Hey hey, people. Issex here.
Writer's block can't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now. It's the size of an estate smh. This chapter's pretty short, I just made it off an outline I had but can't for the life of me expand on and my mind's kind of empty right now so I'll just skip to the part where I plug the discord servers I'm on.
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Let's get to it.
"If I ever become the mayor," Naruto screamed, "I'll make so many anti-gun laws, you guys would be playing paintball with slingshots!"
Of course he doubted the guys he was yelling at even heard him. Shit, he could barely hear himself over the shots they were letting off from their van. They hadn't managed to hit him yet but as he closed the distance between himself and the vehicle, their aim got better. Much better.
The detective hadn't been lying when he said the Flatiron gangsters were a nasty bunch but he had understated just how active they were. In the span of two hours, Naruto had already foiled two burglaries, broken up three drug deals and stopped a robbery. Stepping didn't even begin to describe what these guys were doing. Every single one of them was armed and he had yet to meet one who didn't have an itchy finger. He'd nearly gotten shot multiple times already.
And as if he hadn't done enough, it just so happened that right as he was about going to purchase something to eat before heading to Midtown, he reached the drive thru just in time to see three men emptying their assault rifles into a car before heading back into their van and taking off, still shooting the car as they left.
A quick look at the bullet riddled inhabitants had told him that both the driver and passenger were dead or at least, wouldn't survive long enough for an ambulance but after ordering the cashier to call for one anyway, he took off after the van, determined not to let them get away.
And here he was. If he hadn't narrowly avoided getting shot multiple times already, he'd have thought he was in a video game.
Naruto cursed when a stray bullet went through his web, snapping the line and causing him to fall. He landed atop a lamppost with a foot and kicked himself off in the direction of the van, his mild precognition allowing him to avoid the bullets fired at him by the men at the back and using a line of webbing, pulled himself towards the van. A corkscrew in mid air helped him avoid two bullets and another makeshift bullet sponge stopped the third from going into his eye. He wasn't sure if it was adrenaline or him getting used to being shot at but the bullets had become a bit slower than he remembered them being.
But nevertheless, he found himself playing catcher with gunfire, dodging and blocking the bullets he couldn't avoid with globs of webbing and as much as he hated to admit it, he was beginning to grow tired. He'd been chasing them for nearly half an hour, his wrists were starting to feel sore from forcing out webbing larger than the slits and having to between swinging, running and dodging was beginning to put a strain on him.
He got his moment of respite when one of the men stopped firing just as he landed on the ground and broke into a sprint.
"Got you!" He shot a web at the shooter's rifle and yanked it out of his grasp, sending the firearm clattering on the road and three seconds later, it's owner followed. Naruto met the airborne man with a punch that rendered him unconscious.
"Close the fucking door," he heard one of them yell and fired another web that one of the doors before the shooter could shut them and pulled, attempting to wrench it out of the man's grasp. He was more than surprised when the door got torn off instead and came skidding towards him. The shocked criminal nearly fell off as well but held the door in time and pulled himself back in, shutting it behind himself just as the van shifted gears.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Naruto yelled at them as he latched a web onto the van's body and leapt onto the door, using it as a makeshift board. He nearly fell over but steadied himself with a gloved hand that ground against the road, tearing off bits of the material. The door skated on asphalt, leaving fleeting sparks in it's wake as it's form, along with the man atop it was dragged forward by the van.
The lone man at the back peeped from behind the closed door and his eyes widened. "Shit man, he's still on our ass!"
The van sped up and began to sway left and right in an attempt to dislodge him but he held on, slowly pulling himself closer to the vehicle until he was finally an arm's reach away from the door. The man glanced back again and this time, he caught a web to the eyes for his troubles. His shocked shout caught the attention of the two men in front and the vehicle promptly took a sharp turn left.
Unfortunately for them, he'd gotten too close to be thrown off.
Naruto kicked himself off the removed door and when he got a good grip on it's still attached counterpart, got into the van. He swiftly kicked the blinded man in the side of the head, knocking him against the wall hard enough to leave a small dent and wrenched the rifle out of the hands of the criminal in the passenger's seat. A shot rang out and he ducked under the bullet that ricocheted off the door before boring a path through the windshield.
The driver jumped slightly and tucked his hand under his shirt to draw what was probably a handgun but Naruto hit him with the butt of the gun, stunning him enough for his grip on the steering wheel to loosen and a muffled shot rang out followed by an agonized scream. The speeding van swayed uncontrollably, jostling its inhabitants except Naruto who tossed the rifle to the side and forced the gunman out of his seat.
