All characters belong to Marvel unless stated otherwise.

The Fabulous Spider-Man

Episode Four

=Wipeout=

The heavens had opened over Midtown. Rain rapped the window loudly, muffling the deep, distant rumbles of thunder, accompanied by the odd flash of lightning falling from the murky afternoon sky. Whatever storm was raging seemed to be troubling the phone lines, as Peter and his aunt May were having a tough time hearing each other.

"No, May - a session! Not a concussion!" Peter sighed. "Harry and I are supposed to be meeting our friend for a study session!"

"Oh, I see!" May gasped. "Whatever you do, Peter, don't go out in this awful weather! You could hurt yourself!"

"I'm not planning on it, Aunt May - we already rescheduled for tomorrow instead!" Peter explained. "How about you? Is everything okay back home?"

"Oh, yes, everything's alright!" answered May. "Although, I am thinking of changing a few things around the house."

"Oh yeah? Can't beat a bit of spring cleaning!" Peter chuckled. "What did you have planned, exactly?"

"Well actually, I wasn't thinking of spring cleaning..." May sounded tense, ready to confess something. "I'm actually thinking... of renting out your bedroom to a lodger."

"What?!" Peter exclaimed. "Why?! Are you getting lonely there on your own?"

"Oh no - quite the opposite, actually!" said May. "Mrs Watson has been excellent company! It's purely for financial purposes, really. I'm not some old fool, Peter; I'll make sure that I'm not renting your room out to any unsavoury characters!"

"It's just... I didn't know you were struggling for money, Aunt May!" Peter sighed in frustration. "Why didn't you say anything? How long has this been going on for?"

"Well, you know that it hasn't exactly been easy ever since our dear Ben passed away. It's hard to get by without him, and I'm too old to work. Anyway, it's just an idea, Peter; I wouldn't have done it without consulting you first!"

"It's okay, Aunt May," Peter reassured. "I've actually been considering taking up a job myself; that way, I'll be able to help you with your money problems!"

"Don't you worry, Peter," said May, sternly. "I don't want you stressing over me! You've got your own life to live; I'll find a way to get by! Oh, I'd better go - some poor soul is knocking at my door! I'll talk to you soon, Peter; keep safe, now!"

"Take care, Aunt May!" Peter replied through gritted teeth before hanging up. Aunt May had never mentioned money problems before; Peter knew that Ben had left her his savings in his will, but he had no idea that so much of it had been used up already.

May's money issues wasn't the only thing on Peter's mind. Ever since his encounter with Sandman two days ago, Peter had struggled to come up with a way of defeating the mysterious creature. Sneaking past Harry's bedroom door, behind which its snoring, hungover inhabitant lay dead to the world, Peter aimlessly ambled into his room, sitting at his desk and staring out the window. After all those petty thieves and the wannabe super-powered villain Shocker, was the Sandman a task too big for Spidey to handle?

A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the rainfall falling against his window. Slowly lifting his head from his hands, it was as though the lightning struck a brilliant idea in Peter's head.

"Of course!" Peter whispered excitedly. "How could I be so dim? The answer to defeating Sandman lies in his name; he's made of sand! That alone gives me two methods of weakening his state - for one, I could heat him up and transform him into glass! On the other hand, I could use water to wet him and turn him into sludge! The question is, how can Spider-Man heat him up, or drown him in water?"

Peter thought for a few moments, glancing over his shoulder to his bedroom door, which had been left slightly ajar. Harry could still be heard snoring in his bedroom, knocked out from last night's party.

"Well, Spidey knows a guy who might be able to help bring the heat..." Peter snuck over to his bedroom door, gently pushing it to and locking it. "I'm sure Harry's hangover from last night's party at Mary Jane's will buy me a little time to sneak out!"

=Wipeout=

The rain continued its unrelenting barrage upon the city. Johnny Storm looked out of his window in the Baxter Building, a slight sadness etched across his face. Sighing, he threw on a comfy jumper and delved into his record collection, picking out a smooth jazz album the Thing had given him. Just as he set it on his record player and the needle hit the groove, he heard three knocks against his window. Looking out, Johnny's expression changed from bored and dismayed to laughter as he saw the soaking wet Spider-Man clinging against the slippery glass window.

