Peter felt groggy as he opened up his eyes early in the morning to find himself stuck his ceiling in black goo and was almost ready to scream or think that he was having a nightmare. "You probably see this as a nightmare Mr Parker... You are very much awake and you can only wish that you were still sleeping." Gargan said smirking standing in the middle of the room as Peter gasped out loud seeing him. "My other better half; got into your mind as it has done to various versions of you in the Multiverse... Not only do we know your secrets but we don't have to worry about being picked up by your senses anymore." Gargan smirked as Peter got angry and a little worried.
"What do you want Gargan? Want to threaten me to back off or you will reveal my identity?" Peter demanded as Gargan shook his head.
"What would I have to gain from doing that? I honestly care less about the kid underneath the mask; he's nothing to me and that's why I didn't just kill you in your sleep. I want to use the knowledge to fight you psychologically and when I end you; I want it to be your real self: Spider-Man because that's all that's left after your little spell. Plus Mysterio already did the public reveal. I want to be better because he truly didn't know you like I do now; your life your aunt and uncle and how you resented whoever your birth parents were... They gave you away when you were too young too remember and got themselves killed in a plane crash and how your own actions got your real parents killed." Gargan smirked as Peter got really angry.
"You shut up about them! I will mess you up when I get out of here!" Peter snapped out loud as Gargan shook his head as he picked up something Peter noticed that it was his phone.
"Been in your head and got your passcode and I saw how many times you have been checking up on your friends... Or are they your friends anymore since they don't remember you and especially not your girlfriend who probably doesn't know where she got her necklace from!" Gargan asked as Peter then got really angry. "Tell me Parker; suppose that you did tell them both what had happened and if by some miracle that they do believe you... What then? Can you really continue where you left off on relationships where you have all the memories and they just have to take your word for it that you were there or they did this? To MJ since they don't have all the times together; suppose you do somehow awaken their memories... Would that risk all the Multiverse visitors coming back out..." Gargan asked as Peter was silent at this and he put his head down.
"Spider-Man is all you have left and you have people hating you and me..." Gargan said as he put up the Daily Bugle website and showed the news report and put to the middle of the story:
"This monster Venom who has been identified as career criminal and murderer Mac Gargan; not only made off with stolen money and property damage that he and that menaces Spider-Man and the cat burglar identified as the Black Cat left in their wake but went and horrifically took the life of retired elementary teacher Marcus Bitterman survived by his daughter and grandchildren; enjoying life after a long 45 year teaching youth. This is why we don't need the freaks that the existence of menaces like Spider-Man invites to our fair world..."
"Ignore Jameson and to the comments the admins keep having to delete comments saying how cool and awesome Venom looked and social media posts saying the same. What does that say to you?" Gargan asked grinning as Peter glared at him.
"That people can be stupid?" Peter asked as Gargan sighed.
"True but it also shows that most people truly don't want to look up towards 'heroes'; it's the bad guys they like for being so cool and badass! Think about it: people loved seeing Heisenberg being awesome in Breaking Bad, all the popularity and success that each Grand Theft Auto game gets where they get to live moral and guilt free. Could anyone off the top off their heads name the protagonists of any of the Friday the 13th, Child's Play or Hellraiser movies? Off course not because the human cast only exist to be murder fodder for the monsters they want to root for! Isn't it telling that the Godfather is considered one of the greatest movies of all time? Though the 3rd one did suck but that's neither here nor there..." Gargan said as Peter took it in.
"That's fiction though..." Peter retorted back as Gargan shook his head.
"True but how about those that think we would be better off and safer if HYDRA had won and had taken over? Those that think Thanos was right? Those that crush on Loki you know the mastermind of the Battle of New York? How about those that make excuses for real like normal serial killers because they were attractive?" Gargan gave back as Peter was silent. "I am going to destroy you Spider-Man and people will forget you; I never forget a grudge and certainly not the masked 'hero' who got me put into prison for years before I was able to escape in the chaos of the Blip... I am going to build myself up as a super powered crime lord on par with Al Capone except no tax conviction will take me down!" Gargan said in a gloating voice as the ooze connecting to Peter went towards Gargan and he fell to the ground.
Peter got up and saw that Gargan had escaped and looked out the window; "What is this Parker? What was that sound?" shouted a voice as the door opened up and Peter saw his landlord was there looking angry.
"Sorry Mr Ditkovich... Just had a bad dream... Won't happen again..." Peter replied apologetically as Mr Ditkovich shook his head.
"Just don't let it happen again and remember; incidents like these will not look good on you when you try and ask for an extension on paying rent!" Mr Ditkovich warned as he then slammed the door shut.
