"Ughhh, alright, JJ, hope you're happy this time around!"
One starry night weekend after another long day of patrol, the Bugle's infamous photographer and Webslinger, lays down on a ledge staring at the night sky, recalling about the many episodes of his life...
'Man I wish I had two bodies right about now: everyone's got their own thing going that they couldn't swing with me; got a female young version of JJ Jester for a traveling partner—if only her personality were the opposite of his—and I can't believe I just let a villain on the loose, right in front of Captain Stacy no less!? There goes my cred score with the NYPD...'
He then stares at his hands, remembering something else very important...
'And my powers...I can't keep relying on them anymore with Anti-Venom out there around to ambush me. I'm gonna need some upgrades in the future, hopefully upgrades that won't choke out every last penny in my bank account—and my wallet.'
"Hey Hotstuff! Care to accompany a lady on an evening stroll?"
Just when the peaceful atmosphere was settling in, the voice of a certain cat burglar pokes his ears hard that he vigilantly handsprung onto his feet to see his elusive seductress and frenemy.
"Missed me, short, bright, and handsome?" Black Cat smirked with honey in her tone.
"Cat...w-what do you want now!? You know, I've been just about nice with you after everything you did for me, not just because you were leading me on or anything, but right now, I don't think our truce is on a subscribed and extended period, is it?" Spider-man quipped, pointing his webshooters at her.
"Awww, really Spider? You really think so? I thought you said you owed me one?" Black Cat feigned sadness with a cute pouty face.
"Rrrrgh, gughhh fine! What is it now this time?"
"I've seen what you did a few days ago with the big guy? Hard to believe you'd let one slip up for a guy of your caliber."
"Aww shucks, you'll make me blush. I wish I were joking, but that really was my bad to kick him at the pier."
"That's what is written on paper, but knowing you, my Kitty-senses are purring that there's another side to that story..." Black Cat purred as she walks up close to Spider-man wiht his guard down.
"Okay that's it I—"
"Spider...I promise that my request is simple: my father," Black Cat finally answered. "I want you to help me break my father out of prison."
"Annnnd if I say nooooo?"
*Ka-thwack!*
"Gawwwwghk!"
Without hesitation, Black Cat roundhouses Spider-man in the face with his guard down, zero explanation too.
"Forget I asked, Spider-jerk...!"
After a line that bites even worse than Venom's, it left the Spider stunned with words until he lifted his neck and head to notice that he's left all alone on the barren rooftop.
"Okay, that sounded even worse than JJ's barking...! Should I take lessons from the nearest cat whisperer? Urrrggghh, why can't I just have a nightly patrol all to myself for once without any familiar face ambushing me!?" Spider-Man sighed.
—
On that same night, after St. John's play in a nearby mall's theatre...
"Another splendid performance tonight, everyone! Especially you, my dear lead Mary Jane! Exceptional as always! This here calls for a celebratory feast!" Devereaux declares.
"Thanks, Sir Devereaux, but I got a certain date right after this, and he's a nice guy this time," Mary Jane replied.
"What a shame. You may go, my dear. Do take care of yourself!"
"Thanks, everyone!" Mary Jane bade, having changed into a dark beige raincoat over her blue dress and skirt, leaving the theater in clacking heels.
"See you tomorrow, MJ!" Sha Shan bade.
The slick free redhead treads down the escalators, passing by a couple of murmuring fans and supporters who just seen her performance on stage as a very competent actress. And outside a certain fancy-looking restaurant stood a blond young man with kept hair, wearing motorcycle feathers, full on leather jacket paired with padded denim jeans and army boots with his helmet tucked underneath his arm.
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Mary Jane breaks the silence.
"Nah, just got here after getting through traffic. It was stuffy with all the pollution and cars around," The young man quipped.
"My apologies for the trouble."
"Please, all's well for me, mingling with a rising star."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere all the time, smart guy," Mary Jane snickered at his response.
"Flattery is not the only thing going for me," the young man extends his fingerless gloved hand out to her. "Interested to invest?"
"Hmmm, you strike quite the bargain," Mary Jane lays her hand on his as they enter the restaurant. "You remind me of someone I know. What is your name again? You've been like a stalker bookin' in all my shows."
"Well, you could call me a family friend of that someone you knew," he smirked. "Name's Ben, Ben Reilly. You uh, might be talking about Peter, right?"
—
"Quick! Alert the others! We're under attack!"
"YOU WON'T ESCAPE! NONE OF YOU WILL!"
In one of the Inner Demons hidden branch headquarters, they are under attack from an assailant who is no stranger to the master of this underground criminal organization, Eddie Brock aka Anti-Venom. And after all that has transpired, their greatest obstacle has yet to quench his anger and thirst for payback.
"Leave this instant!" One Inner Demon leader fought back with a guan dao in hand.
"Hehehe, you think that knife will do anything to me?!" Anti-Venom taunts, brandishing sharp talons extending from his fingertips.
In that bladed fight, it was horribly one-sided as the goon tries to slash his insides and outsides, but feels like he's slashing water and glue in the air as his blade keeps sliding and inserting through Anti-Venom's hulking body before being attacked and incapacitated by a double slash combo. With that over with, Anti-Venom proceeds to sabotage and sever the place beyond all repair, rampaging through the groups of masked goons with talon, tentacle, and tendril javelins thrown at them. After setting it ablaze by blowing up the gas tank, Anti-Venom appears atop a burning building, howling into the night with a victorious roar.
"I'M COMIN' FOR YA, MARTIN! I'LL KILL YOUR LITTLE PLAYHOUSE SLOWLY, ONE BY ONE, BRICK BY BRICK, AND THEN ONCE I'M DONE... YOU'RE NEXT!"
