(A/N: I do not own Spiderman. That right belongs to Sony.
I'm sorry it's a bit shorter than usual this month, guys. I've just been distracted by a lot of real life things with it being Christmas time and all [Happy Holidays to everyone, BTW]. I also had to deal with my graduate school graduation [No more projects or exams, thank god]. Hope you enjoy it anyway).
This had started to become one long night as a manhunt for two seriously dangerous supervillains had begun. The police had sent the word out to all local newscasters in NY that it wasn't safe and to stay home or at the very least indoors if possible. Captain George Stacy was currently on the streets trying to maintain order amongst a panicked population.
"Everyone get into the nearest building possible! We need to search every corner of the city until both Venom and the Green Goblin are found and apprehended" The white haired police captain had said through a megaphone as citizens had scrambled to get to safety.
On a nearby rooftop, Spiderman, Black Cat and Firestar looked down upon the scene.
"Well this is a fine mess" Black Cat said, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
"So what's our game plan, chief?" Firestar asked, looking at her boyfriend in anticipation as he just continued looking down towards the streets.
"Well for one, we still need to find out where they are and we're at a dead end on that" Spiderman said, solemnly.
"You can't think of a single place they could have gone to?" Black Cat asked, looking towards Spiderman with a raised eyebrow.
"Not a lot. Harry doesn't have a lot of places he goes to hang out besides the Silver Spoon or his home and Eddie could be anywhere from the sewers to all the way on top of the Empire State Building. Though I guess there's no way he would go anywhere with loud noises. The symbiote hates those. It's partly how I managed to get it off me the first time I was joined with it" Spiderman explained.
"I guess he wouldn't really go anywhere where fire was much of a possibility either" Firestar said, recalling her encounter with the ooze-covered jock.
"Yeah, that was a new one for me. I guess it had more weaknesses than it was letting on" Spiderman said, recalling Venom's reaction to fire as well. He was so surprised at how painful it was to him.
"Ok so when we find him, Lizzie here will burn the symbiote to a crisp while you shove the gene cleanser you got from the Connors down his throat and then we'll be able to kick Osborn's scrawny ass. Sounds good to me" Black Cat said, cracking her knuckles.
"Something tells me it won't be that easy" Firestar said, sounding doubtful of her theory.
"Why? Without Venom, Osborn's got nothing. Hell, I don't even have powers or super strength like you guys do and I was able to hold my own against him while he was jacked up with steroids. With that and not having the element of surprise on his side, he hasn't got a chance" Black Cat retorted with confidence.
"Well I'm glad you sound confident but we still haven't even worked out where they could be yet so until then, let's wait until we find that out, shall we?" Spiderman asked, trying to get everyone to focus.
"If you say so. Since we don't have any clue where they could be, we'll just have to freestyle it. We're never going to find them if we spend all night trying to deduce where they are" Black Cat declared.
"I'm gonna have to agree. Every moment we spend up here is just wasting time. People could be getting hurt" Firestar said, surprising herself with how much of a girl scout she had turned into since putting on this spandex costume. If only her former bratty self could see her now….
Spiderman stayed silent for a minute while looking between both of them before nodding. "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's just go and see what we can find"
"Alright. Lead the way, Petey" Firestar said with a confident smile towards her boyfriend.
Spiderman lifted his wrists, ready to swing out into the city in search for his two…misguided friends (If they were even friends anymore). However, just as a 'thwip' was about to sound out, a musical tune rang out, catching the attention of everyone on top of the building.
"...Is that the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'?" Black Cat asked with a somewhat amused smirk.
"Eh…it…it just matches with the whole spider theme, okay?" Spiderman said, a little embarrassed as he fished out his phone. He looked at the caller id saw it was from Dr. Curt Connors.
"It's…Dr. Connors" Spiderman announced with a raised eyebrow behind his mask.
Both of the heroines gave confused looks as they contemplated why on earth Peter's boss would be calling at a time like this.
"Uh…you sure it isn't a buttdial?" Black Cat asked, growing a bit concerned.
"Not likely. He's not the type to just call me by accident or chance. It must be important" Spiderman said. After one last look at the two ladies, he quietly pressed the answer button.
"Uh…hello? Dr. Connors?" Spiderman asked to the other end of the line.
