Peter fired yet another web, his momentum only continuing to build as he swung through the air with a growing ferocity. He was moving about as fast as he ever had, passing building after building en route to his latest destination. Finally, he made it: an old subway spot that hadn't been used for some time, which made it the perfect place to hide a person if one really wanted to. He released his web, landing on the ground. He then climbed onto the ceiling of the place, quietly but quickly descending into the dark area. He kept going until he eventually came to its end, only to find... nothing, just like every other place he'd checked so far.

Making his way back out, Peter ended up on a rooftop overlooking that part of the city. He tried to take in as many of the sounds and sights as possible, and he checked the police radio again, but neither effort produced any leads on where Robbie and Tombstone might be. He was then joined by Matt, who landed next to him in full Daredevil attire.

"I've checked as many of the southern areas of the city that they would likely be at, but I have had no luck," he explained. "You?"

"Nothing," Peter said, not even trying to hide his building frustration in his words. "I checked in with the detective a little bit ago, but she hasn't had any luck either. We better get moving again; I'll check the east side of Harlem, you check the west."

"Or maybe we could take a minute," Matt suggested.

"There's no time," Peter insisted.

"I have a feeling we better make time," Matt countered. "Your heart rate is spiking, Peter; you're getting anxious, which means you're likely to get sloppy. You need a moment."

"What I need is to find my friend," Peter again insisted. "That's all that matters."

"We will," Matt assured him, "but you're going to do no good if you just go in there all worked up and guns blazing. It'll just get both of you killed."

Peter finally relented at least enough to allow himself to take a couple light breaths, feeling the warmth in his mask as he did so.

"I just can't help but think he's in this situation because of me," Peter said. "He told me about his history with Tombstone, and I encouraged him to make things right. I had no idea he would do this."

"His choices aren't on you, Peter," Matt insisted. "Obviously we don't know why he did what he did, but we have to trust he did it for a reason. I'm a Catholic, so I know all there is to know about carrying guilt with me all the time. You have to accept that each of us is only responsible for our own actions."

"You see, I know that up here," Peter said, gesturing towards his head, "but I'm not sure that it will make a difference on my neuroses."

"Trust me, I've figured that out by now," Matt said in light jest. "I guess I still thought I'd try anyway. Now, how about we stick together the rest of the way? Between what we've done and what you've said the police have covered, we just have Harlem left, which means they're likely there, and who knows what we'll find when we get there."

"Alright," Peter conceded. "Let's get going."

Robbie just sat there next to his wife in silence, the threat of Lonnie's return imminent. For the time being, he'd left them to "think over" whether he was going to help him get out of this mess to prevent losing the person he'd loved most. He wanted so badly to be strong for Martha, the person he loved and cherished more than anything, but right now, he felt at a loss for anything even resembling a plan. Still, he felt he needed to at least say something, so he finally got up the courage and said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm sorry, Martha."

His wife turned to him, and he met her gaze.

"I'm sorry that you ended up involved in all this," he clarified. "I swore to myself that I would never put someone I care about in this kind of position again, but I couldn't even do that."

His wife then did something that surprised him: she lovingly placed her hand on his arm, squeezing it softly.

"You have nothing to apologize for," she assured him. "What is happening right now is because of who Lonnie and the people with him are, not because of anything you have done. I'm just sorry that I've let you sit here stewing in those kinds of thoughts since they left us here; it's just hard not to be... not to be a little..."

Robbie then took his wife's hand on his own, pulling it to himself.

"I know," he said. "I'm scared too."

"I guess it can be easy to forget that there really are such evil people in the world," Martha said, "until you end up meeting one of them."

"Whatever happens, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they don't hurt you," he told her.

"Robbie, you can't give into them," his wife insisted.

"I never said I would," he said. "I don't know what's going to happen, but so help me, even if I have to..."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, Robbie and his wife rising to their feet as Lonnie entered the room alone this time, the same gun he'd previously threatened them with already drawn in his hand, causing Robbie's stomach to feel uneasy before he steeled himself again. No matter what, he would show no fear.