"Ever thought about trying the front door, web-head?" Storm laughed, opening the window and allowing Spider-Man to crawl inside.

"I thought I'd check you were in first!" Spider-Man answered with a cold shudder.

"Here, you need heating up?" Johnny Storm tossed his jumper off and removed his trousers, revealing his blue Fantastic Four jumpsuit. "Flame on!"

Peter flinched as a brightness filled the room. Removing his hands from over his eyes, he saw Johnny's body engulfed in flames. Being relatively close in age - Johnny had only just completed his stint at Empire State University - Spider-Man was closer to the Human Torch than to any other member of the Fantastic Four.

"Thanks, Johnny!" Spider-Man hovered his hands in front of him, sighing in relief as he felt the head radiate across his body.

"So, I take it you're not here to dry your clothes?" Johnny smirked. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing this; I'm just wondering what you're doing swinging across the city in the first place?"

"I am here to see you, actually - not to dry off, though," explained Spider-Man. "I actually wanted to ask you a favour. I was wondering if you'd be able to help me out with something?"

"What's the matter? Those girls at Empire State University too cool for you?" Johnny teased.

"No!" Spider-Man exclaimed in frustration. "I'm talking career help! There's a certain super-villain that's giving me grief!"

"Ah - the Sandman?" Johnny tilted his head quizzically. "Reed's pretty interested in him, too."

"I've been trying to wrap my head around a way of defeating him," Spider-Man explained. "I battled him once, but I was totally unprepared. I had no idea what he was capable of. Now, I think I've got a couple of strategies to defeat him; and I think you might be able to help!"

"Shoot! What's the plan, Spider-Man?" rhymed Johnny.

"I'm thinking there's two ways of transforming sand, right?" Spidey continued. "One way is to heat it up, turning it into glass! That's where you would come in!"

"Right," Johnny nodded. "And what's the other way?"

"The other way is by making it come into contact with water!" Spider-Man answered. "When sand gets wet, it softens and breaks apart! If Sandman is really made of sand, then he shouldn't stand a chance!"

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out!" Johnny grinned. "The only question is: if I come along and turn him into glass, won't that kill him?"

Spider-Man rubbed his forehead; all this thinking was hurting his brain. "You might be right! There are so many things we don't know about this strange creature!"

"The water plan sounds better; obviously, I'd be of limited help there," suggested Storm. "I hate to sound like my brother-in-law with all these questions, but even if wetting Sandman does work, how do you plan on catching or containing him, exactly?"

"Good point..." Spider-Man stroked his chin.

"Think about it some more, web-head! I know that mind of yours can find the answer!" encouraged Johnny. "I'll be sure to listen out for that sandy son-of-a-you-know-what; if you need back-up, I'll be there!"

"Thank you, Johnny. I knew I could rely on you for help!" Spider-Man returned to the window. "I'll give my plan about Sandman some more thought. See you around!"

The web-slinging vigilante leapt from the windowsill, swinging out across Manhattan. Storm watched him, reverting from his Human Torch state back to normal, his bright blonde hair falling back into place.

=Wipeout=

Meanwhile, across the wet and windy Manhattan, Kingpin and Tombstone met with Norman Osborn in his office in OsCorp tower. While Tombstone opted to sit, no chair could support Kingpin's massive frame.

"We have a big problem on our hands, Osborn," Kingpin scowled. "Marko's a threat; not even my best man could stop him! We need to do something about him, fast!"

"Unless we trap Marko, or he hands himself over to us, there's nothing we can do," responded Osborn, matter-of-factly. "As well as that, we'd have to develop a mechanism that can reverse Marko's transformation."

"I say we stick with the original plan!" suggested Tombstone, cracking his knuckles. "Find another participant - a willing participant - to undergo the experiment. Have him break out our Enforcers, then kill the Spider, or the other way 'round."

"And how exactly would another Sandman benefit us?" Norman scolded. "We can hardly keep one in check! Something needs to be done about Marko first!"

"What the boss says it what goes, Osborn!" Tombstone leaned over the desk, baring a menacing scowl. "You've got the toys, but at the end of the day you listen to Kingpin! You understand?"

