Chapter Eleven

A month had passed since Spider-Man was targeted by Vulture and his hit squad. Peter was true to his word about getting back to the grind. He had spent every night lurking in the shadows, trying to get further along in his quest. But his return on investment had been slow. It wasn't all for naught, however.

During the fight with Vulture, Toomes name-dropped someone Peter wasn't familiar with: Kingpin. Through his online sleuthing, he found multiple sites detailing Kingpin's escapades over the years. Apparently, it was well known that Kingpin was actually Wilson Fisk. Multiple conspiracy forums about New York's underbelly named dropped him left and right. Despite the apparent obviousness of Kingpin's identity, no arrests had ever been made. The closest trouble Peter could find Fisk had been in was a civil suit about wrongful dismissal. It seemed as though Fisk had earned the name Kingpin.

Peter never expected the mystery would take him this far. From low-level goons all the way to the head honcho himself. But that meant things were going to get worse before they got better. The closer he got to Kingpin, the more intense it would get. Peter was determined to finish the job. He thought back on his conversation with Daredevil months ago. The war was drawing closer to its conclusion. Peter hoped he would come out on top.

Peter sat at his kitchen table eating breakfast. May had an early meeting at FEAST, so Peter was relegated to Pop-Tarts as his source of sustenance. He finished his meal when there was a knock at the door. Peter opened it to reveal Detective Maya Elise standing on his stoop.

"Good morning. I'm Detective Elise with the NYPD. You must be Peter."

Peter stood there frozen. For weeks now, Detective Elise had been hounding Spider-Man. She believed he was responsible for Franky G's death. Peter didn't know how to convince her otherwise. And he certainly wasn't going to let the courts decide. Why was the detective at his door? Was the jig finally up for Spider-Man? Peter started to sweat as he greeted Detective Elise.

"Oh, umm, hello, detective. What, uh, what can I do for you?" Peter's poker face struggled as hard as it could.

"I wanted to introduce myself. I'm taking over your uncle's case."

Peter's anxiousness softened. It had been months since May and Peter had any official updates on the case. Unofficially, of course, Peter knew how the case was going. The supposed killer died right in front of him. Detective Elise asked Peter a few questions about that night to freshen his memory. Nothing had changed, however.

The detective rubbed the back of her neck, "Peter, with a case like this, the likelihood of finding the killer is pretty slim."

Peter lowered his head and broke eye contact with Detective Elise, "And I guess you're the last rung on the ladder before the case hits the garbage can."

Detective Elise furrowed her brow and made a face, "No, actually. I'm the one who pulled this case out of the trash."

Peter's head raised back up, and he resumed eye contact. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't just pick this case up because your uncle deserved justice," the detective shifted her weight and reached into her pocket, "I did it because your uncle was special to me."

Detective Elise handed Peter a picture. It was a group photo in front of FEAST. Ben was standing in the middle with people all around him. It looked like a 4th of July celebration. Detective Elise pointed to two people in front of Ben.

"That's me and my older brother, Eduardo. My brother had," she paused briefly and swallowed, "he had problems. Substance abuse issues. But Ben and the people at FEAST really helped him. I would go visit him there, and we would play games. Eduardo was the reason I became a police officer. He ensured I did what was right so I wouldn't end up like him. He wanted me to be a hero."

Detective Elise took the photo back and placed it in her pocket. Peter stood with a goofy grin and a tear in his eye. Ben touched a lot of people's lives. More so than he thought. Peter and Detective Elise shared a small moment together, remembering Ben. Neither was aware of how much the other needed a moment like that. Detective Elise fixed her jacket and handed her card to Peter.

"Ben used to tell me to never give up. Not on my brother. Not on my responsibilities. And Not on the people I care about. If I wanted to be a hero, I had to keep trying. That's what I'm doing here. I'm going to keep trying, Peter. For Ben, for you and May, for FEAST, and for all the people he's helped."

Detective Elise turned and started off toward her police cruiser. Peter wiped his face and waved her goodbye.

"Thank you, Detective Elise. It really means a lot that Ben had people like you in his life."

