NYC's Spidey

by idisagreewithyouthere

A collection of one-shots starring Spider-Man - AKA Peter Parker - and his daily adventures protecting NYC! Peter is an alien in this fic, which doesn't change anything except his powers (slightly). Set loosely after the Marvel's Spider-Man game (by Insomniac). Chapters not chronological. Somewhat inspired by AliciaRoseFantasy's 'Helping Hand'. Cross-posted on AO3

3. Bad Bean

Spider-Man swung through the skyscrapers of Manhattan, relishing the cool nighttime air breezing past him. Today had set off on a strong start, a would-be gang rape prevented in the nick of time. Crime slowed to a crawl after that however, and the spider spent most of his patrol slinging through the city, performing eye-catching flips and spins on every swing with a smile on his face.

After zipping over a particularly high building, Spidey's spider-sense goes off just as his sharp eyes spot the disturbance down below. Spider-Man dove to a much less populated street and perched on a lamp-post, observing the scene before him.

There seemed to be a minor scuffle between a group of masked men and a single cop on a small Fisk construction site. Harsh whispers were exchanged between the men and the cop, but Spidey noted they didn't appear to be hostile yet. The men donned firearms and closely crowded a very suspicious looking duffel bag filled with white plastic bags, apparently waiting for someone. The spider's acute nose picked up a faint whiff of definitely-not-legal substances.

'Huh, shocker,' Spider-Man thought with a mental sigh and a shake of the head. Another day, another drug deal.

Peering closer at the group, Spidey saw the cop looking between the crooks exasperated. Tuning in a keen ear, Spider-Man picked up on their conversation. "Look, what's the point if you don't listen to me? I'm telling you, this is not a good idea guys." The officer gestured wildly at the thugs, he was clearly outnumbered.

"For the last time we're not budging. We can't afford to lose this deal, already told you. Now go make yourself useful and write some parking tickets or something." The goon dismissed with a tut and a wave of his hand, annoyed.

Spidey tilted his head at the interaction. 'They're thankfully not very hostile to that cop, or the poor policeman would definitely be in a lot of trouble. Has he called in backup yet?'

The police officer made a frustrated sound, and gripped his hair. "You're making a mistake."

"Oh for fuck's sake, piss off-" The thug's hand had went to rest on his hip - a little too close to his firearm - and Spider-Man thought he'd heard enough.

Leaping into the air directly over the group of criminals, Spidey shot two webs to the ground to thrust himself downwards, slamming into the earth with thunderous force. A cloud of dust erupted from the impact as the men were thrown back into the surrounding crates and construction equipment, surprised yells coming from the group. "What the fuck?!"

"Shit! It's Spider-Man!" Another yelled, lifting himself off a broken wooden crate housing insulation. His hands immediately went to his firearm and pulled it out with haste, flicking off the safety and aiming the weapon at their unwelcome guest. "Open fire! Blow his brains out!"

The spider brought his hands up in mock surrender. "Aw c'mon guys, is that the applause I get for my outstanding entrance? Tough crowd!" Spidey quipped and danced around the sudden spray of bullets, his spider-sense guiding him as each blast was countered with a shot of webbing to dislodge or jam the firearm.

The weapons were eventually taken care of, and Spider-Man swiftly beat and webbed up the goons one after the other. The display was extremely smooth and executed flawlessly, as if it had been practiced time and time again - which it certainly had. It was over faster than ever, and Spidey stood above the last webbed up goon with a satisfied smile beneath his mask. "Well that's enough gift wrapping for now, looks like Ryker's is getting another batch of early Christmas goodies."

Spider-Man turned back to the lone cop and saw he hadn't moved an inch from where he stood at the start of the scuffle. Spidey quirked a brow, eyeing the man who hesitated looking between the webbed men and the spider. "Relax, they're all taken care of, officer." Spider-Man spoke, walking towards the unsure cop. The police-man's eyes finally settled on the webslinger, and he frowned.

"Right... thanks for that." He responded, eyeing the hero.

"Though next time, uh, you should probably look for cover and draw your weapon. Or just do something other than stand there, ya know?" Spidey tilted his head at the man, looking at him closely. "Are you new?"

"Uhh, sorta? Not really, just new to this part of town." The cop responded with a smile, and Spider-Man mentally let out a sarcastic 'suuuuure' at the other man's blatant bluff.

"Alrighty then. I'll leave these guys to you, officer," Spidey smiled. The man looked unsure once again, and the spider frowned. "You got this?"

The cop quickly waved his hand in the air at the question. "Yeah, 'course I got this! I'll call in backup to get them all taken care of, thanks for the help Spider-Man!"

Spidey smiled, a little unsure with the nervous behaviour of the new cop. "Sure thing, take care." He responded, eyeing the man for a moment longer. 'Well it's not like I can help the guy and take the men to Ryker's myself unfortunately,' Spidey thought and shot a web, swinging away to the next New Yorker in need of help.

---

David shuffled through the papers on his desk with mild interest. The new case handed to him was rather standard, but there was little information offered. A fresh wave of drug deals with impressively expanding numbers and profit, pretty standard indeed. The only lead the case currently had is their last known deal location - far North of the Upper East Side.

Typing away at his laptop, the middle-aged cop dug deep for anything else he could get his hands on - tips, flagged car plates, suspicious activities, anything.

Sighing in disappointment at his search's lack of fruit, David closed the laptop and tapped his fingers against his desk with a frown. The dealers were relatively new to the scene, so the lack of leads shouldn't be much of a surprise.

"That new case already giving you a run for your money?" A voice chuckled from behind the frowning police officer. Turning in his chair, David saw his newly appointed partner for this case, Oliver. Oliver was a spring chicken, fresh from the academy without a single case under his belt. To assign a fresh candidate to a case like this without much of a lead at all, the NYPD must be really understaffed.

"Yeah well, not much on these papers to go off of." David sighed, reaching for a sip of his cold tea. "What about the CCTV footage we requested?"

Oliver shook his head, a small frown tugging at his lips as he shrugged. "Spoke to Charlotte. They don't have it."

"What?" David looked up, surprise painted across his face. Lilly was the head of department, and had the most undying work passion in the Upper East Side police department. And somehow despite that, she was the friendliest mother figure the department could ask for. Everyone knew her and she knew everyone, making sure to spread smiles and pump a strong work ethic into her department. No funny business could get by her, especially something as fishy as 'missing CCTV footage'. David tried to blink the shock from his eyes. "What do you mean 'don't have it'?"

Oliver sighed and placed a hand on his hip, face downcast. "The videos are lost, don't know if they were corrupted or erased, but the footage is gone. Spoke to Charlotte to make sure, she was just as confused - and rather frustrated."

David blinked furiously and put his tea back on the desk in bewilderment. He stared at the green liquid as his mind raced to process the news. "How did that happen? That's never happened before? Did you ask her for more details?"

"She's got a unit working on what happened now. Charlotte only realised the footage was gone when I asked for it."

David sighed contemplatively as he looked at his partner, frown still etched on his face. "That might mean the footage's disappearance is relatively new if Charlotte didn't have an idea of it's disappearance until now. We should look through the records of who viewed CCTV in the area recently, perhaps it would give us a lead as to what's happened."

Oliver hummed in thought, considering David's idea with furrowed brows before shaking his head. "I don't think we should," David's face scrunched in confusion but Oliver continued before he could speak, pointing to the small stack of papers on the officer's desk by the cold tea. "We have to work on our new case, and with the lack of CCTV to add to the already small pile of leads we have, we need all the time we can get to crack down. Going on a wild goose chase for whoever intentionally or unintentionally erased the CCTV - or whatever happened to that damn footage - isn't going to sit well with our superiors or Charlotte for that matter. She's already got people working on it, so let's just focus on our own case."

David closed his eyes and sighed again, face wrinkling in his discouraged morale. "Yeah, you're right…" The officer shook his head slowly, a hand rubbing his temple while the other dropped heavily on his armrest with a light thud. "It's just really annoying that something like this happened. It's a complete shock, and definitely not a coincidence. It's not like me to turn my back and ignore this…"

"I get what you mean, it's frustrating." Oliver agreed, moving to lean by the desk. "But there's nothing else we can do. We're wasting time and shaving years off our lives in stress just thinking about it. C'mon let's get a crack on that case and hopefully catch a few extra leads to lift our spirits, eh?" Oliver offered a small smile.

