A/N #1: This is going to be a pretty long chapter, so I'd suggest to take breaks during reading if that's comfortable for you. I hope the stealth and action segments of this chapter entertain you! And the chapter has some potentially triggering topics, so please proceed at your own discretion!

TRIGGER WARNING: Major character death, blood, violence, trauma, rape/sexual assault


On the next evening, Black Cat waited on a rooftop, like she had told her friends so they could meet up with her. She kneeled down, observing the warehouse they were going to go to from afar. It had a small building next to it. Unlike the last warehouse they went to, she spotted eight security guards outside the building.

"Well, seems like they're not hiding security anymore," Cat murmured as she observed the place.

*THWIP! THWIP!*

That familiar sound and two thuds behind her caught her attention. She let out a chuckle, knowing it was the Spider-Men.

"Have you been waiting long?" Spider-Man asked as he and Scarlet Spider joined Black Cat. She shook her head as a reply.

"Nope, I just got here."

When seeing the armed security guards surrounding the warehouse, Scarlet tilted his head in confusion. "Weird. Last time we went to one of their warehouses, there were no guards outside. They're not hiding anymore surprises for us," he commented.

"Probably. Or maybe there's more than meets the eye..." Cat replied cautiously. "Nonetheless, they must've tightened the security after our last mission."

"They did. Look," Spidey then pointed to the men. "They wear protective vests and some of them carry a shotgun. The ones we encountered didn't have those before. We have to be more careful in taking them down now."

Black Cat gritted her teeth underneath the mask, "This just gets better and better..." Clearing her throat, she focused on the security guards. "The guards come in three groups. One consisting of a pair and the rest consist of three each. We need to knock them out. What's your approach, guys?"

"I'll take the pair," Scarlet Spider answered, "When I'm done, I'll assist one of you."

"Alright. Cat and I will handle the last two groups," Spider-Man replied.

"Make sure the groups don't converge. Otherwise, we'll have a hard time taking them down. Don't forget to find spots where you can hide the guards. Then we meet at the front of the warehouse," Black Cat told them, "One last thing, we do this silently."

Scarlet and Spidey nodded at Black Cat. Afterwards, the three separated. Scarlet web-zipped to another rooftop and jumped onto the warehouse's rooftop. Spidey did the same, along with Cat, who used her wrist grappling gun so she could zip. They crouched and followed their respective targets carefully, keeping an eye on them.

The two guards headed to the back of the warehouse as they scanned their surroundings. Whenever their eyes looked up to the rooftop, Scarlet would quickly disappear from their sight before they could spot him. Once they were close to a bunch of boxes and crates, Scarlet crawled down the wall and approached his targets sneakily. He readied his fists and delivered a light punch to the side of each guard's neck, which knocked them out and made them fall to the ground unconscious. Darting his eyes back and forth to look for any signs of guards or security cameras, he found one camera watching over the area. Scarlet Spider waited for the right moment. Then he wasted no time, dragging the bodies and put them behind the boxes and crates. He webbed the guards to the ground and webbed their mouths to prevent them from alerting other guards.

Scarlet peeked from a box, looking at the camera. He waited again until it didn't face his direction and he ran from his cover and zipped upward to the warehouse's rooftop with his web line. He landed on it with a thud.

"The pair has been taken care of," Scarlet Spider told his friends, "So, who needs my help?"

"I think I'll probably need your help. You can help me take down one of the guards after I knock out the other two." Spidey turned to Black Cat and asked, "What about you, Cat? You need help?"

She shook her head and pulled out her gun from its holster, with a smirk under her mask. "Don't worry, I can lure them into a trap."

The three nodded in understanding and focused on their respective targets.

"Wait, I'll jam the security cams first," she said as she checked her gun's cartridge, which contained jammer rounds, "It'll give us a small window of time to knock out the guards and hide them."

"How long does the effect last?" Spider-Man asked.

"Thirty seconds. Now get to your positions and be ready, guys. I'll signal you when it's time to go."