"Don't say I never did anything for you, Straight Arrow," he said. "I gave you time with your woman, a chance for her to hopefully talk some sense into you. Whether or not this was your last time together, well... that's up to you."

He then stepped towards them, grabbed Robbie by his arm and threw him down to the side, the man feeling the impact most on his left arm.

"So, what's it going to be, Joe?" Lonnie questioned as he took a couple steps back, raising the gun and pointing it at Martha. "Are you going to contact the cops and get me out of this situation?"

Robbie forced himself to a standing position, meeting Lonnie's gaze.

"I won't help you, Lonnie," he proclaimed.

Lonnie cocked the gun.

"What is it, Joe; is that you think I won't do it?" he questioned. "Is it that you're not convinced that I'm willing to get my hands dirty? Alright, I'll tell you what: I'm going to count to five, and if you haven't agreed to call the cops and get them to back off, the last image you'll ever have of your wife is with a hole in her head."

"Don't do it, Joe!" Martha called out.

"One..." Lonnie said, looking back at Martha.

"Don't you dare," Robbie growled.

"Two..." Lonnie said, the faintest bit of a smile coming over his face.

"Leave her alone!" Robbie cried out.

"Three..." Lonnie continued.

With time running out, Robbie did the only thing he could think of: he charged Lonnie, hoping to at least get him on the ground. However, the larger man grabbed him with his free hand before he could even get close, hoisting him up in the air. He grabbed at the man's hand and arm, but Lonnie's grip was like a vice. The man then let out a couple of chuckles before throwing him down to the ground in front of him.

"You've become a fighter, Joe," Lonnie said, his voice seemingly genuine in his commendation. "You didn't use to have that, but you clearly do now, and even though we are on opposite sides, I respect that... but not enough to spare her, and also, I'm pretty sure the last two seconds have passed by now."

He then raised the gun up again, pointing it at Martha.

"NO!"

Robbie forced himself to a stand just as Lonnie pulled the trigger... with the bullet hitting him in the chest.

"JOE!"

Robbie's whole body rapidly grew cold, his body instantly going into shock. He staggered back before collapsing on the floor, his wife coming over to him.

"Don't worry," Lonnie said, seemingly to Martha. "You'll be joining him soon."

However, before the man could even so much as raise the gun again, Robbie could hear some kind of loud noise, and a gas suddenly filled the place, fogging up the room so that he couldn't see. He heard some commotion, seemingly people scrambling outside.

"What's happening?" he managed to gasp out.

"I don't know," his wife said. "He just ran out; they're all out there scrambling."

That was when Robbie knew.

"He's here."

Tombstone ran out, looking from his perch on the walkway. The mist had filled the whole place, but even through it, he could see enough flashes of two red figures to know what had happened, or more appropriately, who had happened.

"Boss, we have to get you of here!" Hammerhead came up to him. "Let the boys handle this!"

"They can't," Tombstone remarked, gesturing to the scene before him. "Look."

He gave his right-hand man a moment to observe how Spider-Man and Daredevil were swiftly taking out their opposition, whether kicking, punching, webbing, or hitting them with batons or other objects, while also avoiding the frantic gunfire. All the men's attacks with punches and kicks were met with swift takedowns.

"How?" Hammerhead questioned. "Weren't they all enhanced by that new serum the doc came up with?"

"Don't you see, Hammerhead?" Tombstone said, now gesturing to the mist around them. "This is more than just for cover. It seems Spider-Man has figured out how to neutralize what I gave them."

"Come on boss, we've got to get you out of here," Hammerhead insisted once more. "It's only a matter of time before they come up here."

"No," Tombstone said. "Running would only be futile. Spider-Man is not a cop, which means jurisdictions mean nothing to him. If I were to escape, he would only continue to pursue me. No, we will settle this tonight... like men."

"But boss..."

"If you fear so much for my safety Hammerhead, why don't you go down there and help the men?" Tombstone questioned, turning to head to his intended destination. "They look like they could use it."

Peter scoured the place with his eyes as he searched for Tombstone, taking down two more men as he did so. He finally located him, the man walking along the upper section of the walkway in seemingly no hurry. His spider sense then went off, but he didn't end up having to react, as Matt came from behind the man intending to shoot him with his baton, striking him in the back of the head and knocking him out.

