Chapter 5-2
With Martin Li
That son of a bitch actually did it. That son of a bitch spider killed over three hundred of his men in a single fucking night. Martin slams his fist against the bathroom wall, leaving a dent behind, and grinds his teeth. Martin sits on the toilet cover and rests his face in his hands. 295 Demons died in the warehouse and clubs, 37 died in jail, and the 15 Demons in the hospital also bit the dust. His entire army was gone with the exception of Owen, Jardani, and this other Demon he didn't bother to learn the name of. His army to help take over this world was officially gone, and he could do nothing about it. Then again, as long as he has all his money, he can buy an army. The Demons were expendable and he would trade every single one of them in a heartbeat. But right now, with the three Demons remaining, he had to keep them around. But all the weapons, the knives, swords, axes, and whips, were confiscated by the police. No, as long as he had his negative energy, then he could make a comeback. His operation to take over the world could still come true.
But the more he lingers on the idea that all of his Demons are dead, he can't help but wonder why Spidey decided to break his predictable pattern of only killing violent criminals during active crimes. Spidey wasn't supposed to attack so why did he? That motherfucker deserves to fucking die and Martin hopes that he is the only one to pull the trigger.
Composing himself, he steps out of the bathroom stall and heads out to one of the offices in the back of the building. He opens the door to Mayor Peletier's office and takes a seat.
"Mr. Li," Melissa smiles and laces her hands together smugly, like a sleazy supervisor who was about to tear their underling a new one. "I've looked over your proposal and I can't help but admire your altruism. A wealthy man such as yourself could be living on an island in Tahiti, drinking pina colada and getting skin cancer from sunbathing yet here you are, wanting to use your wealth to help the city."
"When you save one person, you save a million." Martin rests his arms on the chair's arms. "That's what my father told me. And... after the attacks from last night, I can't just sit idly by and watch this city suffer."
"Oh, what makes you think this city is suffering? Sure, it's been two days since the bombs went up and almost killed everyone but I wouldn't say the city is fuering. Crying, yes, but not suffering."
"What's the difference?"
"Suffering implies long-term and perpetual pain. No cure at all and most of all, no hope. We're crying for help but what we need right now is hope. If we can give the city hope, then we can save it from suffering."
"And that's why I want to help, Mayor, I want to use my wealth to help everyone."
"I admire it. And as much as I hate this, I'm going to have to refuse."
Martin sits up. "And, why, must I ask?"
"Because I already have plenty of people with much more wealth than you coming in to help rebuild all the places the Demons blew up."
"Then what's wrong with one more person giving you wealth?"
"I don't want your money, Martin. You giving me your money will achieve nothing. Besides, this is my responsibility. This is my city, Martin, and I am the one to fix it."
"Are you also going to be the one to give this city hope?"
"No, far from it, Mr. Li. The person who will give this city hope is Spider-Man himself."
Martin suppressed a glare. "A murderer? Did you hear on the news? He killed over three hundred people last night."
"And they're all Demons and the last time I checked, the Demons were the ones who blew up all those buildings."
"Spider-Man hunted them down and murdered all of them."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Demons took advantage of Spidey's code by only killing violent criminals during active crimes and look what happened. I'd say that if these bombings didn't go off and kill all those sons, husbands, and mothers then none of this would've happened. The Demons brought this on themselves and I'm praying every second for Spidey to wipe the rest of Mr. Negative and his Demons off the face of the earth. And here I am, thinking you'd be upset because your homeless shelter, F.E.A.S.T., was blown up."
"And it is because of this shelter that I want to give my money to save this town."
"And we don't want your money because we have money. If it makes you feel better, I'd say that you should go back and build more homeless shelters. And hospitals for the terminally ill. After all, the hospital that my daughter was instituted in blew up in the bombings."
"And I can help to make sure no mother loses their daughter again."
"Oh, you misinterpret me; my daughter is alive. She didn't know how she got outside but she believed that Spider-Man saved her. All the more reason to be on Spidey's side."
"Spider-Man is a murderer; have you seen all the ways he killed all those Demons? I heard even a forensic officer threw up. Take away the 'innocent' and 'guilty' labels and you'll just have the word 'people'. Spider-Man killed three hundred people."
"While it is true that 'innocent' and 'guilty' are labels, it is actions that matter, and the actions of these 'people' that Spidey killed warrant a great deal of death. Thank you very much."
"This isn't right, Mrs. Mayor, not one bit. You are a corrupt human being."
"There you go, using labels again. Remember, it's actions that matter. What have I done that you would consider corrupt? Have I used my influence to cheat the system? Have I killed people and covered it up? What is it that you know about me? You know nothing about me so how can you say that I'm corrupt? You're making dangerous assumptions by assuming I'm a corrupt human being. You want to know who is the real corrupt person? The Demons, Mr. Negative, all of them. They are corrupt and I think it is insulting to everyone that you're blaming people who had nothing to do with bombings instead of the real culprits. I'm sorry, Mr. Li, but I'm going to have to ask you to get out of my office."
Martin flinches and feels his power surging into his fingertips. Clenching hsi fingertips like a bodybuilding crushing an apple with their bare hands, Martin abstains and sits deeper into his seat. A few seconds later, a black man in a security uniform steps forward.
"Ma'am, the crowd outside is ready to hear your address."
"Thank you." She stands up. "Please see that Mr. Li is escorted out of my office." As Melissa steps outside, a reporter and cameraman come in and begin filming her.
"Mayor Peletier," the female reporter begins, "My name is Leslie Bernard, of the Daily Bugle, any comment on the recent bombings in New York?"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll get to all that in just a short minute." Melissa walks forward with the cameraman following while the black security guard escorts Martin from the building.