—
The next morning comes around on the campus of ESU. Peter wakes up from his sore slumber with a huge bruise on his left cheek, a gift from his on-and-off frenemy, the Black Cat.
"Ow! Tssss, man it still hurts. Both her words and her foot are no joke..." Peter groaned, sitting up on his top bunk.
However, what he nearly forgets by accident is that he's still in his costume in bed. And yawning into soberness was their civilian roomie Randy, sleeping in the lower bunk across his bunk. He quickly slumps back into his blanket and pretends to sleep with both eyes squinting partly open, watching Randy get up to stretch his body before walking into the restroom for a morning leak.
'Whew, drowsy enough to not notice,' Peter sighed before putting on a blue long shirt with black sleeves, tight enough to hug his toned superhero upper body before putting on some denim jeans. "Uhhh, this feels kinda tight..."
"Mornin' Pete, huaaaagah!" Hobie yawned with his dreadlocks all curly and crumpled. "Hey, nice new look, where'd you get that?"
"Mornin' Hobes! Actually, this wasn't mine, Liz offered this shirt to me when Mark wanted to give it away, and so I took this one. How do I look?"
"Like a tall piece of eye candy for college girls?" Hobie shrugged as he squirted toothpaste on his toothbrush before pointing his brush at Peter's sore side on his face. "Say, who gave you a rough time?"
"Cat problems," Peter groaned from the sour memory.
—
"Eddie? Are you in there?"
In a condominium just few blocks away from Ravencroft, Ashley knocks on a door, definitely Eddie's condo from her calling his name out. After one last push on the electric doorbell button...
"Huaaaagh! Hey doc, what up? I thought it's our dayoff today too?" Eddie yawned.
"Whoa, Eddie, what happened to you!?" Ashley gasped, seeing his panda eyes. "Why do you look so haggard!? What did you even do last night!?"
"I uh, took evening strolls lately, mostly those times when I couldn't sleep. That's all."
"Is this why you're sleeping in as of late? Eddie, please take care of yourself. I wouldn't want to see you—"
"Doc, I'm fine. Tell you what: wanna go grab a bite in the shawarma joint a few blocks away and talk things out over there?"
"Are you taking me out on a date, Mr. Brock?" Ashley raises an eyebrow, cracking up a smile on her face.
"And if I am, would you accept?"
"Gladly!"
'Well, I obviously can't tell her what I've been doing late at night...' Eddie thought to himself, wielding an erratic white-colored symbiote in the palm of his hand.
—
"Now, what happens if you lack these sets of chromosomes in your DNA strand?"
"Higher chance for Hansen's Disease, right ma'am?"
"Well done, Parker! Snappy answer!"
It's Biology class again, under the tutelage of Dr. Martha Connors, currently giving a lesson on hereditary diseases. Her lectures are enough to suffice as a stiff yet effective lullaby for some of the students, Hobie included, but Peter and Gwen seemed less drowsy among the others.
"So Peter, what are you doin' later tonight?" Gwen wondered while jotting down some paraphrased notes on a notebook.
"Go out for lunch, grab a coffee to the ESU Lab, nightly patrol, usual routine?"
"Oh cool! I know a nice dessert place you might like. I mean, I like the place, just wondering if you like it or—"
"Sure! Lead the way later!"
"Really!?"
"Ahhhem!"
The nerd and nerdette got caught off guard and stood stiff in their seats by clearing the throat from their professor before she continued her lecture. Looking at each other by the corners of their eyes, the two of them let out soft chuckles before tangling their fingers together beneath the table, unbeknownst to the lonely drowsy Hobie.
—
"Here you go, pal!"
*Thud-Rustle!*
In a dark warehouse deep within Manhattan, an irritated cat burglar throws a bag full of certain items of interest to her strange clients wearing strange oriental masks.
"Well, my job here's done now, so long, boys!" Black Cat waved away.
However, as she was strutting her way to the outside, the steel shutter fall straight down right in front of her.
"Where do you think you're going?" One masked goon growled.
"I take it that you want more favors? Pal, I'm a businesswoman doing business with some hoodlums, not exactly the best sight for other potential clients."
"But this time, you need to work with us," the leader goon ordered, holding the shutter control in his hand.
"Sorry, then you're gonna need to give me a better pay, triple the amount since this is the third time in a row, unless you wanna come by next month," Black Cat haggles, shaking her head.
"On contrar, Little Kitty."
"What did you call me?" Black Cat growled back.
The top goon pulls a tablet from his suit, playing a live feed of a prison cell, with inmate Walter Hardy inside of it sleeping.
'Daddy!' Black Cat immediately jolts in fear with eyes wide open.
"Look familiar? We looked into some of your escapades prior to our little trust here, and this man seems close, too close to you."
"Oh yeah, wise guy? What are you gonna do about that assumption?"
"What if I told you...?" The leader goon turns off his gadget and walks up to Black Cat with a threatening tone. "We can snuff him out like an incense stick?"
"You wouldn't dare, right? Don't tell me you guys can just take him out of prison, right?"
"My master has all the opportunities to do so, whether it favors you or not. But the outcome depends on whether you would like to cooperate with us..."
"Cooperation? More like coercion along those lines. I'm not a dainty daisy, boys."
"Pity..." The leader goon ignites his palms with light and dark energy. "Our master was warming up to you till now."
Without hesitation, the leader goon tries to apprehend Black Cat with his four other men, but the four of them barely kept up with her combative acrobatic fighting style with a chain of flips, kicks, and grappling hook reeling, leaving only the leader left.
"Try to keep up, big boy!" Black Cat taunts, popping her sharp claws on her fingertips.
