Spider-Man: LOUD Season 2 Chapter 4
"Stickin' it to the Man"
Lucy sat on the ground, her back against her brother's shut door, she was breathing heavily, her eyes locked on her older brother.
He wore the Spider-Man suit, the mask stripped off, blood was pouring out of his chest, his hand clutching it to try and minimize the bleeding, he sat on his knees, one hand on the floor giving himself support.
He looked up, looking at his sister, "Please…Lucy…" He crawls forward slightly, bringing his hand up, pleading for his sister.
He collapses on the ground, his eyes shut. Lucy's heart races even more. She quickly crawls toward her unconscious brother, grabbing his back, "Lincoln?!" She says in whispered yell, as to not attract attention from their other sisters.
She shakes him, "Lincoln?!" She says again.
She hooks her arms under his shoulders and lifts him onto his bed, she could see the stab wound in his chest, it went almost all the way through. Thinking quickly she positioned his body in a sitting position, she pulled the upper part of his suit up and over his body, revealing his muscular chest, she lays him back down and looks over the damage.
Bruises, cuts and scrapes adorn his upper body, the most prominent injury being the stab wound in his chest. She covers her mouth in shock, realizing what her brother had been suffering through all this time.
Lincoln's eyes slowly open, he's surrounded by darkness. He feels nothing at all, he's floating in a black void, the only thing that's visible being his own body.
His eyes widen, cold sweat drops off of his head, he opens his mouth to scream, but nothing comes out.
Lincoln opens slowly and groggily opens his eyes once more, this time seeing the ceiling of his own bedroom. He looks around, confirming where he is.
He looks down to see his goth little sister currently mounted on top of him, rubbing a cloth stained with antiseptic on his chest and around his wounds.
"Lucy?" He says quietly.
She looks up from her task, seeing his eyes open and looking at her. She drops the cloth and jumps at him, her arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug.
"Lincoln!" She exclaims.
"Ow, ow, ow! Too tight!" He responds.
"Oh, sorry!" She let's go and props herself up and her arms, "I…thought…I thought…"
Lincoln puts his finger to her lips, shushing her, "Hey, it's okay…" He smiles at her, "I told you I would never leave you again."
Her eyes welled up with tears, her bottom lip quivering, she hugged him once more, "I thought I was going to lose you!" She cried out, tears streaming down her face.
He combs her hair through his fingers, "It's okay, it's okay." He says in a hushed tone, attempting to console his sister.
She breaks the hug and looks down at her brother, wiping the tears from her eyes, her hair falling in a way to where he could almost make out the bottom of her eyes, "Lincoln…I think you have some explaining to do."
He sighs and avoids eye contact, "Yeah…I know."
"I just…I can't believe it…" She says, "Well, I had a sneaking suspicion, but…this isn't the outcome I wanted…"
He looks her in the eyes again, "The scratch?" He asks her.
She nods, "The scratch." She confirms.
He sighs again, "Got careless…" He mumbles to himself.
"Lincoln…" She says in a concerned tone.
He looks at her again, "You know you can't keep doing this…" She continues.
"What?" He asks, confusion in his voice.
"Look at you! Whoever did this to you almost killed you!" She responds.
"Lucy, I can't just stop…" the teen says.
"Lincoln, please!" She pleaded.
"Lucy I can't, I have to do this.!"
"NO YOU DON'T!" She yells as she buries her face in the part of his chest that was uninjured.
Silence fills the room, "No you don't…"
"Lucy…" He gently grabs her arms, "Do you know what Pop Pop said to me before he died?"
She shakes her head, it was still buried in his chest.
"He told me…" He pauses for a second, "He told me that with great power…comes great responsibility."
She lifts her head, looking him in the eyes, "What?" She asks.
"Lucy…if you can do the things that I can, and you can stop bad things from happening, but you don't, and then the bad things happen…they happen because of you." He says.
She looks at him, "I…you…" She stutters before taking a deep breath, "I hate it…but…I think you're right…"
"Lucy, I have to do this. Because if I don't, then who will?" He asks.
She sits there, looking him in the eyes, "Just…promise me you won't let this happen again."
"Lucy, I can't-" "Promise me." She interrupts him.
He sighs, "I promise."
"Good." She leans forward and kisses him on the cheek.
His face grows a shocked expression, "W-what?"
"Just because I'm goth doesn't mean I can't show love for my favorite family member." She smiles slightly.
He smiles back, "Well, the good news is," He lifts Lucy up slightly, "I'm almost fully healed."
She looks down, now sitting on his lap, she sees that most of his stab wound has been healed, "Wait, how?" She asks.
"Perks of having superpowers. You heal really fast." He smiles coyly at her.