"Your boss has yet to make a comment, Lincoln," replied Osborn coolly. Tombstone and Norman turned to face Kingpin, who stared out the window of the office onto the streets of Manhattan below. Norman continued, "We have two options here: find a way of stopping Marko, or pursue another experiment. The choice is yours, as always."

Kingpin sighed deeply before turning from the window and walking towards the elevator. Pressing the button to call, Kingpin looked over his shoulder at Osborn. "Begin the next experiment. Do not expect this much leeway in the future."

Rising from his seat, Tombstone shot Osborn a dirty look before joining his boss in the elevator. The two parties, Osborn and Kingpin and Tombstone, locked eye contact as the elevator doors closed.

=Wipeout=

By the following morning, the weather had cleared up considerably. Beams of sunlight cracked through the clouds and glistened through the air, covering the streets of Manhattan in gentle sunlight. In a small student café, Peter and Harry walk through the entrance and scanned the tables, looking for the instantly recognisable blonde hair of Gwen Stacy.

"See Gwen anywhere, Pete?" Harry looked around before Peter waved across the café, a goofy grin stretched across his face. Gwen sat down at the end of the café, wearing a purple turtleneck and a dark grey skirt that went down to her knees. "Trust you to find her!" said Harry under his breath. With surf rock guitar playing over the café's radio, the two boys found their way to Gwen at her table, where her books and notes were already neatly laid out.

"There you are!" Gwen flashed a smile to Peter. "I was worried after we cancelled yesterday that we'd have a hard time reorganizing!"

"Don't worry, Gwen; Peter here was eager for this study session to come through!" Harry grinned.

An embarrassed Peter began to stutter as his cheeks went red. "Oh, w-well, y'know, it's good to make s-sure we're all on the same page!"

"Y-yeah, right!" Gwen agreed, brushing the sides of her hair behind her ears. "Anyway, Peter, I just wanted to compare something in our notes; I scribbled something Connors was talking about during our last lecture, but I just want to double-check that I got it right..."

Already, Harry began to zone out of the conversation. Staring out the window, he daydreamed about the next party and the girls he was thinking of courting, when he saw those girls walk right past the window.

"Look who it is!" Harry perked up as his eyes followed them, turning as they walked into the café.

"Not right now, Harry! Can't you see I'm helping Gwen?" Peter dismissed, barely raising his eyes from Gwen's notes. Only when he heard the familiar voice of one of the girls did Peter look up.

"Hey, boys!" Mary Jane greeted, accompanied by Glory Grant and Liz Allen at her sides. "Fancy meeting you here! Whatcha doin'?"

"How's it goin', M.J.?" Harry turned his seat around to easier face them. "We're just here going over some of Doctor Connors' notes; geeky, I know!"

"Not at all! Gotta get the grades considering your reputation, ain't that right Osborn?" remarked Glory sassily. "How are you doing, Pete? Aren't you gonna introduce us to your friend?"

"Oh, of course!" a flustered Peter stood from his chair, although he quickly realised how unusual this action was. "Mary Jane, Glory, Liz, this is Gwen Stacy. She's a friend of ours from our biochemistry classes."

"Nice to meet you, Gwen!" greeted Mary Jane friendlily. "Hey, we've got something that might interest you all; us three are planning on throwing a Halloween fancy dress party on campus! We'd like to use one of the gymnasiums, but if not we can just throw it at someone's apartment instead! That sound good to you guys?"

While Peter and Gwen exchanged uncertain glances, Harry was quick to answer. "Sounds amazing! We'll definitely swing by!"

"Perfect!" Glory grinned. "We're gonna find a table to plan this out properly. See you three around - remember to wear costumes!"

"Will do, girls - take care!" Harry waved them goodbye while Peter almost immediately returned to checking Gwen's notes.

"They seem nice," Gwen watched them, slightly intimidating by their party-throwing nature. "How did you get to know them?"

"They actually live right across the hall from us!" explained Harry. "Pete's got a bit of history with M.J, though!"

"That's not true!" Peter exclaimed defensively before calming himself down and explaining the situation to Gwen. "It's a funny story; over summer, Mary Jane moved in with her aunt, right next door to where I used to live. We didn't realise until a few weeks before we started that we'd be neighbours at ESU!"

"Oh, wow! Does she throw a lot of parties?" Gwen asked.

