Hello and welcome! This is a Spider-Man fic kinda based off of Insomniac's game. The chapters of this fic are not chronological, so read them in any order you see fit. They will vary greatly in length (this one is probably gonna be the longest of them all if I'm being honest) as I'm literally writing these chapters as I go along.
They will also vary in plot, some will have a semblance of a plot - like this one I hope - while others won't have one at all and will be about Spider-Man shenanigans in New York. As such, the genre of each chapter will vary too - i.e some chapters will be fluffy, some more action-packed, a few hurt/comfort maybe and others with more dialogue/monologue, etc.
! - IMPORTANT: - !
Peter is not human in this fic. He's exactly as nerdy, quirky and filled with quips as the Parker we know and love, but the slight difference is his abilities. His appearance is also slightly altered as shown in the cover of this story drawn by me. Art: deviantart[period]com/idisagreewithyathere/art/Spider-Man-970825656
A brief mention of his powers is in the A/N at the end of this chapter, but you won't need to read it before enjoying this chapter don't worry! This fic is also cross-posted on AO3. Without further ado, I really hope you enjoy!
The familiar tingling at the base of his neck wakes Spider-Man up from his dreamless sleep. His spider-sense had been his biological alarm for the longest time, letting the web-slinger know when someone somewhere in New York needed his help.
Hanging upside-down on a web, Spidey blinked the sleep out of his eyes before dropping down and rushing to get ready. Washing his face and grabbing his suit, the spider swiftly finished his routine before opening the back window of his apartment and crawling out into the late evening, closing it behind him.
Just then, a call came through his suit comms. Spidey saw the caller ID through his lenses and hit accept. "Hey MJ, how's it going?"
"Hiya Pete! Sorry to call you out of the blue like this, but I need you to check something out asap. There's been fresh reports and footage of a van parking up to Midtown high this evening. Some masked guys came out and nabbed a couple teenagers leaving the school late. It's pretty hot news right now. I don't know who the guys or kids are, or where they took them though." MJ spoke, voice exigent.
Spidey sighed, "Really? Kids... one of my least favourite crimes." He shook his head.
MJ agreed. "Yeah. I'm looking into the van plate and combing through what CCTV I can get my hands on to see where they might've gone, so I'll call you if I come up with anything."
"Thanks MJ, keep me posted. I've got a faint sense of trouble, so I'll see where it leads me."
"That's a good start, let me know if you find anything. I'll get back to running that plate now, good luck Peter."
"Catch you later MJ." The call ended, and Spider-Man sighed. He really hated crimes involving teenagers and kids. Sticking to the brick wall, Spidey listened to the faint hum in his nape before jumping off and shooting a web, swinging in the direction of where his spider-sense nudged him.
Ricky was terrified. Stuck in a tiny storage room with fists banging right outside the metal door shook him to his core.
"Open up boy! You know we'll get this door open eventually, don't make us knock it down or else!"
Ricky curled in on himself tighter, whimpering in fear. He was screwed no matter what. Tears fell from his tightly shut eyes, wetting his freckled cheeks. The room was pitch-black, no light filtering from the thick metal door shielding him from his kidnappers. He didn't have time to look for the light switch before locking himself in.
"Damnit kid! Get this door open or I'm gonna introduce you to a world of pain!" A gruff man shouted, fist pounding harshly on the firmly bolted door.
"How the bloody hell did he manage to slip in the storage unit with the keys?!" Another kidnapper yelled, "This is taking too long! If we're late the boss is gonna kill us!"
"I know!" The other clenched his teeth in anger, his banging intensifying further. "I swear to fuck kid, I'm gonna snap your neck if you don't unlock this door!" He roared.
A couple pairs of footsteps came rushing to the door along with annoyed voices questioning the holdup. Before long, they too were shoving their weight on the door, making it groan. A small clicking sound came from the door too, and Ricky assumed with horror it was where the door's lock was.
A cold chill ran down the boy's spine and his eyes shot open as he realised his kidnappers began working on the bolt lock - the only thing keeping the thick metal door shut against his assailants.
"Stop it, just stop it!" Ricky shouted desperately, his hands slamming against his ears to block out the noise, "Leave me alone, please!" A string of sobs wracked his throat as the banging and groaning of the door only intensified.
"Shut up, dog! Do you know how much you're worth? You know how much your parents are gonna cough up to get your pretty little ass back?" A deep voice sneered over the loud banging at the other side of the door, "The only difference you're making is they're gonna get you back in bloody pieces if you don't open the fucking door!"
Ricky hiccupped in fear, trying to shove even further against the back wall and hopefully even merge with it. He wasn't sure how long this was going to last, the door held up really well against the heavy banging of his kidnappers but all it takes is a picked lock for the door to come crashing down. "I'm not worth anything!" The teenager yelled, eyes darting in the darkness in fear.
"Shut the fuck up you rich pig. You– what the–?" The man was abruptly cut off with a crash followed by a wet scream, the voice growing distant as it shot through the hallway on the other side of the door and smashed into a wall, falling silent.
Not a second later, the surrounding voices erupted into yelling and screaming, the harsh banging of gunshots barely dulled by the thick door. "M-Monster–!" A man shouted, before his scream was also cut short.
The whole ordeal took less than ten seconds, and the silence that reigned in the aftermath was more deafening than the gunshots and banging earlier. A quiet pair of footsteps approached the door and Ricky slammed a hand to his mouth to muffle his terrified hiccups, his form shaking uncontrollably like a leaf in a hurricane.
A sudden sharp ringing almost made him jump through the ceiling, and the footsteps stopped. After calming down slightly, Ricky realised a phone was ringing on the other end of the door. The ringing stopped following a soft beep as the newest arrival answered the phone, "Uh, hello?"
"... The fuck do you mean 'hello' Tom? You should've checked out with Singh and started driving to the meet up we agreed on already, you'd better not be late. Where the fuck are you?" A grainy voice could just barely be heard on the other end, Ricky silently shuffling forward to catch it. The other man didn't respond, the silence lasting for a while. "You deaf or somethin'? I said where the flying fuck are you, dipshit?"