Detective Elise paused at her door. She gave Peter a warm smile. "If anything comes up, you'll be the first to know. I'll be in touch."

"Thanks, detective," Peter waved.

"Please, call me Maya," Maya smiled.

Peter watched as the detective's cruiser left down the block. He was happy that someone like Maya was looking out for the little guy. Now, if only he could convince her that Spider-Man was the same. Still, something inside him made him think he still had a chance to win her over.

Peter went back inside when he received a text message from Gwen.

"Hey, hey, I talked to Harry, and we're planning a meet-up at his house to go over the last details of Mr. Larson's final project. We're thinking this weekend. You have to bring soda. Just a heads up. Talk more at school later. Byeeeee!"

Peter flopped on the couch and sighed, "Why do I always have to bring the soda? You bring one bad dip, and suddenly, you can't be trusted anymore!"

Resigned to his status as drink bringer, Peter finished his breakfast and got ready for school.

-Later, Fisk Tower-

Kingpin sat at his desk, looming over his nearly full glass of scotch. One hand held his lit cigar while the other rested on his office phone. The tinny sound of the speakerphone bounced around the marbled office. One of Kingpin's lieutenants was giving a security update.

"We double and triple-checked the manifest you provided. Everything is accounted for. Security has been tight. 24/7 at your request. I don't think a bird could fly by without setting off at least 3 alarms."

The goon chuckled. Kingpin puffed his cigar and billowed the smoke from his nose.

"Good. Keep it that way. I won't suffer any more failures."

Kingpin leaned back in his seat. The goon lingered on the line. "Boss, there's something else."

"What?" Kingpin replied sharply.

"A few guys haven't shown up in a couple of days. There's concern they've deserted and joined up with one of the new gangs. Morale amongst the lower ranks is bad. The boys have been working nonstop. Plus, they're growing restless after all that stuff with Tombstone and the dock fire. I gotta give'em something."

Kingpin's face flushed with anger. He clenched his cigar, snapping it in two. He took a deep breath to gain composure.

"Tell the men not to worry. Everything is under control. All we have to do is deliver the goods, and all will be rewarded. In fact, for every man who stays loyal, I'm doubling their pay immediately. Finish the job, and money will never be a problem again. For any of them."

Kingpin downed his drink. The goon stuttered on the other side of the line.

"Boss, that's awesome. I'll spread the word immediately. But, uh, what if I get any pushback?"

"Then you shoot them in the head. Those are the terms. Join me in prosperity, or be slaughtered in the street. Now get it done, Jim."

Shaken, the goon dutifully replied, "Yes, sir. I'll take care of it."

Kingpin smashed the call button on his office phone. The line went dead, and he was left in silence. Kingpin turned to face his massive windows. The city sprawled before him. All his domain as far as he could see. He fought for years to be at the top. He'd be damned before he let it slip away.

Kingpin reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He tapped the screen, making a few selections before starting a voice message.

"Things have changed. I need you back in New York. There's trouble in the family business."

Kingpin hit send, then slid his phone across his desk. A twinge of regret flashed across his face, but his desperation outweighed all other concerns. A month remained before fortunes would be revealed.

-A Few Days Later-

Peter sat on the ledge of a ten-story building, dangling his feet off the side. He was doing his routine patrol early that evening due to his final project meeting at Harry's later. Peter was fine with Mr. Larson's final project. The three of them had created a centrifugal launch system that could potentially deliver satellites to orbit inexpensively, quickly, and safely. The scale model needed a few adjustments but was ready for initial testing. Peter was fortunate to have access to science like that, thanks to Mr. Larson's class. But none of it compared to what Kingpin was hoarding.

Peter dropped off the side and started swinging through the city. Peter constantly dreamed of getting a piece of that cutting-edge tech. Every time he had run across it, he never had time to snag a piece. Cops, burning buildings, evidence, it never worked out for Peter. Since learning about Kingpin's machinations, Peter had more information to work with, such as finding hideouts belonging to known associates. He began focusing his efforts there.