"We've been to a few; Peter's bailed outta a couple," Harry smirked. "They're a blast! I know partying isn't exactly your scene - nor yours, Pete - but I think we should give this Halloween thing a try. Who knows, it might be fun!"

"Or a drag," Peter muttered under his breath. "I mean, fancy dress? Do I seem like the kind of guy to dress up in costumes?"

"I'll see," Gwen considered. "After all, it's still a little over a month until Halloween. We might find ourselves busy by then!"

"Curtis Connors can drop as much homework on me as he likes; nothing's gonna stop me attending a party if Liz Allen is there!" Harry protested, whispering in secret to his two friends. "Isn't she gorgeous? Pete, you went to high school with her, right? Can't you do me a solid and introduce me to her?"

"Harry, in case you didn't notice, Liz didn't as much as bat an eye at me when she was over here," said Peter, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "As much as I'd love to help you out, I don't think she'd let me talk to her to introduce you!"

"What's up with her?" asked Gwen. "Do you guys have history or something?"

"History? Yeah, right!" Peter scoffed. "No girl in high school would look in my direction, least of all Liz Allen! She was a cheerleader, so you can imagine she was more into football players than science geeks!"

"Enough of the self-loathing, Parker!" Harry encouraged. "All this talk about girls not paying you any attention, when right now you're helping one - one of your best friends, might I add - check her homework!"

"Enough of the lip, Osborn, how about that?" Peter retorted. Although the teasing could get a little awkward at times, it was mostly just playful banter between the two; besides, deep down Peter knew that Harry's teasing of his relationship with Gwen was rooted in some truth. "Anyway, how come you're not studying? You heard Glory; your family's scientific reputation is resting on your shoulders!"

"What do I care about reputation?" Harry rebelled. "Like I've said before, my father can do whatever he likes with his company; he just shouldn't expect me to pick up the pieces once he croaks, or retires."

"Sounds like you're not awfully close with your father, Harry?" Gwen implored.

"You can say that again!" the young Osborn scoffed. "Not to be rude, but I don't see why he wants me to take over the company so bad. He doesn't even treat me like a son, most of the time. I'll say it again: Norman Osborn can do whatever he likes with his company. I'm not interested!"

=Wipeout=

A few hours later across Manhattan, Norman Osborn stepped up to the podium in a conference room a few stories up OsCorp tower. Immediately cameras began to flash in anticipation of the CEO's announcement. Clearing his throat, the sharply dressed businessman leaned into the microphone.

"I've called you all here today to announce an exciting new prospect for OsCorp," Norman began. "As you all know, OsCorp has been behind almost any scientific breakthrough you can name over the course of the last few decades. Shortly after exiting college, I founded this company with fellow graduates, Doctor Stromm and Doctor Octavius. Although the latter quickly left our ranks, OsCorp quickly blossomed into one of the most influential and ground-breaking scientific firms in the whole of the United States. From day one, I based this company's values on those of the great country we live in: looking towards the future, towards change, towards progress and improvement. We live in a time where these values are threatened by alternative, backwards ideologies, and I believe that if we don't step up to challenge it, the lives of every person in this room could change irreversibly. OsCorp will step up to the red threat. As of today, we are proud to announce OsCorp's partnership with the United States military, in which we will develop new methods of protecting the people and ideologies of this country, and thus the whole world too."

This sudden announcement was met with an icy reaction. The blinding flashes of cameras increased with every word. In the midst of the crowd, Eddie Brock quickly snapped photos of Osborn, whispering to himself. "OsCorp want to play war, huh? Wonder what Jonah will make of this!"

As he readied himself to take another picture, he felt something push him hard in the shoulder. Frustrated, he turned around. "Hey, dweeb, why don't you watch where you're goin'?!" Eddie whispered loudly. His expression quickly changed as the man looked up at him from under his bowler hat. Could it really be the creature he had heard of?

The figure faced forward again and continued to push its way through the crowd, eventually drawing the attention of the speaker. "Excuse me, security..?"

As a guard reached through the crowd to grab the troublemaker, the mook let out a roar. Its arm extended, bursting through the seams of the suit jacket it wore and smashing the guard into the wall. Norman Osborn's face dropped as he immediately recognised what who it was; Flint Marko had come for his revenge.