Surprisingly, the man managed to wrestle his way out of his grip and nearly land a blow on him but Naruto headbutted him, his goggles striking his nose as well and kicked him away but his follow up attack was cut off by the van taking another hard swerve. The driver was still screaming and the steering wheel had become slick with blood on which his hands slipped over.
Before the criminal could gather himself, he found himself stuck to the wall of the van next to the unconscious shooter by a web.
He glared at Naruto through a haze of fear and rage. "You fu-"
The van crashed into the pole and spun wildly before tipping over and coming to a halt, the windshield shattering completely and the front crumpling entirely. Its rear wheels rolled for a few more seconds before stopping as well. A few other motorists parked near the scene and neared the van with their phones out but the majority went about their own way, not wanting to be involved in whatever had happened.
One slowly approached the steaming vehicle. "Hello? Are you okay?"
"Hey man, get away from there!"
The man ignored the person and tentatively reached for the door. He'd barely touched the door when it swung open abruptly and a black clad figure crawled out before dropping onto the ground and slowly rolling onto his back. "Jesus!"
"Hey, it's that spider guy."
"Holy shit, it's true. Anyone getting this? He crashed the van!"
"Wait, is that a gun?"
"There's other dudes in there…"
The voices sounded distant, syrupy and unpleasantly synchronized with the throbbing in Naruto's ears and he screwed his eyes shut as he cradled his aching head with a hand. A stinging pain in his forehead bore testament to the glass that had pierced his mask to embed itself in skin, his neck felt like it'd snap if he tilted his head and he ached all over. He hadn't seen the crash until a second before it happened and by the time what he saw had registered, he'd been getting thrown all around the interior of the van before getting slammed facefirst into the wall in an impossible position.
No wonder people die so easily in crashes, he thought sluggishly. His momentary rest was interrupted by lights piercing through his goggles and eyelids and he slowly opened his eyes to see people pointing phones at him while debating who would call for paramedics and police.
He tried to keep from snapping at them as he got up with a strained grunt, surprising the small crowd. Surprisingly enough, a minute of rest was enough for him to feel significantly less crappy than he'd felt before. He shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs and rolled his shoulders. The night air somehow felt fresher after a minute of inhaling gunsmoke.
Wait…he glanced at his watch. The glass was cracked and ink had covered a part of the digital screen but he could still make our the time. Eight forty-six. "Shit."
He kicked his legs with another painted grunt and got back into the van to look at the others. It seemed he had been the one to take the lion's share of damage in the crash. The driver's seatbelt had kept him in his seat and the airbag had kept him solidly in place. The one he'd dragged out had remained stuck to the wall by the web and the unconscious one had only been thrown around a little, the majority of his collisions cushioned by his body.
Surprisingly, the man he'd stuck was still conscious, albeit dazed but he wasn't too out of it not to recognize Naruto when he got in.
"Shit, man. You done nearly gotten us killed," he slurred out. "Leave me alone."
"I might have," Naruto glared at him. "If you hadn't killed two men tonight. Why'd you do it?"
"Fuck you…"
"You're going to wish you just told me." Naruto sealed the man's mouth shut. "I'm in a hurry right now but I can still make a little time to get answers out of you."
He tore the web off the criminal and bound him with a fresh batch before tossing him over his shoulder. Before he left, he glanced back at the other two. On second thought. Maybe he ought to take them all.
A minute later, Naruto swung away from the scene in the direction the van had come from with three men bound together by a web that he held with a hand and two guns stuck to his back.
He had to get the other guy and his gun and after that, he had a meeting to attend.
…
Naruto idly munched on a burger as he sat on the stairs of a fire escape overlooking the Midtown North Police precinct. It was still three minutes before nine thirty and he was beginning to get impatient. He hadn't been injured, at least not severely but he was still hurting and he wanted nothing more than to go home, down some heavy painkillers, pass out and spend the entirety of the next day relaxing until night. He grimaced when he felt a stone give way between his teeth but swallowed anyway. He should have probably taken his gloves off before eating.
A small weight on his shoulder and a familiar presence in his mind made him turn to look at Teach who, like always, had appeared out of nowhere. "So, the prodigal spider returns."
The spider's black eyes seemed to twinkle. Missed you.
He snorted. "Don't think I'm going to hug you, I'm still bummed about you ditching me at the train."
Sorry.
It was funny how profound a one word apology could sound when one happened to be able to feel the apologizer's remorse. He'd kept a few choice words to say to the spider when next they met but now, he didn't have the heart to do anything other than sigh. "It's…it's fine, Teach. But why'd you disappear for so long? I couldn't even reach you."