Peter dropped onto a building in the Eastern warehouse district. The skylight was surprisingly clean for a dirty hideout. Peter observed a group of men dressed in black standing around transport trucks and boxes. Their attention was pointed at a lone goon positioned opposite them. The lone goon was gesturing at the group. Peter pushed the window open to aid his eavesdropping.

"Look, guys, I'm serious. Double the money. And even more when the job is done. I ain't never seen the boss this serious. Give me a month. It goes down a month from Tuesday. Come back with me. He doesn't have to know. You can just slot right back in and get that money."

The lone goon pleaded with the men. Five men were dressed in black jumpsuits, standing around with crossed arms. The three in the back stared at the two in front. The front two goons looked at each other and sighed. One of them shook his head and spoke.

"It ain't happening, Jim. We're done with Kingpin. We'd rather take our chances with Lucky Lew. He's got the means and the money."

The second goon put his hand on the first one's shoulder, "Look, Jim, we like you. That's why we agreed to come here and meet. But it's over. You go your way, and we'll go ours. But I can't guarantee it won't get messy if we cross paths again."

The lone goon looked at his former colleagues with trepidation. He shook his head and turned for the door. He reached the doorway and stopped. Grabbing the handle, he slowly shut the door in front of him.

"I don't want it to get messy," he dropped his shoulders and turned to face the group.

"But I have my orders." The lone goon clapped his hands, and the mood shifted in the warehouse.

Two of the transport trucks' cargo doors flew open, revealing multiple heavily armed Kingpin goons. The men poured out and surrounded the traitors. Peter took that as his cue to intervene.

Peter started to press his way inside when a tidal wave of sirens flooded the air around him. Several of New York's finest were converging on his location. Peter had to act fast. Unbeknownst to the cops behind him, things inside were about to reach their fever pitch.

Peter dropped through the skylight and landed in the middle of the room. The concentration of every goon in attendance suddenly shifted. Peter looked around at the confused criminals.

"Okay, boys, there's no need to fight. I think we can find some common ground between everyone." Peter gestured to the goons around him.

"Let's start with the basics. You all love crime. You all love money. Clearly, everyone here is a gun nut." Peter folded his arms and sat on a nearby crate.

"Oh, and most importantly, you're all going to jail. So why don't we end the fighting and just wrap this up? Okay, guys?"

As Peter scanned the room, the goons looked at each other incredulously. Peter waited patiently, tapping his foot. One of the goons in black spoke up.

"Screw this. Screw Kingpin and screw you, Spider-Man. This is our town now, and we ain't going nowhere! Light'em up, boys!"

Peter flipped behind the crate he was leaning on and took cover. Gunshots echoed through the building as Kingpin's goons returned fire. Things were getting a little too spicy, for Peter's sake. It was just his luck that a routine patrol would blow up like this.

Peter knew the NYPD were seconds away from bursting through the door. But they were about to walk into a warzone. He needed to mitigate the danger before they arrived. Peter had to think quickly. The warehouse had too much open space, giving clear lines of sight. Peter rubbed his chin over his mask. If he could put some obstacles between the two warring factions, it would ease the hail of gunfire. This could give the NYPD some breathing room and give Peter the upper hand.

Peter took a deep breath and jumped up, spinning in the air. A large stack of crates towered between two of the trucks. It was tall and wide enough to add a barrier between the two gangs. Peter webyanked the stack and watched it crash to the middle of the room.

Dust and splinters flooded the building, reducing visibility for a moment. Peter's plan worked. The gunfire stopped as the goons tried to gather their bearings.

As the dust settled, the first set of police officers breached the door. Kingpin's men turned their attention to the interlopers descending upon them and opened fire. Peter's spider-sense saved him from a torrent of bullets. The police officers began returning fire.

With the cover being laid by the boys in blue, Peter turned his attention to Kingpin's goons. Peter kicked the leg of one of them, dropping him to the ground. A swift knee strike rendered him unconscious. Peter webbed two more to the back wall, stifling their suppressive fire. Ricochets pinged around him as Peter flipped in the air. Groups of goons and police were clashing with each other. Peter dropped another of Kingpin's men as he weaved through the crowded warehouse. A few well-placed web blasts assisted the police in their apprehension efforts.