And so, the Spider-Men did as told. While Black Cat went to one side of the rooftop, aimed her gun at a camera, and shot a jammer round at it. She went to the opposite and jammed the other one. She repeated her action to another camera. After that, she turned around to the duo and gave a thumbs-up, earning two thumbs-up from them.

"I'll distract my target first. When he's separated, you handle your targets and I handle mine," said Scarlet Spider to Spider-Man.

"Okay, I'm waiting for your move," Spidey replied.

Scarlet ran and jumped down from the rooftop and backed against the wall. He proceeded to whistle for luring a guard to his position. One of the three guards raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

"Hey, Gus! Shaddap, man. I get it. Your whistle is beautiful but it ain't the time to fool around!" Arnold shouted in annoyance, which made Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man cover their mouths to refrain from laughing. Scarlet lowered his hand and whistled again, but not without the struggle of almost cracking up.

"A'ight, Gus! You asked for it, pal. Imma shut your mouth up myself!" Arnold started walking to the source of the whistle, leaving his two fellow guards behind.

With this opportunity, Spider-Man climbed down the wall from the rooftop and got on the ground. He crouched and approached the pair of guards from behind, his fists clenched. Spidey then delivered a light punch to the side of each guard's neck, which knocked them out cold. As they were about to fall, Spider-Man quickly grabbed their shirt to stop them and laid their bodies down gently.

When Arnold walked close to Scarlet Spider's position, Scarlet readied his fist and exited his hiding place, surprising the security guard. Before Arnold could respond however, Scarlet hit his jaw to knock him out.

Scarlet Spider carried the unconscious Arnold with ease and turned to his cousin, who had no problem carrying two unconscious men. He beckoned Spider-Man to follow them and they both went to the back area and hid the guards behind two large crates. The Spider-Men webbed the three on the crates and webbed their mouth to silence them. For a moment, they looked at each other. They smiled underneath the masks and fist-bumped.

Meanwhile, Black Cat was busy with her targets. She switched the jammer cartridge with a noisemaker/sleeping gas one, aimed her pistol at nearby thick bushes, and fired three small devices. She holstered it and took out her smartphone. Selecting all the devices, Cat pressed a button on the screen, making them emit static noises. Upon seeing the guards turning around in confusion, she smiled and waited for them to come to the bushes.

"The hell is that?" a security guard asked out loud.

"No idea but it's coming from there," another guard pointed at the bushes, "We should investigate there." So the three men headed to the source of the noises, looking around cautiously with their weapons readied. They didn't know they were walking into a trap.

Black Cat remained patient as she watched the targets closing in to the noisemakers, her finger almost touching the "RELEASE GAS" button on her phone's screen. When she saw them leaning close to the devices, Cat pressed the button. All of the noisemakers emitted sleeping gas, which made the security guards feel doozy and fall asleep in the bushes, hidden from sight.

With the targets on her end had been dealt with, Black Cat shoved her phone into her jeans' pocket and double tapped her earpiece's call button. "Targets are down, guys. Still quiet so far. What about yours?"

"Oh, no worries. We've dealt with them. They're gonna see floating stars when they wake up," Spidey chuckled.

"Pfft. Alright, I'm gonna get their RFID cards. Meet me at the front warehouse's double doors."

"Okay, meet you in a bit," Scarlet replied.

Aiming her wrist-mounted grappling gun at the rooftop surface, she fired its hook. Black Cat walked to the ledge and jumped down, descending safely. Once reaching the ground, she retracted the grappling hook and proceeded to go to the bushes to loot the cards, in case they were needed. After that, she and the Spider-Men reunited at the front double doors and entered the warehouse to look what they came for


Inside the warehouse, the trio looked for a building layout to guide them to the location of their goal. They found one and headed to the packing and shipping area, hoping to find a piece of info there. Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man led the way as they scanned their surroundings. While Black Cat, her hands gripping the gun, looked around with caution.