"... Ah sorry about that, bad reception ya know? The little sucker gave us some trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle. Was just about to speak to Singh before you called, sorry boss." Ricky heard the man respond, voice smooth.
"The fuck do you mean 'trouble'? What's one kid gonna do against you guys? Don't tell me you guys are goin' soft,'' was the harsh response from the 'boss', an angry growl from the receiver making Ricky flinch.
"Oh no no no, we just didn't wanna bust him up too bad before we cash him in. Don't want damaged goods, ya know?" The man chirped, voice light despite the topic. Ricky shivered again, tears beginning to well up once more.
A harsh, sinister chuckle came from the phone, "Heh, you got the right idea there Tom. The kid's a good nab, parents are filthy rich! This job's gonna rack up a big number, more than dealing drugs ever did!" The man at the other end was clearly very excited.
"You got that right boss!" The man's happy voice sang.
"Damn straight I did. Anyways, get your ass over here Tom, the kid's worthless without making the ransom call in the first place. Remind Singh and his short term memory we changed the meetup to 'The turtle shell' in West Harlem again. Don't be late." The call ended there and silence followed, tense and suffocating. Ricky quickly found himself quietly scooting back to the wall, eyes staring in the darkness at where the man was beyond the door.
"Despicable." The sudden growl coming from the other end of the door nearly made the teenager jump out of his skin, the venom in the voice making Ricky curl in on himself.
A sigh then came from the man, and his footsteps came patting towards the door. Ricky's heart raced, fear crawling up his spine. Maybe the man didn't know he was here? Yeah right, who was he kidding.
A knock on the metal door released a sharp gasp from the boy before he could quell it, a hand slapped back over his mouth too late. "Hey, you in there? Don't worry, I'll get you out safe and sound, I promise!" The voice sounded reassuring, and Ricky felt a prick of confusion enter him. Who was this man, and why did he beat up the kidnappers?
He wasn't working with them that's for sure. The call was a façade, he was an imposter of some sort. A good guy, or a rival criminal of some sort? The men called him a monster, and he had knocked them all out so quickly despite none of them being small guys. The fear crept back up and wrapped around Rickey's heart at the uncertainty and mystery surrounding the man. Whoever he was, he was a lot more dangerous than the group of kidnappers.
"Hang back buddy, I'm gonna kick the door down," the man called, and Ricky heard a booming crash and the harsh screech of metal twisting. The teenager blinked his eyes in heart-stopping shock. No way this man just bent the solid metal door with a kick right?
"Wow, that's one stubborn door!" The man whistled, "Lock's busted though, hanging by a thread. Should just take a simple push-" The frame collapsed as the man shoved his right palm into the beaten metal, the door falling to the ground with a deafening thud. The dust in the room flew back and into the air, making Ricky close his eyes and give a cough. How much did that thing weigh?
Opening his eyes again, the dim light bled in the room from beyond the broken down door, casting a dark outline over the room's new occupant. The fear gave his heart a tight squeeze as Ricky looked up at the man from his small form huddled at the opposite wall. He was tall, hitting around 6 feet, and sporting a lean muscular figure. He was wearing some sort of tight-fitting clothes that accentuated his firm build, but beyond that the man was shrouded in darkness.
He took a step forward making the boy flinch and looked down. The man halted. "Hey, it's alright! I'm here to help," The man assured, voice soft and bright as he took a few more steps forward into better lighting.
When Ricky looked back up however, he felt his world freeze.
His mind stopped at what he saw. Arms slack at his sides with wide disbelieving eyes, Ricky took in the image of large, white insect-like eyes sported on a red-webbed mask dimly lit by the hallway light. A large, white spider printed proudly on the red and blue clad chest of the man.
Spider-Man.
Rickey leaped up and rushed to the man, tightly hugging his firm waist, desperate for some security in his frightening experience. "Oh my God, it's you!"
Spidey responded with an 'oof' before bringing a hand up to rest on the kid's head. "Yeah it's me, sorry if I gave you a bit of a scare there. It always takes a bit more effort to pull back my punches on criminals who target kids."
Ricky squeezed the hero tighter, burying his face in the man's sternum. "I- Thanks... I just can't believe you're here. I... can't believe this happened."
Spidey's eyes softened at the boy clearly in shock, "I'm sorry buddy, but you're safe now I promise," he gave the boy's head a small pat, "Let's get you out of here okay?"
Ricky nodded before his eyes widened and he stepped back in alarm. "Liam! Oh my God, Liam! Did you find him?" The boy rushed, fear creeping back into his eyes.
Spider-Man's white lenses narrowed for a moment. MJ did indeed mention that two teenagers had been kidnapped. "Liam? Is that the boy who was taken with you?"
Ricky nodded hastily. "Yes! He has brown hair, was wearing a white shirt, umm, blue backpack-!"
"Calm down it's okay," Spidey urged, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "We can get to him now, I came to you first because your situation sounded a lot more... 'compelling'." Spider-Man looked behind him at the hallway, a group of knocked out men webbed across the floor and walls.
Ricky stared at the men who appeared so large and intimidating, now looking so beaten and weak. The fear in his heart lifted, and the increasing relief and hope - and slight satisfaction at the poor sight of his kidnappers - filled his heart. Ricky looked back at Spider-Man and nodded with a small smile, and Spidey's eyes shifted in a smile of their own. "Let's go find your buddy Liam and help him out. What's your name?"
"Ricky," The boy responded, following the hero out the claustrophobic room and over the busted door, taking a glance at its damage. There was a large dent in the shape of a man's foot, the force of the blow bending the metal around the leg in its kick. The indent warped the metal surrounding the impact too, cracks and harsh rips webbing out from the initial strike. Ricky eyed the abused door with sympathy. "Thank you for saving me Spider-Man."
The spider turned his head back to smile at the boy again. "No worries Ricky, I'm relieved that the door was more than a little sturdy to keep those men off you before I came." Spidey suddenly put a hand to his ear, a call coming from MJ. "Sorry, gimme a sec. Hello?"