The leader kept silent, pulling out a collapsible baton and imbuing it with his energy.
"Nice toy, but I had enough playing around with you!"
Black Cat throws down a small pellet to the ground, bursting into a smokescreen for her to grapple onto the metal bars on the ceiling to bungee and sling herself up and out of the fragile steel ramshackled roof like a slingshot.
—
"Mmmm! Hey! This is actually real good! How'd you come across this place in the middle of the city!? I swing by this area a lot, but this place was outta my radar!"
"Oh well, I have my ways, maybe like cravings?"
The two top students in the science department finally proceeded with their rendezvous to the dessert place called Golden Graham. It's a candy parlor full of sweets and pastries or sweet homemade beverages. Peter got himself a tall glass of a sundae frappuccino drizzled with a little hot fudge while Gwen got a cola float, topped with a generous scoop of chocolate ice cream decorated with a couple of nuts, chocolate chips, and marshmallows.
"Cravings huh? Kinda strange cravings. Never took you for the heavy-on-sweets type for as long as I could remember," Peter replied in a somewhat astounded tone.
"Yeah, guess my taste buds changed over time too," Gwen chuckled, knowing full well who messed with her hormones and urges. 'I'm blaming this one on you.'
'We need to recharge whenever we can. Besides, you don't look like your weight's changed because of us.'
'Fair enough.'
"I gotta say, lots of things happened for quite a lot. Both of us have gone through a lot..."
"Yeah...I thought that you were always busy and tired for no reason back then, until...I kinda felt what you've been through...and to think I nearly..."
Gwen fell silent and sad, clutching hard onto her cola float's glass as she remembered clearly that day when she first wore Mania. But instead of replying, Peter holds her hands to assure her.
"Gwen, let bygones be bygones. We mess up every now and then, and eventually clean up after. Don't dwell on it."
"...I tried not to. I'll never forget it though. It's what kept me vigilant of myself."
"Hey, to be honest, you handled the suit a little better than what I did. Maybe it was the physiological factor, but how you handled the suit spoke volumes of envy outta me!"
"...Thank you, Peter. I don't know if you know this, but this optimistic side of you was what attracted me to you so so long ago."
"Hey! I'm still me, what're you talking about?"
"That's why I'm still in love with you, now and more than ever..."
"Ahhhh hehehe, ahem! Okay, all that aside, Gwen..."
"Yeah Pete?"
"You uh, remember what I did recently, right?"
"What do you—ohhh, oh Peter, it's fine," Gwen places a gentle hand over his clenched fist. "Peter, what happened back then, is not really your fault, I'm sure of—"
"Uhhmm, about that, it actually is. I purposely let Rhino off your father's case."
"Wait, you did what?"
"Long story short: there was a struggle in a diner with some of those creepy Inner Demons, and Rhino happened to be caught up in it after hiding away for so long. He...was actually fighting against those guys with me and protected some random waitress... she even thanked him, despite not knowing who he actually was. And, well, on the wings of my emotions, I let him go when your dad arrived to arrest him. Man, telling you all of this makes me feel like I lost a lot of social scores, on so many levels."
"Wow, that is one messed up scenario you have. Almost like a novel plot device if you ask me," Gwen shrugged, chomping on a spoonful of her heavily decorated ice cream. "Mmmph! Dish ish sho goodh!"
"Gee, if only I were a writer like Tolkien," Peter chuckled while sipping on his frappuccino.
"Well, I hope you don't regret what you were doing back there. He will come around, and we'll be there to nab him back into Ryker's!" Gwen cheers him up.
"But if he does change—if he does— then we might wanna watch our steps and not overstep. I don't want to mess up like I did years ago with Max..." Peter falls into a frown, recalling his not-so-good first impression with Electro many years ago.
"...I just noticed, Pete, who gave you the panda eye?" Gwen points out Peter's bruised eye.
"It's...Black Cat..."
"Again?" Gwen asked, sounding not amused with a sour tone. "What does she want this time? Not that I'm angry after the last time she helped us all out with whoever abducted us. But it's never a good sign whenever she's around."
"Usually. And well, she is guilt-tripping here."
"With? With what?"
"I uh, sorta promised to do anything for her if we ever got to save you and the others and defeat the Crime Master..."
"And so, what did she ask you?"
"She...asked me to break her father out of prison..."
"Her father? Who?"
"Walter Hardy..."
"Walter—wait, what!? You can't be serious, are you? ...Okay, you sound like you are. But Peter, you can't just—I mean...isn't he..."
"She hit me before I could make any decision, but I recalled getting hit in the face after saying no, so there's that?"
"So you know who he is? And she has the guts full of hairballs to do that?"
"She doesn't know who I am, beneath the mask. I don't blame her for bursting out on me, okay..."
"My girlfriend-senses are telling me that you guys are still pretty close than platonic."
"It's not her fault. She doesn't know who I am..."
"Ohhh, for a second, I thought you two shared lots of stuff, including your secret identities..."
'Although I kinda knew who she was...'
"Peter Parker!"
Suddenly in the middle of their conversation, someone new from Peter's workplace disturbs their quiet quality time.
"Oh boy, hey Paula? W-What's up? I'm in the middle of something?" Peter nervously replies.
"Uhm, hi? I'm Gwen, Gwen Stacy," Gwen greets, extending her hand out to the strict blonde journalist.
"Paula Crane, call me Paula," Paula greets and shakes her hand. "I'm a journalist from the Bugle and your boyfriend's colleague and partner. Whatever he shoots, I write and explore with him."
"Oh really? Partner huh?" Gwen shoots "the look" at Peter from the corner of her eye. "He never mentioned too much about his job, but this is big news to me!"
"Hmph, men. Well anyways, Peter, Jameson wants both of us back on the job today."