Before Osborn could even turn to run, he felt a large, sandy fist wrap around his waist, raising him into the air as the Sandman discarded of the rest of the security. While the rest of the press fled the room, Eddie Brock crouched low behind the chairs, in awe of the situation he was in; not only had he just witnessed Norman Osborn declare OsCorp's direct participation as a cog in America's war machine, but he now had pictures of the mythical Sandman with the CEO of one of the world's richest companies in its clutches!

"What do you want?!" Osborn flailed his legs as the oversized fist tightened around his chest. "Money! Weapons! I'll give you anything! Please, I have a son!"

"What d'you care? Whaddabout my family?!" Sandman roared before laughing. "What do I care? Now I have these powers, I'm gonna take you down!"

As Sandman further tightened his grip around Osborn, he felt something blunt hit him in the back of the head, forcing him to stagger. Looking around, he saw Spider-Man swing across the room with sand trailing from his foot before landing on the ceiling.

"Don't make me come down there and spank you, Sandman!" quipped Spider-Man. "Be a good boy and put the nice CEO down!"

"Get lost, web-head!" Sandman demanded. "This is between me and Osborn! Back off, unless you wanna get hurt!"

Firing a web at one of the chairs near the front, Spider-Man leapt from the ceiling and swung it round, slicing it through Sandman's arm and disconnecting Osborn from his grip.

"Find somewhere safe, Mr Osborn! I'll take care of him!" Spider-Man ordered. "Some way to meet your best friend's dad!" he muttered under his breath.

"I don't think so, bug!" Sandman grimaced as he reabsorbed the disconnected sand, slapping Spider-Man aside while Norman made a run for it. Raising his fist in the air, ready to bring it down on the man who wronged him, Sandman felt a web smack against it, holding it back.

"So, you can transform your body to your will?" taunted Spider-Man. "You didn't think to mould yourself a better haircut?"

"I thought I toldja to leave, Spider-Man!" Sandman growled, extending his other arm to grab Norman before tossing him through the air towards the large glass windows overlooking the street below. Gasping, Spider-Man loosened his grip on the web tethering Sandman's other hand and leapt through the air towards Osborn. Grabbing him, Spider-Man webbed him to the ceiling, holding him in place.

"Don't worry, my webbing won't dissolve on its own for another two hours! Let's hope someone finds you by then!" said Spider-Man, leaving Osborn with a concerned expression on his face.

"You got no part in this, freak!" Sandman roared. "Don't make me crush ya!"

This threat was met by a blast of webbing to the face. "Looks like you got something on your face, Sandman!"

As Marko removed the webbing, his face dropped to see Spider-Man flying through the air towards him, feet-first. Spidey impacted with Sandman's head, smashing through it and knocking it off his body entirely.

"Don't lose your head, Sandman - I was only messing with you about the hair!" Spider-Man joked as Marko's body stumbled around, blindly searching for its head. "Here, need help finding it? I'll help you out!"

Picking up Sandman's head, Peter was surprised to see it was still sentient, a fierce scowl distorting its face. His spider-sense alerted him to Sandman's body swinging a fist towards him; Peter tossed the head in the air and ducked out the way. Sandman's head landed backwards on his body, which he corrected with ease simply by twisting it around.

"You've gone too far, Spider-Man..." Sandman growled. "First, I'm gonna kill you! Then, I'm gonna kill Osborn!"

"Please, the worst you did last time was give me itchy underpants!" Spider-Man braced himself. "Bring it on, Sandman!"

Sandman dissipated, transforming into a gust of rough wind, picking Peter up with its animated hands and carrying him through the air. Forming a sandy tornado, Sandman roared as he smashed through the window, carrying Peter out into the air. The two battled each other, with Spider-Man fighting off whatever materialized parts of Sandman he could find while his foe carried him in the wind before landing on the roof of a hotel.

"I'm gonna crush you like a bug, Spider-Man!" Sandman threatened as he reformed himself, transforming his hand into a hammer and swinging down on Spider-Man only to miss him by mere milliseconds.

"We've already had this talk, remember?" Peter dived out of the way. "Spiders are arachnids, not bugs!"