Ricky looked at Spider-Man as they walked through the hallway, Spidey's voice being the only sound as he spoke in his comms. "I was just about to call you actually, I found one of the kids... Yeah he's okay, he gave them quite the slip and locked himself in a storage room, not bad eh?" Ricky blushed at the praise. "I'm going to where the other boy is held now, but I have a name I need you to tie a location to... There's a place called 'The turtle shell' in West Harlem. I had a little chat with these guys' boss, and apparently he wanted the boys transported there. Can you find out where that is? I'd like to transport my fist in his face instead." Ricky giggled at the spider's chirpy voice. "Thanks... That's great, thanks for that... Will do, bye."
Spider-Man turned back to the teenager following him through the building's hallways. "The police have been called and should be here to pick you up soon. Let's get your buddy Liam free before they arrive."
The relief just kept flooding Ricky's heart, it almost became unbearable. "Thank you! Thank you." He smiled, eyes shining in gratitude.
Spider-Man's white lenses curved in their own smile. "Of course! Now let's not keep your friend waiting." Spidey trudged through the deserted hallways, past the goons he'd knocked out and webbed up who hadn't been dealing with Ricky at the time, and through a few doors. His spider-sense and super hearing being his guide through the old walkways of the abandoned office building. "Why did they separate you two this far?" Spider-Man mused as they walked.
Ricky had a hunch for that. He fiddled with his shirt as the hero looked at him curiously. "Umm, I'm- well you see, I'm the reason they took us in the first place." Ricky murmured, and Spidey tilted his head. "... They wanted me for my parent's money, Liam was with me at the time so they probably just took him too." Ricky cringed and swallowed, staring at the grubby floor. "They probably had other plans for him when they realised he wasn't as well off as me."
Spider-Man looked at the guilt beginning to creep over the kid's face and frowned. It wasn't an unfamiliar kind of guilt. He had felt the same thing when he had indirectly caused his adopted uncle Ben's death.
As they walked, almost inaudible sounds of distress from Liam grew louder, stopping at a locked door. Before they could open the door however, Spidey turned and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, what's with the face?"
Ricky looked up to the spider's big eyes in mild confusion. "Uh.."
Spidey shook his head. "The guilt. It's as clear as day, Ricky." Ricky opened his mouth but Spider-Man raised a webbed finger to stop him. "I know, he was taken because he was with you. And it's hard for you to see it as anything but your fault, but sometimes you need someone to talk you out of your 2D perspective and give you a 3D viewpoint."
The Spider turned and tested the handle of the door, finding the lock to be pretty standard to bust through. "What would you say if I said I blamed myself for the Oscorp rally bombing?"
Ricky's head shot up. "What? That's not fair! It wasn't your fault-!"
"Right, it wasn't." Spidey's eyes mellowed. "But the guilt can still be hard to get rid of." Ricky looked down, mouth pressed into a line as he processed the hero's words.
"Just think about it." The boy looked up to see the spider smiling kindly, "For now let's get your friend free before he starts seeing ghosts. This place is even giving me the creeps." Spidey joked and Ricky smiled back at the hero.
Spider-Man shoved the door down with his fist, the lock yielding easily under the force. A startled yelp sounded in the room as a teenager with wide, frightened eyes looked up to the doorway in alarm. He was bound with zip ties and sat on the cold floor with his back against the crusty wall of an old office. It took a few seconds for Liam's eyes to adjust to the hallway's dim light and see the outlines of two figures standing at the entrance. One of the figures - the smaller one - immediately rushed forward. "Liam! It's me! You okay man?" Rickey quickly checked his friend over and began working on a way to get his friend free of the zip ties.
The boy in question looked at his friend in shock. "R-Ricky? How are you here? How did you escape? Where are those masked guys?"
Ricky looked up and smiled at his friend. "Spider-Man helped me, he beat the crap out of them!" He gestured to the man slowly walking to the pair, the faded light illuminating his figure more clearly as he got closer. Liam looked at the man as the light revealed his red and blue webbed suit, the broad white spider crest and the large bug lenses. Liam's jaw fell loose.
"Oh my God, no way." The boy managed to croak, staring at the tall figure standing feet away from him. Spider-Man's white orbs curved into a smile. "Holy shit it's you! It's Spider-Man, the Spider-Man, like for real..." His mouth opened and closed not unlike a fish, and eyes bulged out of their sockets. "I think I'm gonna cry–"
Spidey giggled. "Hello Liam, nice to meet you! Would very much appreciate it if your eyes stayed in their sockets though," just then, the faint wailing of sirens could be heard approaching in the distance. "Not sure how I'd explain that one to the police."
Liam didn't look any further away from bursting into tears however, his shaking face in an uneven mashup of disbelief, shock and delight. "You... I–" The boy licked his lips and tried again. "I've been waiting forever to meet you! I love you!– Well not like that– that sounds weird! It's just– well I– like you're really cool and- you know, well... I'm a big fan." He finished after his friend laughed in his ear at his awkward rambling. Jerk.
Spider-Man smiled at the teen and walked forward. "Well, I love a fan! And your gusto tells me you're a very enthusiastic one."
Liam beamed. "Yeah! I love everything you do! I draw a lot of Spidey art! I'd love to show you! I'm totally like your biggest fan, I read and watch everything about you– okay that sounds creepy, I'm not a stalker, I promise! I just– it's just I'm super into you– okay not like that! I..." Ricky roared in laughter at his friend's babbling, hiccupping with small tears in his eyes. Liam's face turned bright red in embarrassment.
"Oh man, I'm glad I didn't miss this!" Ricky sniggered. "Do you think you can help me with the ties, Spidey?"
Spider-Man was already extending a hand to the boy's restraints, and nodded his head. He smiled at Liam's impossibly wide and excited eyes when the hero stepped closer and touched his wrist. "Oh-my-God he touched me."
