Hello there!
Welcome to next Issue of Spider-Verse I: When I Swing By.
Hope you'll enjoy and now to story time.
A few weeks into summer vacation, construction on Project J Drew was well on its way in one of the sublevels of Arclight Tower where a machine was being build, creating a new source of energy. The output of it coming from Arclight Tower would be enough to provide energy to the entire Eastern Seaboard.
But for now the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world was in his office, sitting in the leather chair behind his desk.
He turned his chair to the window, while on the phone.
"What do you mean Cheryl is gone?" Thomas said through his telephone, speaking with someone from HR about his secretary, "What do you mean she's on pregnancy leave? I didn't even know she was pregnant!"
Being informed of his new secretary who would be starting today, Thomas hanged up before starting to look through the paperwork on his desk.
A few hours went by rather quickly which where rather uneventful. That was until he it was time to be introduced to his new secretary.
"Thanks for waiting with me." Thomas said, standing with his son at the secretary desk right outside his office.
"Well Dr. Warren wanted me out of the way, so you should thank him." Aiden said with a shrug, "Don't think he likes me very much."
"Oh, Warren doesn't like anyone." Thomas said with a roll of his eyes, "Anyways, did you know Cheryl was pregnant?"
"I have never seen Cheryl." Aiden admitted, "Sometimes I doubt she actually existed."
"Wait, she isn't real!?" Thomas joked, "Then who makes my coffee every morning."
The elevator arrived on the top floor and Thomas turned from his son to the now open doors. Thomas found himself kind of drifting away as he watched his new secretary step out of the elevator.
She was an attractive twenty something woman with red hair tied up in a bun. She was wearing a form fitting white blouse and black pencil skirt showing off her curves. Her black heels clicked on the polished floor.
A smile creeped on Thomas face, something she returned as he looked into her vivid green eyes.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Arclight." the woman introduced herself sticking out her hand, snapping him out of it, "Nathalie Rushman."
"Right... Likewise, Mrs. Rushman." Thomas said and the two shook hands, "Thomas Arclight... But I guess you already knew that."
"I did, and it's Ms. Rushman." she said with a charming smile, showing off her pearly white teeth, "Not married."
"Second biggest surprise today, but I guess the day is still young." Thomas said with a chuckle, "Oh, right. This here is my son, Aiden. He's an intern."
"Nice to meet you, Aiden." Ms. Rushman said, shaking hands with the young man as she gave him an interested smile.
"Likewise." Aiden said a bit unnerved, "I need to get going. See you later dad."
"Nice talking with you Aiden." Thomas said with a smile before turning to his newest secretary, "Well it's your first day, just get familiar with everything. I believe I have a meeting with Reed Richards, at three if I remember correctly. But I need you to move it back thirty minutes if you can. So go do all that and I'll think of some more... Well if you need me, just give me a call, I'll be in my office."
Aiden looked on as the elevator doors started closing. Having watched the scene between his dad and this new woman, he had only one thought.
"What just happened?"
Spider-Man was swinging through the skyline of Manhattan while on the phone with his best friend.
"So your dad got a new secretary?" Peter said over the phone, "And your dad went all doe eyed at her?"
"Yeah, it was freaking weird." Spider-Man said, "I hope I never look at anyone like that... And why can I feel your having that look?"
"I most certainly do not." Peter lied, "Hey, remember that giant space station, the Unalive Sun?"
"Yeah, it's only from my favorite movie series." Aiden said, "Why do you ask?"
"Well..." Peter said, "Guess who got it in LEGO!"
In shock Spider-Man stopped swinging and stuck to the side of the building, more than surprised by what he had just heard, "No. Way."
"Yes way." Peter said with a smile.
"That's awesome!" Spider-Man said as he hung upside down, "How many pieces?"
"Three thousand eight hundred and three." Peter said.
Spider-Man looked with wide eyes, almost like a child, "That's insane!" he said before he let go of the building, going into a steep dive before using the momentum for a boost to his swing speed.
"I know. Do you want to build it tonight?" Peter said, "Join me, and together... We'll build my new LEGO Unalive Sun."
"I would be honored." Spider-Man said with a laugh.
"Awesome." Peter said, "I got to go. Jameson wants to see me."
"Later Pete." Spider-Man said.
Over at the Daily Bugle, Jameson's office where the man himself was looking at the front page showed a picture of Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin.
"Spider-Man and the Green Goblin attack a charity event. These weirdos all got to have a name." Jameson said before pressing a button on his desk phone, "Hoffman! Call the paten office and copyright the name 'Green Goblin'. I want a quarter every time it's said."
"Mr. Jameson, Spider-Man wasn't attacking the charity event, even Wilson Fisk said so." Peter pointed out, "That's slander."