"Not quite, Pete. It's your 'former' best friend" A voice the Spider hero knew very well. His eyes widened with horror behind his mask.
"Harry?!" Spiderman practically yelled out. Black Cat and Firestar's eyes nearly bulged out from their sockets at this little announcement.
"That's right, Spiderman. It's me. Anyway, I don't have a whole lot of time to chat. I just wanted to let you know that I have Dr. Curt and Martha Connors right here beside me and it's been very lovely getting to know them. The story about how one of their mutated spiders turned you into the creature you are today is quite fascinating" Harry said with a sadistic tone in his voice. On the other end, Spiderman could hear Martha Connors sniffling and practically sobbing.
"Harry, if you're mad at me, come face me yourself. Leave them out of it" Spiderman snapped, his tone getting suddenly aggressive.
"Hey, hey, relax. I'm not a murderer like you. I just wanted to talk with them. Their works with mutated spiders just interested me, that's all. I wanted to know more. What really fascinated me is that you managed to get all these special powers from a teeny little bite from a teeny little spider. I just had to wonder what a bite from these pretty big spiders they have now would bring" Harry said, pretending to ponder the thought.
At this point, the spider based hero was breathing heavily, trying to decipher what Harry was trying to say. However, he eventually just decided to ask what the hell he was talking about.
"Well I'm actually glad you asked. Obviously, I can't do such an experment like that on myself, right? That kind of bite could possibly kill me with all the green I've been taking in. However…I think I may have found the right volunteer. Wouldn't you say, darling?" Harry asked, sounding more and more sadistic as he talked.
"Harry…what the hell's going on? Who's there with you?" Spiderman asked, going from heavily breathing to almost stopping breathing all together.
A few moments after, there was nothing but silence on the phone. Eventually though, a soft voice rang through Spiderman's ears.
"...Hi, Peter" The voice of Gwen Stacy said. Spiderman froze at that point. His mouth behind his mask was wide open but no words came out. After what seemed like forever, he only had four simple words to say.
"Oh my fucking god…" Spiderman practically whispered.
"Petey, what's going on?" Firestar said, walking up and whispering. However, the only response she got was a semi harsh shush. He should've been grateful she knew how stressed out he seemed to be at the moment.
"Gwen, are…are you hurt?! Are you safe?!" Spiderman frantically asked. This couldn't have been happening…
"Yes, I'm fine, Peter. Don't worry about me. It looks like I caught Harry on a bad night" Gwen said before letting out a shaky chuckle.
"Gwen, don't worry. I'm working with your dad and I can have the police there soon-" Peter said before Harry came back on the line.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Pete. If I even hear the slightest hint of a police siren coming my way, Gwen's going to be growing some lovely fangs and six new legs, I'd wager" Harry declared, his tone growing dark.
"Harry, please don't hurt her. Please. She has nothing to do with this" Spiderman said, practically begging.
"Ah but it does, Pete. It really does. You see, the both of you betrayed my trust. You both claimed you cared about me but you conspired against me to break my heart and leave me in the dust. Then you had her keep your secret from me even though I was supposedly your 'best friend'. This kind of has everything to do with her. But don't worry, though. She's really just a way to get to you honestly because despite whatever you may tell yourself with your little girlfriends, you love her. Very much. So here's the deal: come down to the ESU laboratory alone and your precious little blonde gets to stay pretty. You have an hour. I'd better hurry your spider ass if I were you. Ciao" Harry explained before he hung up.
"Shit!" Spiderman said, dropping his phone as he placed both of his hands on the side of his head. It cracked as it hit the roof of the building they were standing on.
"Yo, Spidey. Calm down. Take a breath and tell us what's happening" Black Cat said, grabbing the side of Spiderman's left arm.
Spiderman looked at the white haired woman before nodding and taking in a deep breath. The lids of his eyes closed and he tried his best to gather his thoughts.
"Okay, okay….Harry…he has Gwen. He…he has her at the ESU Lab" Spiderman said, trying to calmly explain but there were still heavy amounts of hysteria in his voice.
"What? He has Gwen? What for?" Firestar asked, suddenly getting curious and a bit worried.
"Harry's trying to use her as bait. To get me to come to him alone…he's gone completely insane, I can tell. He wouldn't do this in the right mind. He cares too much about her to do anything like this" Spiderman attempted to explain.