David let out a long breath before straightening up and giving a nod of his own. "You're right, thanks. It's good to partner with you Oliver, great to have someone like you help keep your head up." The officer stood and cracked his knuckles, lips curving in a small grin. "Now let's get a move on and bust these bastards. Patrolling North around the Upper East Side sounds like a good start."

"Yup," Oliver agreed, nodding his head and attempting to mirror the other's action but failing to pop a single knuckle, making the two chuckle in unison. David began tidying his desk and reaching for his keys before Oliver tilted his head in consideration. "Maybe you should go solo on your patrol, David." The officer in question turned back to Oliver with a confused glance, an obvious question on his lips. "We still have a decent chance to run across something going over potential tips and combing through other CCTV footage in the area, and with how short handed we are I think it would probably be best if we split up instead? One of us going on patrol while the other continues to investigate and find any potential leads, ya know." He patted the stack of papers neatly paperclipped together by the laptop for emphasis.

David contemplated the other's proposal for a moment, a little hesitant to stray from the traditional double-up patrol, but considered the offer anyway. Oliver did have a decent point, it would be a lot more efficient to split up and work separately for a case with as few leads as this one. He nodded after a few moments of thought, smiling back up to the other officer. "Yeah, not a bad call. Let's hope it bears fruit and you manage to find something useful, or I find something out on patrol."

Oliver nodded and smiled back, happy David went along with his proposal. David grabbed his keys and went over his equipment, checking himself thoroughly and walking to the door. "Call if you find anything, and try not to get too bored on desk duty." He smirked cheekily before opening and walking through the door, ready to check out for the day's solo patrol.

---

Spidey shot a large sticky web at the last crook, the criminal tripping from the impact and clinging to the filthy floor with a thud. He struggled fruitlessly for a few moments before attempting to yell something in his rage, though the spider web covering most of his face - only really leaving only an eye and a nostril - prevented anything coming from his mouth to be intelligible.

Spider-Man straightened up and turned back to the victim he saved: a hurt middle-aged man balled up and trembling by the alley's brick wall. Spidey walked up to the beaten man, eyes looking over his injuries in worry. "It's okay now sir, they're all dealt with." The man's trembles slowed as he lifted his head and looked around, spotting all his attackers beaten and webbed. He looked back up to the spider with very visible relief on his face.

"Thanks… you're all we have left Spider-Man." The man huffed as he slowly got back on his feet, dusting off his trousers and favouring his left leg over the right. He ignored the muffled groans of his attackers webbed against the alley walls and straightened back up, smiling at the spider hovering over him in concern and wincing slightly as his split lip stung from the grin. "You really saved my bacon there Spidey, I would've lost everything."

Spider-Man offered a small smile, but still shadowed over the limping man in worry. "It's no problem, I'm just glad I managed to make it in time. Though it looks like you took quite a hit." The spider moved his hand to grab his phone from his utility belt, glancing over at the injured man. "I'll call you an ambulance."

As if Spidey had spontaneously grown a second head, the man's eyes immediately widened and shot up, a dash of panic laced beneath them. "No! No ambulance! I can't afford it, please." He grasped his side and coughed, a thin trail of blood dribbling from his mouth and the spider couldn't tell if it was from the split lip or the cough. "No ambulance." He repeated, breathing short and heavy.

Spider-Man's hand paused over his phone, looking at the man in conflict. He definitely needed medical attention, and if his internal situation was anything like or worse than how bad he looked from the outside, an ambulance was crucial.

He placed a palm on the smaller man's shoulder, tilting his head to look at the man's face as it scrunched slightly in pain. Spidey's frown deepened further, and his kind heart ached at the other's hurt. He felt a small tingle from his spider-sense, letting him know there was trouble elsewhere in the neighbourhood but he hesitated. He can't leave him like this. But what can he do?

Spidey glanced at his phone then back at the man unsure, before a barely audible pained whine from the other's throat solidified the spider's decision. He walked in front of the man and knelt, exposing his back. He spread his arms and glanced back. "Get on, I'll carry you there."

If the man was surprised, he didn't show it behind a small wince. "What? Where?"

Spidey's eyes softened. "To the nearest hospital of course! I can't leave you like this."

The man sighed softly and barely shook his head. "I can't, it's too expensive."

Spider-Man seemed confounded at the man's reluctance, sagging his arms and turning back to the man in befuddlement. "Wha– Then what're you gonna do? You seriously can't expect to crawl home like this?"

The man seemed anxious, shifting his blue eyes away from the spider's questioning gaze. He limped to the grimy wall - careful to avoid an unconscious goon by his feet - and leant against it for stability. He sighed and stared unseeingly at the floor. "I'll manage, I always do."

Spidey huffed, standing up and walking to the stubborn man rubbing his arm and shifting his injured leg. The spider regarded the man for a moment before sighing and leaning forward, tilting his head to force eye-contact. "Well, at least let me take you home. You're in no condition to get anywhere, especially with that leg of yours." The man shuffled uncomfortably and stayed silent, shifting his eyes away from the large white lenses.

Spidey's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What's the matter?" He leaned back and looked at the man more carefully, catching the fine details in his character: old jacket, ripped jeans - that don't appear intentional, small tears and stains in his shirt, unkempt hair, scraggly beard, and a dirty face.

'Of course,' Spider-Man's eyes widened, 'this man doesn't have a home to go back to, let alone afford a hospital bill.' Spidey felt like face-palming at his own ignorance, but settled for resting a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder instead. "Hey," the spider spoke softly. "I know a place that can help, completely free and a hundred percent trustworthy - I stand by them. You've heard of the homeless shelter F.E.A.S.T right?"

The man glanced up in question, eyes looking into the insect-like ones with curiosity. "Uh, yeah? I heard people say they're not like the other crappy shelters at least."

Spidey nodded with a smile, squeezing the man's shoulder gently. "Yes, they're the best. They'll help treat you the best they can and give you a place to stay for as long as you need, just follow their edict and you're all set." The man appeared the tiniest bit skeptical, and the spidey chuckled. "Don't worry, it's literally just a few house rules to make sure people are treated well and given what they need. It keeps the system running smoothly to help as many people as possible, and that includes you."

The man blinked at him and took the words in, looking back to the floor and contemplating for a while. "Damn," he chuckled. "You sound like you're advertising them, Spidey."

Spider-Man laughed. "Well, you can say I'm a strong advocate for their work. It's great to see less and less homeless on the street nowadays." 'You'd be proud May, I know you would.'

"Okay, I'll go. I don't think my situation gives me much of a choice anyways." The man smiled and straightened slightly from his position against the wall, Spidey following his movements. "I really can't thank you enough Spider-Man, for everything. You've given me a second chance." He gingerly extended a hand. "I'm Noah by the way."

Spidey smiled brightly, eyes curving into crescents as he shook the offered hand gently. "I'm happy to do my part Noah! But I'm sure it'll be F.E.A.S.T that gives you the second chance you deserve." The man smiled back and Spider-Man knelt once again, offering his back. This time Noah didn't hesitate before gently maneuvering himself onto the spider, being careful with his leg and other injuries.

Spidey hooked his arms around the man's legs, gingerly finding a comfortable position to hold Noah's injured right one before standing and turning back to the entrance of the alleyway. He glanced back at the couple conscious crooks kissing the grubby floor and alley walls. "I'll call you guys a ride soon enough, it'll be the one with the flashing red and blue lights. They're usually free of charge so don't worry."

He turned back and leapt out the alley, grinning at the faint muffled yells behind him. "Hang on tight, we'll be going pretty fast." The spider quickly dashed through the streets at blinding speed, taking frequent detours through the least populated areas as he rushed to the nearest F.E.A.S.T shelter. The number of shelters has really blown up around the city, and the spider smiled fondly as he once again thought of how happy his late adoptive aunt would be.

Slowing down to turn a sharp corner, Spider-Man picked up speed once again and bolted through the last few blocks. Any shouts or yelps of surprise were muffled by the rushing wind and quickly deafened in the distance as they sped past.