"What's the situation now?"
"Something about a prisoner extraction from Rykers', and we got an exclusive interview with the wardens and a couple of people involved. You in?"
"Of course! But maybe later, after our date?"
"Sorry no buts, we're on the clock, or else Jameson will smash ours, c'mon!"
She grabs Peter by the arm, no hesitation at all. And being defenseless against the risk of injuring her with his superhuman strength, his date with Gwen was cut short against his will as he's dragged into Paula's car. And as Gwen watches them drive away to their destination...
"Well, that's that I guess. Can't do anything about it," Gwen shrugs in defeat.
'You sure about that?'
"What do you mean? ...Oh..."
—
"And so it begins..."
*Chik!*
Popping out her newly pedicured steel claws before retracting them, Felicia dons her Black Cat persona and suit on before staring at a small photo of her father and her when she was a toddler kept inside an open locket.
"Wait for me, Daddy. I'll save you this time for sure, and no one's getting in my way. Not this time...including Spider-man..." Black Cats hisses, putting on her mask.
—
"A fine night for a date! If only not with NYPD's Finest in the middle of work!" Peter groaned.
Dusk slowly rolls in as the sun sets down. Paula and Peter stop by a police outpost closest to Rykers' Prison, home to infamous criminals and Spider-man's nefarious rogues' gallery. Tonight, mixed murmurs spread among some of the police officers regarding this transfer of an ordinary inmate, said to be wanted for cases of petty theft and murder.
"Man, who is this inmate supposed to be to get transferred?" one snarky officer sarcastically remarked.
"Who cares? Just do our job to get him safely to Manhattan's Ward. The higher ups asked for it," another officer shrugged.
"Wow, talk about security risks. It's them that always give the force a bad name."
Blabbing from the sidelines is a brunette rookie with glasses, wearing her uniform and her hair in a bun.
"Get over it, Cooper. Everyone's just on edge. Something doesn't sit right with this transfer," Officer Gonzales assures.
"If Spider-man were here, then we'll get all the muscle we need for this operation."
"Of course you think so."
"Hey guys! Mind if we have a chat with you?"
Peter calls out and runs to the two officers after overhearing their conversation, with Paula trying to catch up to him from behind.
"Peter!? Why—ughh—did you run?!" Paula screamed in between panting.
"Peter? As in, Peter Parker, for the Daily Bugle?" Carlie asks.
"The one and only! Wanna check out some exclusive shots I've got on the Wall-crawler?" Peter playfully offers.
"Parker! Those are not for sale! Sell them, and Jameson's gonna kill you," Paula urges and warns.
"Spoil sport."
"Ya know, feel free to stick around us in case things go south. If you need anything for the Bugle, here it is."
"Thanks! We'll take up on your offer then, officers..."
"Officer Vincent Gonzales!"
"Rookie Officer Carlie Cooper! Ready to serve!" Both the officers saluted.
"Guess we'll be both in your care then while we're waiting," Peter shrugs.
—
"I won't let you get what you want, Martin," Eddie muttered, sitting on the end of his barbell bench in front of the television with the news channel talking about a prisoner transfer.
He stares at a folder with a profile on the inmate Walter Hardy, comparing and connecting the dots before enveloping his whole body with the Anti-Venom symbiote.
"Time to play...!"
—
Now the moving starts. Rows of police cars drive at a consistent pacing and speed around a prisoner's convoy. And being under the security of the officers, Peter and Paula had to ditch her car to ride with officers Carlie and Vincent.
"So far no bogeys," Peter breaks the silence.
"Better if it stays that way," Vincent hopes while keeping his hands on the wheel.
"Excuse me, Parker, right?" Carlie curiously asks.
"Call me Peter or Pete, it's fine, ma'am," Peter jests.
"Then call me Carlie. Anyway, I just wanna ask how did you meet Spider-man? What's he like? How did you even get to know him?"
"Uhmm—"
"Oh oh! Did you two like have some sort of agreement or friendship to cover each others' tracks? It's just that I hardly found any other newspaper covering his pictures and headlines."
"Well I—"
"No need to answer, Peter. She sounds like a fangirl."
"Actually, I'm not particularly close with the guy, but I couldn't help showing the good that he's doing for New York. Although some people would really disagree."
"But actions speak louder than words. The good he's done all around town outweighs the bad opinion people have on him, no matter how hard you can deny it. He's good, and that is one thing I'm sure of," Carlie replies lengthily.
'Gee uhm, thanks...' Peter thought to himself.
"Seriously, all because the Webslinger saved your gran-gran, you're so smitten, Cooper," Vincent chuckled.
"Sir! No! I was just—"
*Boom!*
Amidst the peaceful interrogation, one of the police cars nearby suddenly exploded, followed by the sounds of gunfire that caught them off guard and nearly caused their car to crash in between two buildings if not for Officer Gonzales' driving skills to narrowly park by the sidewalk. Chasing behind the police convoy were black SUVs with blank plates, driven and rode by the notorious gang members of the Inner DemonsAfter they finished screaming from the fire and try to assess the situation...
"What on earth was that?!" Carlie screamed.
"Company, that's what," Vincent cocks his pistol on hand and gets out of the car to look around. "Mr. Parker, Ms. Crane, looks like our little interview is cut short for today. Get out of here!"
"You heard the officer, go!" Carlie adds.
"Cooper, your task is to escort them both to safety. I'll try to draw them away while you go, now!"
"But—"
"I said NOW!"
Following direct orders from her senior, she takes Peter and Paula down the wide alley nearby, trying to avoid the possible fighting going on outside. However, just as they went the opposite direction of the source of the gunfight, a group of seven of those Demon goons appeared from the other end of the alley between four buildings with machine guns, attempting to eliminate any form of eyewitness of the matter.