"And what if you do if you don't show up? He's not going to…you know?" Black Cat asked, practically shuddering at the thought. She was certainly not used to being a hero with news like this. It was much easier when she had just stolen from people.
"No, no…that's what he wants to do with me. If I don't show up at the ESU Lab in an hour, he'll grab one of the mutilated spiders that gave me spider powers and have one of them bite her" Spiderman explained to them.
"Well…I mean that would hardly be the worst thing to happen at least, wouldn't it?" Firestar asked, trying to see a bright side to this situation.
"No, no. You don't understand. I got my powers from a little baby spider that had escaped from its cage and managed to bite me at the back of my right hand. These are fully grown spiders now. If one of them bites her, she could possibly be transformed into a full blown spider…and the gene cleanser wouldn't be strong enough to cure her" Spiderman said, explaining the science to her.
"Gee, glad I asked to clarify" Firestar said, her blood suddenly going pretty cold at the thought of what that would look like.
"Honestly, that's the best case scenario. I have no clue what it would do to her…it could end up maybe killing her if the mutilation goes south" Spiderman said, his body beginning to shake. This was becoming a full blown nightmare.
"Alright, let's get to it, then. Let's go and get this asshole" Black Cat said, cracking her knuckles.
"No, he said he wanted me alone. If he even sees you or the police, he'll go ahead and let the spider bite her. I need to go at this alone" Spiderman said, shaking his head at the proposal.
"Cool story, Petey but that's a no go. We're not letting you go at it alone this time. The last time we let you do that, you almost got killed from being double teamed. We're going with you" Firestar declared.
"But I-" Spiderman tried to say before he was interrupted.
"I'm sorry, maybe you didn't hear us. We. Are. Coming. With. You. We're exerting our privilege as your girlfriends and we say we're coming with you whether you like it or not to save the sweet little blondie" Black Cat simply stated, not even attempting to hide a little amused smirk. Not even Firestar could even hide her teeny bit of amusement from this.
Spiderman simply looked back and forth between them for a bit and simply sighed. This was what he got for having his girlfriends as his crime fighting partners.
"...Ok. Fine. But you're gonna have to wait while we hash it out and only come in if it looks rough. He should be distracted enough by me to leave Gwen alone at that point" The hero said, conceding to the two females.
They both nodded and both went in the direction towards ESU. However, just as they were about to head out, a little voice had begun to ring out in Spiderman's ear.
"Spiderman, do you copy? It's Captain Stacy" Captain George Stacy had said through the two way earset the officer had given him.
"Uh yeah, Captain Stacy, I read you. What's going on?" Spiderman asked, causing the two other costumed vigilantes to stop in their tracks and look towards him. What could possibly be going on now?
"We received word about Venom from the station. We've been getting some calls around Forest Hill Gardens that he's been spotted skulking around some neighborhood rooftops. We're sending police around the area as we speak. Just thought I'd let you know" George had explained to him, seeming a bit uneasy. Spiderman couldn't blame him considering he lived around there too and Gwen was supposed to be at home.
At first, Peter was confused. What was he doing there? Why would he not be with Harry since they were partners now? After moments of contemplation, something suddenly snapped. Something that made him more terrified than he had ever been that night.
"Uh…y-y-yes, Captain. Thanks for the heads up" Spiderman had said before ending transmission for the time. After the brief communication had ended, he held his hand to his heart.
"No…he…he couldn't…Eddie…he…" Spiderman said, shaking his head more violently than he had done at any other point in his life.
"You're gonna give yourself a hernia if you keep doing this. What's going on now?" Cat had said, coming up to him and shaking him back to reality. She forced him to look at her.
"Venom's going after her…Aunt May" Was all Spiderman could sputter out.
"What?!" Both Cat and Firestar had managed to get out at the same time.
"This is their new plan after their surprise attack failed…to go after the people I care about…I should have seen this earlier. It's always been Venom's M.O.…Shit!" Spiderman said, throwing his arms out. He began rapidly going back and forth. His mask was the only thing that was keeping him from ripping his own hair out.
"I don't get it. What would the point be if they're already holding Gwen hostage?" Firestar asked, clearly confused and afraid.