Eventually trotting to a stop, Spidey turned and looked up at the big F.E.A.S.T sign hung proudly above the entrance to the shelter. He smiled and knelt down letting the man take his time as he delicately got off the arachnid's back. Noah comfortably walked forward with Spider-Man offering his shoulder for extra support, and rested a hand on the shelter's door. He turned his head to the spider and opened his mouth to offer his appreciation again before the New Yorkers behind them beat him to it.

"Wait, it actually is him! He's here! Spider-Man!"

Noah craned his neck at the bustling street behind him before turning back to Spidey with a smile on his lips. "Well, I should be good to go here, thanks for the ride. Best Uber out there, solid five stars." The spider chuckled and Noah's grin widened respite the sting of pain from his cut lip. "Thanks again Spider-Man, I really mean it. I hope to see you around."

"I'm sure you will, see ya!" Spider-Man managed to get out through the excited shouts of the onlookers, giving a wave. Spidey turned and weaved his way through the small crowd, giving a handshake here and a high five there before managing to shoot a web and zip to the nearest lamp-post, dodging the lively crowd and flashing phones. He glanced back to see Noah already through the shutting doors before leaping off, slinging a web to swing him high above the buildings and into the air.

The spider web-zipped through the rooftops and swung past the sky scrapers, instinctively following his senses and letting them guide him. He roughly went after the small ping of trouble his spider-sense had alerted him to earlier, the area becoming easier to pinpoint the closer he got.

Spidey absentmindedly thought he should probably alert the police to the assault he stopped in the alley and the crooks laying webbed up, but decided following up on the trouble he sensed nearby was of greater importance. 'I sometimes just leave it until people notice and alert the cops themselves anyway, and those guys deserve a face full of piss-stained alleyway a little longer in my humble opinion.'

Spidey's senses led him to a busy intersection North-East of the Upper West Side. It wasn't too far from the assault he'd stopped before but a little ways from the shelter. Crouching on top of a sign post, Spider-Man observed the scene before him with a frown.

There were 3 damaged cars laying stationary in the middle of the intersection; a truck with a busted wheel, a car on its side, and the another halfway off the road and onto the street. There were already paramedics and first responders on the scene, the police blocking roads and doing their best to divert traffic.

Spidey's keen eyes and ears told him the victims were thankfully only being treated for minor injuries. Jumping down, Spider-Man approached the officer diverting pedestrians by a temporary road block near one of the ambulances. The cop appeared very surprised as the spider jogged up with a friendly smile. "Hi, just wanted to ask if everything's alright here?" Spidey asked the startled officer.

"Uh, yeah. Everything's under control -Man, uh sir." The woman replied, fiddling with her badge and adjusting her hat nervously in front of the hero. She was short and the baby fat on her face gave the woman a very youthful appearance. "We're just tending to the injured and doing our best to divert traffic, sir."

Spidey looked over her head and around the ambulance, taking a peek at where a paramedic tended to one of the injured. "I hope they're not too badly hurt."

The woman rested her hands in front of her. "Everyone's thankfully more or less okay except for a few gashes and bruises, sir."

Spidey smiled in comfort and also at the fact that she kept addressing him formally. "You can drop the 'sir' if you like, I don't care for formalities." He laughed, and the officer timidly nodded. The spider looked back over the accident and all the traffic pileup, unhappy New Yorker's blaring their horns in frustration at the delays. "I can clear the road if that'll help? If I push the cars by the sidewalk it should help deal with most traffic."

The cop appeared surprised for a moment, before looking around herself. "Umm well, I would probably have to let my superior know, but that would definitely help!" She smiled and waved down her superior talking by a cruiser.

Spider-Man walked past her and into the accident scene. He went up to the closest car - the one on its side - and carefully pushed it back upright, the vehicle landing on its wheels with a loud thud and bouncing slightly with a groan. Multiple heads turned to the noise as Spidey went to the car's rear and began pushing it forward, maneuvering it past an ambulance and police car to align the vehicle by the sidewalk.

Jogging to the other car nearby which had careened halfway onto the street, the spider noted the visible track marks lining the road and was thankful there were no unlucky pedestrians in the way. Spidey gripped the back of the car with his sticky fingers and pulled, rolling the car off the street before leaning forward and pushing it into place parked beside the other car.

The final truck was a little more awkward with the blown out hind tyre, but Spider-Man got to it nonetheless. Turning his back to the truck's rear, the spider stuck his hands under the bumper and lifted the vehicle, towing and parking it beside the others. Once happy with his slightly above average parking job, Spidey released the truck back down and dusted his hands. 'I wonder if adding 'valet driver' to my resume would be too much of a stretch,' Spidey mused.

"Thank you Spider-Man." Spidey turned to see an officer approaching, and noted he was the superior the policewoman had flagged down. "We can easily clear the remaining debris and unblock the roads now. You've made our jobs a lot easier." He held a hand out, a professional smile on his face. "Officer Lee."

Spider-Man shook the offered hand firmly. "I'm happy to help Officer Lee. I know how difficult traffic blocks can be, especially at a busy intersection in the heart of Manhattan." Spidey smiled before eyeing the rest of the scene, a few people chatting excitedly and staring at the spider while the officers and other medical personnel dealt with the fallout of the accident. "What happened here anyway? Looks a little rough for a simple accident."

The officer rested his hands on his utility vest. "It was a miss and run, the culprits fled from a traffic stop and caused the accident trying to get away."

"Is that so?" Spidey turned back to the officer and leaned forward a little, eyes gazing at the other's inquisitively. "Which direction did they go?"

He shook his head, disappointed, and pointed down a road with a few skid marks visible. "They went that way in a black Volkswagen Polo, a few officers gave chase but eventually lost them. We're too short-handed to commit to the chase or deploy a helicopter."

"Well it's lucky I don't need a helicopter to get a bird's eye view of things. How long ago was this?" Spidey questioned, cracking a knuckle.

The officer tilted his head in thought. "I'd say about fifteen minutes ago? Very recent."

'So it was when I was out helping Noah,' Spider-Man concluded. "Thanks for the tip officer, looks like I've got a few cockroaches to chase down." He turned to shoot a web and swing off, but paused for a moment before sheepishly turning back to Lee. "Oh by the way, not sure if you've gotten a report yet or not but there are a handful of guys webbed up in an alley down by 126th street. They tried to assault a homeless man who's now being taken care of at the F.E.A.S.T shelter in that area if you want to question him. So yeah, hope you enjoy dealing with that more than this situation." Spidey shrugged.

The officer sighed, rubbing his head before chuckling wryly. "It's just one group of idiots after the other, they never stop do they?"

Spidey shook his head in mock exasperation. "Nope. It's why I call them cockroaches, you can't get rid of 'em." The spider laughed and Lee smiled. He gave a two-fingered salute before shooting a web and swinging away, following the general direction of where the criminals were last seen speeding off.

Spider-Man swung low and slow for a few minutes, eyeing the roads like a hawk. He occasionally worked his sharp nose for any fresh tyre burns or skid marks below, trying to pinpoint if a reckless speeding car had passed recently.

Spotting a Volkswagen Polo, the spider shot a web to swing over and hunker on a lamp-post overseeing the parked vehicle. The Volkswagen Polo was more gray than black, and its condition didn't appear to be that of one in a recent scuffle around the city. Spider-Man groaned a little in disappointment, before lifting his head and scouring the streets again, focusing more on the darker passageways where a car could hide. He strained his ears and listened intently to his trusty spider-sense, relying on his instincts to help him catch the hiding criminals.

A small tug from his spider-sense alerted Spidey a few moments later as his ears suddenly caught wind of the distant wailing of police sirens, the spider's head shooting up attentively. The blaring sirens grew louder as the police car drew closer, and Spidey sat up. 'Looks like the cops found them before me, nice work.' He prepared to shoot a web just as the first couple people below finally noticed him. "Eeeeek! Spidey!" One woman shrieked across the street, and the other heads immediately turned.

"Ugh! Stupid spider mask makes me sick! I'm outta here."

"Bro, lookin' good!"

"Never seen Spider-Man up close like this!"

"Pull over immediately!" A loud speaker suddenly shouted far in the distance followed quickly by the screech of tyres skidding across the road. Everyone turned in the direction of the disturbance, a red and blue blur zooming up and over their heads a second later.

Spidey was on the case.

---

The patrol had been rather slow at first, nothing more than a couple red light violations. Angry New Yorkers trying to pass a red light to get to work on time, only to end up later than before and with a ticket to pay. David never understood.