"Take cover!" Carlie orders, throwing down a crate on top of another to the ground to create a quick barrier.
"Get down!" Peter grabs Paula to the side at the other alley to hide behind a pair of garbage bins.
The goons quickly opened fire, sending a hail of bullets straight for them. Officer Cooper barely returns fire and hits two goons at non-lethal body shots, but that is not enough to take them all down.
"There are too many targets to shoot! Whoa!" Peter narrowly dodges a bullet that could've grazed his ear.
"These guys got ammunition to spare, I can't do this all night!?" Carlie shrieked in horror as she reloaded her second magazine. "Once I'm out of ammo, both of you head that way! I'll keep them distracted!"
"But what about you!?"
" Forget it! It is my duty to serve and protect people like you!"
Suddenly upon hearing Carlie's words similar to Uncle Ben's mantra, it clicked in Peter's mind of what is about to happen if he does not do something by playing the civilian. With no time to waste, Peter grabs the lid of the garbage bin and tosses it like a disc at one of the goons, easily incapacitating him due to the force from his Spider-strength. The two women were astounded and speechless by what Peter just did.
"Whoo! Did you see that!?" Peter cheered himself, giving himself away in plain sight.
With that, the other Demons turned their attention and guns towards Peter and point their guns at him.
"Shaaa!" The leader roared with an order to fire.
"Oh boy!" with white flames crackling in the eye holes of their masks.
"That's my cue to run, bye!"
"Wait, Peter?!"
Before they could catch him going out of the alley from Carlie's direction, the four other Demons overwhelm them with bullets, leaving the other two goons to chase after the photographer.
—
'Time to suit up, but where?!'
Peter runs down the narrow alleyway, before webbing and slinging himself up high just before the two goons caught up to his disappearance.
"Where'd that rat go?!" One goon barked, pointing his gun around.
*Thwip!* *Tack!* *Whoosh!*
"Huh?"
The goon turns around to see his comrade vanish without a trace, causing panic inside before waving around and up to notice Spider-man, donned in his all-black suit, hanging upside down next to his burrito-ed teammate.
"Nice night we have today, but you guys just had to come and spoil it!" Spider-man groaned.
"Spider-man?!"
*Whoosh!* *Ka-pow!*
—
"Pathetic of Peter, ditching us like this!?"
Paula and Carlie are now apprehended by the three Demons, one shot and out cold by Carlie.
"Surrender your weapon and your lives shall be spared," the leader goon replied.
"Justice will be served to people like you, even if I die!" Carlie growled, clutching onto her injured arm grazed by some bullets while holding a tazer in her hand.
"Shame. You would've been of use to our master."
*Thwip! Thwip!* *Tack! Tack!* *Whoosh!*
"Huh?"
"Watch out below!"
Slamming the leader to the ground from above, Spider-man saves the two women incapacitating their captors in the nick of time.
"S-S-Spider-man! You're here! You're actually here!" Carlie geeked out.
"Yeah, whoa. Nasty wound you got there," Spider-man cringed from the wounds, webbing her arm to bandage it temporarily. "I'm no medical professional, but this should hold your wound for a little bit. Don't worry, it's non-toxic."
"Th-Thanks, but forget about us! I can escort the lady here, but everyone else is still out there fighting!"
"Tell them some webbed backup has arrived!"
—
"We need backup, ASAP!"
Meanwhile, the streets around the prison convoy's loud and banging with all the gunfighting, with the NYPD losing ground with a couple of downed officers against their superpowered opponents.
"Destroy them all! Leave no survivors!" The lead Demon orders, beating some of the officers with fists of white fire.
But just before the Demons started to advance and overwhelm, a black missile blur strikes down the leader into the ground, confusing both sides of what just happened.
"Anybody called for backup? Cause here comes the calvary!" Spider-man quipped before shooting his webs at the other Demon mobsters.
"Spider-man! Gaghk!"
"Yup, I'm here, and I'm mad!" Spider-man quipped, backflipping over some of the armed Demon gunmen and firing ice webs at their guns to freeze them till they break and shatter. "Like my new webs? Stronger than liquid nitrogen, freezes faster too! Whoop!"
He narrowly bends backward to dodge a blast of white fire from the corner of his right eye before webbing a line to hoist him close for a sucker punch shattering right through the mask.
"Whew! You sure saved our butts back there, Spider-man. We'd be lucky to get outta here without any casualties till you swing right by just in time," Vincent thanked out of gratitude.
"Guys guys, please, you're the real heroes still standing and holding your ground against criminals like them. If only there were more of me like my team around..."
"Uhhhh, Spider-man?"
"But they're all busy with their hands and schedules full, so you pretty much got me around left."
"Spider-man?"
"What's up, officer?"
"Ahem...!"
"!"
As if his long-lost Spider-sense kicked him sober from the early crime fighting, he reluctantly turns around to see the white-cladded heroine Ghost Spider, standing right behind him with her arms crossed, giving him the look beneath the mask.
"Ghost Spider! W-What a surprise!" Spider-man screamed, taken by her ambush.
"Yeah, I'm here, and I'm annoyed," Ghost Spider replied, trapping one of the Demons attempting to shoot with her symbiote webs. "You said this was going to be a smooth trip for a prison convoy, not a deadly shooting range with creepy thugs."
"Point taken. We had things under control, but they sprung out of nowhere, as if they were waiting for this to happen, keep your eyes peeled."
"Uh oh."
"Now what?" Spider-man groaned.
"That," Mania points to the convoy, seeing the driver's seat door closed.
"Wait, who's driving?"