"Hold on, actually, how did you get your powers?" She asks, her head tilting to the side.
He picks her up and stands up, setting her down on the bed, "We don't have time for that explanation right now." He looks the opposite direction and puts his hand to his chin in a thinking gesture, "I need to find out how to stop Herman and this Doc Ock guy."
Lucy stands up behind him, "We."
Lincoln turns around, "Huh?" He cocks an eyebrow in confusion.
"Lincoln, I can't just know your secret and stand by knowing you're putting yourself on the line. I want to help you." She says.
"Lucy, if you help me that'll put you in the line of danger. I can't risk that." He responds.
"Then how is it fair that I'm letting you go out there and almost get yourself killed?" She asks, "How?" She continues.
"That's…" He sighs again, "A good point."
She smiles slightly, "Well…welcome aboard Lucy. You'll be a great girl in the chair." He extends his hand out for a hand shake, only to have her throw herself at him, wrapping him in a hug again.
"Thank you Lincy." She says.
He returns the hug, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"The objective has been completed." The Doctor says.
"One hundred percent this time?" Norman asks.
Doctor Octopus nods, a wicked smile appears on Norman's face.
"Good, now onto more pressing matters." He continues.
"Stromm." Norman calls, the door behind him opening to reveal Dr. Mendell Stromm walking in, holding a clipboard filled with paper and a pen.
Strom walks to Norman and hands him the clipboard, "I think you'll find that everything is in order."
Norman reads through the documents, a small smile showing through, "Perfect." He hands the clipboard back to Stromm, "Get the blueprints for the new Oscorp security systems and start working on them." He shouts.
Doc Ock looks on at Dr. Strom menacingly from his higher position, "Stromm…"
"Of course Mr. Osborn." Dr. Stromm said as he bowed his head.
He walked out of the room, unknowingly being watched by Otto.
"As for you…" Norman said after Stromm had left the room, looking at Otto, "I think I like you more this way, it wouldn't hurt to keep you around."
Doc Ock grumbled in response.
"So who are these guys?" Lucy asked, sitting on her knees next to Lincoln's closed bedroom door.
Lincoln rolled his eyes, "Well, the guy that did this to me," He gestures to the now almost completely healed hole in his chest, "I don't know who that was. He said his name was Doctor Octopus." Lincoln said as he sat across the room from Lucy.
"Doctor Octopus?" She raises an eyebrow in confusion, "What kind of first draft name is that?"
"That's what I said!" He exclaims, then sighs, "Regardless, I kinda got my butt kicked last night."
"So, who's the other guy?" She asked.
"The other guy is Herman Schultz." He replied, looking off to the side.
"Um…who?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side.
"He was some guy I caught after he had a massive bank robbing spree back when I first became Spider-Man. He got let out of prison just a few days back." He explains.
"They only give you a year and a half in prison for a bank robbing spree?" The dark haired girl asks.
"He got out on Parole." The teen replies.
"Oh, they give you parole for stuff like that?" She asked, taken aback.
Lincoln rolls his eyes once more, "Apparently…" He pushes himself up so his back is flush with the wall, "Basically the guy has metal gloves that shoot shockwaves."
"Oh, you mean that guy you were fighting on the news?" She sits up.
"Yeah, that guy." Lincoln stands up and stretches, "And now it's our job to find out how to get them."
Lucy stands up as well and walks to his side, "Any ideas where we could start?"
"Unfortunately not." He says with a sad tone, "Doctor Octopus feels like a one time thing. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that he's not gonna show up unless I do."
"Interesting." The young goth says.
"And Herman, he'll probably strike again sometime soon." He looked down at his sister, "I feel like now that a few days have passed since our fight he'll try to rob another bank."
"And when he does…" Lucy starts.
"I'll be there to stop him." Lincoln finishes.
Lucy nods, "Y'know, this is actually kind of fun."
The white haired teen smiles, "Yeah, it feels kind of…nice…to talk to somebody about all of this superhero stuff."
"So, where do we start?" Lucy asks, looking forward.
"Well, I think we should start with establishing a comm-link between me and you." He says.
She raises an eyebrow, "Why? We both have phones, couldn't we just use those?"
Lincoln closes his eyes and shakes his head no, "No, phone calls and texts are monitored by the carriers and the government, if we were to talk over the phone about this stuff my identity would be ruined. We need a secure and unmonitored network, one that only me and you have access to."
"Oh, that…actually makes a lot of sense." Lucy thinks about it for a second,"What about the walkie-talkie you and Clyde used when you were kids?"
Lincoln ponders it for a second, "That could work, but it would need to work for a bigger radius, and it would also need to be fitted into my mask."
Lucy looks down, "Dang, how are we gonna do that? We can't ask Lisa, she'll know something is up…"
"Don't worry Luce," He steps forward to his desk, "I got this."