Spidey couldn't help but heave a laugh, and Ricky already looked close to rolling on the floor in his chortling. The spider made quick work of the plastic restraints, ripping them off with ease and freeing the teenager who immediately rubbed his wrists in more awe at the hero's touch than in soreness. "Thank you so much! Oh my God, you're the best hero ever!" The boy gushed, vibrating with joy. His starry-eyes were filled with so much adoration and worship, they briefly blinded the spider.
Just then, another call from MJ came through Spidey's comms. "Thanks Liam, hearing that really makes my day! It's people like you that give me the encouragement I need to keep doing what I do." Liam looked like he was approaching terminal velocity with his vibrations. "Come, we'd better you guys outta here before the police arrive." The boys nodded, one more enthusiastically than necessary, and followed the spider back into the hallways.
Lifting a hand to his ear, Spidey accepted the call. "Hey, what's up... That's amazing news, great work! I'll head over and check it out... Yup, just got him free now. The police are almost here, I'll hand the boys over to them before I go give our friend a Spidey-fist delivery... No promises!... Good luck with that, I'm sure it'll go viral like the rest... Nice job! Hey, if you ever decide to quit writing, consider being a detective... I'm serious!... Well, that's a part of my charm isn't it? Hehe... Okay, thanks again, I'll call you back when I check out the address you gave me... Bye."
Spider-Man turned back to the boys. "Sorry about that, just need to wrap things up with the organiser of this particular circus of goons after I drop you guys off with the police."
Liam's face lit up - well, more than it already had been. "You're gonna beat him up? Holy crap that's so cool, I wanna see!"
Ricky rolled his eyes and nudged his friend's side. "Get real fan boy, Spidey isn't gonna let you put yourself in danger like that. Besides, you'll only get in his way."
Liam mock-pouted and rubbed his ribs as they walked. His eyes immediately sparkled as he spotted a few webbed up crooks Spider-Man had dealt with earlier littering the hallways. "C'mon Ricky, as if there's gonna be any danger." He huffed. "Spider-Man could probably blow the guy away to Rykers with just a sneeze." He closed his eyes, puffed out his chest and placed a fist over his heart. "I'll just be there as Spidey's personal cheerleader."
Ricky raised a questioning eyebrow. "And what're you gonna do with that occupation Liam? Wear a skirt, jump a few times and jiggle your pom poms? I highly doubt Spider-Man's into that stuff." The spider in question cackled, and Liam's face grew to a similar shade of a tomato.
"You know what I mean Ricky! Besides, someone's gotta film it up close and send it to that Jameson clown. See what random bullshit he can spin from that! Or maybe he'll finally manage to free that stick out his ass and realise how awesome Spider-Man is."
Spidey chuckled and stopped at the end of a hallway in front of a fire exit. "I'd wager the planets will align before Jonah even considers changing his mind about me." He reached out and pushed open the door, revealing the chilly evening air that washed a wave of freedom over the boys. The sirens blared much louder out in the open, and it took less than a minute for a couple police cars to turn into view. They parked up close to the empty building by the open fire escape and turned off their lights.
A police woman was the first to walk up to the trio. "Spider-Man, Officer Lopez," she greeted, holding out a hand and Spidey shook it. "Thank you for your help, we would've never found these boys in time without it."
"155 copies, investigating scene." Another officer called into his radio, walking in tow with two other cops who appeared to be exchanging harsh whispers. Resting his hands on the front of his utility belt, he strolled up with a smile on his face directed at New York's neighbourhood arachnid. "Well, if it isn't the man himself! Nice to meet you Spider-Man."
The spider smiled back and extended a hand. "The feeling's mutual, Officer...?"
"Evans. Things would've gotten ugly if not for you, thanks." Evans smiles, lifting his own hand to give the other's a firm shake.
A soft scoff came from beside Officer Evans, making the group turn their heads to the last two approaching cops. One was frustratedly rubbing his forehead in exasperation, while the other had his hands on his hips and a frown etched on his face - a face that looks like it was quite familiar with glowering.
"What's the point of our fine detectives if bugs with spandex keep skittering around and unlawfully carrying out missions as they see fit?" He spoke, eyes narrowing at the spider in distaste. The other officer appeared to rub their forehead even harder. "Vigilantes carry out assignments police have no trouble covering, they only add extra paperwork and clean-up to the mix! The definition of a menace."
"Officer Wang," Lopez cleared her throat in mild embarrassment. "We had no idea where these boys were held or if they were even still alive. Spider-Man here did the detective, heavy hitting and rescue work before the first search party was even dispatched," she held a finger up when the other man opened his mouth to argue. "It doesn't matter if an officer or civilian or alien got the job done, what matters is these two boys are safe without so much as a scratch on them. Who do we have to thank for that?"
"What do you mean that's all that matters? The law matters a great deal too! It's what keeps police like you and I in check, lest we start flying around the place beating people up–"
"Beating criminals up–" The forehead-rubbing officer quickly interjected.
"-And wreaking havoc in the city! You don't see trained officers thinking themselves better than others, above the law, all smug. Of all the people, us police officers should understand the great importance in the law - in order." Wang finished his rant, frown deepened to the point it almost looked painful. He had gotten closer to the arachnid with every word, now standing only a few feet away and glaring at the white lenses. Lopez raised an eyebrow and gave a frown of her own. Evans glanced to the side and fiddled with his belt, coughing awkwardly.
Forehead-rubber - as Spidey had mentally dubbed him - sighed and rubbed his forehead once again, face cringing in second-hand embarrassment. "Look, we don't have time for this silly argument, Officer Wang. These boys need to be checked over and taken care of as our first priority, then we need to search the scene and report back to dispatch. More officers are on their way to help us secure the perimeter and handle the arrests."
Wang grit his teeth, eyes never straying from the white lenses. "Can't believe they lifted the arrest warrant on you, just unbelievable." He muttered.
"I agree, Officer Friendly," Spider-Man responded, eyes bright. "I honestly couldn't believe my eyes way back when I read you guys weren't actively hunting me down anymore, knew you guys would come around!"
Wang scoffed, "Hardly, menace." He kept his stare on the spider a moment longer, before striding towards the nervous boys behind. His face softened, albeit not by very much.