Suddenly the vehicle starts its engine and drives away, barely close to ramming through a couple of policemen.
"Looks like they got the jump on us. Too bad they're messing with Manhattan's Defenders!" Spider-man quipped.
—
"Hey! Spidey!"
"Yeah!?"
The two spider-themed heroes give chase swinging for the runaway convoy, some lingering thoughts disturbed Mania...
"So how was work before I arrived?" Ghost Spider probed while swinging beside him.
"Work? Smooth till these guys got here. They sure weren't wasting any time for their attack over a petty thief, amiright?" Spider-man replied. "For some reason, this feels...odd..."
"A transfer for a petty thief is odd by itself already."
"No no, this sort of prisoner breakout could've been done with a couple of gang members easily with the powered goons in their ranks, but it felt like a fluke, a diversion from something bigger..."
"Spidey! Down below!"
She points to the prison convoy and the two of them flip to stick onto the roof of the convoy, climbing around the walls of the convoy with Mania checking the side while Spidey checks the driver's seat.
"Uh Mister Criminal?" Spider-man knocks on the window. "A little late for a field trip tonight?"
"Why yes, yes it is, Spider-Stud."
Suddenly, the voice first caught him off guard, then the tinted window rolled down to reveal the elusive thief Black Cat, sitting at the driver's seat with a smug grin on her face.
"Cat!? When did you—how did you—!?"
"Too slow to catch on that the Black Cat crossed you first!" Black Cat quipped. "Oooh! Back in the black again, Spider? Missed me by that much?"
"Uhm, no, not really. And no, not exactly," Spider-man nervously replied.
"Spidey, how's—you!? Again!?" Ghost Spider screamed, peeking from behind Spider-man.
"Miss me, Spider-girl?" Cat winked playfully.
*Bang! Bang!* *Klank!*
"Whoa!"
The three of them turn their heads to the convoy's rear from where bullets were shot, noticing two vans and a group of motorcycles with armed gunmen, all Demon gangsters behind hot on their trail.
"After them! Burn them!" The lead goon on a van ordered firing his machine gun at them.
"We got company, guys!" Mania cried, retaliating with a barrage of symbiote web bullets and shielding against theirs.
"Seriously, your dad's quite the VIP with this eager of an entourage!?" Spider-man quipped, tapping on her shoulder. "Hold the wheel, I'll be right back on schedule!"
"No hurry! Take your time!" Black Cat replied, stepping on the acceleration to make a tight turn around the street corner.
"Let's tango!"
"Right back at ya!"
With that, the two spider heroes converge on the mobsters firing their weapons at them, dodging and avoiding every shot while slinging themselves onto their vehicles and webbing or knocking them and their wheels off the ground before tangling some up in webs stuck to streetlight poles or to the walls of various sturdy buildings. However, they weren't the only ones holding a personal grudge against the Inner Demons...
"Raaaagh!"
Howling from nearby, a huge white blur crushes its way into the street, revealing himself to be Anti-Venom, Peter's headache of a bane.
"Time..to...DIE!" Anti-Venom snarls at the Demon mobsters before noticing Spider-man and Mania. "Youuu..."
"Yipes...what a bad night for a doctor's appointment...!" Spider-man gulped.
"I'll deal with you, laterrrr. For noww...!"
He pops out sharp talons made of his white symbiote before charging towards the mobsters, slashing through steel vehicles and guns like cutting paper; bashing and crushing the gangsters like a dangerous game of whack-a-mole.
"Okay, he should keep them busy for now, let's catch up with everyone else in the meantime," Spider-man shrugged his shoulders before swinging away with Mania following behind. 'Hope she's still waiting at the finish line somewhere...'
After swinging around the corner, the two of them find the prison convoy parked recklessly, with the back door wide open.
"Uhhh, Cat? Here Kitty kitty kitty?" Spider-man called, exploring the surroundings. "Hmmm, clever kitty, but not clever enough."
"What do you mean? Cat's already out of the bag, and how are you gonna track her down?" Ghost Spider points out. "They could be anywhere in the city!?"
"Say hello to my Spider-tracers!" Spider-man shows his smartphone pinpointing her location on a GPS app. "Made them in my spare time, just to give me less of a burden catching some baddies, now let's go!"
—
Meanwhile, on the balcony of a luxurious condominium...
"We're safe now, Dad. Free from any law enforcement or skin-tight cosplayers," Black Cat stretches her arms.
Walter sits in silence with his sad face downcast, which bothered his adventurous daughter after everything she did risking her skin for him.
"Dad, you can't talk me out of this. I want you back, and I don't care how many jailbreaks it'll take to change your mind."
"Then you don't care for me at all, my little girl. You don't need me anymore," Walter moped. "It was the sentence I deserved after breaking what I promised myself not to do. I can't change what I've done to Ben Parker..."
"Seriously, who is that man to you anyway that caused you to be this way?"
"He... is a man like me: a family man looking after his own, but I took him away from them...I never should've..."
"There you two are!"
Landing on the metal railings, Spidey and Ghost Spider meet the pair of burglars, making Black Cat vigilant of their appearance.
"Okay, you are starting to become a pest in my eyes, Spider-man. You're not bringing him in this time! Not while—"
"Settle down, Cat. I just want to talk this time," Spider-man steps down from the railing. "And I wanna hear you guys out first. So any volunteers?"
"You—!"
"Easy, girl. Lemme," Walter steps forward. "I never wanted to break out of prison. If anything, I am content with solitary if it means keeping myself from harming anyone ever again. When...when I saw what I've done to Ben Parker..."
"Holdon, back up, what happened anyway in that incident?" Spider-man shoots a glare with crossed arms.