As Peter turned to grab the next one, his spider-sense streaked through his mind. A quick backbend saved him from a goon in black's deluge of bullets. He only managed a few shots before his gun clicked with emptiness. Before he could reload, Peter did a double back handspring and dropkicked him straight in the chest. The force of the kick knocked him into the back of one of the transport trucks.

Peter returned to the upright position but was tackled by a larger member of Kingpin's gang. The hulking goon pinned Peter to the ground and mocked the friendly neighborhood hero.

"Looks like I got the drop on ya, spider-boy. I'm gonna squish you like the bug you are!"

Kingpin's hulking goon used his massive hands to crush Spider-Man's skull. As the pressure mounted in Peter's head, he struggled to pry the giant's hands off. Peter squirmed, rapidly thinking of his way out. Peter thought of one option.

"I don't, hnngh," he strained, "I don't like to fight dirty, but, hnggh, sometimes…" he trailed off.

The goon had no time to respond before Peter swiftly kneed him in the crotch. His eyes bulged, and his grip relaxed. Peter used the opportunity to flip the goon off him. Kingpin's massive goon writhed on the floor, holding his "downstairs mix-up." Peter webbed him to the floor and turned to walk off. But he stopped swiftly and turned around to add a few more layers.

"Never can be too careful," Peter said, turning his attention to the rest of the room.

Peter jumped and landed on the hood of a transport truck. He looked around the room for any lollygaggers. He found Jim, the lone goon from before, pistol-whipping his former colleague. Jim cocked the gun and aimed for the kill.

"I didn't want this to get messy," Jim said dismally.

The other goon flinched on the ground, accepting defeat. After the gunshot rang out, the goon realized he was still in one piece. He raised his head to see Spider-Man twisting Jim's arm, wrenching the gun from his grip. Peter's arm dragged Jim over his shoulder and into the wall. The other goon ducked and turned back to face Spider-Man.

Peter wasted no time webbing the former colleagues together. "There, now kiss and make up."

Peter turned around and made direct eye contact with Detective Elise. The detective had her gun trained on Spider-Man but offered no command. She lowered her weapon slightly. Peter took that moment of hesitation as his chance to leave. He flipped out of a back window and built momentum, swinging down the street.

Early patrol proved fruitful. No tech in sight, but he caught a huge break. Peter now knew the exact day of the tech sale. One month from Tuesday, the goon said. Peter was elated with the break in his case. There was just one problem. Peter knew the time but not the location. Peter swung with determination, focused on bringing Kingpin down.

-90 minutes later, across town-

Peter dropped onto the roof of a bodega roughly four blocks from Harry's house. It was time to review the final project with Harry and Gwen, but first, he had to snag a couple of soda bottles. He had stashed his backpack with a change of clothes before he went on patrol for this exact moment. Peter changed and made sure the coast was clear. He dropped into the alley and entered the store with no one around.

With Dr. Pepper in tow, Peter made his way to Harry's. Once at the gate, he was buzzed in and joined the others in the den. Gwen and Harry were already hard at work. Gwen was pouring over calculations as Harry fine-tuned the instrument. Peter approached them with his drinks held high.

"Never fear, Mr. Quencher is here!" Peter announced.

He stood in the doorway waiting for a response, but the others were too focused. Peter lowered the drinks and sighed. Science nerds, tough crowd. He put the sodas on the counter and walked over to the others.

They spent the next two hours working on the scaled-down launcher. Lots of testing and adjustments. After a few failed attempts and one busted mirror, the launcher worked as intended. The trio celebrated with high fives and eating dinner. While preparing to eat, Mary Jane entered and joined the gang.

Over the break, MJ and Harry officially became a couple. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. Peter had time to process everything and wasn't hung up on his feelings. In fact, he was happy for both of them. Harry had turned out to be a good friend, and he treated MJ like a queen. Any lingering feelings Peter had were shoved down deep inside of him.

