Power to Protect, Power to Destroy

Next chapter of my crossover story, enjoy.

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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-Man, Stranger Things or their characters.

Chapter 15

'Okay, I gotta admit, this isn't quite what I had in mind' Spider-Man thought to himself.

He had accepted the challenge, arrived at the arena where said challenge had been built and set up and now, with a cheering audience and several reporters and photographers present, he was locked in some sort of escape room. He couldn't be certain but he thought he saw Mike amongst the photographers.

"So, you actually had the guts to show Spider-Man, I'm surprised." The voice of Quentin Beck sounded through a loudspeaker.

Spider-Man just shrugged. "What can I say, I never turn down a challenge."

Beck scoffed. "Even when said challenge exposes you as the fraud you are."

"Yeah, I still don't get that part." Spider-Man remarked. "I don't see how this will prove anything, especially when my powers are as real as can be."

The only sound he could hear, following that, was Beck's laughter.

It was the laughter of a man who had just heard a hilarious joke, even though Spider-Man knew he was being serious.

"Oh please, don't patronise me, you go around pretending to be a hero with all these so called powers, but I know better, they're all tricks. The exact same tricks of the trade needed in my line of work to make many of our stunts work." Beck snapped at him. "These rooms are set up to detect those very tricks and will expose your deceit...so go on, try and escape if you can. I look forward to your failure."

Spider-Man shook his head, it was all making sense now. He shrugged knowing he had nothing to worry about. If what Beck said was true, then his means of detecting tricks would instead prove his powers were real beyond all doubt. He noted with interest that the vast majority of the cheering crowd were actually on his side, they'd come not to see him exposed, but to show Quentin just how wrong he was.

'Well, better get started, I can already tell this is going to be easier than he thinks it is.' He noted. 'Still, shouldn't let my guard down.'

With that he stepped up, ready to begin.

The first room was rather bland, only the door to the next room, a few objects, one of which most likely held the key, and an open vent near the ceiling, above the door. Impossible for a normal man to reach, but no problem for Spidey, in fact, he decided to show off a little and not use his webs for this room. Wasting no time he ran towards the wall, knowing he was on camera at this very moment. There were gasps, a yell of outrage and shock from Beck and more than a few cheers as he ran right up the wall until he set himself flat to crawl along the ceiling. Not one indication that he had set the sensors off, leaving Beck screaming in outrage as he crawled through into the next room.

"I suppose you think your clever, oh there's just some sort of malfunction, I'll have it fixed in no time." Beck cried. "Now let's put a stop to that ridiculous crawling on the ceiling."

It was then his Spider-Sense went off and he quickly dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the spikes that sprung from the roof.

Shaking his head he looked around, it was a similar room to before, only the vent was floor level, to the right of the door.

"Better hurry." Beck taunted.

That and his Spider-Sense made him look up to see the spiked ceiling descending. He shook his head, there was no time now. He launched a pair of web lines and used them to zip himself right through the vent before the ceiling was even halfway down, then he zipped up to one of the walls in the next room as his Spider-Sense warned him again. This time the floor opened up to expose more spikes.

Beck was beside himself. "This is impossible, what is wrong with the sensors, you've been using your fake powers all this time and they've not-You weren't even supposed to get to this room!"

Glancing at the spikes below, Spider-Man muttered. "Clearly, still there's the way out."

One last vent, but with danger beyond. Taking a deep breath he zipped to the edge of the vent and then, seeing the next room was basically nothing but spikes and the exit, did the same again to finally escape the series of rooms, landing in the middle of the building with a perfect three point landing.

He stood up as the crowd cheered, the cameras flashed and Spidey set his sights on Quentin Beck who was hovering above him on a jetpack, clad in what could best be described as a flight suit.. the dark haired man was glowered his face red with anger.

"What have you done, how did you sabotage my-?" He began snarling.

Spider-Man cut him off. "No sabotaging, just my powers. Besides, you've got some nerve calling me a fraud, look at you."

"WHAT!?"

"Well, that fake jetpack bit, or rather, the wire trick." Spider-Man explained as he shot two webs above Beck, they stuck to and revealed he was being suspended by wires. "Not to mention all this smoke and mirrors nonsense."

He then webbed up the machines that gave the area its unnatural atmosphere and made the jetpack look like its exhaust was worked, cutting them all off and exposing Beck as the fraud. The crowd jeered and laughed and Beck snarled in fury.

"You will pay for this Spider-Man, you will pay."

With that he took out some sort of switch and Spider-Man was forewarned, yet still horrified as he activated it and there was an explosion, the escape rooms had been packed with explosives that had now detonated.

Enraged by this dangerous display of pettiness, Spider-Man wasted no time pulling Beck to the floor and webbing him up securely.

"I'll be back for you." He said sharply.

He then pulled himself up to a higher elevation and looked around, to his relief, and likely down to Beck's incompetence, nobody had actually been killed, although those closest were clearly shaken, perhaps a few injuries but they were all fleeing. He also saw that Mike was indeed present and thankfully unhurt, trying to help others to flee. Satisfied he leapt back down to Beck and picked him up.

"Get off me, you-!"

"Shut up and count yourself lucky." Spider-Man snapped. "You didn't kill anyone after all."

With that he swung out of the building with the webbed up Quentin Beck and landed, right in front of the police cruiser that Hopper emerged from.

Seeing the police chief, Beck immediately began hollering.

"I demand you arrest this monster, I've been assaulted, I-"

"Funny, after hearing from all these people I'm surprised this is all you got for setting off a bomb, Mr. Beck." Hopper remarked dryly. "Seems to me Spider-Man simply used reasonable force to restrain you."

Handing Beck over, Spider-Man nodded. "I'll let you take over from here chief. The webs will dissolve in less than an hour now."

Hopper nodded and took Beck away while Spider-Man turned and saw Mike, he approached him and Mike smiled, holding out his camera.

"Got time for one more picture, not for the article, this one's personal."

Spider-Man nodded and suggested. "Selfie?"

Mike immediately brightened up and agreed leading to them taking that very picture.

XXXXX

Mike fought to keep the smirk off his face as Jameson glared at the photos presented to him.

"What is this garbage Wheeler, this event was supposed to expose that fraud for who he really was?"

Mike shrugged. "It did sir, it's just that the fraud in question was actually Quentin Beck."

Jameson glared but then, grumbling, threw another pay packet on the desk. "Alright, take it and get out, I'll try and make something out of this...dammit everyone is going around saying it was Beck who set off the bomb, but that doesn't make any sense."

Mike just left, taking the money and smiling, it made perfect sense to him. Although it also brought some strange stirrings inside him, a feeling of warmth that he was beginning to recognise, but he knew could lead him to difficulties.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.