*Sigh* "That night, when I was about to kill Ben Parker, I was desperate...to find more money for my little girl's tuition. I had no job except the skills I developed in my youth, it's just that I've grown more senile now... And when I chanced upon the Parkers' household, that man, Ben Parker, saw me and I pointed my gun at him and demanded cash from him..."
Suddenly, tears leaked from his eyes as he stared at his trembling palms.
"He...didn't show any fear, but a concerned look in his eyes... he took out his wallet, opened a drawer from a nearby cabinet and then walked to me with wads of dollars before gently putting them in my bag with a smile and he tells me:"
—
"'Take the money sir, if your family needs it more than we do, just take it, and do something else that gets you into less trouble.'"
—
"I learned that he was willing to help me, even though it could risk him getting into financial issues. He was the most generous man I've ever met, until..."
—
"Ben? It's time for—huh!?"
In the room that night, Aunt May was going to invite her husband for a cup of tea in a tray, but dropped it from the sight of Walter holding him at gunpoint. The crashing sound of porcelain and metal startles the armed burglar that resulted in a negligent discharge to Ben's chest area, causing panic within Walter that leaves Aunt May horrified by his horribly fatal mistake."
—
"The gun was still in my hand, in the trigger...and then I...I killed him..." Walter confessed, his tone turning heavy from every word. "I'll never be able to erase the fact that I've murdered him, whether it was an accident or not. Even though I was on the wrong side, he was compassionate to me, and told me before he died..."
—
"You have a gift, and that gift has power. And with great power, there will also come—'"
—
"Great responsibility."
Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and his face jolted upon hearing those words finished by the masked hero in front of him, almost as if he knew the man he just murdered.
"Wha—how?" Walter nervously asked.
"That man, Ben Parker...I knew him...he was very close to me, even till this day, I still remember him..." Spider-man looked into the night sky and let out a huge sigh. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't angry that night too. I wanted you dead...so badly... until I wondered if he would approve, 'With great power, comes great responsibility..."
"Who...who are you!?"
With that, Spider-man slowly removes his mask to the two burglars, shocking most especially Black Cat with this revelation of his identity.
"My name... is Peter Parker, the son of the man you murdered," Peter calmly replied.
"Wait, Peter!?" Black Cat backs away from his sight.
"What's wrong?" Walter questioned.
"My junior from ESU...you're...!?"
"Yep, that's me, Felicia," Peter replied, making her jolt by surprise by mentioning her name. "Don't worry, only I knew..."
"Ahem!"
"I mean, only both of us knew...I don't know who you were or what your motives are to be the Black Cat or whatever, but your secret's safe with us, other masked people. Think of us as your halloween mates, like the usual."
"Peter..." The two girls stare at him incredulously.
"Look, I believe in my uncle's words, and you are a talented man, so use your skills for good. Or...hang up your burglaring jersey for good, and maybe find another state that's not New York for a while."
"A-Are you sure about this, young man?" Walter sincerely asks. "After all this time...?"
"Please don't make me regret my decision. Firstly, I did this as a friend's favor," Peter replied before putting on his mask. "Second, it was because my uncle would've done the same."
"WELL WELL WELL! LOOK WHAT THE SPIDER DRAGGED IN!?"
Just in time to crash the solemn mood, the hulking Anti-Venom shows up on the balcony, narrowly missing to grab Parker by the throat and steps back to dodge Mania's jabs to the face.
"Ughhhh, when will you just leave me alone!?" Spider-man groaned, putting on his mask.
"Eddie, this is taking things way too far!" Ghost Spider screamed.
"The city's never safe while you are around saving it. You will always cause trouble, wherever you go and whenever you're present. But I am here to help you: I can free you if you just let me!" Anti-Venom reasoned. "You're siding with the very things you were supposed to fight. What a shame Uncle Parker would've witnessed!"
"Ouch, am I seriously the embodiment of karma to you or something? And saying that last bit is taken wayyyy too heavy for a diss," Spider-man quipped. "Second, your way of making things better sounds way worse than any quack doctor I've ever encountered."
Anti-Venom quickly unleashes several tendrils out of his back and tangles up both Spider-man and Ghost Spider in them.
"Time to shut that arrogant mouth of yours for good," Anti-Venom snarled.
"I disagree, pal!"
WIthout hesitation, the huge symbiote-clad antihero gets dropkicked in the gut by Black Cat, causing his tendrils to loosen their grips for them to handspring away from him.
"Gee uhm, thanks, Cat!"
"Thank me later, he's not done with us yet!"
A standoff happens, with Anti-Venom outnumbered by three against himself. A few fleeting seconds later, the snarling Anti-Venom retracts all his tendrils, confusing the three masked vigilantes before turning his back on them.
"...I've wasted too much time. This ain't the end, bro! I promise that you will get what you deserve, whether you like it or not!" Anti-Venom roared before jumping off the balcony, never to be seen—for now that is.
—
In Ryker's Prison that very same night...
"We need backup ASAP! There's too many—Gaaaghk!"
Spidey's suspicions were on the money. While the heroes were distracted by the diversion, the other Inner Demons went to infiltrate the infamous isle of prisoners by their Master's orders, with Hammerhead heading the team through the hallways of inmates and familiar faces.
"Well well well, long time no see, Hammy," Montana, aka Shocker, greeted while reclining on his bench.
"I ain't here for ya, Montana. Just here for business, strict business," Hammerhead replied, walking past the cells for the Maximum Security wing.
They blast their way to the stricter prison area full of the heroes' Rogues Gallery, some of which were former masters or comrades like Tombstone. But then he stops to see a cell that exudes freezing air at subzero temperatures.
"This is the one, boys. Open 'er up!"
—
*DING DONG!*
"Peter, would you please get the door, dear?"
