonight, that's a Parker guarantee," reassured Peter. Jonah looked like a volcano about to explode, while Robbie gave Peter a look of sympathy.
"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M RUNNING HERE, A CARNIVAL STALL?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT A NEWSPAPER WITHOUT SPIDER-MAN PHOTOS IS? IT'S LIKE WALKING INTO A MCDONALD'S AND NOT GETTING THE WHOPPER!" shouted Jameson.
Peter was about to interject about his factual inaccuracy but realized it would be best if he kept his mouth shut. Jonah continued ranting about today's generation, the internet and the rise of podcasts, and eventually his wife's breakfast.
"I MEAN, YOU PUT THE PEPPER BEFORE SCRAMBLING THE EGG, DON'T YOU PIETRO?" asked Jameson.
"Uh yeah, yes! Pepper before…scrambling," agreed Peter, not even sure what the conversation was about.
"At least someone agrees with me, I'm not the only sane one," said Jameson, patting Peter on the back. "WELL, WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?! GET ME PHOTOS OF THAT MENACE!" exclaimed Jameson, as Peter quickly shuffled out of the office.
"Huh, looks like that didn't go half bad," remarked Ned.
"Yeah. I just need to get some photos by tonight," said Peter.
"Knowing your track record, you got this," said Betty. Peter nodded as he walked back into the elevator, when his police scanner began to go off.
"Available unit, shootout at the Meatpacking District. Backup requested,"
"Well, here we go," thought Peter.
"Peralta! Flank them!" yelled the officer, from behind the overturned police cars. Men in suits and tuxedos were raining hellfire on them, the flashes from the AK-47 muzzles blinding the officers trying to shoot back.
"We need backup! Diaz, call the sergeant!" shouted Peralta back. Detective Diaz began to speak into her walkie-talkie, when a characteristic thwipping noise was heard from above them.
"Heads up!" shouted Spider-Man, practically flying in from above and disarming one of the goons. He webbed up the gun away from him and threw it onto another guy's face.
"It's the Spider! Like Hammerhead told us!" exclaimed the second goon, opening fire at Spider-Man.
"Guys, guys! They said fire at will, and last I checked, my name isn't Will!" protested Spider-Man, flipping out of the way, ripping a manhole from the ground and using it as a shield against the bullets before flinging it towards another goon.
"I mean, my name could be Will. Could be Will, Mike, or even Dustin!" joked Spider-Man, sliding under one of the goons, backflipping off of the ground and kicking his back.
"If you do want to call me something other than the usual 'Freak', 'Spider' or 'Spider-Freak'…" started Spider-Man, shooting a web directly onto the muzzle of the gun. The pressure buildup caused the gun to explode, sending the goon flying into a car.
"You can always call me…from prison!" he finished, noticing all the goons on the ground, unconscious.
"Yeah I know, my banter could have been better. Oh well," said Spider-Man. Just then, his Spider-Sense began to tingle, as a massive truck pulled onto the scene.
"Well, didn't know there was going to be an afterparty…" thought Spider-Man, wondering why his Spider-Sense was tingling so much.
Out of the back of the truck stepped out men wearing body armor, wearing what looked like ancient Japanese masks. Two of them seemed to be wielding swords, with some black-and-white energy enveloping them.
"Well then, welcome to Spider-Man's cosplay party! Rule 1, no cheating in charades-"
Before Peter could finish, one of them shot out some black and white energy from their hands, fast enough that even Peter's Spider-Sense couldn't warn him. The blast sent him tumbling down the street and into a lamppost.
"What the hell…" thought Spider-Man, getting back on his feet. One of the swordsmen slammed the sword into the ground, sending a ripple of energy through the street and to Peter, who dodged it at the exact last second.
"What is that? Instagram filters come to life?" asked Spider-Man, shooting webs to the assailants. However, they all managed to dodge them.
"No one's ever been able to dodge my webbing, not even Black Cat! Who are these guys?" asked Spider-Man. He rushed towards the men, artfully dodging their attacks and kicking one in the face, then webbing one's legs up.
He nimbly dodged a sword attack, before webbing it to the ground and bicycle-kicking the swordsman in the face.
"ENOUGH!" yelled out a booming voice. Spider-Man jumped away from the truck, only to see an opaque man in a bright white tuxedo that seemed to be made of bright white light itself. His hair was white too, and he was holding a sword in his hand.
"Oh my God…" said Spider-Man, as the man jumped onto the ground. The men rushed back to the truck, while the mysterious man approached Spider-Man, the sword trailing behind him and cutting straight through the tar on the road.
"Martin Li?" asked Spider-Man, realizing who he was.