Peter ran to ESU the next morning to find o nthe streets Damage Control vans patrolling the streets and his eyes widened as he witnessed the EDITH drones being used by them to patrol the streets; "Heard they were using them for something but jeez..." Peter muttered freaking out as he had a lot of trouble from the drones and Damage Control alone but them together...
"Yeah with a black goo monster criminal loose in our city; something has to be done..." muttered one of the civilians around.
"Hopefully I can be around to see Venom crush the Damage Control zealots like it was a horror movie!" muttered another making Peter uncomfortable.
"If only I could be lucky enough to be there when Venom rips off that loser Spider-Man's head." said another wearing a Mysterio shirt making Peter cringe.
Peter soon got to ESU and ran inside but got a news alert on his phone. From the Daily Bugle off course saying that 2 graves belonging to a late couple were found destroyed in the cemetery this morning and would have happened during the night. Peter's eyes widened as he read the names of the couple that they belonged to...
Ben & May Parker.
"OH HELL NO!" Peter screamed out as he then got students glancing at him. "Sorry... Just got the latest sports results..." Peter muttered out as he just went to his first class of the day.
Gargan smirked to himself as he was walking by himself in his overcoat and hat across the streets of New York; not worried too much about being discovered by Damage Control as it was obvious that he could handle them if they did. He made his way to an alleyway and down a small bit of steps to a door and knocked.
It was answered by a large bouncer who looked at him wearily; "Hello Ox... Password is 'Scourge'!" Gargan said as he was reluctantly went in.
Inside was a bar filled with seedy individuals; an off the books bar for criminals which acted as neutral territory and any grudges or vendettas were to be left outside the door. "Looking good Widows!" Gargan flashed a smile to a set of former Black Widow assassins from the Red Room who were acting as assassins for hire.
"Enforcers; glad to see that the numbers lost to the Ronin hasn't totally destroyed you..." Gargan said to a group of thugs who glared at him as with other glares and weary looks from other patrons from members of the Manfredi crime family to members of the Tracksuit mafia.
Gargan forced his way to the special VIP area where there was a bandaged up figure sitting at his booth along with his guards where he was the head of the establishment; "Gargan; I see that your plans for a Sinister group of Avengers fell through..." spoke a figure that many in the establishment feared as he spoke calmly but with a frightening edge to his voice.
"Well that was the plan but disagreements but I found something better; Venom the hottest force in town! So Mr Fisk; can I expect a new permanent seat here?" Gargan asked flashed a smile but it fell as Fisk laughed humourlessly.
"Are you serious Gargan? After your ill-suited antics... You are lucky that I am even allowing you to be in this area to speak to me; much less not banning you outright from this establishment!" Fisk retorted as Gargan got angry.
"Be careful how you speak to me 'Kingpin'... I was able to make short work of Spider-Man and he knows that I can kill him at any point... I made short work of the government's SHIELD replacement and I have shown a message to anyone who has dared to disparage me... The example made off my old teacher..." Gargan warned as Fisk shook his head.
"What did you accomplish by that... Hm... Ah yes; you brought Damage Control in force onto the streets with all the authorities on a manhunt making it harder for everyone here to go about our business! Your short sightedness has made things harder for all of us and your petty unhinged behaviour means that we have to wait until you get gunned down like an animal!" Fisk retorted as Gargan looked furious at him. "Don't believe me? I have an informant high up in the Department of Damage Control and the director has been given big pressure directly from the President himself! He is thinking of sending the FBI and military there to deal with you! He would have set Captain America himself here if he wasn't already preoccupied with a mission and he would forget his current anti-alien stance if Thor himself came to deal with you! You really think you could deal with the Avengers after you?" Fisk continued on.
"I could easily rip art everyone in this bar!" Gargan warned up on his feet shouting and got people scared at him.
"Go ahead; all it will prove is that that you are a child unfit to be a mastermind... Wanting to be feared, respected and accepted as a crime boss when all you can be is the first one!" Fisk gloated with a straight face as Gargan picked him up by the collar off his shirt but just dropped him as he stormed out.
"You could have killed him right there..." said the voice in Gargan's head as he shook it off.
"What would be the point in that; no fear and no satisfaction I need to prove him wrong and show that people will respect me once I am the new big boss in town!" Gargan answered shaking his head as he thought of something. "I will destroy Damage Control... In fact I will get an army and eliminate Fisk's forces and he will have to make me the new Kingpin as I rule over New York! No one will mess with me!" Gargan replied as he thought of something as he got onto his phone.
"Sir... We have looked over your test results and they are quite concerning... The thing inside of you is a parasite..." said Riva on the other end.
"PARASITE!" screamed the voice in Gargan's head as Gargan shook his head.
"Shut up Riva and don't insult my friend again; I need you to get the illusion drones ready and here is what I want to happen..." Gargan then ordered.