Wanting to make sure the group didn't fall into a trap, Cat tapped one of the buttons on her "cat ears" to activate the sonar mode. Like what happened at the previous warehouse however, there were only statics and no sonar pulses emitted from the "ears". "Fuck!" she cursed and tapped the button to turn off the mode before the static noise overwhelmed her.

Both Spider-Men turned around and stopped, looking at Black Cat with concern. "Cat, what's wrong?" Spider-Man asked her.

"My sonar is jammed. Again," she answered. "The bad guys have already set up a trap here."

"Darn... That means Shocker is here somewhere," Scarlet Spider realized. "Alright, keep your eyes open for anything."

They continued walking and entered the area through a double doors. They saw boxes and crates on warehouse racks and wooden pallets. Along that, also workstations and workbenches. But what caught their attention was the mobile workstations, which were carts designed to carry a computer and other hardwares.

"Guys, I think we can find the bill of lading on one of these computers," Spider-Man said, "Or if not, we can go to the office in that small building."

"Noted. Let's focus on the computers first then," Black Cat replied.

"The place is too quiet. I don't like this..." Scarlet Spider commented as his eyes darted back and forth to see any signs of enemies hiding.

As the trio proceeded, Scarlet and Spidey's spider sense buzzed, before two smoke grenades were tossed into the group. The grenades popped and released white smoke, blocking their peripheral view.

"Shit, we're spotted!" Black Cat screamed. And the enemies threw a couple of flash grenades at her and the Spider-Men. "Flashbangs! Fall back!"

The group ran away, closed their eyes, and covered their ears. Much to their misfortune however, another flashbang was thrown into their position. And the grenades released a blinding light and deafening sounds, stunning Scarlet, Spidey, and Cat.

Moments later, the sounds died down and the group's vision returned to normal. When they opened their eyes and ears, six armored security guards surrounded them, pointing their weapons at the heroes. Shocker and his two henchmen with their own pair of vibro-shock gauntlets stood next to the guards. And a hulking pale man in a black suit with white hair accompanied the bad guys. The trio's eyes widened in horror as they realized they were cornered.

Black Cat gasped at the sight of one of her father's killers present in the area. Her hands began to shake. "Tombstone..."

He simply grinned, showing his razor sharp teeth. "Nice to finally meet the clowns who've been troubling us. I must say your...circus antics don't amuse us. And the Kingpin." The man cracked his knuckles and approached Spider-Man, intending to end the spider first. "Unfortunately, today is the end of that."

Seeing this, Scarlet Spider feared what was going to happen to his cousin. So he clenched his free hand into a fist, ran toward Tombstone, and delivered a punch to the pale man's face.

It didn't faze Tombstone. He didn't even show a sign of pain, shocking Scarlet Spider. In response, Tombstone shook his head in disapproval and wrapped his hand around Scarlet's neck, lifting him up.

"No! Stop!" Spider-Man screamed. As he was about to rush toward Tombstone, Shocker and his men aimed their gauntlets at him, forcing him to stop and witness Scarlet Spider being choked.

"Don't even think about doing it, Webhead," Shocker said with anger in his voice.

Even Black Cat, who was about to switch her current pistol cartridge to another one with rubber rounds, realized she couldn't do much with the security guards training their guns on her and Spider-Man. One move and she'd get shot.

Scarlet struggled to breathe as the hold around his neck tightened. He started to hit Tombstone's arm repeatedly to break free, but to no avail. So Tombstone punched Scarlet in the stomach, causing him to yelp in pain. And he threw the hero into a nearby sturdy wall.

Scarlet Spider's head hit against the wall hard before he fell to the floor. His head tilted down and his body went limp, slouched against the wall. Scarlet Spider couldn't do anything now, as he was no more.

"Scarlet... No..." Spider-Man couldn't believe what his eyes witnessed. He stood there helplessly, still processing everything. Thoughts began to pop up inside his head one by one. How was he gonna tell the whole family and Anna that he died..? Could he even tell the words? Just thinking about that crushed his heart.