"I've been waiting for this, Spider-Man," replied Li, his voice booming, almost a mix between nails on a chalkboard and God's voice himself. Peter was too stunned to even respond to Li.
"Mr. Li, what are you doing?" he finally asked. Li seemed to become more irate after his comment.
"Call me Mister Negative," replied Li, slamming the sword into the ground. A shockwave of negative energy emerged from the sword. Instinctively, Spider-Man ducked behind a car.
"My Spider-Sense is too slow, I need to be on my toes, and avoid that energy," thought Spider-Man, jumping from behind the car and webbing up Mister Negative's face.
"Oldest trick in the book!" thought Spider-Man, as he webbed up his feet, causing him to trip. Before Peter could do anything else, Mister Negative broke through the webbing and shot out a bolt of negative energy toward Spider-Man.
The bolt hit him straight in the chest, sending him to the ground. Peter felt like all the air had been knocked out of him, as he struggled to breathe.
Mister Negative cracked his neck and slammed his hands to the ground, as ripples of energy rushed to Peter, who quickly lifted himself off of the floor and swung up to a lamppost, before swinging off of it with one hand and kicking Mister Negative in the face.
Li tried to hit him with a right hook, but Peter ducked and kneed him in the chest, then uppercut him. As he went in for another punch, Li grabbed his arm and lifted him above his head, throwing him into a car.
Spider-Man quickly recovered, ripping off the car door and using it as a shield against Li's negative energy. The door began to disintegrate, and it wouldn't be long before he would disintegrate himself.
"Think, Pete!" thought Peter, encouraging himself. That's when he noticed a fire hydrant adjacent to Mister Negative. Spider-Man quickly ducked out of the beam's way and hurled the car door to the hydrant.
The hydrant exploded and let out a stream of water, violently hitting Mister Negative and sending him off of his feet. Spider-Man jumped into the air, but Mister Negative hit him with another bolt of energy.
The bolt hit Peter in the face and he fell to the ground. His face felt like someone poured ten litres of sulfuric acid on it, and for a while everything above his neck went numb.
Peter could barely think, when Mister Negative kicked him away. Spider-Man went tumbling down the street, unable to get back up.
Mister Negative outstretched his hand, as a constant stream of negative energy beamed from his palm and attacked Spider-Man. Peter's whole body began to convulse as he screamed
"AAAAAARGGHHHH!" shouted Spider-Man. The energy felt like it was eating at his flesh, excruciatingly ripping apart any nerves and blood vessels, all over his body as he began to spasm.
"Do you feel it? Every joint in your body beginning to lock up?" asked Mister Negative. He stopped the stream of energy, before taking out his sword and stabbing it straight through Spider-Man's right femur.
Peter felt blood pooling in the back of his mouth, as Li twisted the sword into his leg, pinning him down.
"Now if it were up to me, I would get rid of you right now. Unfortunately, my partner has other ideas," said Mister Negative sadistically.
The last thing Peter could remember was his vision blurring, as Mister Negative brought his boot down on his face.
Harry stumbled into his bathroom and unloaded the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Another night of clubbing and drinking had taken its toll on his body.
He groaned as he got back on his feet, washing his face in the sink. He looked back in the mirror, and for a split microsecond, he could swear he saw someone else. He could swear he saw himself, but his reflection seemed to be scowling back at him.
He shook his head and coughed, before fiddling in his pocket and pulling out a handful of the Yin-Yang patches.
Without hesitation, he removed a patch and placed it on his hand. Almost instantly, the pain in his diaphragm seemed to be replaced by what felt like eternal bliss, and yet a drive of aggression coursed through his veins.
Almost instinctively, Harry punched the mirror in front of him, shattering his own reflection into pieces.
Well, looks like Peter's been captured by Mister Negative! And it looks like Harry isn't in the best space either. If you're wondering what Hammerhead's plan is, stay tuned to find out!
Just celebrated my one-year anniversary with my girlfriend, and wow it's really been a journey. A year ago I could never have imagined myself being here, both in terms of my relationship and my life in general. Things finally seem to be going well again, and I can't wait to spend more years with her. If you're reading this (which I hope you are), I love you. More than I could ever love anything.
And also, I've decided to go on a quest to read all the original Spider-Man issues and all the way to the modern day, starting all the way from issue 1 to issue 900, or whatever number the comics are on at the moment. I'm currently on issue #202, wish me luck!
Fate-Be Changed: Indeed lol.
SpideyXBC: I certainly took inspiration from there!
Marvel Nerd: I've never seen it lmao.
Geek4Life: Everything definitely leads back to Mister Negative, yep.
Teller-Story: Agreed!
I am the Voice: Oh, it most definitely won't!
Prhis1: Thank you, it means a lot!
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.