In the early night Peter was out at Spider-Man and then went to a building overlooking Hardy Hotel where he was soon approached by Felicia in her suit. "Felicia... Last night I was visited by Gargan who got into my head... That I am focused too much on stalking my friends who don't remember me and I may never get what we had back... About how the spell destroyed my life where all I have is Spider-Man..." Peter told her as Felicia shook her head.
"Well if you want advice other than not let what the killer with the black alien goo costume from another universe get to you... If you focus too much on what you lost then you can't go forward; try and rebuild your life... Don't let those that destroyed your life ultimately win..." Felicia answered as Peter gave her an appreciative smile underneath his mask.
"Thanks... Say that necklace; Wong said something about it... Is it magic..." Peter asked as Felicia smirked as she got it.
"A bit of magic; anyone who crosses those who wear it gets bad luck." Felicia explained as Peter took it in.
"That explains when we first met; how I couldn't catch you and fell into the dumpster..." Peter said as Felicia laughed.
"Excuses but yeah... Got it from my father... He grew up as a pickpocket in Paris; taught himself skills to survive and managed to get lucky and snatch it from a museum and made a getaway. Managed to master it and hone his skills and took on the identity of Le Chat Noir. French for 'the Black Cat'; but he became the most notorious cat burglar in Paris. Stumped the authorities for years and by the time he was 25, he had amassed a fortune that allowed him to come up with a new identity Walter Hardy to enter high society and that is where he met mother. He charmed her and they wed; didn't learn until later that he was interested in her family fortune." Felicia explained as Peter took this in.
"They moved to the States for a new life; Mama had discovered Papa's life but he past himself off as a thief with a heart of gold that found love more valuable to him than any treasure or money. Kept saying that he left that part of him and opened up a nightclub and hotel together... Had me and Papa helped me in pursue gymnastics and martial arts; winning all sorts of awards in both fields and helped me excel in engineering and computing or rather hacking." Felicia then confinued to explain and she was silent but Peter got the hint.
"He was training you to be his successor." Peter answered as Felicia nodded.
"Had materials for a suit ready and he was looking to use his nightclub to become a crime lord; he didn't just want me to be the Black Cat but... Mother had found calls and documents about his plans for me... When I was of age; I was to help him seduce figures of interest. He had eyes on Jack Duquesne as a possible mark." Felicia said as Peter gasped out loud.
"What... To his own daughter?" Peter asked as Felicia sighed.
"I was studying with Papa in her nightclub when Mama confronted us; told me to leave to the limo and wait for her. Papa refused and it ended up in an argument when Mama confronted him with the evidence; saying that she is calling divorce lawyers and he will never see me again. However we got a visitor from a hired killer; seemed that Papa in his attempts at being a crime boss got on the bad side of one of the heads of the Manfredis. Set the building ablaze and Mama dragged me away as I watched as the killer hurt him with his bare hands. Mama kept it to myself and despite knowing what he was planning; he was still my father and the good times... I thought that I should have saved him myself and... A part of me wants to make him proud by being the Black Cat like he wanted and one day I could find his killer and get my pound of flesh..." Felicia finished explaining shedding tears as Peter looked down as he went closer to her with his hands on her shoulder.
"You know; chickening out on my first day as Spider-Man got my Uncle Ben killed... When I was taking care of the killer; I was tempted to take his life like he took away my Uncle's but seeing through the window of the store where it happened knowing his body was still there... Wondering if he would approve of what I wanted to do if he was still alive... Plus the oldest of the versions of me that I met; he told me how he also confronted his Uncle Ben's killer and got what he wanted but it didn't make it better... I once saw this really old movie on TV called Camelot and it said that revenge is the most worthless of causes... I settled on trying to make my Uncle proud and now I am doing the same for my Aunt..." Peter quietly told Felicia as they were both silent for a minute.
"I guess I was lying to you about exactly why I was doing this..." Felicia sighed shaking her head but then they heard loud sounds and looked on to see people screaming in terror was there was a large monster rampaging through the streets. "So are you... Yep; saw that coming..." Felicia muttered as Peter then ran and jumped down to start web slinging to this.
"You think that one of these days people will start to be numb when another alien invasion hits? Was such a big deal when the first one hit in this city..." Felicia muttered out thinking that she might as well follow Peter.
Gargan manages to psyche out Peter but also learns the folly of trying to act full supervillain in broad daylight as there is a reason why Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming was so adamant about not bringing attention to himself.
Plus Walter Hardy being explained but not portrayed as sympathetically or as good a dad as he usually is with the exception being the DLC for the Spider-Man game; where he was still in the criminal game but more than willing to make sure that his daughter thinks that he is dead.