"Thanks!" Peter said.

"No problem," Matt replied. "There's only a few more left; go after Tombstone, I can handle this!"

Peter didn't need to be told twice; he fired a web up to the portion of the upper walkway he'd seen Tombstone on, yanking himself up and hurdling his way over the guardrail. He then broke into a sprint, but before he could get far, he noticed two people in a room, a man and a woman, with the former lying on the...

No.

"Robbie!?" Peter cried out, practically tearing the door off its hinges as he rushed in. As he came alongside the man, he could see the bullet wound in his chest, his friend clearly struggling to stay among them.

"Sir, sir, stay with me, okay?" Peter said, remembering that Martha probably didn't know who he was underneath the mask. "Help will be here soon, alright?"

Suddenly, Robbie grabbed Peter's arm, an intense look in his eyes even as he struggled to even lift his head up a little.

"Go... stop... him!"

Peter knew what he needed to do; he hated to leave the man there, but he would never forgive himself if he let Tombstone get away, and the fact that the man's wife was here with him gave him a sense of peace that at least he wouldn't be alone.

"I will, and then I'm coming right back, okay?"

Robbie gave the slightest nod, and Peter hurried out of the room and back in the direction he'd seen his opponent heading. This led him to a set of stairs and, eventually, to the roof, where Tombstone was standing near the edge, seemingly having anticipated his arrival.

"I think part of me always knew it would come to this," the man said, still not even turning and facing him yet. "The first time we met, even though I couldn't see your eyes, there was an intensity to your presence, and I knew then and there that very little short of death itself would stop you."

Tombstone then turned around, removing his jacket and discarding it as he did so.

"So, Spider-Man," he continued, rolling up his sleeves as he spoke, "let's see what you're really made of."

The man then charged his way, and Peter also raced forward without hesitation, adrenaline and hot anger spurring him to practically explode from his side of the roof. As they neared each other, Peter waited for just the right moment and, just as Tombstone swung for him, slid underneath the man, firing a web at his leg and yanking it so that his opponent fell face down on the ground. However, before he could even properly react, Tombstone recovered, grabbed the web he was still holding onto and yanked, suddenly bringing Peter to him. He then wrapped him in a bear hug and immediately began squeezing so hard that he swore he could feel and hear his spine cracking... and not in a good way.

"How are you..."

"Where do you think the good doctor got what he needed to start his little project anyway?" Tombstone asked. "It was from my blood that he produced the drug, but of course, I couldn't let anyone else have my level of power, could I?"

The man then squeezed harder, causing Peter to groan in pain. Short of maybe Venom, he'd never been in a grip this tight, and if he didn't act fast, he just might get snapped in half. Summoning all his strength, he eventually managed to loosen the man's hold on him just enough to where he could free his arms, blasting webbing straight into his face. This caused his opponent to drop him and stagger back as he struggled with the obstruction to his vision.

Taking a breath, Peter allowed himself only a moment to recover. Tombstone was strong, stronger than he'd anticipated by a lot, but it didn't matter. The man could suddenly fly or shoot lasers out of his eyes, but it wasn't going to stop him from bringing his enemy down, for Robbie's sake, Liz's, Eddie's, for everyone whose life he'd ruined.

Peter then rushed his opponent and, just as Tombstone had freed the webbing from his eyes, began laying into the man with punch after punch before his enemy struck back, hitting him hard with a left cross to the side of his face. Remaining undeterred, Peter struck again, this time sending Tombstone across a significant part of the roof. The man tumbled a bit before collecting himself.

"I admit, you're already stronger than I'd previously believed," the man commended him. "But you can't defeat me. I don't feel pain, wall crawler; I don't bleed, and my skin cannot be cut. No matter what you do, you cannot bring me down!"

"Well," Peter said, clenching his fist tightly, "there's a first time for everything, right?"