What David understood even less, however, was the lunatics deciding that putting the pedal to the metal in the middle of Manhattan rush hour to avoid a traffic stop is a great idea. These specific lunatics had already caused a major accident avoiding the police less than twenty minutes prior, and now they're about to cause an entire police manhunt if they keep evading capture. The officer glued his eyes to the road and radioed for backup once again, frustrated with the slow responses.

Keeping track of the streets they drive through to relay to dispatch while navigating the roads in the high speed chase was not easy for one man, and David strongly wished for his partner to be with him for help instead of sitting at a desk and dealing with case files. The officer reached for the cruiser's loud speaker after the speeding car rushed through a red light with reckless abandon, desperate not to get caught. "Pull over immediately!"

As expected, the car continued careening through the streets, dangerously swerving through traffic and somehow managing to avoid crossing pedestrians - for now at least. David didn't want to think of how long that will last, striking a pedestrian at this speed will certainly be horrifying news.

He didn't have the time to ponder it even if he wanted to however, as the speeding car suddenly gained another passenger on the roof. David managed to swerve and avoid a pedestrian not paying any attention and keep chasing, eyes glued in hope at the spider crouched on all fours atop the speeding car.

"Hey, room for one more?" Spidey yelled over all the noise of the chase, peeking his head through the front passenger window innocently. He spotted two masked men before immediately recoiling his head as a shot rang through and shattered the glass, shards littering the road with a couple flying back and bouncing off David's windscreen.

"There are nicer ways to say 'no' you know?" The spider huffed, flipping back on top of the vehicle as a few more shots rang through. Spiderman shifted to get a better peek at the passenger through the side mirror, briefly catching him in the middle of reloading his handgun. Spidey swiftly leaped to sling to the right side of the car, peering in through the broken window with a coy smile. "Hey, think you can drive us to the police station? No reason."

Spider-Man spotted the driver immediately reaching a hand for his own gun strapped to his belt, and the spider promptly reached an arm through the broken window to grip the reloading passenger, throwing him out like a garbage bag.

"Help me!" The crook yelled as he roughly rolled along the sidewalk, abruptly bumping into the wall of a hotel with a pained yelp. A web was shot immediately after, sticking him to the wall and preventing any attempt at getting up.

Spidey flipped back above the car, hearing the remaining crook fumble with his gun and the steering wheel, a myriad of curses leaving his panicked lips. The car had significantly slowed during the scuffle, the driver's attention focusing mostly on the unwelcome arachnid atop the car. The police cruiser giving chase had significantly caught up, and would no doubt be attempting a pit maneuver if there wasn't a spider throwing crooks out the car like they were made of paper.

Spider-Man rolled over to the driver's side and ducked as a bullet flew by, the car swerving dangerously at the driver's lack of attention on the road. A quip rose to Spidey's lips but was cut short as his spider-sense blared, the driver deciding to steer hard left and attempting to ram and squash the arachnid against the parked vehicles on the side of the road. Spider-Man nimbly dashed under the car a moment before the harsh screeching of scraping metal resounded through the street, the swerving car raking back across the vehicles every so often and preventing Spidey from crawling back out the driver's side.

"Pull over before things get worse for you!" The loud speaker from the tailing cruiser blared over the shriek of metal on metal, and Spidey would've yelled in agreement if his voice wouldn't be drowned out from the bottom of the car. After the car scuffed a parked vehicle for the tenth time, Spidey decided to simply crawl out from the passenger side, swiftly cartwheeling back over to the top of the car when the driver attempted to ram the passenger door against a lamp-post.

Looking ahead, Spider-Man saw they were quickly approaching a very busy intersection, and a replay of what happened at the other intersection went through his mind. "You guys are crazy, and not the good kind!" He yelled and jumped into the air, shooting a web to the car's roof to swing himself in a small arch and fly right through the passenger window feet first. The driver hadn't expected the maneuver if his befuddled eyes were any indication, the bottom of Spider-Man's boots being the last thing he saw before being struck and blasted through the locked door, the hinges flying off from the impact and sending the door across the street along with him.

Spidey didn't wait to see the man crash against the strain pole in his path, instead immediately flipping himself ahead and in front of the car. The spider held his arms out and promptly caught the car as it smashed into him, the back two wheels rising to the air from the impact. Spider-Man's feet skid across the concrete as he grit his teeth and slowed the car's momentum. Hot sparks flew from the vehicle's front as it grated across the road before finally coming to a stop, the rear two wheels falling back onto the road with a heavy thud.

Tyres skid to a halt behind the car as the police cruiser switched off the sirens and David stepped out, gun drawn and rushing past the fleeing pedestrians and to where the driver had flown out the car. Spider-Man followed suit, spotting him groaning loudly and clutching his side where he lay atop the ripped car door.

David cautiously eyed the pained criminal before grabbing a pair of handcuffs and approaching the man, seizing his arms and locking them together with the cuffs. He turned to the spider eyeing the crook intently and offered a relieved smile. "Thank you Spider-Man, I was afraid they'd get away before dispatch could offer any backup."

Spidey snapped out of his small stupor and blinked at David. "Uhh, yeah no problem. Was tracking them down for a bit before I heard you managed to sniff them out." Spider-Man smiled. "Great work."

David's smile widened as he nodded to the spider, looking back down to the goon and hauling him up. He pulled the groaning man back to his cruiser as he radioed dispatch, Spider-Man's eyes trailing closely. As David finished talking into his comms and opening the door, Spidey quickly stepped in before he could shove the man into the back seat. "Wait."

Both men looked back at Spider-Man, one with pained effort, and the officer tilted his head in question. "What is it?"

The spider stared intently at the thug, large bug lenses boring holes into the masked face as the criminal shuffled on his feet, unnerved at the intense gaze. The spider discreetly took a couple sniffs before his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I've met you before, just recently in fact."

The crook's eyes briefly widened before growing defensive and looking away, staring at the concrete and staying silent. David stepped forward. "What do you mean?"

Spider-Man turned his attention to the officer, eyes doubtful. "I'm pretty sure I've dealt with him before, busted for something drug-related if I were to guess." Spidey tapped a webbed finger against his chin in thought, trying to recall exactly when he'd caught the crook. 'Hmm, it all blends together sometimes, especially when they all wear the same boring old black balaclavas!' A particular scene stood out to the spider however, a recent one involving a group of drug dealers acting strangely with a jittery cop. Spidey eyes widened faintly. 'Yeah, that's the one. The new cop who was trying to talk a group of criminals out of their drug deal.'

Spider-Man's tapping finger promptly pointed at the masked man, his eyes squinting. "You were one of the cockroaches at that construction site by the Upper East Side a couple days ago, trying to deal drugs or something." He leaned into the man with narrowed eyes, the goon shuffling back against the cruiser uneasily. "I dealt with you guys easily enough, how are you not locked up? How are you out and about, racing second-rate cars down the streets through Manhattan rush hour?"

David stared at the spider in astonishment, trying to understand and piece together what the hero said. "Wait what? Are you sure?" He pinched his eyes in confusion. "How do you know he's the right guy? He's wearing a mask– wait, the Upper East Side?" The officer suddenly inquired, making Spidey raise an eyebrow and nod in the affirmative. David drew his brows together in thought, glancing briefly over the thug before looking back to the spider. "It wouldn't happen to be that former Fisk construction site up North right?"

Spidey turned to the officer, eyes squinting further. "That's it. Why?"

The officer pointed to the sweating crook. "I'm working on a case to bust a gang of dealers. One of– well the only lead we have is their most recent deal took place a few days ago in that construction site. There was some sort of scuffle which drew attention to those nearby, and they alerted the authorities." David rested a hand on his hip, eyes contemplative. "We had just assumed the deal went wrong and a fight ensued, but now you're telling me you're the one who was in that brawl."

Spider-Man nodded, not liking where this was going. "I would usually alert the authorities myself with something of that scale, but there was already an officer there when I came, so I left it to him."

David's brows furrowed sharply in confusion once again. This wasn't making any sense, and the longer they talked the less sense it made for some reason. "Then why wasn't the incident reported? And most importantly, why are the culprits freely roaming about causing mayhem?" He gestured wildly to the handcuffed crook beside them, the man shoulders were drawn into himself in his nervousness.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know." Spider-Man responded, mind working a mile a minute to try and find the missing puzzle piece as his foot tapped the floor repeatedly.

