The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 95: Trick or Treat- Part 1
The Jackal wheeled a blindfolded Jason down a ramp, into a dark and dingy laboratory. Jason could feel the cold air strike his skin, giving him goosebumps on his arms. The smell of sterilized equipment penetrated his nose.
"Where are we?" asked Jason, as the two of them continued moving further. Jackal could sense the fear in Jason's voice.
"I do apologize for the secrecy, but I must be discreet," said Jackal, taking off Jason's blindfold. He found himself next to a surgery table, in a room that was lined with closets of biological specimens and chemicals. The blue light from the ceiling was the only illumination in the room.
From the staircase that they entered were a bunch of what looked like prison cells, lined up next to each other.
"What are those for?" asked Jason, pointing at the cells. One of them seemed to have fur covering the walls.
"Test subjects," replied Jackal nonchalantly. Jason gulped as he looked at the row of surgical instruments that lay in front of him on a table. Jackal followed his gaze and chuckled.
"Oh don't worry, those aren't for you," he replied. Jason couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not, as his mask covered the entirety of his face. Jackal strode to the other end of the lab and pulled out a syringe.
"If you could just lie down on the table," asked Jackal. Jason struggled, but managed to heave himself onto the operating table. As soon as he did so, metal clasps tightened around his wrists.
"What the hell?" gasped Jason. Jackal shushed him and walked up to him with the syringe, filled with a brown-green liquid.
"W-What's that?" asked Jason, staring at the long needle. Jackal tapped it a couple of times, and then pulled out a ventilator tube from underneath the table. Jason seemed to panic internally while Jackal tightened it around his mouth.
"This will…hopefully, make you powerful enough to subdue Spider-Man," said Jackal, searching for a vein in Jason's left arm.
"What do you mean hopefully? This is going to work right?" asked Jason, breathing fast and shallow. Jackal injected the serum into his veins, and pressed on a button. Almost instantly, a brown-green gas filled the ventilator tubing and went down Jason's throat and nostrils.
Jason began to cough and scream, as he began to convulse on the table. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his heartrate spiked insanely high. Jackal metaphorically crossed his fingers as he stepped back.
He looked to his left and stared at a large stasis pod, fogged up by some gas being pumped inside it.
"Soon…very soon," mumbled Jackal. Jason let out a blood curdling scream, and Jackal snapped his neck towards him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" screamed Jason, his shriek of agonizing pain turning into one of maniacal laughter. He opened his eyes as they began to glow a bright green and deep orange.
Jackal chuckled under his mask, feeling like Frankenstein as he marvelled at his creation. He laughed and ran to a closet in the lab, opening it and pulled out what looked like a large mechanical broomstick, and a pumpkin head.
Jason's screams of laughter stopped, and he ripped off the ventilator from his mouth.
"Well, how do you feel?" asked Jackal.
Jason panted as he seemed to recover from the pain, but a demonic smile was now etched onto his face.
"New."
Mary Jane sat at the bar, watching all the patrons pass by. Some of them were hanging out at the pool table, some were with their dates, and others were just lonely men on a Thursday night. She caught some ogling at her, but one death stare later and they went right back to their business.
"Hey there," said a voice. MJ turned around to see a tall man in a blue shirt stand behind her.
"Hey," she replied in a sultry voice. The man had black hair and wore thick rimmed glasses, and had a goatee. He took a seat on the barstool next to her, turning to face her.
"I haven't seen you around here before," he remarked.
"Surely you must have, I come here quite often," she replied, acting disinterested but with a hint of flirtatiousness.
"Believe me, I'd remember if I'd seen you before here," he winked. MJ chuckled.
"I'm Paul. Paul Rabin," said Paul, extending a handshake.
"Stephanie. Stephanie Owens," replied MJ, shaking his hand.
"So, you're alone here and without a drink?" commented Paul.
"That depends…on the next 2 minutes," replied MJ. Paul chuckled a bit and called at the bartender.
"2 Mai Tais for me," said MJ.
"Daring. I like that," replied Paul, subtly smirking at her. The bartender slid a whiskey and 2 Mai Tais their way, and Paul paid for them.
"So, what's a beautiful girl like you doing alone here on a Thursday night?" asked Paul.
"Waiting for my…oh, there he is!" said MJ, waving her hand towards Peter, who walked out from behind a small crowd centred around the jukebox.
"Hey Steph, who's your new friend?" asked Peter.
"Carter, this is Paul. He was kind enough to buy us 2 Mai Tais! Paul, this is my boyfriend, Carter," replied MJ, a large grin on her face as she and Peter stared at Paul.
"Hey, thanks Paul! Now uh, you're kind of in my seat," replied Peter. Paul stared at the two of them, before mumbling to himself and begrudgingly getting up, walking away from the bar.