'Maybe the frown is a permanent genetic thing?' Spidey thought. 'Poor guy.'
"Are you boys alright? Any injuries?" Wang questioned, looking between the teenagers. "No need for an ambulance right?"
Liam glanced at Ricky as the other eyed him too, before they both turned back to the officer. "No, we're completely fine. Spidey really saved our bacon back there!" Liam gave a brilliant smile at the officer, who's frown had fully returned, and Ricky nodded in agreement.
"If he hadn't come, they would've beat me lifeless." Ricky added his two cents, and astonishingly, the frown had managed to deepen even further.
'There's no way that isn't painful at this point,' Spidey mused.
"Well, you best be thankful the reckless idiot didn't harm you either," Wang remarked, exasperated. "I'll lead you boys to the cruiser, and you tell me everything."
"Actually, I think it might be best if I question the boys," Evans interjected, and Wang raised an eyebrow, frown still standing strong. "You know I have a way with kids. Gotta make sure there's no… bias y'know?" He pointedly looked between Spider-Man and Wang. Lopez smirked.
"What are you insinuating?" Wang spoke, displeased. He opened his mouth again but Lopez cut him off.
"I think he's insinuating your skills would be put to better use if you were to help us investigate the scene, while Evans interviews the boys," Lopez answered, walking to the building. She turned back at the others. "Now come on, we've wasted enough time dilly dallying, it's embarrassing honestly." She turned to Spidey, smiling. "Thanks again for your assistance Spider-Man."
The spider smiled, "T'was my pleasure ma'am."
Forehead-rubber also began walking forward, and extended a hand to the hero with a warm smile. "Officer Olsen, thanks for your help, hero."
Spidey shook it firmly. "I'm glad I could help sir."
Olsen's smile widened before he followed his comrade into the building, flashlight drawn. Liam quickly ran up to hug Spidey with surprising strength, once again thanking the hero with beaming eyes. Ricky gave the spider a thankful, blinding smile of his own. Evans motioned the boys to one of the cruisers - with Ricky having to drag a teary-eyed Liam away from the hero - and nodded politely to the arachnid before walking away to question the teens.
Spidey finally looked at Wang, the latter giving an impressive stink-eye. Spidey smiled. "Trader Joe's sells these aloevera face masks, heard they're great for stress." Wang immediately shot open his mouth but Spider-Man quickly lifted two fingers to salute. "Well I best get going, you should too, Officer Friendly. See ya!" Spidey shot a web and swung away, not glancing back. He heard the officer huff angrily in the distance as he shot another web, an amused snort on the spider's lips.
Raising a hand to his ear, Spider-Man called MJ. The ringing lasted a moment before the call connected. "Hey Pete."
"Hi MJ, I'm on my way to the address you gave me before. The boys are safe with the police as they investigate the scene." Spidey spoke, swinging through the busy streets of Manhattan, a few pedestrians letting out surprised shouts from below.
"Great work Peter, I found out a little more about the kidnappers. They're known for dealing drugs in upper Manhattan, never really branching far into other crimes at all. I wonder what made them randomly decide to nab a couple highschool kids?" MJ replied, distant typing could be heard as she worked on her laptop.
"I'm not sure, but what I do know is one of the kids comes from a wealthy home. With the police understaffed and Fisk gone, they probably thought they could get away with bolder crimes like ransom." Spidey responded, swinging through traffic.
"That would make sense." MJ agreed. "Okay, I'll get back to writing now, let me know of any more details you come across."
"Will do, take care." Spider-Man hung up and released his web, shooting another on the edge of a building in a wide swing. Destination in mind, Spidey made haste. "Time to end this."
Insistent tapping filled the spacious room, and a few crooks shared nervous glances.
"Something ain't right." The finger-tapping stopped as the man removed the cigar from his lips and huffed, angry frown etched on his wrinkled face. "Tommy ain't usually this sloppy." The sound of rain pattered outside, the downpour getting louder by the minute.
"Maybe Singh forgot we changed the meetup address." A goon muttered, his own impatience leaking into his tone.
"Nah, sure they'll be here any minute boss, Singh's probably just making sure they aren't followed. You know how paranoid he can be." Another reassured, although evident uncertainty laced his voice.
A harsh scoff sounded through the room, and the tapping resumed. "If he's that paranoid, he should worry about the consequences of being late more than a couple ghosts following him."
Thunder boomed in the distance, and the downpour got heavier. "It's probably the weather slowing 'em down-"
Just then a heavy thud sound outside the door, followed by a faint creak in the vent above. The men grasped their weapons, disturbed by the strange noises.
"The fuck was that?" The leader called, dropping his cigar in the ashtray and standing up, reaching for his spiked knuckle gloves. The heavy rain made it difficult to hear for any other noises as the thunder boomed ahead, giving the sparse room a brief, eerie glow. "Limbo, go check out that noise."
"Yes sir," the crook responded, gripping his weapon impossibly tight. He marched to the door with the others looking, and grasped the handle. He waited a beat, taking a moment to flick the safety off his rifle, before pushing the door open. The chilly late evening air bit at his face and neck, the wind blowing the rain on his form. Limbo eyed his surroundings beyond the opened door, squinting past the heavy rain ahead and scouting for anything out of place. Nothing was here.
"Nothing boss," the goon shouted back into the room, reaching for the handle to close the door before his vision suddenly flipped, and he's yanked up into the air. The shocked faces of his gang are the last decipherable image before everything blurs, a scream is caught in his throat. He feels himself crash against the rain-soaked wall outside the warehouse, stuck and unable to twitch a muscle. Blinking his swimming vision, Limbo feels a strong, sticky substance tightly cocooning him to the brick wall, not leaving any room for movement.
It takes Limbo a moment to clear his vision but he catches the glowing bug-lenses in his peripheral, belonging to a large spider half-crawled sideways out of the vent above the opened door.