David hummed in thought, resting a finger on his chin before briefly widening his eyes. "You don't think they escaped and attacked the officer do you? What if they got back-up before he could report the situation to dispatch?" David's mind raced with the possibilities, mouth opening once again to offer another scenario before Spidey raised a hand.

"Impossible. I webbed them all up - even the ones that got knocked out - and my senses would've let me know of any danger or back-up in the area. I make my silk dissolve in a couple hours, so there was beyond plenty of time for the cop to radio dispatch with all the goons webbed up. Something else must've happened, something fishy." The spider tilted his head. 'This doesn't situation doesn't smell right at all.'

Distant sirens interrupted any further thoughts as the back-up David called in had finally come, the cruiser just barely visible down the road. Spider-Man straightened back up, looking over at the officer. "Well, I hope I didn't give you too much of a headache from all this. I'm sure you guys can figure out what happened, or get him to spill the beans for you." He pointed his thumb over at the crook beside him, who looked even more nervous to be mentioned.

David studied the cuffed criminal, eyes narrowing at his anxious disposition. "Don't worry, we'll do our best to squeeze all the information out of him."

Spidey nodded in satisfaction and looked further down the road. "I'm not sure about the passenger I dealt with back there, but I'd wager he's also a part of this whole scuffle." David nodded in agreement as the spider took one more inquisitive look at the crook. "I should get going now. I'll let you guys know if I find anything related to these guys." He smiled at the officer. "Good luck."

David nodded his thanks and the hero leapt away, swinging down the street and disappearing behind the buildings. The officer's mind didn't rest however, sending the crook into the backseat of his cruiser and leaning his back against the closed door in contemplation. 'First the missing CCTV and now this with Spider-Man?' David tapped his foot as he heard the sirens get louder, thoughts running deep.

'This case just got a lot more complicated.'

---

Spidey savoured his last bite of pizza and licked his lips, closing the cardboard box and pulling his mask back down with a satisfied smile. The spider will always stand by Eddie's Pizza as the best in New York, always consistent in their pies and always going above and beyond in their deliveries. There isn't another pizza chain in the city to match Eddie's broad transport, and the webslinger will always appreciate the pizza rooftop deliveries.

Putting the box aside, Spider-Man grabbed his phone and scrolled through social media absentmindedly as his legs dangled over the edge of a rooftop in Staten Island, catching up with the latest news. One such post made his legs stop swaying in intrigue, apparently Jameson had a new episode out. The spider swiftly switched the podcast on, tuning in to hear what his number one 'fan' had to say about him this time.

"Welcome to 'Just the Facts' with J. Jonah Jameson, alerting you to the threats you don't even know about.

"Hello again, listeners. People have been worried about the state of the NYPD lately, and how short-handed they've been since so many of the puppets on Fisk's payroll have been busted from the force. But worry not New Yorkers, because we have Spider-Man cracking down on crime and saving those the police couldn't reach in time… OR NOT! As we've so evidently seen, this stupid spider's attention span is too short for anything useful!

"I've had the displeasure of viewing multiple recorded videos of the menace raiding bird nests and chasing pigeons, yes pigeons! Yet again! He can't give those damn birds a break can he? Now I know those nuisances aren't very useful themselves, crapping on cars and stealing your breakfast bagel right out of your hands, but having some alien freak raid their nests like a pirate, and hunt them down like some hawk on Animal Planet isn't doing anyone any favours!

"Has anyone actually ever thought of why the menace has such a fascination with the wild birds? I'll give you my take, I've said it before and I'll say it again! He's eating them! It's not unheard of for spiders to catch birds as prey, namely the goliath bird eater whose savage name doesn't leave much to the imagination. But those arachnid freaks are thankfully limited to the size of your palm, whereas our webhead freak is the size of a FULLY GROWN MAN! That terrifyingly doesn't limit his diet to just large insects and unfortunate birds, people! Will it take the discovery of a webbed up, devoured husk of a human to convince you Spider-Man fandogs of the danger this menace poses?! And I'd wager when that happens, everyone'll spit excuses and turn a blind eye like they do anytime the spider menace causes trouble - which is all the damn time!

"… Huh? What's that Jared? Cannibalism is illegal? Well a quick google search'll tell you that's not true Jared! Well listeners, my producer says Spider-Man can't get away with eating people since he'll be wanted for cannibalism… only the freak isn't human, and believe it or not the law doesn't exactly say cannibalism is illegal so he can't be charged with that you idiot!

"But you've heard it here first people, don't be surprised when our 'friendly' neighbourhood menace gets bored of snacking on pigeons and shows his true colours. Alright, I've worked my mouth for long enough, cut to commercial Jared or my doctor'll give me another earful for taking my meds too late!"

The podcast cut abruptly as usual, Spidey only just managing to lower his raised eyebrows and close his widened mouth from the wild surprise of Jonah's newest episode. The quiet of the rooftop filled only with the ambience of the city life below was ironically interrupted by the cooing of a flock of pigeons landing nearby, bobbing their heads as they trotted around and explored their chosen rooftop.

'I don't know how Jameson still manages to surprise and confuse me with his podcasts to this day, but that takes talent.' The spider shook his head and smiled wryly. 'I guess that's enough social media for now.'

Spider-Man was about to put the phone away when his eyes caught the newest post of his best friend Mary Jane, it being a summary and link to her latest article on a recent fraud case. Clicking the link and giving the article a quick read, Spidey smiled as he was once again pleasantly impressed by MJ's spectacular writing skills. The fraud case was apparently a very controversial and complicated once, linking two semi-major companies including Consolidated shipping, with a couple pictures of police cruisers parked outside a new construction site and making arrests.

The case reminded the spider of the car chase he's just recently dealt with earlier in the day, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding it. Spidey narrowed his eyes in thought over it, finding the frustrating situation to be nagging the back of his head. Spider-Man doesn't really classify himself much of a detective, moreso an on-the-go crime fighter, but this particular case was rather irritating nonetheless. Getting the missing puzzle piece was starting to become necessary if the spider wished to get any sleep some time soon.

'Maybe I can ask MJ to help me out, she's always down for some detective work to solve cases for a new article.' Spidey smiled as he dialed her number, legs once again swinging over the edge of the rooftop as he waited for the line to connect.

The call picked up after a few rings, and MJ's smooth voice came over the line. "Hey Peter, what's up?"

"Hi MJ, just read your recent article. Incredible writing as per usual." Spidey smiled.

MJ's happy laughter came through his comms, making him chuckle along. "Thanks Pete! Though I wonder if you saying that all the time means you're just easily impressed with writing, since most of the news articles you read are from the Daily Bugle, they may be lowering your standards." She chuckled.

The spider scoffed. "It takes a lot more than commas and the occasional semicolon to impress me MJ, and with how often the Bugle forgets the hyphen between 'Spider' and 'Man', it's difficult to find their work mildly impressive at best even if I tried. I honestly think they're ditching the hyphen on purpose just to spite me!"

MJ gave a hearty laugh, and Spidey huffed in mock annoyance. "Fair enough, I apologise for underestimating your keen observation skills on people's writing, Peter."

"Apology happily accepted!" Spidey smirked, and straightened up as he gazed across the city below. "How about I tease you and dangle some bait for another potential cheeky article?"

"Oh?" MJ spoke, interest evident through the comms. "Then I would happily nip at the bait and see what it gets me."

Spider-Man pulled his legs back up and stood, grabbing the empty pizza box and walking to the large green garbage bin by the roof door. "Well it'll take some effort on your end, a little detective work to get the ball rolling."

"I'm always down to put my money where my mouth is, if the bait is as good as you're advertising it to be." MJ laughed. "How could I say no when you're offering me material for another 'cheeky' article?"

Spidey snorted and his chest rumbled in laughter. "You'll always be my favourite person to chat to MJ." He threw the empty pizza box like a frisbee into the garbage, turning to walk back to the edge. "The police are already aware of this case, and it started only a few days ago." MJ hummed across the line attentively and the spider took his previous set on the roof's edge, this time crouching like a spider as he delved into the details. "It was a simple enough drug deal by one of Fisk's former construction sites."