"So, "Carter", how's my idea for free drinks?" asked Mary Jane, sipping on her Mai Tai.
"Well, "Stephanie", you're an actual genius when it comes to this," replied Peter, chuckling as he sipped at his drink.
"Mhm, well you owe me for this trick, you gotta give me something too," replied MJ.
"Oh I'll give it to you, all right," replied Peter, clearing his throat as MJ blushed hard. "When did you get this good?" she asked.
"Natural charm," replied Peter. MJ cleared her throat and put her drink down.
"So, how'd the meeting with Harry go?" she asked.
"Surprisingly good. I'm glad he's taking those first steps to recover, regardless of how hard they are. And I let him know that I'm here for him," replied Peter. MJ swirled a straw in her glass.
"Do you think he should know? About you?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"I had thought about it, a lot. Especially when I first started out, the excitement of it all made me obviously want to tell Harry. But almost everyone who gets to know my identity suffers in some way, or worse," explained Peter.
"Secrets are a burden to carry and to know," said MJ. Peter nodded in agreement. "Did you ever think about telling Aunt May?"
"Sometimes, yeah. But every time I felt like doing it, I just remembered how she already has so much on her plate. It's not fair to her to burden her with my secrets like that," explained Peter. "No matter how relieving it may feel to me, it will most definitely stress her out more exponentially than it has ever stressed me out,"
"Yeah, I get that. I haven't seen her since everything that went down with Martin Li," said MJ. "Does she know we're together?"
"Of course! She's been dying to meet us again. If you're free tomorrow we could go see her," replied Peter, enthusiastically.
"My classes end at around 12, why not? I think we should surprise her, though. So don't let her know that you're coming," said MJ. She finished her drink and then placed her hand on Peter's.
"Now, I recall you saying you'll give it to me for the free drinks I scored us. No idea what it is, though," she said, slyly. Peter smirked at her.
"To the back again?" he asked. MJ grinned as she took his hand and the duo rushed to the backdoor exit of the bar.
"Just leave the boxes there, Andy. And make sure Mr Briggs gets his coffee!" called out May to a young bespectacled man, who rushed out of the F.E.A.S.T kitchen after dropping off some boxes.
She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with a napkin and continued chopping the carrots, then dropping them in the stew.
"James, keep stirring. I'm going to go check on Barry," called out May, as another volunteer took her place at the counter. May walked out of the kitchen, her hair an absolute mess as she entered the main hall.
Rows of beds were arranged in the hall, as May walked up to a sick man, coughing violently into a handkerchief.
"Hey Barry, how are we feeling today?" asked May.
"Just…dandy…" coughed Barry. "Better than yesterday, at least," he added.
"James and I are making you your favorite chicken stew. It'll hopefully keep the cold away," said May, placing her hand on his forehead and noting the change in his body temperature.
"Thanks May," wheezed Barry. May smiled back and walked away, a look of worry crossing over her face. She walked up the stairs to her office and sat down on her couch, a stack of bills on the table.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, when someone knocked at the door.
"Is the special lady in today?" asked Peter. May's face immediately changed from one of worry to elatedness as she jumped up to greet Peter.
"Peter! It's been so long," she said, hugging him tightly. "How have you been, how's the new university program? How are things with MJ?"
"It's been going good! My professor, Dr Warren, has been dishing out homework daily, but nothing I can't manage. And things with MJ are going really well so far!" answered Peter, sitting next to her on the couch.
"You have no idea how excited Anna was to hear the two of you are dating," said May, excitedly. "She's been wanting the two of you to get together ever since you guys were 16,"
"I remember, both of you trying to set us up," replied Peter, the two of them laughing over old memories. Peter's eyes moved to the stack of bills on the table in front of them.
"What are these?" asked Peter. May sighed.
"You know, once I was finally able to pay off the mortgage for our house, I thought my financial troubles would be over. But it turns out Martin racked up quite a lot of bills while using this place as a front for his gang," explained May.
"You know, if there's anything I've learned over the years of living with you, is that May Parker is invincible. Come hell or high water, nothing's stopping that woman from getting things done," reassured Peter, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I've applied for a government grant. All the people here, they need this place," said May, thinking of the beds in the main hall. "I just don't know if I can handle all of this,"
"The May Parker I grew up with taught me to do whatever it takes to help people. She taught me to always walk the right path, even when there is nobody left. If the journey ahead is life threatening, it is our duty to be prepared to face those challenges head on," replied Peter. "Regardless of any hardship, you've always been able to power through it, all to help others,"
"Peter…you have no idea how much that means to me," said May, tears welling up in her eyes.
"When we lost Ben, you had to stay strong not just for yourself but for me too. I can't imagine how painful that might have been for you. You had to grieve in silence all to help a 15 year old kid stay strong. That's who you are, May. Regardless of the hardships, you'd do anything to help people," replied Peter.