His eyes bulge and his mouth yanks open to scream, but the arachnid is much faster - shooting a glob of webbing from within his wrist to wrap around the thug's lower face. He only manages a muffled wet cough, some of the webbing invading his opened mouth.
Limbo stared at the spider sticking out of the vent in a cold sweat, the rain beating down on his restrained form. Lightning booms ahead once again and he briefly catches the crimson red with black webbing in the light, the large glowing bug-eyes narrow as the spider sticks to the wall, menacingly.
'F-Fuck! Spider-Man! SHIT!' The crook curses over and over in his head as he hears the chaos erupting back in the room through the opened door. The spider slowly crawled back into the vent without a word, eerie glare never leaving his form. Limbo felt terror crawl up his spine, and he fought not to compromise his lower half. The arachnid had always freaked him out, and getting caught like this was a scene from his worst nightmare.
The large glow from the bug's eyes faded in the darkness of the vent as the spider crawled through, the soft pattering of limbs echoing deep in the vent. Limbo was sure he would be shaking like a leaf if the webbing didn't hug him so tightly to the wall, and the shaking certainly wouldn't be from the cold.
"Limbo!"
The webbed crook shot his eyes down to see a few goons pile out the open door into the rain, guns at the ready and heads whizzing about in search of their teammate. Limbo tried to yell at them, but the only sound that escaped his clogged mouth was a muffled shout which was drowned by the loud downpour. He thrashed in his thick binds, but didn't manage to jostle the webbing an inch. They eventually spotted him and their faces paled in shock, another crackle of lightning lighting their soaked faces before the thunder immediately boomed ahead and snapped them out of their trance. "Spider-Man!" They yelled simultaneously. "Fuck! Boss, he's here! The spider!"
A few more criminals rushed out the door like disturbed bees and milled about, combing through the area with weapons drawn looking for the lurking arachnid. Limbo tried his best to squirm and communicate that the spider wasn't outside and was back in the building crawling through the vents, but the sticky substance cocooning him from mouth to toe made his efforts in vain. He felt utterly useless. He watched as one goon - who appeared less talented in the brains department - reached a hand to try and free his comrade, but only managed to get his palm stuck against the glutinous cocoon, immediately struggling to get it free and only sticking awkwardly to the webbing even further the more he struggled.
The boss in question grit his teeth against the cigar back in his mouth before spitting it out and clenching his meaty hands as he stared out the door, the deadly gloves secured tightly around his fists. "Don't spread out too far! Don't let him pick you off! Stick close together and cover each other's backs, don't let a single corner go unchecked!" He yelled, glaring at the open door angrily.
"AH-!" A cut off yell from behind him had the boss swivelling around, seeing his subordinate who was right behind him suddenly missing. An unwanted chill crawled up his spine as he glanced around, eyes catching a red blur in the upper corner of his vision. Head shooting up, he found the struggling crook thoroughly webbed up and hanging from the ceiling like a punching bag.
His gaze lingered too long on the scene as another terrified short-lived scream came from behind him once again, making him frantically spin around and spot a similar webbed up display. Another of his subordinates was cast in the sticky white, suspended to the ceiling with barely audible muffled yells. The boss's eyes hardened in panic. "Get your fuckin' wits about you! He's picking us off one by one!"
A few more screams from outside caught his attention, and the boss spun back to the entryway to catch a red blur zooming by a couple freshly webbed goons outside, disappearing above the door. "Where the fuck did he go?!" The boss yelled in outrage, they were getting caught one by one like they were in a horror movie. "How're you useless fucks not seeing him? He's wearing red and blue for fuck's sake!"
"He's in the vents!" A high pitched shriek sounded outside in the rain, a finger pointed to the vent above the door where the spider disappeared in. "He's crawling through the ventilation shafts!"
The boss narrowed his eyes. 'Sneaky fucker,' he thought, sweat beading down his forehead. "Keep an eye on all the vent exits, do not let a single one out of your sights! The moment he comes out, blast the fucker back to whatever freaky planet he came from!"
The criminals didn't need to be told twice, as they all pointed their guns up at every vent in the room, a handful guarding the one outside.
"Aww, you guys are no fun!" A bright echo sounded out the vents, and the criminals all tensed, gripping their weapons tighter. "And here I thought you were enjoying my little game of hide and seek." The voice chirped.
The boss narrowed his eyes. "Come out and fight like a man instead of playing a stupid fuckin' kid's game, coward." He tightened his gloved fists as he glanced between the vents in the room, trying to discern where the voice was coming from.
There were a few beats of silence. "Coward?" The echoey voice sounded a little less friendly. "You kidnap a couple helpless boys and call me the coward?" There was a scoff. "Your thought process is almost as messed up as your actions." A sudden clang was heard from a vent entrance on the ceiling above, all eyes and guns quickly pointing in that direction. "But fine, it's only fair I humour you as you humoured my quick little game of hide and seek."
Suddenly, the vent came slamming down along with a huge chunk of the ceiling in a mighty crash, dust and debris filling the air. The leader raised an arm to shield his eyes. "FIRE!"
The rest of the criminals didn't need to be told twice, as a hail of bullets immediately rained into the cloud of debris and smoke piling up from where the spider smashed down, a few more goons rushing from outside to join in. The shots were wild and blind, thick smoke obscuring any visual on Spider-Man.
The gun fire lasted a while longer as the smoke began to clear before the loud sounds of metal on metal began ringing through the room. The boss held a hand out and the shots stopped, the crooks fumbling to reload their emptied magazines.
The last echoes of gunfire bounced through the room as the few remnants of smoke cleared out, revealing the figure of Spider-Man crouched behind a sizable web filled to the brim with bullets. The excess bullets that had clashed with the others in the web lay dented on the floor by the spider's feet. Standing from his crouch, Spidey balled up his web-net and checked the contents like one would merchandise at a store.
He smirked. "Not sure I like these particular goods, I'd like a refund please!" He spun on the spot like a hammer thrower before releasing the bullet-filled web ball, the web opening up as soon as it was let go and showering the criminals in their own bullets. They grunted and yelped as the bruising lead rained back on them, a few losing grip on their guns.