"Which one was it?" MJ questioned.

"Far North of the Upper East Side, the only Fisk construction site there. I stopped the deal before the other party even showed up, but the circumstances were a little odd. There was a lone cop with the dealers when I got there, and he was trying to talk the guys out of this particular deal. The goons didn't even consider him a threat and just told him to buzz off continuously, and after I had stepped in and dealt with the crooks, the officer was just a ball of nerves acting all strange."

MJ hummed in consideration. "I guess that is a little odd."

Spidey shook his head. "That's only part of it, MJ. Earlier today after helping stop a car chase, which had caused a multi-vehicle collision, I found one of the thugs in the chase was a part of the same group of dealers I busted a few days prior."

MJ made a surprised noise. "How's that possible? You said you dealt with them all and handed it over to the police like usual."

Spider-Man nodded. "Exactly, so why was he free like a brid instead of contemplating his life choices behind Ryker's trusty iron bars?"

MJ sighed in thought. "That's a good question. Should also be noted that the poor guy got beaten up by you twice in only a couple days. I think that's a record."

Spidey huffed a laugh. "Deserves it for all the vehicle damages he caused during that chase. The cockroach tried squashing me against a bunch of parked cars!" He shook his head dramatically as MJ chuckled across the line. "Anyways, when the officer at the scene was about to put the guy in the cruiser, I sensed he was familiar and figured out he was one of the dealers I'd stopped before. After I broke the news, the cop was surprised too. Apparently they had no idea I put a stop to their deal and only got reports of a fight by the construction site, after investigating they'd assumed the drug deal went south and a fight broke out between the two parties."

"So the officer present at the drug deal didn't report the incident, on top of the criminals somehow getting away." MJ concluded, and the spider hummed in agreement. She tapped her finger audibly across the line for a few moments. "Well, if I were to make a guess…"

Spider-Man sighed, long and heavy and put a couple fingers to his temple. "I know what you're thinking. I don't want to make brash assumptions, but after busting Fisk and his 'paid actors' it's a strong possibility we're dealing with the same thing here."

"I know what you mean Pete. It's the most likely circumstance, all the other possible scenarios don't really make sense with all the evidence. We can't ignore anything though, I'll get some research going and hopefully find something that'll shed some light."

"Thanks MJ, I know you'll do a solid job." Spider-Man stood once again, stretching his arms and legs.

"I'll do my best. Thanks for letting me know about this, I'll call you if I find anything important." MJ spoke, opening up her laptop and typing away.

Spidey turned and walked to the other edge of the rooftop, looking into the distance. "I'll probably check out the construction site for any clues, so I'll let you know if I find anything on my end too."

"Good idea. I'll catch you later then." MJ agreed and ended the call.

Spider-Man leaped off the edge and dove through the air, the deafening rush of wind momentarily drowning the sound of the city below before the spider shot a web and swung back into the air in a wide arch. The webslinger didn't spend too much time on the acrobatics as he swung through New York's many bridges and back into Manhattan, bee lining to the Upper East Side with eagerness to investigate.

Spider-Man dashed across the city without any trouble, the calm weather allowing the spider to travel in haste without any difficulty. After finally spotting the construction site ahead, Spidey made the last few swings and landed on a metal pipe frame lining the outside of the construction site.

As he leapt down into the site and walked around, Spider-Man spotted the damaged crates and construction equipment left uncleaned from his prior scuffle with the drug dealers. There wasn't much of anything else, and although Spidey didn't expect to find much evidence he was still mildly disappointed at the total lack of leads.

More thorough searching still proved to be in vain, and the spider sat on a wooden box in chagrin. After thinking - and brooding - for a few minutes, Spidey decided to simply patrol the area and comb through the Upper East Side along with the other neighbouring districts for any crime, hoping to maybe catch whiff of the crooks in his search.

As Spider-Man stood and prepared to leave the site, a call rang through his comms with MJ's caller ID popping up on his mask lenses. He eagerly accepted the call. "Hi MJ, any news?"

"Yep, I've made quite a big find Peter, I think you'll be happy about this." MJ confirmed, her mouse clicking as she worked on her laptop.

Spidey smiled in delight, retaking his seat on the wooden box. "Well, after swinging back through most of New York only to investigate the construction site and find quite literally nothing, I think some good news will definitely make me pleased."

"Alrighty then, I'll get straight into it," MJ spoke, fingers tapping on her desk. "As you already know, the police have been made aware of the new group of dealers from your scuffle with them a few days ago." Spidey nodded despite the fact MJ couldn't see. "What you probably don't know, is that a crucial piece of evidence - nearby CCTV footage capturing part of the area - has been lost. Or more accurately, erased."

Spider-Man's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in suspicion. "... I'm getting the awful stench of sabotage wafting from this story."

MJ nodded her head in agreement, humming across the line. "Mhm, that's exactly what I immediately suspected. I already had my suspicions as to who it was, and doing a little searching more or less confirmed it. I didn't have to dig up much information to find the two detectives on the case are a strange pair to say the least. One of them raises quite a few red flags under the right context. His name is Oliver Anderson, fresh from the academy without a single case under his belt."

"It's not common at all for the NYPD to put new officers in big cases like this." Spider-Man mused, hand caressing his chin in thought.

"That's right. And the day he gets assigned to the case is the day the footage goes missing." MJ noted with a frown.

"If that wasn't bad enough, the officer at the scene that hadn't arrested the dealers was a very inexperienced, nervous wreck. My bet is he's our bad bean, Mr Oliver Anderson." The spider stood with eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I knew something was up with him, something more than just a rookie acting nervous."

"Well, there wasn't anything you could do, and no way you could've known," MJ reasoned. "But we know now, and the only thing left to do is bust him."

"Bust him, and his drug dealing buddies for the second time. Easier said than done MJ, you know how lenient courts can be, we need solid evidence on the guy." Spidey rubbed his head in frustration.

"Hmm, well investigating him further can give us some leads, and probably lead us to his friends as well. There's only so much digging I can do digitally, if you try and investigate him on your end we might come up with something." MJ proposed.

Spider-Man nodded. "A little info on which police division he works with and I'm all set to do some sneaky spider spying on our friend Oliver."

MJ smiled. "Already got you covered. He's with the Manhattan North unit, conveniently stationed in the Upper East Side police building. I'm sure you're good to figure out the rest."

Spidey smirked, standing up and cracking his knuckles. "That's perfect, thanks MJ. I'll relay any info I get."

"I'll keep you posted on my end too, good luck on your 'sneaky spider spying' Peter." She laughed.

Spidey chuckled along, leaping back onto the metal pipe frame above the construction site. "Thanks, talk to you later."

The call ended and the spider jumped off, swinging through the streets to the police station right down the block. Sticking to the brick wall by the highest floor, Spidey did his best to blend in the shadows. The Sun had set not too long ago, but the last residual sunlight still provided a small amount of illumination from the darkness of the night.

After finding the darkest spot to linger, Spider-Man spent the time easily tapping into the police's database and pinpointing which floor the crooked cop worked at before crawling to the nearest vent, sneaking in and soundlessly making his way down the building floors in the ventilation shafts to the fourth level.

'A little dusty,' Spidey mused, 'but a lot cleaner than the average vent so I'm not complaining. Good job vent cleaner.' He crawled down the final story and squeezed under a rather large AC unit to get to the south side of the floor. 'The office should be somewhere around here…' Spider-Man peeked through a manrose flap in the ceiling, spotting only a few officers milling about. One at the coffee machine, one at the printer and the other working diligently on their computer.

'Aha, bingo,' Spidey smirked deviously, shifting his position in the vents to get more comfortable in his perfect view as he stalked Oliver focusing on his computer. The officer's desk was standard and kept tidy, a neat stack of paper clipped papers beside a Costa coffee being the only items beside the computer on the desk.

The spider watched the cop work through his shift, catching him sorting through the papers on his desk occasionally and researching recent drug activity in the area on his computer. Pretty standard stuff. The moment the last officer left the room at the end of their shift however, Spidey caught the cop looking over his shoulder at the closing door before peculiarly changing his research's focus from tracking drug-related leads, to locating all the CCTV around one particular street. Spider-Man raised an eyebrow as Oliver combed through the CCTV angles and locations shown to him through the police's database. The officer took note of every bit of information, plugging in a flash drive and downloading the data over.