The look on Black Cat's face was of devastation. Although she had known him for days, it hurt so much to lose a friend who trusted her, just like Spidey. She could only mourn his death in silence.

"Hey!" one of the security guards called to her, "Throw away your pistol now. No sudden movements."

She nodded weakly, putting down the gun on the floor and slid it away. The man retrieved it and put it in his pocket.

"Hands behind your head, you two. Unless you wanna suffer the same fate as that puny spider," another guard said to the duo and they did as told. Both looked back at Scarlet Spider's corpse and sighed deeply. "Now exit the area. Don't try to do something funny or you'll be next." So, Black Cat and Spider-Man started walking to the double doors with security guards and Shocker's henchmen following them from behind.

Meanwhile, Tombstone looked at the dead Scarlet Spider with disappointment painted on his face.

"Expecting a fight?" Shocker approached his friend.

"I was," he let out a deep sigh, "That one earlier was someone struggling to break free. Wasn't a true fight. I just...missed it so much. But nevermind, there's something more important than me wanting to have a thrilling, satisfying fight."

Shocker pat Tombstone's back gently, expressing his sympathy. "Well, at least we got rid one of our problems. Let's finish the rest." He and Tombstone then turned around and joined the security guards and Shocker's henchmen.

As they all were about to exit the area, Scarlet's fingers twitched. His head snapped back before he rose up. Painful groans escaped his mouth, except they sound distorted. And it made everyone turn around to look at Scarlet Spider, who was back from the dead.

"What in the? Wasn't he dead?!" Shocker looked bewildered when he saw Scarlet back on his feet.

Tombstone only had a confused look on his face. The rest of the men seemed to be terrified with what they were seeing.

Spidey and Cat couldn't comprehend what was going on in front of their eyes.

"Oh, you really shouldn't have done that," the voice coming out of Scarlet's mouth cackled.

Two security guards moved forward and shot their rifles at "Scarlet Spider". But he managed to dodge the bullets and shot his web lines at the guards' weapons, yanking them away. After that, he picked up a medium-sized wooden crate from a nearby rack and threw it onto the direction of his enemies' face, hitting them bluntly that the crate knocked them out and broke their nose.

Shocker's henchmen followed suit and aimed their gauntlets at the spider, shooting an uncharged blast. Yet again, "Scarlet Spider" dodged and shot multiple webs to clog their gauntlets. For extra measure, he shot a couple more webs to obstruct the men's vision. He popped up the stingers from his wrists and he lunged at the two henchmen, repeatedly slashing them. Their blood splattered everywhere.

"Anyone else!?" "Scarlet" growled as he stood up. None of the opponents, including Shocker, didn't dare to face the resurrected spider, as they tried to process how this could happen and what had occurred. For Tombstone, he was pretty much angered by "Scarlet's" actions and decided to face the hero to teach him a lesson.

Hearing that very voice and seeing such display of brutality, Spider-Man came to the realization that Kaine wasn't in control at the moment. It gave him flashbacks from the events of past month. Everything the Other did to influence Kaine just to take over his body, including committing violent acts that caught the attention of the police and the Daily Bugle. He concluded it was obviously the Other personality who took over. Peter thought this meant Kaine was truly gone and the Other replaced him forever, causing worry and hatred to arise deep down. For he despised that monster.

Spider-Man turned to Black Cat and they both shared a look. They made the decision to take down the security guards while they were distracted and nodded at each other. Spidey and Cat clenched their fist as they sneaked behind their respective targets and delivered a punch to the side neck of the guards to knock them out. The two guards fell unconscious to the floor, and the sound attracted the attention of the remaining men and Shocker.

Not wasting time, Cat recovered her pistol from the guard who took it away. When the guards were about to shoot at the two heroes, Spider-Man quickly shot his web lines at the guns and yanked them away, also shooting a couple of webs to blind their vision. Black Cat switched the current cartridge with another one full of rubber rounds and shot a couple of rounds at the head for each of target, knocking them out cold.

"You just won't quit, will you!?" Shocker gritted his teeth and aimed the gauntlet at Spidey and shot an uncharged blast.