Teach seemed to frown. Can't say.
"You can't or you won't?"
Can't.
Naruto frowned. He'd spent enough time with Teach to know that the spider didn't lie. If it said it couldn't, it couldn't. "Fine. But we're partners, Teach. That means no disappearing acts out of the blue. At least tell me first."
Will try. Teach looked at the precinct. You're seeing the man?
Naruto nodded. "I figured I don't have much to lose by hearing him out. Besides, if it's a trap, they'd have to see me to be able to spring it."
You're hiding.
Naruto smiled. "Not sure if you've noticed but this spot is pretty dark and high up. Even if it's a trap and they managed to notice me, I'd be long gone by the time they managed to get the ladder down or come up to this floor."
Clever.
"Mm." He nodded to himself and finished the burger before downing the soda he'd bought with it. When he was done, he crumpled the cup and wrapper before stuffing both in his hoodie. "I did some rounds around Flatiron tonight. The detective either didn't see enough or he didn't think it was necessary to tell me just how much 'stepping' they actually do."
Teach looked at him. Is it that bad?
"That bad? Look at me." Naruto stretched his arms out. "I'm more banged up than I usually get in a month. Those guys don't fuck around."
Will you go after them?
Naruto stayed silent. Going after this Hammerhead guy and his people felt like it'd be a whole different hassle on it's own, one he wasn't very sure he was ready for. He'd only just started making headway with finding the guys who'd shot Peter and he didn't even want to think of what would happen if he put that on hold in favour of going after what seemed like a more dangerous, better protected criminal and what was probably a more organized group.
"Later…probably?" He rubbed his head once more. "I don't know, Teach. I'm doing all this for Peter, I can't start getting distracted by other things."
Not other things, it's bad. More Peters out there.
"I get it, Teach. What happened to Peter happened to others. It's probably even happening to someone now. But that's the thing, I don't know them, " came his reply, this time spoken in his his mind. "I'm trying to get the guys I'm after and everything else comes after."
And what will happen by the time you find them? You've given them time to grow stronger. They know you. They'll be ready when you start coming after them.
"What's to say I won't just quit after getting the book thrown at the two guys who shot Peter?" Naruto asked.
You won't. You don't want to. Even if you don't want to admit it to yourself, you're starting to like this. You like helping people otherwise you wouldn't go out of your way to stop small crimes…or keep murderers from escaping.
"... you're right, I won't," Naruto sighed. "Sometimes I hate that you're in my head. But still…these guys are different. They're worse. SHK might have taken Gramercy but these guys? They're huge. Sixteen divisions, Teach. And that's only the ones the detective know about. I can't take them down."
It might look impossible but you didn't know where to start looking when you started and look, you may not have found them but you know where to go. You know their leader and you know where to go searching for him.
"I guess that's true," Naruto muttered. "These things are so much easier in comics."
Your heroes didn't become who they are by quitting after completing their own personal goal, Naruto. Didn't you want to be like Iron Man once?
"Oh look, the detective's here." He pointed at Dean who slowly walked towards him, looking at his watch and scanning his surroundings as he approached the fire escape while muttering something underneath his breath.
The next few minutes were spent watching the man pace around, cursing and talking to himself as he did until he eventually gave up and leaned on a wall before glancing at his watch and heaving a sigh.
"... should have told him where to meet up. Where the fuck do I wait for him?" The detective tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. "Shit, it's almost nine thirty. Guy's probably standing me up."
"You sure about that?" Dean's shocked cry didn't make Naruto grin. Not at all.
Dean looked up at him. "Jeez, man. How long have you been up there?"
"A while," Naruto replied. "I've been watching you since you got here."
Dean glared at him. "And you didn't say anything? Do you get a kick out of keeping people waiting?"
"I wanted to be sure you didn't have some of your buddies hidden somewhere to tackle me the moment I revealed myself," Naruto said. "I'm not sure if you're aware but me and your people don't exactly see eye to eye."
"Yeah well, assaulting a sergeant didn't do you any favours," Dean saw the vigilante tilt his head questioningly. "I saw the full footage."
"I didn't assault him, I just created a distraction to escape."
"You tossed a 170 pound man at him like a dodgeball. How the fuck did you even do that?"
"If you thought that was crazy, you're going to flip when you see this." Naruto kicked a large looking bundle at his feet off the fire escape and it dropped onto the floor right next to the detective who jumped away.
"Hey, what…gives…" Dean's words faded to nothing as he stared at four cocooned men stuck to one another with only their heads revealed. "What the hell?"