"Aww, not very fun is it?" Spider-Man laughed, leaping forward with blurring speed. "Well, what comes around goes around," he reared a leg back as he approached the first cowering goon, "And here's a little extra from yours truly!" The kick landed in the poor man's sternum with bruising force and sent him rearing back with emptied lungs, crashing into a far wall and immediately getting webbed up not a second later.
"Fuck!" The leader yelled, his beefy arm shielding his face from the last of the bullet shower. Letting his arm down and lifting his gaze to the sounds of grunting and yelling, he saw his men get beaten up, thrown around and webbed up. There weren't many left. He grit his teeth and barrelled forward to the red figure flipping and dancing around his subordinates, knocking them down and webbing them up like flies.
Pulling a fist back, he shot it forward with impressive force at the spider's back. Unsurprisingly, Spider-Man deftly dodged the attack in a back-flip, using his trajectory to land on the man's broad shoulders with legs on either side of his bald head. "Neat gloves you got there! Though I guess they make anything you punch the very opposite of 'neat'." The annoyingly happy voice commented from behind, and the boss growled. He shook his shoulders in fierce movements, but the spider stubbornly stuck on. He threw his deadly fist back at the arachnid but struck air as Spider-Man swiftly placed a hand on the boss's bald head to lean his weight forward, flipping forward over the man's head and causing him to stumble as the fingers stuck to his scalp - dragging him along with the momentum.
The contact was broken as Spidey pushed off the ground the moment his feet made contact, dodging a spiked bat swing from one of the few remaining crooks. The spider smoothly turned mid-air and shot a sticky web at the goon's overextended arm, sticking it to his torso. The criminal stumbled and fell, the web sticking his arm to the floor and making him yell in frustration. "It's so sticky! This stuff's nasty!"
"I prefer 'nifty' over 'nasty'." Spidey retorted, shooting another web which quickly stuck his other arm and legs to the ground and took him out for the count. The spider's ears quickly picked up on the location of the other criminals in the room - two remaining crooks holding guns standing next to their leader. The arachnid's spider-sense immediately alerted him as one of the crooks aimed and pulled the trigger, bullet missing Spider-Man as he flipped over the projectile in a perfect dodge, shooting a web at the pistol to counter. Yanking the weapon out of the thug's hands, the spider leapt in the air once again when a tingle alerted him to a few bullets zooming past him from the other crook. Spinning in a forward flip, Spidey released the webbed pistol as it struck the unarmed goon's head - effectively knocking him out.
He turned his attention to the remaining two opponents, the last crook's shaky hands pulling the trigger once again, Spider-Man ducked under the shot before using his springed legs to leap at the offender. A standard punch was enough to make the thug see stars, and Spidey found himself quickly planting his feet on the falling man's shoulders to fling himself away from a powerful right hook aimed at his head. Spider-Man landed gracefully as the goon fell to the ground and his gun clattered to the floor, the boss retracting his arm back to his side from the punch as the last man standing.
The men stared at each other, one angry and one smiling. "You-! You ruined everything, filthy insect!" The mob boss yelled in rage.
Spider-Man lifted a finger. "Spiders technically aren't insects." He spoke matter-of-fact, enraging the criminal further.
"Fuck you!" He spat, running at the spider with fists clenched harshly.
"I'd rather you didn't," Spidey laughed, entertaining the man by dodging his heavy swings in exaggerated fashion. A minute and several blows later had the large man on one knee, spitting blood and wiping his split lip.
"This isn't fair." He ground out through clenched teeth, glaring at the spider in hatred.
Spider-Man shrugged. "Says the guy who nabbed a couple kids for ransom. Hypocrisy is rather heavy on this one." He huffed, walking to the downed man. The criminal narrowed his eyes before he extended his leg in a surprisingly smooth foot sweep. Spidey leaped in the air to dodge the attack, lifting his own leg and letting gravity take him back down to knock the man out for good.
He swung his foot down towards the criminal, but hastily retracted his attack as he saw the mob boss grab the goon Spidey hand knocked out last - and hadn't webbed up - as a meat shield. Eyes wide, Spidey crossed his arms over his chest mid-air as the meat shield was then rammed into him with great force, the unconscious goon sandwiched between Spidey and the boss. A few audible cracks came from the thug's ribs as Spider-Man flew back, quickly extending his arms to the floor and cutting his momentum with a few graceful flips. The surprise was still evident in the spider's eyes as a shock from his spider-sense had him shoving his head to the left to avoid a powerful punch. Spider-Man leaned his torso back and shoved a leg upwards into the man's chin, kicking him back and flipping away to land in a crouch.
The spider stood. "Oh wow." Spider-Man spoke, voice very flat and eyes narrowed. "Using your downed teammate as a meat shield? My kick could have killed him, you know."
The mob boss scoffed, lifting his hand to rub his chin with indifferent eyes.
"I didn't know it was possible to like you even less at this point, but good on you for proving me wrong." Spidey spoke, deadpan. The man bared his bloodied teeth and barrelled towards the hero with his right arm raised back, throwing it forward with all his might. To the man's utter shock, the spider merely gripped the fist in his own, effectively halting all power. "Enough games." Spider-Man spoke, squeezing the fist painfully.
Spidey shoved his other fist up to the man's already abused chin with great strength, blasting him in the air. Leaping up after him, Spider-Man assaulted the mob boss with a series of deadly kicks and punches. The criminal's vision blurred terribly with each strike, trying in vain to protect himself. As they approached the ground, Spidey shoved the man under him and shot two web lines to the floor, pulling on the webs to launch them to the ground with great speed. The criminal struck the ground and choked on air, lungs emptied with explosive force. The concrete floor didn't fare much better as it cracked and crumpled with the sheer force of the blow, dust settling around the pair.
Spider-Man looked at the unconscious man - mouth opened wide with bloodied teeth and lips, eyes completely rolled back - and sighed. 'A little excessive on my end I suppose.'
The arachnid leaped off the man and surveyed the damage around the room - the littered bullets, crooks knocked out and webbed up and debris surrounding the floor. He spotted a door far off to the side, and walked forward to investigate. The door was locked.