"It is not! I resent that!" Jameson protested, "Slander is spoken. In print, it's libel."
"You don't trust anybody." Peter said shaking his head, "That's your problem."
"I trust my barber." Jameson said before suddenly shouting, "What are you, his lawyer? Get out! Let him sue me! Get rich like a normal person!"
Peter walks out of Jameson's office and he spotted a certain photographer he had been looking for. Walking over to him he called out, "Eddie!"
"Good afternoon, Pete." Eddie said turning around, "What's up?"
"I had a question." he said, "Do you know anything about the Kingpin of Crime?"
"I should, been investigating him for months now." Eddie said, "Rumor has it, it's Wilson Fisk. But those rumors pop up every few years. I checked it out but it seems Fisk is one of the good guys."
Suddenly an explosion shook the floor they where on as debris and glass from the windows of Jameson's office rained over them.
Peter had been pushed down by Eddie as the two where now laying on the floor and behind a desk. Looking around the desk, through the destroyed windows they saw the wall behind Jameson's desk blow away as the Green Goblin comes flying in through the hole.
"Jameson, you slime!" the Green Goblin cackled as he grabbed Jameson by the throat, making his feet dangling off the ground as the Glider floated upwards, "Who's the photographer who takes the pictures of Spider-Man!?"
"I don't know." Jameson shouted, gasping for air, "His stuff comes from a mail! Under the name The Emissary from Hell."
"You're lying!" Goblin shouted, raising his fist readying to punch the man in the face.
And it would have been the end of Jameson if not for a red and black blur who comes swinging in and kicking the Goblin from his Glider forcing him to drop Jameson.
"Speak of the devil!" Goblin chuckled as he stood back to his feet to see Spider-Man stick to the ceiling, "And he shall appear!"
"I knew it!" Jameson shouted pointing at the hero and the villain, "I knew you two were in this together!" but he was silence when his mouth was webbed up.
"Hey, let mommy and daddy talk for a sec!" Spider-Man said, he doges a laser from Goblin's finger by jumping through the hole and out of the window.
Jumping back on his Glider, it flew out of the hole and the Green Goblin chased after Spider-Man.
Evading another yellow laser from Goblin, Spider-Man used his web to pull himself forward and his fist was caught in Goblin's open hand.
"You are an amazing creature Spider-Man." Goblin said before punching him hard enough in the chest to send him flying, "You and I are not so different."
Having the air knocked out of him, Spider-Man recovered using his web to pull himself to a tower and sticking to it.
"...We have nothing in common." Spider-Man noted before jumping off as he continued to evade Goblin's pumpkin bombs and laser blasts.
"I chose my path, you chose the way of the hero." Goblin said, as he bend down as his Glider speed up, "And they found you amusing for a while, the people of this city. But the one thing they love more than a hero..."
"Is an anti-hero!" Spider-Man said, suddenly launching himself backwards and managing to land a powerful kick against Goblin's masked face.
Falling off his Glider, the Goblin fell down through the air as he pressed a button on his glove to return his Glider back to him. But it was too late and his fall was broken when he smashed into a ventilator. An growling Goblin recovered as Spider-Man touched down on a nearby water tower.
"No, it's to see a hero fail, fall, die trying." Goblin said, "In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually, they will hate you. Why bother?"
"Because it's the right thing to do!" Spider-Man said as he launched forward.
Warding off Spider-Man's rapid strikes, Green Goblin regained his composure.
"Here is the real truth, there are eight million people in this city and those teeming masses exist for the sole purpose of lifting the few exceptional people onto their shoulders." Green Goblin said evading a punch to his head, "You, me, we're exceptional."
The two engaged in a flurry of punches and kicks seemingly equally matched until Spider-Man was forced to jump back by a surprise pumpkin bomb. During the distraction, Goblin jumped back and landed back on his Glider.
"Join me. Imagine what we could accomplish if we combined our powers together. What we could create!" Goblin said as he began to float off the ground, "We could rule New York!"
"We talking Manhattan?" Spider-Man pondered, "Or all five..."
"All of New York City!" Goblin cackled, "Or we could destroy! Cause the deaths of countless innocents in selfish battle, again and again and again until we're both dead!"
"Seems your doing a great job of doing that yourself." Spider-Man said, "Sorry, I don't work with anyone psychotic."
"No need to be so hasty." Green Goblin said before throwing a Pumpkin Bomb that emitted a large cloud of green smoke, "Think about it, hero!"
But as Spider-Man flipped back atop a water tower, he could spot a trail of smoke from the Glider showing that the Goblin had managed to escape.