"They murdered two men about an hour ago," Naruto said gravely. "I was near when they were doing the shooting."
"The shots fired at that burger joint in Flatiron?"
"Yep."
"The suspects got away in a green van?"
"It got crashed about eight blocks away." Naruto tossed him the three rifles, stuck together with another web. "I got the guns too. You're welcome."
"Shit," Dean shook his head as he stared at one of them. "Must have been one hell of a crash. This guy's messed up."
Naruto nodded slowly. "Yeah…it was bad."
The man looked back up at him. "You look like crap too."
"It's the clothes." Well, his body as well but the detective didn't need to know that.
"Well, thanks I guess." The detective shrugged. "I'll call some guys to pick them up when you're gone."
"Right. And speaking of gone, what do you have for me?" Naruto got off the stairs to lean on the railing.
"Well, I helped you look into those guys you're after." Dean took out a small notebook. "No names still but they are SHK. Surveillance footage shows they've been hanging around a few known members but save for a home invasion and attempted murder in Queens, they're suspect to nothing else."
Naruto scowled. "How don't you guys know their names? Don't you have a record of everyone?"
"Names are like clothes," Dean shrugged again. "They've probably got someone helping them out with their records. Chances are Herman Shultz isn't even the leader's real name."
Naruto sighed. "Of course. What about the set as a whole? You find anything else?"
"No dice, sorry." Dean shook his head.
"So why'd you even ask to meet?"
"Because I wanted to give you this." Dean brought out a handheld radio. "Standard issue."
Beneath his goggles, Naruto narrowed his eyes and as if sensing his suspicion, Dean raised the device disarmingly.
"Look, I had a guy disconnect it from the department's database. As far as the NYPD is concerned, this one got damaged beyond repair. It's not trackable but you can still tune in to our radio frequencies," Dean explained. "It's no GPS, but at least you'll know what's going on with different units. I stapled a list of our codes to the back. Best memorize them, okay?"
"That's a huge risk you took," Naruto said. "The guy didn't ask why?"
"I told you, not all of us think you're bad," Dean said. "Matter of fact, I'd say you have a few fans in the department now. Guy's one of them too."
Naruto eyed the radio cautiously. He didn't want to have anything that could potentially be used to track him but still…it was a freaking police radio! He'd have to be a fool to turn down something that would let him keep tabs with all the happenings in the city.
"What do you think, Teach?" He asked the spider. "Do I take it?"
You don't have other options…unless you enjoy going after random criminals in the hopes of them having answers you want.
"I figured you'd say that." He sighed and focused on the detective once more. "I'll take it."
"Really? Alright then." Dean looked at the radio then back at him. "So, do I throw it up or-"
He jumped as a line of webbing latched on to the device and pulled it out of his grasp and up to the vigilante who caught it in a hand. "Hey, give me a warning first!"
Naruto ignored him in favour of examining the radio. It didn't look much different from the military one Uncle Dan had shown him, but the man had shown him his own years ago. The times had changed and it showed on the device. This one looked more like a cross between a smartphone and a walkie talkie. He turned it over and after fiddling with a few buttons, finally got it to come on.
A loud crackle filled the air, mildly surprising him and he quickly turned the radio off. A quiet chuckle drew his attention to an amused Dean who grinned knowingly.
"I don't suppose it comes with a manual?" He asked.
"Not a chance. I wrote a few frequency numbers there, including my private one and command's. Best tune in to command at all times, it's where the orders come from."
Naruto hummed. He'd get Peter to give it a look at it later. He placed the device in his hoodie and zipped the pockets back up. "Well thanks. Anything else?"
"Nope." Dean shook his head. "I'll let you know though."
"Alright then." Naruto climbed onto the railing. "I'd love to stay and chat but well, the night's young. Lots of crime to stop and stuff."
"I hope not."
Naruto snorted and shot out a web as he leapt off. A split second later, he swung out of the alley, leaving the shocked detective to stare at where he'd been.
A few seconds later, Dean closed his mouth. "Jesus, the guy really is like a spider."
Five days later
"You're lucky this is a new model," Peter examined the radio. "With the old ones, you'd have to search for the frequency with knobs and stuff."
"Yeah, I know." Naruto yawned. "It's pretty easy to use too, I've been able to follow updates about crimes over the past few days instead of chancing on them like I used to. I mean, I still do rounds and all."
"I get it," Peter nodded. "It must be hard keeping up with the codes though."
"They stick easily. I just wish the radio was lighter; it practically punches me in the gut everytime I swing with it in my pocket."