The spider lifted a fist and the door was immediately unlocked, and likely wouldn't be locked again with the shattered remains of the bolts. The room was pitch-black with no lighting, but Spidey's acute eyes had a lot less trouble looking through the darkness than an average human. Walking forward, the spider spotted a cord light switch and pulled, lighting the room in a soft yellow.
The room was large, albeit smaller than the one outside, but still big enough to house a few shipping containers. There were many shelves holding dusty boxes and old guns, a couple tarps draped over larger boxes stacked in a corner, and a few chairs and cheap furniture set up in another corner in front of some filming equipment. Spider-Man squinted at the filming gear, walking forward to examine the area as he lifted a hand to his ear and made a call. "Hi MJ."
"Hey Peter. Did you take care of the kidnappers?"
"Sure did, done and dusted! I also found an interesting back room filled with supplies, weapons, drugs, and get this - filming equipment."
"Well, there's the nail on the head. Those guys were planning to film the ransom and keep the boys there until the money is coughed up." MJ concluded.
Spidey agreed. "Yep. You said they were primarily drug dealers?"
MJ hummed affirmative across the line.
"Then from what my nose is telling me, this is their main storage unit for their deals." Spider-Man reasoned, taking another sniff of the chemical-laced air.
MJ smiled. "Looks like you hit the goldmine Pete."
Spidey nodded with his own smile. "There are a couple shipping containers here MJ, I'd say we struck diamonds, not gold. I'll send you pictures of what I find here, should help you out with your own research."
"Wow, thanks Peter! That's great!" MJ spoke, delighted.
"I should call the police now, I'll have enough time to finish investigating before they arrive. I'll send the pictures over as soon as I'm done." The spider replied, phone already out and snapping pictures of the room, pulling down a tarp and in a crate. "And thanks for finding this address in the first place MJ."
"You found the name Pete, I just connected the dots. But we do make a great team, don't we Partner?" She smiled and Spidey laughed. "Alright, I'll leave you to it."
"Thanks! Catch you later." The call ended and Spider-Man immediately dialled the police as he opened a shipping crate filled with drugs and weaponry, camera at the ready.
The wailing of police sirens grew louder as Spidey sat on top of the warehouse, legs dangling as he fiddled with his phone sending the last of the evidence over to MJ. Finding a laptop with valuable information including all past and possible future drug trades - as well as a few more recent ransom targets - was a welcome surprise.
The rain had calmed to a tiny drizzle, and the crescent moon shone brightly in the clear dark sky. The warehouse wasn't very tall but the spider still enjoyed looking across Manhattan, the night was young and cast a beautiful starry ceiling over the bustling city that never sleeps.
The sirens' blaring drew closer as Spider-Man spotted a group of police cars turn around the corner. Four police cruisers parked up in front of the warehouse and switched off their lights. From his vantage point, Spider-Man also noticed the warehouse had drawn quite a bit of attention with a small crowd and a couple news crews arriving a few moments after the police.
Giving a quick stretch, Spidey hesitated to drop down. The arachnid wanted to have a quick word with the police of his findings, but the running news cameras and unchecked crowd made him stop. A few cameras didn't faze him, but when they came up unrestrained and started asking the overbearing questions is when Spidey grew uncomfortable.
Spider-Man crouched lower on the roof, blending with the darkness a little better so the crowd doesn't notice him. The police exited their vehicles and a few officers immediately went to tame the news crews and the growing crowd. The rest walked up to the front of the warehouse with flash lights drawn, and Spidey almost winced the moment a light shone on the webbed up crook above the front door with another half stuck.
The crowds immediately bustled with noise and excitement, flashlights shining and pictures flashing. The thugs were still conscious - if the increased heart rates Spider-Man's ears picked up was any indicator - and Spidey almost felt bad for the goons, almost. A few more police officers moved forward to aid in containing the crowd as the rest continued investigating, with a few entering the warehouse through the already opened door, Spidey hearing their quiet surprise when they discovered the aftermath of the fight.
A few more sirens sounded in the distance, and Spidey felt it was time for him to go, the police had it covered. As he stretched to his full height above the building, a few heads caught his shadow and all it took was a couple shouts and points before all eyes and cameras pinned on his form.
"Spider-Man!"
"It's him, this is crazy-!"
"Spidey! Over here!"
Spider-Man saw the crowd rile up with the news crews edging closer to try and scream interview questions, the police struggling to contain the excited bunch. Deciding to give the cops relief, Spidey leaped stylishly into the air, performing a few extravagant flips - much to the crowd's excitement - before shooting a web on a nearby streetlight, swinging low above the people's heads and into the city with camera flashes following him. The excited shouts and shocked yelps faded in the distance as Spider-Man swung through the streets, a smile etched on his face.
Spidey's heart lifted at tonight's success, the streets of New York feeling a little safer.
END
Thanks for reading! I'm not a writer and can count on a hand how many times I've written a story - and have a couple fingers to spare, it's also been years since I've even written something but I am a very avid reader so I hope I did a decent job.
I've mentioned this at the beginning of the chapter, but I'll briefly go over it again. Each chapter in this story is a one-shot and is not in chronological order. The chapters will vary vastly in length, plot and genre - as they'll just be one-shot of typical Spider-Man things. I literally write the chapters as I go, so don't expect God-tier level plot.
The version of Spider-Man these one-shots will be based off of is that of Insomniac's game - but with a twist! Peter Parker is an alien in this fic. The difference is in his more unique abilities compared to the original, but they're extremely similar with only a handful of bonuses - like organic/natural webs, regeneration and growing spider legs (similar to those in his iron spider suit). (If you guys would like me to include a more detailed list of Peter's abilities as an A/N in a future chapter, please comment!) Peter's appearance is only slightly altered, but our boi Peter is the same quirky guy we love, don't worry.
P.S The song I was listening to while writing the warehouse stealth/fight scene is: Runaway Quartet by Moments. I found it oddly fitting haha.