Spider-Man's spider sense zinged at that moment. Before he could react though, it already sent him flying to the wall, causing him to groan in pain.

Shocker smiled and turned his attention to Black Cat. She gasped, realizing she was his next target and started running. He shot another blast but she managed to perform a dive roll to a nearby warehouse rack, dodging the attack. This made Shocker curse and retrieve a pistol from an unconscious guard. "Alright. No more blasting around. Guess it's time I'll put a bullet in your head!" He began to look for her.

With her shaky hands, Black Cat raised her gun as she hid from Shocker, ready to shoot rubber rounds at him. At the same time, that moment when "Scarlet Spider" rose from the dead and attacked the four security guards with such brutality. It kept replaying in her mind. That violent act somehow reminded her of her past "friends". Everything they did to her that broke her trust, even their disgusting acts. Thinking about that made her zone out and freeze in fear.

"There you are!" Shocker's voice startled her, bringing her back to reality. Black Cat turned to the man in quilt suit and saw him aiming his pistol at her. Her eyes widened in panic and she dove to a large, empty wooden box, taking cover behind it before Shocker could shoot her.

Cat raised her gun over her cover and started firing rubber rounds. Some missed, others managed to hit Shocker. He grunted in pain and shot a few bullets, which grazed Black Cat's arm and leg. She yelped, dropping the gun accidentally. Shocker didn't waste any second and ran to the wounded Cat and aimed his pistol at her head. Yet, before he could pull the trigger, a scream interrupted him.

"SHOCKER!!" an enraged Spidey shot a web line while in mid-air and used it to yank Shocker's pistol away from the man's hands. This prompted Shocker to activate the gauntlet's battering ram attachment. He tried to deliver a punch toward the arachnid hero but Spider-Man evaded it and pinned Shocker against the wall.

"What, no more jokes coming from you, bozo?" he taunted Spider-Man.

"You... You made me lose someone important to me," Spidey's voice cracked, filled with loss, sadness, and fury. "I'm not gonna let you do that again!"

Shocker was about to shoot an uncharged shock blast at the distracted spider. However, Spider-Man didn't let it become an opportunity for Shocker by beating him multiple times. He even gave a headbutt, cracking Shocker's goggles before letting him go. The pace of Spider-Man's breathing was rapid, uncontrolled. Slowly, he managed to regain his composure.

He turned his attention to Black Cat and rushed to her aid. Noticing the grazes on her arm and leg, he sprayed some webbing from his fingertips to cover them. "Hey, you okay..?" Spider-Man asked in a concerned tone as he offered Cat his hand.

When she heard those very words, she froze as a particular memory played in her mind. Something that reminded her of one of those so-called "friends" from a few years ago.


"No! Let me go!" Felicia screamed while a boy around her age and taller than her gripped her hands, pinning her against the wall. They were at a dingy alleyway, not far from their high school building.

"Shh. Now, now..." he leaned down to her neck as she squirmed, "Be a good girl and let me enjoy this."

Before the boy could do something to her further, a fist greeted his cheek, releasing Felicia from his hold.

"You disgust me," said Ryan, who just punched Felicia's molester, "I ought to report to the school about what you did."

Fear was painted on the boy's face and he ran away.

Ryan then shifted his attention to Felicia and approached her. "Hey, you okay..?" he asked.

"S-Stay away," she said, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Calm down... I'm not here to hurt you." It only earned a distrustful look from the girl. She doubted his words. "I would've done it if that was my intention."

She still didn't buy it. "Yeah sure. Like almost every guy I made friends with tried to lull me into a sense of security."

For a moment, no words came out of Ryan's mouth. "I'm...sorry. But I'm not like that. I promise."

Felicia let out a deep sigh. "Thank you for intervening earlier. I didn't catch your name."

"Ryan," he smiled and extended his hand. But Felicia looked at it in hesitation and didn't take it.

"F-Felicia. Felicia Hardy." Her expression softened as she smiled in gratitude.