'I need that flash drive! If it has the information I think it does, it'll give me what I need to get the officer convicted and hopefully lead me to his buddies as well.' Spidey lowered his face even closer to the manrose flap after swiping away the thin layer of dust, narrowing his eyes at all the files and content within the drive shown on the monitor. Swiftly grabbing his phone, Spider-Man aimed the camera through the vents and snapped a clear picture, checking the photo after to make sure it showed the cop earnestly transferring the CCTV data.

Putting his phone away, the spider observed the other for a minute longer before deciding to get things wrapped up. Opening the manrose and dropping down with a light thud, Spidey watched in amusement as the cop jumped impressively high in his chair. Oliver's head whipped around frighteningly fast to reveal his blown-out eyes and alarmed face. The officer took a moment to understand who stood facing him, turning in his chair to properly face Spidey as his mouth opened and closed in speechlessness, his face not easing in his surprise one bit.

"Wha–? Spider-Man? What? Where…?" The disoriented man sputtered, rapidly shifting his gaze between the spider and the closed door.

"The vents." Spidey decided to answer, pointing a finger to the ceiling and taking a step towards the perplexed man. "Got a minute for a quick word?"

Oliver stood up, pushing his shaking hands on the chair's armrests, fingers quivering in nervous energy. His open mouth didn't offer a response as his widened eyes stayed glued to the hero, his back blocking the monitor showing his clear fraud.

The spider leaned his head to the side, obviously trying to get an innocent peek at what was behind the cop's flustered form. "Or are you a little busy at the moment?"

"Uh, yeah. Busy." Oliver replied, swallowing thickly and taking the quickest glance at the screen displaying the data transfer's progress, before offering a very forced smile back at the hero. "My uh, shift ends soon, so maybe I could help you then?" He offered.

Spider-Man didn't reply for a while, simply smiling at the officer. Oliver's nerves screamed as he licked his dry lips and firmly twined his fingers together, neck cording anxiously.

Spidey finally decided to answer the cop. "You seem very nervous Oliver." The man appeared visibly surprised at the mention of his name. "It's not the shy kind of nervous either, it's the kind of nervous I would only get from people who aren't exactly happy to see me." The spider tilted his head, smile gone. "You haven't done anything you shouldn't have, have you?"

Oliver remained still for a moment before Spider-Man attempted to look at the monitor again, the officer's body moving to block his line of sight unconsciously. Spidey's brows raised derisively, and Oliver's nails dug painfully into his palm. "What are you talking about? What kind of question is that? What am I even supposed to say to that?"

"What are you supposed to say to that?" Spidey raised an eyebrow. "Either 'yes' or 'no', one of the two." He responded, moving closer to the sweating man and pointing a finger over his shoulder at the concealed monitor. "And judging from your very suspicious search history there, I'd say the answer is a yes."

"You're not making any sense," Oliver took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves, and straightened his shoulders. He opened his mouth to continue, but the spider moved forward in front of him.

"I can help you understand what I mean, no problem," Spidey rested a hand on his hip. "See earlier today, I came across quite the plot twist. I'll spare you the lengthy details, but a small dose of déjà vu overcame me when I stopped a car chase, only for the perpetrator to turn out to be one of the drug dealers I'd busted a couple days prior. You know, the drug dealers I had so nicely webbed up and left for you to arrest." The spider tilted his head innocently. "Hey don't look so blue, I'm sure there's a valid reason why you let the criminals go."

Spider-Man looked over the man's shoulder again, the close proximity not letting Oliver block Spider-Man's view any longer. "But what you're doing right there isn't exactly helping your case."

The officer's dry lips pressed into a line. "I'm working on the case," Oliver gestured behind him to the monitor. "I'm just chasing leads and downloading research."

'Oh please,' Spidey rolled his eyes and huffed, crossing his arms over his chest with an unimpressed look. "That so? Well considering the big download you've just completed, I'd say you made quite progress. I'm sure you wouldn't mind sharing." He stepped around the cop to lean over his desk beside the chair, Oliver swiveling around in a fluster.

"What? No!" He leaned himself over the desk and keyboard, and arm strewn over the monitor uselessly.

Spider-Man turned his gaze to other with a raised eyebrow, casually dragging the keyboard closer to him. "I wasn't asking."

Oliver's eyes hardened in frustration. "You can't even be here, what the hell?! You can't just do as you please!" He yelled as a small click made the panic swing through Oliver fullforce, spotting the spider removing his flash drive by the USB port on the keyboard.

"You're tampering with my evidence and disrupting my investigation!" He reached to snatch the flash drive from Spidey's fingers but grabbed air as the spider hid it from his grip.

Oliver never felt so powerless before, frustration and panic flooding his veins as he opened his mouth to argue before the office door opened to reveal a pair of confused cops peering into the room. Their confusion was immediately exchanged for unfiltered shock as their gaze fell on the pair looking back at them, Oliver's arms half outstretched in a futile attempt to retrieve the lost drive.

One police woman stepped forward into the room, not bothering to hide her unsettled look. "What on God's green Earth is going on here? Spider-Man?!"

Spidey smiled and lifted a hand to wave. "The one and only. Hi."

The policewoman didn't appear any less unsettled with the situation as the other officer stepped in the room beside her, his eyes shifting between the spider and the panicked cop. "How did you get in here? What's going on?"

"The vents." Spidey answered and waved the flash drive in front of the others, much to Oliver's distress. "I came to retrieve some crucial information. Looks like you guys have a bad bean." Spider-Man pointedly looked at the nervous wreck beside him.

The other's appeared more confused, the policewoman tilting her head in dubiety. "Bad bean?"

Spidey nodded seriously, gaze hardening and lighthearted demeanor disappearing. "Yes. The so-called 'purge' the NYPD went through to get rid of all the bad beans under Fisk's payroll left you guys rather short handed. So my guess is, new recruits were welcomed with open arms and less scrutiny, just happy to have more hands on deck after the kingpin's arrest." He pointed his thumb at the squirming officer beside him. "That unfortunately let crooks like Oliver here squeeze by undetected, getting his hands on police information and sabotaging their investigation along the way."

Oliver felt as if his mother had just slapped him across the face with a leather belt. The urge to just squeeze his eyes shut and pray this was all a dream was overwhelming, but he hardened his gaze instead and looked ahead to the two cops who looked aghast by the spider's accusations. "This is what I've had to deal with the moment he stepped into the room from wherever." The pair's gaze fell on him, and he felt Spider-Man's eyes fall on him too. He swallowed his painfully dried throat. "The only non-ridiculous sentence that came out of his mouth was our short-handedness. So I've been working a little overtime on my shifts to make up for that, and out of nowhere here a spider comes and points fingers at me, for doing my job too diligently?"

The room was silent for a few moments before the spider smiled. "Nice defense." He complimented before lifting the cursed flash drive once again. "But we'll see who's telling the truth when we see what's in your drive."

All of Oliver's recent bravado washed away like water through a drain, the fear and panic seering through him like molten iron once again, but he gave one final desperate push. "That's not even mine, why do you keep waving it around like a damn trophy?"

Through Oliver's eyes, the spider's smirk looked almost wicked as he pulled a phone from his suit. Spidey didn't say a word, simply watching as the remaining colour drained from the officer's face when he gazed at the clear picture of himself, downloading files to the drive.

The policewoman shook her head, uncomprehending of the situation. "I think we need to get our superiors to have a serious investigation get underway if what you're saying is true Spider-Man." She looked over to her colleague who nodded his head and left the room to alert said officers, before her gaze fell back on the spider. "As much as I'd like you to clear things up now, you should probably wait until my superior gets here to tell the full story." She took a quick look at the pale officer and raised an eyebrow before stepping forward. "For now though, let's take a look at what's on that drive."

Oliver's shoulders visibly slumped, despair filling his heart. 'It's all over… fuck.'

---

It would be a safe assumption to say David was utterly wrecked in the emotional rollercoaster he's currently under. Confusion, shock, betrayal, and denial are just the tip of the iceberg as he jogged through the office building that was bustling with an unusual amount of energy.

The officers just coming in for their late evening shifts - David being one of them - had been quickly filled with word about Spider-Man and a crooked officer, with a few more details bringing David to the startling news that the crooked officer was none other than his new partner.