Another day, another time for resettling in the new Parker apartment as Aunt May called upon her nephew to help arrange more things that she can't do alone. When Peter attends to the door, his ordinary day just got extraordinary...
"Hello, Peter. Can we come in?" The platinum blonde ESU senior Felicia Hardy, kindly asks in a playful tone.
"F-Felicia!? Yes! No! Waitaminute. Yeah you may, sorry," Peter replied out of shock.
"Don't mind us then," she chuckled.
"Wait, us?"
Following behind her was none other than Walter Hardy, her father and murderer of Ben Parker. He silently nods in shame with gratitude towards Peter for letting the both of them in.
"Peter dear! Who is at the door?" Aunt May called, only to freeze in her steps when she saw and recognizes the man behind Felicia.
"Aunt May, uhm, this is a little bit complicated to explain but—"
"Greetings, Mrs. Parker. This is our first time meeting, and we're sorry for barging into your home at a random time like this," Felicia greets with a courteous tone. "I believe you recognize this man, and he wishes to talk to you about something—in private."
"O-Oh, I see! Please, have a seat!"
Aunt May then walks over to pull and arrange a couple of chairs for all to sit till Felicia intervenes.
"How about you two get comfy and chat for a bit while Peter and I make something in the kitchen? Just to help out a bit!" Felicia offers, all the while playfully pushing Peter into the kitchen.
"Wha—hey!"
Minutes passed by as May and Walter are left to talk alone, Felicia whisks a steel bowl of cream for a bowl of homemade whipped cream while Peter's frying up some pancakes, utilizing his improved cooking skills that are a far cry from his previous episodic failures.
"Never took you for a nerd who could actually cook," Felicia hummed before setting the bowl aside.
"I practiced a lot," Peter quickly bragged before flipping a pancake up high in the air onto a plate of stacked pancakes. "A whole lot of messy practice behind the scenes."
"Hum, guess webbing things is not your only forte."
"And you are not the thief I took you to be."
"I have other hobbies than just burglary, though it has been my most favorite thrill," Felicia chuckled, revealing Peter's smartphone in her hand. "Phones aren't just the only thing I could steal."
Peter scrambled for his pockets upon realizing that she easily caught him off guard before quietly demanding that she throw him back his phone, catching it flying high with his super sticky hands.
"Hard habit to break huh?"
"Well, I also enjoy doing debates in my master class. Mostly about laws and lawmaking."
"That in itself is an irony, coming from a lawbreaker."
"Ditto, Black-Red-And-Blue. You also had me at hello...So?" Felicia shoots her question while washing her hands. "What keeps you happy and busy?"
"About that— the Parker household is usually all busy, but not-so-happy," Peter honestly replied. "Bills always catch onto us, I had my plate full in school and out of it, and the city needs me, you know how I roll."
"...It's...a lot for me to take in, to think you were my busy junior doing all sorts of things in ESU, and seeing you experimenting in the ESU Lab with that blondie chick," Felicia points out with a smirk.
"Whoa hey, I'm not full-time in the lab! I got a job, an actual full-time job that's painful!"
"Like being a narcissist?" Felicia raises an eyebrow accompanied by her smirk, walking up close to him. "Seems like someone's being so full of himself, despite being a goody-two-shoes bookworm."
"Uhhh, you are encroaching into my personal space?" Peter gets backed into the refrigerator.
"Stop using the big words, Stud. Look...I know that we've been through worse, but that never meant I hated every minute of it. I don't know why or how, but I've been thinking it's all your fault I'm acting this way."
"Acting like what?" Peter asks with a nervous smile.
"Like—"
"Oh Peter? Felicia? Are you two done...!?"
"What's wrong?"
Just when things were getting "too personal", the parent figures of the pair suddenly came to check in on them, pouring sobering water over the two young and healthy adolescents.
"Pardon us both. We'll be waiting right over there. Sorry," Walter apologizes.
"Do take your time, kids! Sorry to bother," May apologizes.
"...Okay, maybe this was a bad time and place to make out. Not that I'm complaining though, thanks," Peter quipped, exactly how he would behind the mask.
Felicia was taken aback by this side of her unmasked love interest being his real self. Awkwardness filled the room after that moment and they both quietly finished the snacks they're apparently preparing. But just before they were going to add the finishing touches...
*DING DONG! DING DONG!*
"I'll get it!" Peter called, putting down a plate of a stack of pancakes.
"I'll take care of things here," Felicia replied, glazing maple syrup over the cream-decorated pancakes.
"Did you have fun, Peter dear?"
"Uh yeah, I got the door!" Peter bolted for the door.
"You know, your nephew is a fine young man for his age," Walter compliments May and her family.
"He is my pride and joy, my son."
Meanwhile with Peter by the door...
"Coming!"
*Click, creak!*
"Petey!"
"Pete!"
"What's up, Tiger?"
Just when things were calm, the storm had just come in at a higher threat level. By the door, the three muses in Peter's life: Gwen, Liz, and Mary Jane appear to pay a visit, at the worst time possible.
"G-Gwen...L-Liz...MJ!?"
"Peter, is something wrong?" Gwen asks out of concern.
"Is everything alright, Pe—ter...?"
And now the worst outcome has also come. Felicia appears behind Peter, all for the three girls to see in full view.
'...Bro...I...super-hate you...!' Peter internally curses at Anti-Venom's words in his horrible predicament.
—To be continued
A/N: Will Peter recover from his horrific romantic episode? Is Felicia gonna stick around this time? Find that out further, reading next time in this season!
Thank you for reading thus far. I'll try to post again soon if I can, and maybe continue my original light novel. That is all, thank you for sticking around, God bless!