"Felicia... I think we're gonna get along well."


They became friends not long after that. And Felicia had thought it would be different. But of course, he turned out to be no different than the others. When she had finally trusted him, he used her to satisfy his desires. She cried, felt ashamed, and begged him to stop but he didn't care. It was the final nail in the coffin for her. Until Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man crossed path with her. Although they seemed to be trustworthy and cared for her, could she really put her trust in them?

"The things you know about them are just lies. Lies! Just like your so-called "friends"! Don't trust them." A part of her said that, while the other tried to dissuade her from giving in to her fears. "No, no. Remember what mom said... Yes, be cautious but your friends... They've never hurt you. They trust and care for you. Don't do something stupid!" Conflict and uncertainty were reflected on her eyes, something Spidey could clearly see through her googles as Cat hesitated to accept his hand. Though in the end, Felicia accepted and he helped her get up.

"Cat, is something going on? Spider-Man voiced his worries.

"N-No. Um, I'm fine," she shrugged it off with a nervous chuckle and picked up her gun. "I'm fine, really."

He knew she didn't tell him the truth. But he simply nodded, not wanting to force her.

"Spidey, how... How did Scarlet..? And why does he sound different?"

"This is the first time I saw him being...back from the dead," he answered, "Don't know exactly how but I know why at least. This is not the first time for me seeing Scarlet Spider sounding like that."

"Wait, what?" Black Cat raised her eyebrow.

"It's complicated. I promise I'll explain after the mission. For now, let's just help Scarlet. He needs our help, Cat."

...

Meanwhile, the Other and Tombstone traded punches. Some to the face, some to the chest. And they would parry one another's attack. Both looked somewhat beaten but the ferocious fight didn't stop, as the two didn't intend to give up.

"So unrestrained. I like it," Tombstone chuckled as he was about to deliver his fist to "Scarlet Spider" but the arachnid blocked it and kneed the pale man in the stomach, causing Tombstone to cough and step back.

The Other clenched his hand into a fist. He punched one of Tombstone's cheeks, giving it a bruise.

Tombstone grunted in pain. "You...are a fascinating opponent. Somehow you came back to life, gave one hell of a fight, and managed to hurt me. While earlier, I didn't flinch."

"It's my thing. You sound surprised. And did I sense respect from you?" the Other said.

Tombstone gave a smirk. "My skin is supposed to be thick and tough. However, you're the first to hurt me. And it's been long since I had a thrilling fight against an equal."

The Other laughed. "I've never liked people like you criminals. But, I must say it's interesting to find an enemy who respects their adversary."

The two fighters were panting, almost exhausted. They gave each other a few moments to catch a breath, before eventually resuming the fight.

"W... What's going on?" Kaine was confused and realized what was going on when he saw his darker personality landed punches at Tombstone. "What the-"

"Well, you're back. Good then," the Other chuckled.

"How the hell are you able to hurt him? And why are you in control?!"

"I'm stronger than you and him, even if I am you. Also, I can't let you and this body die."

"You..! Let me take control! I can handle him," Kaine growled.

The Other laughed mockingly while he lifted his elbows to block Tombstone's incoming attacks. "Take control? No, you'll die again. And you'll lose your friends. You need me."

"Like hell. You want me to embrace my inner darkness and I'm not falling for that. You'll double cross me."

"Sure, whatever. But in the end, you know it's true and you'll come begging me to give you more power," the Other cackled. Focusing back on Tombstone, he delivered an uppercut to his jaw, sending the pale man flying to the ground. However, it didn't knock Tombstone out. It merely made him dizzy. He shrugged it off and rose back up, intending to take down "Scarlet Spider" once and for all.

This one-on-one fight soon turned into a three-versus-one when Spider-Man and Black Cat joined the Other.

"You're gonna pay for what you did, Tombstone!" Spidey's voice was filled with anger. He proceeded to fire web pellets from his fingertips. But those didn't hurt Tombstone, simply making him annoyed. So, Spider-Man shot a couple of webs to obstruct his enemy's vision for a while.