Once more the two men charged each other. This time, Peter took a different approach, leaping and balancing himself for barely a second on the man's arm before bringing his other leg up, unleashing a powerful kick to the man's chin. As he flipped back over, it seemed his blow had had little effect, the albino giant only coming after him all the harder. He tried to leap out of the way, but the man snagged him by the leg, proceeding to slam him repeatedly into the roof before wrapping him up once more and plunging both men clean through the roof and back into the building, with Peter taking the brunt of the fall as they landed on the walkway again.

Groaning from the pain of the impacts he'd just taken, Peter looked up to see Tombstone raising his fist and bringing it down, unable to react in time to prevent him from delivering a powerful strike to his head. Two more ensued before he forced himself to snap out of it, snatching the man's hand in both of his own before forcing him off, sending him flying back. Fighting the pain in his head and body, Peter forced himself up.

"Come on man, is that all you got?" he questioned. "I know kids that hit harder than you!"

"You really are a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" Tombstone said with a chuckle. He then ripped out a piece of the guardrail, charging towards Peter with the metal. He dodged a couple of efforts, trying to figure out a new plan. Realizing he had to find a way to take advantage of all his abilities that his opponent didn't possess, he found his opportunity, flipping beneath the walkway and emerging from the underside, wrapping around the opposite guardrail and delivering a powerful kick to his opponent's side that sent him crashing into a room nearby.

Refusing to let up, Peter quickly came after him while the man was still down, laying into him with everything he had before Tombstone attempted to strike back. Peter dodged his blow this time however before quickly returning to dealing blows, anger and adrenaline surging through his body and helping spur him on. He eventually ducked under another one of his opponent's swings before delivering a powerful strike with his own fist straight into Tombstone's nose, sending him tumbling down. The man didn't get up right away though, instead reaching for the area he'd been hit. It was then that Peter saw it: blood. The man then looked back up at him, the red liquid having run a little down his nose and towards his lip. He had no idea if it was the antiserum getting to him after all, his own strength or some combination of the two, but he would certainly take it.

"Had enough yet?" he asked.

Tombstone averted his gaze.

"Not... quite... yet!"

Before Peter could react, the man wrapped him up, charging and sending them both crashing through multiple walls before pinning Peter down to a table. He scrambled to avoid a couple strikes of his opponent's fists before kicking him off. He then webbed the table as Tombstone came after him yet again, smacking him hard with it and sending him crashing through the door and back onto the walkway. Peter then raced to meet him, with Tombstone swinging after him still more. Peter grabbed one of his opponent's attempted blows, rolling onto his back and kicking Tombstone up into the air. He then leapt up and, firing two webs, he flipped over before bringing the webs down as hard as he could, sending the man flying down towards the ground, his opponent eventually landing so hard that the concrete ground cracked beneath him.

Just for good measure, Peter fired two more webs down and yanked himself hard, sending him careening fast down the thirty-foot drop, which culminated in a powerful double kick to Tombstone's backside, driving the man much deeper into the ground. Peter quickly got back up and backed out, bracing himself for more. Eventually, the man did indeed get up, though with less intensity and purpose than before. He managed to stand up and out of the hole and, after taking a couple uneasy steps, finally tumbled to the ground, defeated.

As the realization settled upon him that victory was indeed his, Peter collapsed onto his knees, every blow he'd taken during the heated battle coming back to remind him of their presence all at once.

"You good?"

Peter looked up to see Matt, with Tombstone's right-hand man at his feet and wrapped up in the cable from his club.

"Yeah," he managed to force out. "Thanks for the backup, by the way."

"It's not my fault you left me with the second round of enforcements, plus this steel-headed gentleman," Matt said, gesturing towards the man in the wire as well as all the others unconscious bodies lying around.

"Oh," Peter remarked, feeling a little embarrassed at his half-joking accusation. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Matt assured him.

Peter then forced himself to his feet, when suddenly he remembered...

"Robbie!"

Firing a web, he fought through the pain as he made his way back up to the room that he'd found Robbie and Martha in. When he arrived, however, all he found was a wife crying over the body of her husband. She must have sensed his presence though, managing to look back up at him with tears still flooding her eyes. She shook her head.

He was too late.

Robbie was gone.

So... how are you all feeling after this one?

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because He was teaching His disciples. He said to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.'" Mark 9:30-31