"Hey, speaking of which, how doesn't Lisa know you're Spider-Man? She has cameras and microphones hidden in all of our bedrooms." The young girl asks.
"Oh, that was simple." He looks back to his sister, pointing a finger in the air, "First I muted the microphone, then I filmed footage of me doing random activities like reading comics, playing video games, etc, then I filmed a few clips of me entering and exiting my bedroom, rinse and repeat in different outfits at different times of day, add in some clips of me sleeping, and presto! Secret Identity safe." He explains.
"That…was a lot…" Lucy is taken aback, now realizing just how intelligent her older brother was, "But…how hasn't Lisa found out yet?"
"Lisa may be a genius, but even she can be oblivious at times." He deadpanned at his sister, "I bugged her computer to let me know if anything changed on my camera or microphone when I set it all up, and she hasn't noticed a single thing." He explained once more.
"Wow…you…might be smarter than her…" Lucy says, shocked.
"Thanks, I try." He says quickly, turning back to his desk, "Now, back to work."
Herman stood inside of the Royal Woods Bank, wearing the same pair of jeans and black hoodie from before, his costume underneath.
He looked around at all the patrons and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath he opens them once more. He rips off his jacket and pants, revealing the quilted pattern suit underneath his clothing. He shoots two shockwaves at an empty till in the center of the counter, no one getting hurt.
"ALRIGHT!" He shouts, raising his hands to point his gauntlets at people, "I WANT EVERYONE ON THE GROUND IN TEN SECOND OR I KILL YOU ALL!"
Everyone immediately out of fear drops to the ground. Some people crying, some screaming in fear. Herman walks to the counter and hops over it, walking to the vault in the back.
Getting to the back he finds the large metal door with a large latch release in the center, "Finally…" He steps back and raises his arms, firing a shockwave at the door, blowing it up.
After all the dust and rubble clears he steps inside the vault to find tons of cash and gold bars., "Finally, my big break!"
"Did I hear break?" A voice calls from behind Herman.
Turning around he sees a figure hang from the ceiling upside down, "Because if I did, then I'll take it as you asking for me to break you back into prison."
The dust cleared even more to reveal Spider-Man hanging upside down on a web.
"Oh goddammit!" Herman shouts in frustration.
"Good job Lucy, you guessed exactly which bank he'd hit next." Lincoln complimented his new girl in the chair.
"Thanks Linc, now take him down!" She says.
"Will do." He says under his breath, "C'mon Herman, just let it go, you know I'm just gonna beat you again."
"Last time I checked, you couldn't handle me with my newfound upgrade." Herman retorted.
"Yeah…but I didn't lose." The hero responded.
"You will this time!" Herman lifted his gauntlets and fired off two shockwaves toward Spider-Man.
Spider-Man shot a web backward and pulled himself to the front of the bank, before shooting another web that pulled him to the ceiling to completely avoid the attack.
"EVERYBODY RUN, I'LL COVER YOU!" He shouts to the patrons and employees inside the bank.
Almost everyone at once bolted for the exit, running out of the building. After everyone exited Spider-Man dropped to the floor.
"All right Hermy, let's finish this, shall we?" He quips as he cracks his knuckles.
"You dumbass! Herman died when I equipped these new gauntlets!" He raises his arms in the air, "I'm the Shocker now!" He shouts.
"Shocker?" Spider-Man deadpans, crossing his arms, "You sure you didn't mean to come up with a cooler name?"
"SHUT UP!" Shocker points his arms toward the hero and fires to blasts at him, Spider-Man side-flipping out of the way and doing a handspring after his second rotation, sticking to the wall afterward.
Shocker fires another blast at the webslinger, which he avoids again.
"You got any ideas Luce?" Spider-Man shouts through his mask.
"Nothing yet! Just keep pushing through, we'll figure something out!" She says through the comm.
Spider-Man leaps to the ground and does another handspring toward Shocker, who dives and rolls to the side to avoid the hero.
After Spider-Man lands Shocker fires more blasts at him, stepping back slowly, Spider-Man jumping to the ceiling chandelier to avoid the attacks.
"Wait, Lincoln, he's stepping back awfully quickly!" Lucy says.
He looks at Shocker, taking careful but quick steps back, aiming his weapons back at the teen.
"You're right! I just have to get close to him!" He says.
Spider-Man jumps toward Shocker web zipping from left to right to avoid his shockwaves before diving feet first into him, rolling on the ground with him, grabbing his foot and throwing him in front of the entrance.
"You're nothing but a bug in my way!" Shocker shouts as he stands up. He jumps in the air and fires two blasts into the ground, rocketing himself out of the building and into the streets, a car braking hard and blaring their horn at him.