"Hey, his skin is thick and tough so you have to punch him real hard," the Other told Spider-Man.

Spider-Man and Black Cat looked at "Scarlet Spider" in confusion. "Isn't that contradictory..?" Cat said.

"Listen, I managed to gave him a few bruises. He is a tough one but that doesn't mean he has no weaknesses."

"Fuck," Black Cat cursed, "That means I can't hurt him..." She shifted her attention to the gun in her hands. "But I guess my gun can still come in handy," she realized.

As the team figured out the solutions, Tombstone groaned in annoyance and ripped the webbing off of his face, catching the three's attention. He picked up a large stainless steel pallet nearby and used it as a makeshift shield. "Time to even the playing field."

Black Cat aimed her gun at the pallet and fired all of the rubber rounds remaining. Some managed to put a dent on the steel pallet and the others hit Tombstone through its gap. She switched her empty cartridge with a new one and continued to fire at the man.

Spider-Man and "Scarlet Spider" looked at each other. They knew there was bad blood between them. But for now, they decided to set their differences aside. They turned to their enemy and shot their respective web line, directed at the pallet and yanked it away.

With no protection, Tombstone hissed and charged at the Spider-Men, only to be greeted by Cat's rubber rounds to the head. And so, he raised his arms to protect his face.

Taking this opportunity, the spiders ran toward him and began punching him, not holding back. Spider-Man let out a furious scream and kept attacking Tombstone for making him lose his cousin. His attacks simply stunned the pale man. The Other delivered several jabs and kicks. His attacks gave several more bruises to his opponent. After that, he delivered one powerful punch, which sent Tombstone flying to the wall. To finish it, both Spider-Men fired a web to bind the man against the wall.

"...So I guess this is it," Spider-Man sighed and looked at the Other. "My cousin is gone and there's only you..."

"Don't come to such conclusion so fast, Webs," the Other laughed and closed his eyes, standing still.

Moments later, Scarlet Spider opened his eyes and looked around. "I'm- I'm in control now." The voice had gone from distorted to normal again.

Spider-Man recognized that voice and immediately pulled Scarlet into an embrace. He hugged him tightly. "You're back..." Peter laughed in relief, "You scared me. Coz, I thought I lost you forever."

Kaine chuckled and hugged him back, patting Peter in the shoulder to comfort him. "Sorry for scaring you, Webs."

"It doesn't matter now. All that matters is I got you back..."

Black Cat walked toward the Spider-Men as they released each other from their hug and looked at Scarlet Spider. "Hey... Glad to have you back, Webhead," she smiled. It earned a nod from him. "Anyway, we should find the bill of lading we need. I'm gonna try to figure out where I can corrupt the sys-" A sudden alarm blare interrupted her, catching the trio off guard.

"The hell?! How did this happen?" Scarlet Spider's question was soon answered by Shocker's laugh, who soon showed up with a radio in his hand.

"You're all done for," he said. He had just alerted the others and requested for reinforcements. He threw the radio away and picked the assault rifle slung behind his back, one he had retrieved from another unconscious security guard.

The group realized more security guards would come. And they were sitting ducks with Shocker intending to kill all of them.

Cat ran to one of the nearby workstations, only to find it couldn't be accessed. The computer on the workstation displayed a message saying "ACCESS RESTRICTED" on its screen. "Shit, we gotta get the hell out of here!"

"DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY!" Shocker began shooting the rifle at the Spider-Men first and then Black Cat, but they ran away before they got hit. "You fuckers are gonna pay for what you've done!" he yelled as he continued to fire his weapon.

Diving to a nearby warehouse rack, Black Cat took cover and crouched. She peeked out a bit, aiming her gun at Shocker's leg, and shot a couple of rubber rounds, causing him to stop firing and scream in pain.

Soon after, the man in the quilt suit was greeted by a couple of Spider-Man's web pellets to the face, stunning him. And a web line by Scarlet Spider yanking away the assault rifle.