"I don't know…they must be doing this as a way to get us to separate so we wouldn't be facing them all at the same time" Spiderman said, trying to come up with the only logical explanation for them to be going this route.
Black Cat stood forward. Her usual confidence was growing dim as she couldn't possibly decide how to address this situation.
"Well…if that's their plan then we can't let it work. This is an obvious trap. I know you're pretty rough around the edges, Spider but you're no match for Venom. That's just a fact. From what you've told me, you've only managed to get the better of him through either manipulation or because the boneheaded jock was there to help you. Besides, how do we even know he was in your neighborhood to begin with? The people that called 911 could be just guessing for all we know-" Black Cat tried to say before Spiderman interrupted.
"I know Venom. Before he went after Gwen on Thanksgiving, he went after Aunt May first. The symbiote knows all my personal weaknesses and my aunt…she's one of them" Spiderman said, slowly calming down as he looked back down to the roof of the building and letting out a sigh that was filled with a mixture of sorrow and fear.
At that moment, everyone grew silent, not knowing how to process this. Several minutes went by with no one saying a word…until Firestar came up and said something.
"...Then go help your aunt, Petey. We'll help Gwen" Firestar said, finally speaking up.
Both Spiderman and Black Cat looked at the fire vigilante and raised their eyebrows.
"What?" They both asked in sync.
"This may be what they want but it's the only way. Venom wants to face him alone and he knows I'm a threat to him. If he even sees me, he might hurt May…he also doesn't know Petey has a vial of gene cleanser. That gives him a change to be able to get the drop on him and then he might be able to shove it down Venom's throat and end him. This way, we can save both while taking both Eddie and Osborn down" Firestar said, explaining her reasoning to the both of them.
Black Cat didn't seem so sure of the plan. "But Venom…he's extremely strong…how-"
"I know…I know…Believe me, I don't like the sound of it myself…but Petey's managed to beat him twice already and if there's anyone I'm betting on to do it a third time, it's him" Firestar said, not even sure she believed herself in this instance.
There came the silence again though it didn't last as long as the last time. This time, Spiderman spoke first.
"...Yeah…I agree" Spiderman had simply said.
Black Cat looked over to Spiderman and stared at her boyfriend. She wanted to be surprised at this but honestly…him not agreeing to it would have been even more surprising.
"You are such a god damn boy scout" She said, choosing to just shake her head.
"You know it's the only way we can go about it, Felicia…Venom wants to face me alone. If either of you go with me, he could hurt Aunt May. I…I can't let that happen…and I know I can trust you guys to save Gwen" Spiderman explained to his white haired love.
Black Cat continued staring at his mask for a while. When she realized there wasn't convincing him otherwise, she just lowered her head and let out a sigh.
"...You do know that if anything goes wrong…for any of us…this could be the last time we see each other" The former thief stated.
Spiderman couldn't deny that. However, that fact didn't stop him from doing what he needed to do. All he did was simply nod.
"I know…but it's the life I signed up for when I put on this costume. I helped create Venom…the least I can do for anyone in this city is take him down once and for all" Spiderman declared.
"Always with the hero speeches….well…if this is how we're all going to go out…I at the very least want a goodbye kiss" Felicia said, practically demanding it.
"Don't think you're the only one getting it, Cat" Firestar said, coming up and placing her hands around her hips with a slight glare towards the older girl.
"Why, I would never" Black Cat said with a sweet, sarcastic smile back at the Latina.
Despite the situation, their little feud got a chuckling huff out of Spiderman. He nodded, complying with their request. The 17 year old teen lifted up his mask.
One at a time, he gave both of his lovely girlfriends a deep kiss, each lasting for several moments. He lost track of time of how long each one lasted. The young man needed to savor every moment because as Felicia had said…it may be the last one he would be able to give to each of them.
Eventually, after several minutes, they parted from each other. They gave each other a stern look at that point, knowing they needed to get down to business.
"Alright…I guess this is it…good luck guys" Spiderman said to both of the women. They just nodded in return, their faces unreadable. One could imagine they were not really in love with the situation they were in.
Suddenly facing separate directions, they both started running towards their destinations with Black Cat and Firestar going towards the ESU Lab and Spiderman going towards his house, determined and feeling as ready as he would ever be to face Venom alone.