"Hey, everyone!" MJ announced with glee. She walked over and greeted Harry with a hug. She turned to Gwen and gave her the same. Peter stood awkwardly as she glanced over at him.

"Hey, Pete. Good to see you." She flashed him a half smile. Even though he and Gwen were back on good terms, MJ was still a little frosty. Something Peter definitely wanted to change.

The foursome sat around and started talking about school. Graduation was soon upon them. The kids were excited for their future.

"Have you gotten your acceptance letters yet?" Gwen asked impatiently.

Peter and Harry looked at each other and shrugged. Nothing on their end. MJ looked away awkwardly.

"It has to be soon, right?" Harry asked. "I thought ESU would be faster than this."

Peter and the gang had plans to attend Empire State University. They were hopeful that they'd all get accepted together. None of them wanted to break the friend group up. And waiting on a piece of paper that held their fate was excruciating. Gwen and Harry commiserated, but Peter noticed MJ fidgeting uncomfortably. She excused herself to the bathroom.

MJ's awkwardness was swiftly forgotten by Peter when Norman entered the den. He still wasn't used to seeing Norman in private settings. His only exposure to Norman had been through the media and his autobiography. Still, Norman was as friendly as always.

"Hello, kids. I hope the science project is coming along smoothly." Norman smiled, greeting Peter and the others.

"Oh yes, Mr. Osborn. I think we're a lock for getting an A!" Gwen happily replied.

Peter and Gwen looked up to Norman and would do anything to impress him. Thankfully, it didn't take much. He already saw them for who they were. They were kind, intelligent kids who were quite capable. The perfect friends for his Harry.

"I tried offering my help to Harry, but he was dead set on doing it himself." Norman put his arm around Harry's shoulder. "Honestly, that makes me even more proud of him. He gets his smarts from me, but that was definitely his mother's stubbornness shining through. She was just like him, determined to make her own way. I miss her every day."

MJ returned from the bathroom and was greeted by Norman as well. Everyone hung out for a bit before calling it a night. MJ was sticking around to spend time with Harry, so Norman escorted Gwen and Peter to the front gate.

Gwen shook Norman's hand with the best grip she could muster. That clearly amused Norman, who feigned a hand injury. That got a good laugh out of Gwen as she walked toward the bus stop.

As Gwen walked away, Norman turned his attention to Peter. The two of them stood on the sidewalk under a street lamp. Peter stuck his hand out to say goodbye to Norman. Norman shook his hand with a stiff grip. Almost as if he was testing Peter's strength. Of course, Peter could crush every bone in Norman's hand due to his enhanced strength, but he let Norman win this round.

As Peter tried pulling away, Norman held on a little longer.

"Peter, I've got my eye on you," Norman said with a straight face. His eyes narrowed toward Peter. "I'm looking forward to what the future has in store for you."

A chill went through Peter's body. It was a similar sensation to when his spider-sense would go off. But he wasn't in danger. So why the weird body response? Peter looked at Norman, who suddenly sported a wide grin.

"Have you considered applying for the OSCORP Summer Internship program? We could absolutely use someone of your," Norman paused, looking Peter up and down, "talent and intelligence. I'll put in a good word for you."

"Uhh, thank you, Mr. Osborn. I'll fill out an application as soon as I get home. I hope I live up to your expectations." Peter replied awkwardly. Every cell in his body tried to get him out of that handshake.

Norman finally relented and released his grip. "I have no doubt you will prove me right. Take care, son."

Norman waved goodbye and entered his house. Peter stood under the light for a few extra moments. His mind was racing. What the heck was that? His entire body was telling him danger was imminent, but nothing happened. No one was around but the two of them. Sure, Norman was a bit odd, but all he wanted was the best for Peter. He chalked it up to being anxious around him. After all, Peter was meeting one of his literal heroes.

Peter walked a block over and dipped down an alley. When the coast was clear, he webbed up the side of the building and made his way back home. One month remained before the big tech sale. Peter vowed to stop whatever Kingpin was planning.

End Chapter Eleven