Sandman roared again, his hand transforming into a large, brick-shaped stump, catching Spidey off guard and knocking him flat on his back. "I'm tired of you runnin' your mouth!"

"Better get used to it, Sandy!" Spider-Man winced, getting back on his feet. "Do you mind if I call you that?"

"Shut up!" Sandman roared, his hands transforming into axes as he sliced through the air. Spider-Man ducked and weaved around each attack, narrowly avoiding being hit before seeing an opening, smacking Sandman across the face and webbing his hands together before flipping over him, landing on the side of the hotel's water tower.

"This is almost too easy! After last time, I was expecting more of a challenge!" Peter mocked. "Go on, Sandy, whet my appetite! Hit me with your best shot!"

Breaking free of the webbing, Sandman turned and roared, extending his arms out towards Spider-Man. Dodging at the last moment, the hard, dense sand smashed through the side of the tower. In an instant, water rushed out through the hole, spraying Sandman directly in the face.

"Agh!" Sandman cried, shielding himself with his hands. It was no use; the water had transformed his body to mud, his frail arms dripping across the rooftop as they drooped down to the floor.

"Time for phase two!" Spider-Man whispered to himself. Whistling loudly, he scanned the skies before seeing a glowing yellow streak flash across the skyline. The Human Torch quickly landed upon the rooftop, grinning proudly.

"Nice going, web-head; that should hold him for now!" the Human Torch observed Sandman, struggling to maintain his composure as parts of him began to break off. "What's the plan now?"

"Keep an eye on him! I need you to lure him down to this side of the street, understand?" Spider-Man pointed over the edge of the rooftop, met with a nod from the Human Torch. Leaping over the side of the building, Spider-Man broke his fall with a web, gently lowering himself onto the sidewalk to the awe of spectators. Wasting no time, he rushed into a hardware store a few doors down from the hotel. Running to the counter, the owner seemed overjoyed to see him.

"Spider-Man!" the old man exclaimed. "My hero! You stopped that thief from robbing my store a few months ago, remember?"

"Of course I do, Mr Banks!" the upbeat Spider-Man replied. "But listen, this time I'm gonna need you to be my hero! How does that sound?"

"Anything to help!" Mr Banks agreed. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm gonna need a vacuum cleaner; the best you've got! And an outlet to plug it into!" Spider-Man answered.

Jumping to action, Mr Banks rushed over to the other end of the store, presenting Spider-Man with a high-range, high-suction vacuum cleaner. "How's this, Spider-Man?"

"Perfect!" Spider-Man exclaimed, taking it from the owner's hands. "Now, have you got any outlets near the front of the store?"

"Right over there by the door; just unplug the radio!" Mr Banks pointed. Spider-Man rushed over to by the door of the building. Hearing a commotion outside, Peter knew he needed to act fast. He yanked the plug for the radio out of its socket and replaced it with the one for the vacuum cleaner. Rushing outside, vacuum in hand, he saw the Human Torch luring the wet Sandman, who was swinging aimlessly, down the street towards the hardware store.

"Ready, Spider-Man?" the Human Torch checked before quickly flying up into the air. Switching the vacuum onto its highest setting, Spider-Man held it up towards the Sandman who roared and cried as he felt himself get sucked in.

"No! No! Not like this! I'll crush you, Spider-Man! Like a - like a - bug!" Sandman roared, his voice distorted as his body got sucked into the vacuum. As the last grains of sand were swept up, the vacuum rattled as Sandman bounced around angrily. The crowd that had formed around the battle burst into applause as the Human Torch touched ground beside Spidey.

"Not bad, Spider-Man!" Johnny commended, reverting to his regular state. "All you had to do was think a little outside the box!"

"Sandman won't be causing a ruckus anymore!" Spider-Man declared, holding the shaking vacuum up into the air. A flash blinded Peter's eyes, just for a moment; looking around, Peter saw Eddie Brock, visibly out of breath, his eye behind the lens of his camera.

"Eddie Brock of the Daily Bugle!" he introduced himself. "Spidey, how do you cope with the growing epidemic of super-powered villains?"

"As you can see, just fine!" Peter answered reluctantly, hating that he was giving his Bugle competitor ammunition. He handed the vacuum over to Johnny. "Hand this over to the authorities; I've gotta dash!"