He places his gauntlet to the car and fires it, sending the car down the street. The woman driving it screaming in terror. However, the car stopped flying at some point, having been caught by the teenage superhero. Setting it down gently he rips off the door and takes the woman out of the car, "Go run, now!" He shouts at her while pointing down the street.
Spider-Man gets hit by a shockwave and smacks into another car, "Ugh…" He groans.
"Lincoln!" Lucy shouts over the comm, "Lincoln, you have to get up!"
"Ugh…5 more minutes…" He quips.
"No! No five more minutes! Get up now!" She yells.
"Ugh…FINE!" He rolls his eyes under his mask, groaning the last word.
He rolls onto his back and pushes himself into the air with his hands, landing on his feet.
He stares at the villain, his eyes squinting, "Why are you doing this Herman?" He asks, shouting across the street.
"Why? Why am I doing this?" He says, with a crazy tone in his voice, "I'm doing this to get revenge!"
"On who?! Me?" Spider-Man asks.
Shocker chuckles to himself, "Don't be so self centered! You're but a small pawn in all of this!" He shouts, "You're small time! My grudge is with Norman Osborn!" He points at Spider-Man threateningly.
"Norman Osborn?" Spider-Man whispers to himself.
"That's the creator and owner of Oscorp, isn't it?" Lucy asks.
"Yeah, but what could Herman want with Norman Osborn?" The teen asks.
"I don't know! Ask him! The more info the better!" The girl says.
"Why Norman Osborn?" He shouts.
"That's my business!" Shocker shouts, "Now DIE!"
He shoots another two shockwaves at the hero, he jumps in the air to avoid them, diving toward the villain, Shocker blasts himself backward again, Spider-Man landing on the road, cracking it underneath his feet, before quickly leaping toward Shocker, so fast the villain couldn't even comprehend what happened until Spider-Man had reached him.
Spider-Man punches Shocker in the chest, sending him flying back into a car, "Ugh…" Shocker looks back up to see Spider-Man in his face again, grabbing his foot and flipping him over the car and slamming him into the concrete on the other side of the car, Shocker screaming in pain.
Spider-Man stands above him, "Give it up Herman…you're done."
Shocker breathes heavily on the ground, having had the wind knocked out of him from the landing.
"Never…men like me are rare now…" He breathes out, "Men who fight for change…who try to take down the mighty…"
Spider-Man shakes his head no, "No…there will always be men like you…men like you that make it necessary for men like me to exist. Men who threaten innocent people just trying to live their day to day life."
He hops off the car and picks up Shocker, placing him on his shoulder, "Sorry Herman, but I gotta lock you up again."
Shocker groans, "I hate you." He says.
"Yeah yeah, I love you too." Spider-Man jokes back.
"You told me you killed him!" Norman raised his voice toward Doc Ock.
"I stabbed him in the chest." He replied.
Norman gets up close and sticks his finger into Doc Ock's chest, "Well, clearly that wasn't enough."
"Understood." The mind controlled man stated.
"I want you to go back out there, and make sure he dies!" Norman turns around and slams his fists on a desk, "Tear him limb from limb if you have to!" He shouts.
"Affirmative." Otto turns around and leaps walks toward the exit, a menacing look on his face.
Norman sits down and closes his eyes, rubbing his temples.
"Sir?" A voice from beside him calls.
He sighs, "Yes Stromm?" He says, still rubbing his temples.
"The Globulin Green Seerum was rejected by every testing committee." Stromm says.
Norman stands up and looks down at Stromm, "When I see you walk into my presence, I expect to hear good news."
"I'm sorry sir, but the test results are all conclusive on the fact that it's too dangerous to keep testing." Stromm responds.
"Leave my sight, and do not return until you have good news, I will test the damn serum on myself if I have to!" Norman shouts at the end.
Stromm backs up, "Of course Mr. Osborn." He turns around and rushes out of the room.
Norman sighs once more, looking down at the ground.
"So, what's the plan for Doctor Octopus?" Lucy asks her brother, who was now dressed in his regular attire, an orange unbuttoned button up, a gray long sleeve undershirt, and some jeans.
"Well, as I said before, I don't think he'll show up unless I show up, and I think that me doing the tango with Herman probably got his attention." Lincoln confirmed.
"Yeah, but…last time you fought…you kinda…" She started.
"I know…I almost died." Lincoln sighs.
Lucy looks down, "Hey." Lucy looks up at her brother, "Chin up, I'll be fine."
Lucy smiles slightly, "I'm Spider-Man, I don't lose twice." Lincoln continues.
"Yeah, never." She replies, smiling at him.
"C'mon, let's go get some dinner." He finishes, exiting his room, with Lucy in pursuit.
To be continued…