"I'll try reverse engineering this one, see if I can make something more compact." Peter dropped the radio on his desk.
"Maybe when you get back home," Naruto said. "I'm not really in a hurry, it's doing its job and that's enough for me. How's your legs?"
Peter looked down at the two limbs. "I can feel them now, but they hurt like hell when I try to move them. The doctors said to do it anyway so they don't atrophy from lack of use."
"That's good, it means you're getting better. Soon enough, you'll be back on your two feet and walking around like nothing ever happened."
"Somehow I doubt that." Peter shook his head.
"None of that pessimistic talk now, Parker." Naruto lightly smacked him on the knee, making him wince. "Oh, sorry."
"It's good," Peter clenched and unclenched his fists. "Just don't do that again, alright?"
"Alright," Naruto replied softly. "How long till you get discharged anyway?"
"By the end of the month." Peter laughed self-depreciatingly. "I wish it were sooner. The food here sucks, it's dead quiet when I'm alone and the room always reeks of cleaning products. You never really realize how much stuff you've been taking for granted till it's gone, man. If you told me a few months ago that I'd miss my worn seat and having to jump out of bed because of school, I'd have laughed in your face."
"You'll be out in two weeks though," Naruto replied. "Not everyone's so lucky."
In the span of a few months, he'd seen more death than he'd believed he would ever see. The detective had told him a couple of days ago that there had been a gang war brewing since the beginning of the year and the things he'd seen led him to believe the man. He'd seen men killed in different places and different manners and the ones he managed to get to a hospital usually ended up passing on in front of him.
Seeing them waste away before giving up served as a constant reminder of just how fortunate Peter had been. Some of them didn't have it as bad as he did before dying.
"I guess not." Peter looked at him. "Are you alright? You look like you're about to pass out."
"I've been busy, I haven't had much sleep lately."
"Yeah, I can tell. MJ's been showing me videos of you," Peter smiled. "You could go a lot easier on the bad guys but otherwise, it's pretty amazing. I remember the one last week with the crash. Dude, you carried three guys like they weighed as much as a sack of potatoes."
"It never feels amazing though," Naruto shrugged. He'd seen them too and most of them just showed the aftermath of his fights and the things he'd done. Never the actual fight, never the way he pretty ducked and weaved around death's scythe.
"But it is." Peter insisted. "Dude, do you even check social media? People love you. You've helped more people than you've even kept track of. You're like a superhero now. All that's left is a costume and a cool name and you're good to go."
Naruto snorted again. "So what now? You don't want me to quit anymore?"
"What? Of course I do. Look in the mirror, Naruto." Peter pointed at his eyes. "You've lost so much weight it's not funny and you could hide watermelons in those bags under your eyes. I said it a while back, this stuff's taking a toll on you."
Naruto shrugged. It couldn't be helped.
"But…if you're going to keep going out at night, I'd rather you spent more time keeping people safe than trying to find the guys who shot me, Naruto," Peter said. "I won't become un-shot l just because the guys who made me this way are in jail but you can keep it from happening to others."
"Peter, that's the whole reason I started out in the first place."
"You said you're doing this for me, aren't you? I'm not saying to let it go, I'm saying not to keep it as your main focus," Peter pointed out the window. "You can do so much good out there when you're not stuck up on beating up and interrogating every potential gang member you see."
"That's not all I do anymore, Peter," Naruto said defensively. "Things are messed up in the streets now. The-"
The sound of steadily approaching footsteps made him pause and he quickly took the radio and stored it in his bag just as Mary Jane entered the room.
The redhead looked between them both, noticing the small tension in the air. "Am I interrupting something?"
Peter blinked. "Uh…"
"No. Actually, I was just about heading out." Naruto got up. "I'll come see you later, okay?"
MJ frowned. "Wait, you don't have to go."
"I have to get granny some eggs, I just said to stop by and check on him." Naruto assured her. "Trust me, it's not you."
"Okay." MJ reluctantly accepted.
We have a 134 in progress. Repeat, we have a 134 in progress. Suspects are armed and dangerous. Alll units, please standby for location. Repeat, we have a 134-
Naruto turned the radio off and looked up at a wide eyed Mary Jane.
"What-"
"Bye MJ. Later, Peter!" He rushed past her and took the stairs down, ignoring her call for him to come back. She'd have a lot of questions for him, no doubt, and being the type to never let a topic truly die until she was satisfied, he would probably have to answer them later, whether or not he wanted to.
But for now, duty called.
Ever heard Bye Felicia by Masego? It's a great song. Highly recommend.