"Of course - leave me to do your dirty work!" Johnny exclaimed as Spidey jumped a dozen stories into the air, clinging onto the side of the hotel and quickly ascending its wall.

=Wipeout=

After finally ridding his body of pesky, resilient grains of sand, Peter exited the shower the following morning. Dressing in a sweater and grey trousers, he walked into the kitchen to find a distressed-looking Harry, holding his head in his hands as he read that morning's publication of the Daily Bugle.

"What's eating you, Harry? You look bummed out!" asked Peter, sitting opposite him at the table.

"I'm surprised you haven't guessed," Harry flipped the paper over to the front cover, sliding it across the counter to Peter. "It's official: I'm the son of a war-monger!"

Peter scanned the front page. The biggest story by far was Spider-Man's battle with Sandman; it's picture, taken by Eddie Brock, occupied most of the page with the snappy headline: "SANDY SUPERVILLAIN STOPPED BY SPIDEY! Human Torch Brings In The Heat!"

Looking towards the bottom of the page, Peter found the secondary story: "OsCorp Aids Military Against Vietnam!", with another picture, also taken by Eddie Brock, showing Osborn at the podium moments before Sandman made his attack.

"Oh, Harry, I didn't hear about this!" Peter sympathised. "You didn't know your father was planning on this?"

"Yeah, right!" Harry scoffed. "My so-called 'father' doesn't tell me anything! I'm not even sure when he last called!"

"He's a busy man - but that's no excuse!" Peter shook his head. "Still, it shouldn't get you down; like you said, you are your own man! Why does it matter to you now what your father does?"

"This is a big deal, Pete - OsCorp now looks pro-war, and that's not exactly great for its image! And through my relation to them alone, now people will think I am pro-war! I don't want people thinking I dig profiting off of this stuff!"

"I'm sure if you explained yourself, they'd understand!" Peter suggested. "Besides, look at the cover; it seems more people will notice Spider-Man's battle with Sandman than your father's speech!"

"Maybe..." Harry crossed his arms. "I may be an Osborn, but I don't agree with what my father has done. I'm gonna make sure people know it, too!"

On that note, Harry hopped off the stool and returned to his bedroom.

"After all his father has been through over the last twenty-four hours, he doesn't show the slightest concern towards anything other than his reputation!" Peter whispered to himself. "You're a good friend, Harry, but I can't help but think that your priorities are a little out of order!"

Looking down at the kitchen counter, Peter laid eyes on the newspaper. Picking it up and flicking through its pages, Peter scanned through the article about the aftermath of the battle against Sandman, accompanied by more of Eddie's pictures showing the villain clashing against Spidey in the OsCorp conference room.

"After a creative conclusion to their clash, Spider-Man trapped the villainous Sandman in a vacuum cleaner, provided by Mr Banks of Banks Hardware Store! Leaving the Human Torch to hand the villain over to authorities, Sandman now resides in a specialized cell on the high-security super-prison known as the Raft, reserved only for the most twisted and devious characters of New York's criminal underworld! Sandman's true identity, if indeed he has one, is still unknown. It's expected that further investigation into this anomalous character will continue during his indefinite stint at the Raft."

On the page across, Peter caught eye of a segment written by J. Jonah Jameson: "ON THE SUPER-VILLAIN SCENE: Are Alleged 'Crime-Fighters' To Blame?"

"Typical Jonah!" Peter scoffed, folded the newspaper. "Always trying to find a way to spin a story against its hero! If I'd snapped some pictures of Spidey, Jonah would see... ah, who am I kidding? Even with Brock's photos of the fight, sloppy as they might be, Jonah can't see that I was trying to protect Mr Osborn! He's too stubborn to see, but one day I'll prove to him that Spider-Man is the hero everyone thinks he is!"


Author's Note: Having a really fun time writing this! As some of you might be aware, Spider-Man's method of defeating Sandman in this chapter is a call back to how he defeated him in their first encounter way back in The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #4! I'm also aware including references to Vietnam might seem a little jarring, but since this fanfiction is depicted as being set in an alternate version of the 1960s I figured that it would be important to address some of the important issues of that time. Hope you all enjoyed reading, more chapters to come soon!