Later that day at the Parker residence, the two friends where working on the LEGO Unalive Sun. With Aiden holding it and with Peter under, adding some touches to it as he told him what had happened after Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had taken the fight outside.
"...So the Goblin wants to rule the city with you." Peter said as he looked through the instructions, "What a peculiar character."
"Yeah, but..." Aiden said, "Is it even sustainable?"
"What?" Peter said confused.
"If we want a city to actually run we'd need a head of transportation, a head of finance, probably some PR guys." Aiden explained, "And for a city taken over by the Green Goblin and fucking Spider-Man we'd need good ones. I mean that would require a full team."
"...You've really put some thought into it." Peter said.
"Just something I have been thinking about when I swung over here." Aiden said with a shrug, "I find it very relaxing, it really clears my mind."
"Right. So I asked about the Kingpin of Crime." Peter said turning to the other matter at hand, "According to Eddie, Wilson Fisk has been suspected a number of times of being the Kingpin of Crime."
"Wilson Fisk? The same one who's charity event was attacked by the Green Goblin?" Aiden said with a frown, "That's... weird. I need to look into it."
"Just be careful." Peter warned, "Alright, Aiden. Just hold it steady while I..."
Just as his bedroom door opened, before the entire set was dropped on him, "What the Hell!?" Peter shouted, but then he looked around to find that Gwen had entered.
"What's up my dudes? Your aunt let me in." Gwen said, before sitting down on the bed, "How are you Peter?"
"I'm fine." Peter said, rubbing his head as he sat up, "It's not so bad."
"I don't think she meant the Unalive Sun." Aiden said as the two of them began to put it back together.
"I heard about the attack on the Bugle by the Green Goblin." Gwen said concerned, "Where you there?"
"No." Peter lied, "I must have just left."
"That's lucky." Gwen said relieved, "I don't know what would have happened if Spider-Man hadn't showed up."
"Spider-Man was there?" Aiden said surprised, "Damn Pete, you missed out on a payday."
"Wait, payday?" Gwen said looking from Aiden to Peter, "So your the one getting all those pictures of Spider-Man!?"
"Not so loud!" Peter said quickly glancing at the door, "Yeah, I am. But my aunt and uncle think I work on the Bugle's website."
"You could be good at that." Aiden said.
"But you get the pictures of Spider-Man! That's so cool." Gwen said in awe, "But how do you do it? You know get the pictures of him?"
"First few times, I just got lucky to be at the right place at the right time." Peter explained, "Then I ended up talking with him one time and now he gives me a call when he's about to go on patrol."
"You have his number!?" Gwen said with an excited smile, "Can I meet him?"
"Nice try, Gwen." Aiden said shaking his head, "I asked the same thing when I found out, but Peter says Spider-Man is kind of a privet person."
"Bummer." Gwen said disappointed before getting up from the bed before sitting next to Aiden, "Say, are you guys up for another get together? Maybe a game night, or another movie night?"
"Sure sounds like fun." Peter said with a shrug, "Where will we hold it?"
"How about my place?" Gwen suggested, "I know the television isn't so big that it had to be shipped to the states like King Kong, but it's still a pretty decent model."
"I'm down for it." Aiden said, "Can I bring a plus one?"
"Sure, I'll let Cindy know." Gwen said with a nod, "Alright, let's work on the Unalive Sun."
Thomas stepped out of the elevator in his office, fixing his suit as he walked towards his new secretary who was sitting at her desk, typing away at her keyboard a bag of sweet next to her.
"Mr. Arclight." Ms. Rushmen said looking up from her screen, "I thought you would be gone for the afternoon."
"I just forgot something." he said, stopping at her desk, "Anything I should know before I go?"
"You've got a lot of mail today, Mr. Arclight." Ms. Rushmen said, "What do you want me to do with it?"
"Well, you need to get used to that because we get a lot of mail." Thomas said, "Most of it is just junk, but don't throw it out right away."
He rubbed a hand through his hair before he thought of something, "Let's just make two piles. For the first couple of weeks, we'll try and figure it out and we slowly get to the point so that you're just opening everything and only bringing me the important stuff." he said, "For now just separate them into two piles."
"It will be done." she said, "Anything else you need for this weekend?"
"Well I will be gone, so I don't need anything." Thomas said, "Aiden will be at his friend Gwen, so he doesn't need anything either... Do you need anything from Nevada?"
"Oh, don't go out of your way." she said with a smile, "Have a nice weekend."
"Same to you, Ms. Rushmen." he said.
And that's the Issue, hope you enjoy.
Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite and follows this story.
If you enjoyed it, don't forget to leave a review.
For now I wish you all a fantastic day and I hope to see you people next time. Bye for now.