The three didn't waste anymore time and exited the warehouse. Once outside, the sight of many armored security guards holding their rifles, shotguns, and stun batons shocked them to the core.

Before the guards could attack or shoot them, the Spider-Men and Black Cat immediately zipped upward to the warehouse's rooftop and swung away to a rooftop somewhere so they would be safe.

Meanwhile inside the warehouse, Shocker was recovering from the group's attacks. He looked down and wondered when this would be over. Deciding there were other urgent matters, he stopped sulking and checked up on the unconscious men. When he came across two security guards with broken noses and his henchmen with wounds, he clenched his hand into a fist. "Gosh... Why can't this stop? Why do those clowns have to keep ruining my life!?"

Then, he turned around and found a bruised and battered Tombstone webbed against the wall. Seeing such injuries surprised him. Shocker pulled out a pocket knife and cut off the webbing to free his friend. "Lincoln, how is this possible?" he asked.

"Let's say I found someone who is my equal. He and his friends really gave such a good fight," Tombstone coughed. "I'll be fine, Herman."

Shocker shook his head in disbelief. "The fight gets tougher and tougher... Fuck. We might run out of men soon not just because of Hammerhead's men, but also that damned trio. And Kingpin is gonna kill us." He sighed as he processed what happened today. "I'm... I'm so done."

Tombstone put his hand on Shocker's shoulder, comforting him. "I know how important this is. I know you care for the men too. We'll get them medical treatment as soon as possible. But what matters is that trio failed today."

"I know, I know..." Shocker turned to Tombstone and gave a nod of appreciation. "Thank you. I guess I needed that..." The two men didn't waste any time to call for support and waited for help to come to the warehouse.


(On the rooftop...)

"So like what Spidey said... There's another...you inside? I- I can't wrap my head around this," Black Cat massaged her temple as she tried to process what Spider-Man had told her.

"Yeah. And the other guy is basically everything bad about me," Scarlet Spider replied. "He can...twist words and bring temptation. He can be brutal too. He always wants to take control of my body and get rid of me."

"Are you the only one with..?" Her questioned earned a nod from Scarlet. "How?"

"When Spidey and I got bitten by superspiders, I was the unlucky one. The spider that bit me was aggressive and unstable," he explained, "Hence, it messed my mind and gave birth to another personality inside me. My inner demons came to life."

"So that explains it..."

"He gave me lots of troubles and made me almost take the life of my father's killer. But Spider-Man saved me and I didn't think I could kill someone. So I managed to get rid of the other me."

"But he came back to try to control you again, no matter how."

"Indeed."

Cat nodded as she finally understood why Scarlet was able to return from the dead. "We failed our mission today and we got more problems. Great," she sighed.

Spidey approached her and patted her in the shoulder gently. "It's been a long day, Cat. Let's take a break and discuss about what we should do at a later time, alright? We need to process what happened today too."

"Yeah, you're right," Black Cat said, "I guess we can talk about the next mission tomorrow..."

The three bid one another farewell and swung away to their respective home. On their way, everyone reflected about the things that had happened. Black Cat's fear kept echoing in her mind. Thoughts about whether she should trust her friends or not popped up at the same time. Spider-Man became aware of how the missions got more dangerous after he lost his cousin. He needed a solution to counter the Tombstone and the Other problems. And Scarlet Spider thought about the implication of the Other's words for future missions. But for now, they would try to distract their mind with something else and plan their next move when the time was right.


A/N #2: Well, it looks like things won't get easier for our heroes in the future chapters. I hope you enjoyed reading this! (And I hope the topics were handled well... The rape topic was a bit problematic that it made me almost stop writing this fic. But I was able to continue and finish it thanks to the help of fellow writers and friends. It wouldn't have been possible without them.) I'm sorry if I won't be able to write and update this fic as fast as possible because life kinda gets in the way. So I hope you understand. But I will still try to finish this fic. Anyway, let me know what you think! Feel free to favorite and follow this fic and me to stay up to date. Have a good day, y'all!