"Like I'm some sort of superhero?" joked Aunt May.
"As far as I'm concerned, you're my superhero," replied Peter, chuckling.
"Likewise, Peter. You've grown so much since then. From the 15 year old kid I had to keep a constant eye on to the 22 year old man who, just like his uncle, takes the weight of the world on his shoulders like it's his responsibility. You inspire and strengthen me too, Peter," said Aunt May, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Peter smiled at her, but just then, his phone began to beep.
"What's that?" asked May.
"A news alert app I downloaded. Looks like there's a man with a pumpkin on his head throwing bombs in Central Park? And he's gliding around on a broom?" asked Peter, perplexed. May rolled her eyes.
"This world just keeps getting crazier and crazier," she groaned. But that's when it clicked in Peter's head.
"Pumpkin. Bombs. Glider," thought Peter, as he instantly stood up.
"Everything okay?" asked May.
"Uh, yeah! But MJ was supposed to be at Central Park today. I better go check if she's okay!" blurted out Peter, practically sprinting out of her office, down the stairs and out of the shelter.
Spider-Man swung onto a building adjacent to Central Park, only to realize the news greatly underestimated the damage. The south side of the park had been lit aflame.
"Oh God," thought Peter, swinging into action and rescuing people from the raging inferno. Trees began to fall, and Spider-Man webbed people out of the way before they were crushed under the bark.
"Is everyone okay?" asked Spider-Man to the crowd behind him. The people nodded, and Peter turned around to locate the mysterious man who sounded an awful lot like one of his greatest enemies.
The blaze in front of him was reflected in the whites of his lenses as he scanned the area. Just then, his Spider-Sense tingled and before he could react, a figure riding a broom on two legs slammed into him.
Spider-Man was thrown straight into the fire, luckily landing in an unburnt spot. The flames surrounded him, as the man came into sight from behind the flames.
He wore ragged black and grey clothes with a flaming pumpkin on his head, and a hole-ridden red cape flowed behind him. His broom seemed to be made of some reinforced metal. It looked as if flames were erupting from his body.
"What are you, some Ghost Rider parody?" asked Spider-Man. The man threw pumpkin bombs at him, which Spider-Man managed to dodge. He managed to catch one of them, and threw it back at him.
The man swerved to the side and slammed into the ground, fire blazing from the impact. As Peter flipped to dodge it, the man grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into a tree.
"Call me the Jack O'Lantern, here's your early Halloween!" he shouted, before lifting Peter up and throwing him to the ground.
"That's somehow even worse," groaned Peter. Jack O'Lantern zoomed down and took his broom in his hand, slamming it onto Peter's back. Before he could do it again, Spider-Man flipped up and kicked him in the chest.
He punched the pumpkin on his face, only for his knuckles to get singed. Jack O'Lantern cackled, backhanding him away and throwing more bombs. The bombs exploded in midair, sending Spider-Man flying through another tree.
"I hate Halloween," groaned Spider-Man. Jack O'Lantern threw his broom away, then punched Peter down. Spider-Man kicked his face this time and flipped away, before webbing up the pumpkin and spin kicking him.
"Can't hit him directly, but maybe my webs can smother the flames," thought Spider-Man. He shot more webs at Jack O'Lantern, but they simply singed off of his body.
"Okay, need more indirect ways of hitting him," he continued thinking, dodging Jack O'Lantern's bombs and kicking his knee, before uppercutting him. Jack O'Lantern held his arm out and his broom came flying in.
Peter quickly dodged before the broom could hit him. He grabbed the broom and snatched it from Jack O'Lantern's hands. However, the broom started to fly all by itself, dragging Peter through the ring of fire and deeper into the park.
"The fire's going to spread!" exclaimed Spider-Man, getting onto the broom and webbing both ends, trying to steer it away. He tried to ground it, and the broom crashed straight into the Bethesda Fountain.
"Oh man…" grunted Peter, trying to move. However, he found himself trapped under the concrete rubble. Before he could try and lift it off of him, the broom zoomed past his face and into Jack O'Lantern's hands.
Jack O'Lantern punched the rubble off of Peter, but then lifted him up and punched Peter into the ground again, before crushing his neck with the metal broom.
Spider-Man tried lifting the broom off of his neck, but Jack O'Lantern continued to add pressure.
"Trick or treat, Spider-Man?" he asked maliciously.
"Trick!" exclaimed Spider-Man, using all of his strength in one final push and throwing the broom off of his neck. In less than a second, he switched the cartridge in his web shooter to electric webs, shooting them straight at Jack O'Lantern's face.
Jack O'Lantern screamed and tried to grab his face. Peter webbed up a slab of concrete and hurled it at him, slamming it into his chest. Jack O'Lantern fell to the ground, but quickly regained his footing.