He shook his racing head in disbelief as he made his way to the elevator doors, pressing the button repeatedly in his impatience. Glaring in annoyance as the floor number refused to budge, still stuck on the number four. After what felt like forever, David felt soothing relief as the numbers began to lower, stopping at the third floor for a tense moment before continuing unhindered to the ground floor.

As the doors opened, David's relief was immediately extinguished and filled with the familiar feeling of exploding shock. There, piled in the elevator, was a handcuffed Oliver staring unseeingly at the shiny elevator floor. David's mind also registered the prominent figure of Spider-Man leaning against the lift's walls, as the many officers in the elevator with him spoke back and forth. The rest of the ground floor occupants appeared just as surprised as David, immediately rushing forward to get a closer look, a news crew or two following as well - how they managed to catch wind of this scandal and invade the police building was beyond him.

The handful of cops in the elevator shared a few words with the spider but David caught none of the conversation, thoughts racing and ears buzzing with static as his eyes locked on the skittish form of his partner - former partner. Oliver looked up, expression very accurately mirroring that of a deer caught in headlights, when David realised he must've called the other's name. Oliver's shock slowly wore off as his face cringed, immediately finding interest in the floor once again before Spider-Man and the officers behind him began moving, urging the cuffed man out of the elevator with them.

"Wha–? What's going on?" David demanded, despite knowing the answer. It had been the only thing his colleagues spoke about the entire time since he got here, but seeing the scene in front of his eyes brought the initial disbelief rushing right back. No one answered him however, the bustling noise of the police department and intrusive questions from persistent news crews had drowned his voice. Though something told him Oliver had heard, and just chose to shamefully ignore his voice.

As Oliver's form stepped further and further away and disappeared behind a door along with the handful of officers trudging him along, David absentmindedly noted Spider-Man expertly avoided the news crews and their prying questions. The spider offering just the right amount of attention to keep them at bay, before managing to squeeze through the front doors and swing off.

David stared through a window after the spider long since he'd disappeared, thinking back to his previous encounter with him earlier in the day. Spidey had seemed just as unaware of the circumstances around the case as he did, yet he had managed to somehow read between the lines and deal with the root of the problem, Oliver, and within the same day. The officer sighed, completely spent for the night despite only starting his late shift.

'Superheroes, I will never understand how they manage to do the impossible things they do.' David walked to an unoccupied seat by the building's reception and sat down, his face in his hands as he finished processing the day's events.

A shuffling noise beside him told David someone had taken the seat next to him, and upon raising his head he saw it was none other than the head of department - Charlotte. His face must've been a bit upset, as her features softened and she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I shouldn't be bothered by all this, I hadn't even known the guy before this case." David spoke, resting his elbow on his knee and his head on his palm.

Charlotte shook her head. "There's always a deep bond formed between police officers teaming up and risking their lives to beat down on crime, saving the people of New York." Her eyes hardened slightly, mouth pulled into a mournful frown. "Finding your partner to be stabbing you in the back, and being part of the poison in this city, is one of the biggest betrayals anyone can face."

Charlotte's eyes were that of a hardened veteran, respective of her age, but still showed the sting of hurt. David's eyes softened and he turned his gaze back to the floor in thought. Charlotte was the department leader and it was definitely earned in her strong will she shares with others, but she also goes above and beyond to treat those under her like a family. To have her subordinate turn out to be a bad bean must've been a harsh blow to her big heart, yet here she is supporting David like the selfless leader she is.

David smiled and turned his head back to her, this time resting his own hand on her shoulder in comfort. "You're right, but we shouldn't feel betrayed. Oliver never upheld his oath and never wanted to protect the city in the first place, he was never a part of us."

Charlotte blinked for a moment before smirking. "Well well, perhaps a promotion is well overdue."

David's eyes widened like a child's, but the hope was immediately crushed with her next word. "Kidding."

Charlotte laughed heartily with David smiling along, unable to hold his pout any longer. Despite the night's bad start, David felt his heart lighten, today teaching him to cherish those who truly stand beside him even more.

---

Spidey sighed in accomplishment after the last police car left the scene, its sirens quieting as it drove off into the distance and disappearing behind a corner. The spider had really hit the jackpot with Oliver's flash drive, the abundant data giving more than enough information to pinpoint the identity of those involved in the drug deals, as well as their frequent buyers. Spider-Man had been more than happy to assist the police in chasing and containing any stragglers, proving to be a little too ambitious with their firearms.

Plopping down on the edge of the Solomon Museum, Spider-Man called MJ, the ringing barely lasting a moment before she picked up. "Hey MJ, good news! The baddies are caught, and for good this time."

"I saw, news showed you walking out the police station after you caught Oliver Anderson. Nice work! It's a little piece of hot news right now." MJ replied, voice happy.

Spidey smiled. "Thanks MJ, but don't forget to pat yourself on the back as well. I couldn't have done it without all that fantastic detective work you did."

"Don't worry, already patted my back a while ago," MJ jokes, and the spider chuckled. "Gotta ask how you managed to catch all of them and more in such a short amount of time though."

Spider-Man grinned. "I did a little sneaky spider spying as promised, and found our friend Oliver alone in his office downloading files he shouldn't be touching. His flash drive was a goldmine, it had everything we needed to pinpoint the other crooks and even led us to their most frequent customers."

"Those guys aren't very careful if all it takes is a flash drive to bring the whole lot down." MJ commented. "But I'm not complaining, it gives a neat ending to my article." She giggled.

"Oh yeah, how's that coming along?" The spider asked, dangling his legs through the air leisurely.

"My 'cheeky' article?" MJ asked with a laugh. "It's mostly complete, just need to fill in the extra details."

"I'll send you all the details you need in full, that ought to save you some time." Spidey offered.

MJ beamed. "I can always count on you, thanks partner."

The spider gave a goofy grin, the smile slowly morphing into a long yawn. "The feeling's mutual MJ. I'll send that information now and head back home, I could really use a nap."

"You've earned it, I'll catch you some other time then, Pete."

"Goodnight MJ." Spidey ended the call and leaned his back against the Museum's roof, letting out a tired sigh and relishing the cool air whipping by his suit. He closed his eyes for a lazy few moments before sitting back up with a grunt. 'The sooner I send MJ what she needs, the sooner I can get home and snore 'till my heart's content.'

Compiling all the necessary information - and a little extra - in one big file, Spider-Man hit send. He stared at his screen before a little curiosity overtook the spider, and he looked into the recent news, the top articles being the earlier scandal he'd busted. It was hot news as MJ had said despite it's recency and lack of information, only a couple hasty articles giving the rough details alongside the earlier news footage, showing him walk alongside a cuffed Oliver.

Digging a little deeper and exploring more gave Spidey a warm and fuzzy smile. Social media, quick to pick up on the story, had already began thanking the hero with many comments spread across the articles and news anchor websites. The positivity and love from the community was everything the spider could ask for and more, heart filled to the brim in warmth.

Standing up with a lengthy and satisfying stretch, Spider-Man tucked his phone away and leapt off, shooting his web and swinging back home. The journey was quick and eventless, but was spent with a smile on his face the entire way.

END

---

My goodness this chapter is long, 14K words! I did not anticipate it to be even longer than the first chapter, I even had to get rid of some extra details to cut down on the length - but they were only the most trivial and boring parts, I promise. Now I can confidently say that this is probably the longest chapter I'll ever write.

I really enjoyed writing and reading through Jameson's podcast in particular this chapter, making sure to emphasize his expressive language with capitals and italics. I hope I did his character justice haha. Though I didn't really feel very satisfied with how the final interaction between Spider-Man and Oliver as well as David's reaction to Oliver being a baddie went. I tried to rewrite a few things here and there, but was still left rather unhappy with how they felt rather lackluster. I have literally no experience writing, so I'm sowwey.

I subtly let Peter use his senses (i.e hearing, smell and sight) a decent amount here and there in this chapter. I notice Spider-Man rarely if ever uses his enhanced senses in the comics, movies and games, and I think it's quite a waste! I gave this story's Spidey a very sharp set of senses to help him use in searches, battle, or in general.

P.S I'm British so I end up using British spelling and grammar in my writing, sorry if that confuses anyone. I actively make sure to use important terms though like 'soccer' instead of 'football', however painful that may be :')