"Where'd you get those bombs from?" asked Spider-Man.
"Look familiar, don't they?" chuckled Jack O'Lantern, calling the broom to him and wielding it like a sword. Spider-Man lunged at him, blocking the broom with his forearm. He punched him in the chest before webbing his feet to the ground, and then kicking his knee.
Jack O'Lantern fell down to one knee, but before Spider-Man could hit him again, he lunged at his throat with both his arms and grabbed them. Peter could feel his suit lighting on fire around his neck as he tried to pry away Jack O'Lantern's hands off of him.
He shot a web at Jack O'Lantern's face, before risking burning his knuckles and punching him. Peter noticed his suit was burning up as Jack O'Lantern jumped back on his broom.
"Last electric web," thought Peter, shooting it directly at the broom. However, the web barely made a spark, as Jack O'Lantern laughed.
"You really thought that'd work?" laughed Jack O'Lantern, whizzing ahead and grabbing Spider-Man by the chest. They flew across the pond, with Jack O'Lantern repeatedly slamming Spider-Man's face into the water and the rocks.
He then threw him across the ring of fire, where EMTs were escorting others out. Before Spider-Man could try and stand up, Jack O'Lantern wielded his broom like a baseball bat and slammed it across Peter's chest.
Spider-Man went flying and tumbled into a tree, nearly destroying it. He coughed and tried to stand up, before falling down to one knee. Jack O'Lantern choked him and slammed him into the tree, causing it to fall down.
"I'd end this now, but I need you to suffer for what you did, Spider-Man," said Jack O'Lantern as he let Spider-Man go. Peter slumped to the ground while Jack O'Lantern took off on his broom.
Spider-Man coughed and lifted his mask slightly up, trying to catch some air. His suit was burned up in multiple areas, and his lungs felt like he had been smoking black tar.
"The bombs…the glider…and he wants revenge for something I did…" thought Spider-Man, struggling to get onto his feet. Every part of him felt sore as he limped forwards away from the flame.
"Could it be…no, that's not possible, he's in prison," he thought. Just then, he realized he was getting a call.
"MJ?" asked Peter, coughing.
"Peter! Are you okay?" she asked, frantically. Peter coughed loudly and limped out of the park towards the crowd, before swinging up to another building.
"Yeah, I'm fine…I think. Pretty sure I've been burned, and I've broken a couple of bones," groaned Peter. "But, it's nothing bad. I'm okay, don't worry," he added, trying to reassure MJ.
"I've never seen you like this. Come back right now," ordered MJ.
"Later, I need to investigate a lead about the man who attacked me," replied Peter.
"Peter. Here. Now," emphasized MJ. Peter sighed in defeat.
"I'll be there," he replied, and cut the call. He pocketed his phone and pinched his eyebrows, his mind racing through various thoughts.
"Could Jack O'Lantern be connected to Norman Osborn?"
Wonder what's going to happen next? Could Norman be involved? Be sure to tune in again for more!
Well, so I'm leaving for college in about 20 days, across the world to the US. The whole thing has got me kind of unnerved, but I do feel prepared ahaha. Doing much better mentally too so that's good, and I've decided to continue practicing my religion again! It's helped give some sort of comfort in otherwise tough times. My friends leave in a few days so I'll be seeing them off, then I'll be going to. Luckily it's only for around 3 months, then I'll be back for winter break in December for a good month and a half! It's lowkey insane to see how far both this story and I have come. When I started writing this, I was halfway through 9th grade. Now I'm off to college and on chapter 95 lol.
Also, I did the Barbenheimer double feature and holy hell both were absolutely amazing. 2023 is hopefully having a comeback with movies, with those two, Across the Spider-Verse and Mission Impossible being incredible! I crossed the 1000 movies watched mark recently too lmao. Spider-Man comics have been pretty shit for the last year and I added a nice scene for everyone's favorite character, Paul, in this chapter lol. Please just get Chip Zdarsky to write Spider-Man again. In better news, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 looks really good and I can't wait to play the game. I finally played Red Dead Redemption 2, and it was an absolute masterpiece. Currently playing Hogwarts Legacy and God of War: Ragnarok, and both are amazing!
CT311998- You never know!
Marvel Nerd: Indeed, and nope, he's meant to be a one off villain (for now)
Fate-Be Changed: Let's hope!
I am the Voice: Yep! I really want to flesh out Peter and Harry's friendship further in these seasons.
SpideyXBC: He definitely does!
Teller-Story: Oh for sure lol
Guest: Certainly!
Inverted Descension: Thank you so so much! It really means a lot!
Nightingale: Lmao I'm so grateful you love my story and took the time you read it further too. I'm really glad you like it and I can't wait to play Spider-Man 2 with you someday. And although I'm super dense, I hit the jackpot with you. Love you too! 3
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.