Damn it, had that cameraman not been there, Martin would most certainly use his negative powers to corrupt Melissa just to prove that bitch that she was indeed corrupt.
Just as Melissa makes it to the front door, she turns and hands a few bucks to the reporter and cameraman, who turns his camera off.
"Thank you," Leslie nods, "but what was the point of pretending to be a camera crew?"
"Just to make sure the shady man in my office got any ideas. She hands them a few hundred bucks. "And that's an extra five hundred for a job well done."
"Thank you," Leslie bows. "Let's go, Shawn."
The fake news crew leaves as Melissa steps outside and heads to the podium where a crowd of people stand before her. Several security officers and bodyguards surround her as she tests the mic.
"Good afternoon, New York City. I'm not going to beat around a bush or anything so I'm just going to say what's on my mind. The bombings from two nights ago are still on my mind as well as all the deaths. Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, we all lost someone or know someone who lost someone. This is a scar on New York that won't be easily forgotten. These attacks, all these deaths, the culprits behind this attack are Mr. Negative and the Demons. 125 people died because of them and this is not something we will ignore, forget, and god forbid, forgive. Mr. Negative and the Demons are terrorists and when they are captured, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, no exceptions. Normally, I would be tasking a manhunt on all these terrorists but I don't need to do this; we have Spider-Man to do this."
"Spider-Man killed all the Demons," someone in the crowd shouts, "slaughtered them."
"Yes, that is true, sir, Spider-Man did kill all these criminals."
"Spider-Man broke his own code to kill all the Demons; who to say he won't break his code to kill all of us?"
Melissa takes a deep breath. "Don't you all see, Spider-Man broke his code for us. These terrorists took it one step too far when they bombed New York. It's not just from the last two nights but all the attacks from the entire month of September 2023. Because of his code of only killing criminals during violent crimes, these terrorists took advantage of it when Spidey realized it, he hunted down all the Demons and killed them in a single night. But because Mr. Negative is still out there, the battle is not over yet. And that is why I'm enacting a new act created by my predecessor. The Spider Act dictates that when a supervillain is in town, then all police activity in trying to capture Spider-Man and arrest as a criminal will be suspended. Well, that's not the case anymore. As of today, the Spider Act is in permanent effect. Spider-Man is not to be touched in any way by law enforcement or civilians. Anyone who tries to arrest or kill Spider-Man will be charged to the fullest extent of the law and receive the maximum prison sentence and punishment, no exceptions."
This gets an uproar out of the crowd who wave their fists and protest.
Melissa ignores them. "Actions speak louder than words, everyone? Think about it, ever since Spider-Man showed up three years ago, crime rates have gone down considerably. There are fewer violent crimes than there had been in the last three years and the number of people dying from accidents dropped considerably. How has life looked ever since Spider-Man showed up?"
The crowd goes quiet.
"I get that some of you have reservations about Spider-Man but having Spider-Man on our side is the better choice; he can do things that the police aren't capable of and it would be foolish to not use his abilities to help New York. But it's not just a pragmatic reason that I've decided to give Spider-Man leeway, no, it's the hope he gives. The hope is that no matter how down these look, no matter how dark it may be, there is always something to look forward to, always a light we're ready to see. We need a symbol of hope, now, more than ever with these terrorists. Spider-Man is the one who can give us that hope."
She pauses and watches the crowd stare at her like mindless beings. Some of them murmur in the crowd with others taking pictures. One of them steps in front of the camera wearing a funny shirt and waves.
Melissa leans to the mic. "There is hope. We will rebuild all the buildings that these terrorists bombed. While we can't bring dead people back to life, we can make sure that we live for them and be happy for them because if there's one thing I know as a mother, if I died, I would want my child to be happy, long after I'm dead." She turns to one of the legit cameramen filming her. "Spidey, if you're watching this, thank you for everything you've done. I'm rooting for you, Spidey, to win this battle against Mr. Negative."
31st Street Bank
And I will.
The Quiet Demon turns off the radio and looks over to see Owen and Jardani standing at the bank doors and waiting for their boss to finish whatever business he's attending to.
Martin finally reaches the front of the line and stands before the woman at the counter with a lip ring.
"Hi, how can I help you?"
"I'd like to make a withdrawal, please?" Martin answers politely.
"Please enter your card and pin."
Martin inserts his card into the card reader before him and enters his pin. 2624.
The bank teller turns to her computer and smiles suddenly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Martin Li, did you have an account with us?"
"Yes, I've been banking with you guys since I was a young man."
The bank teller laughs. "I'm sorry but that's not eh case anymore."
"What?"
"It says that your bank account balance is zero."
Martin blinks. "What?"
"Your account balance is zero."
Martin's eyes grow in his head, his eyeballs looking like they were about to burst from his skull. He takes a step back, feeling physically ill. "What? How is that possible?"
"Oh, and it says that your bank account has been deleted."
"What? What the fuck are you saying?"
"Your balance is zero and you have no account."
"You... you stole my money. You stole all my money!" He balls his fists. "FUCK YOU, BITCH!"
"No thanks, I'm into girls. But hey, if you go bankrupt in real life, then you'll probably try harder to not go bankrupt in Monopoly." She reaches a hand under the desk. "I suggest that you get out of here before I call the police on you."
"You bitch!"
"Oh, and thanks for the kind donation to charity."
Martin flips her off before walking away. He exits the bank with Owen and Jardani by his side and climbs into the car where the Quiet Demon waits. Martin sits in the back with Jardani by his side and Owen riding shotgun.
Martin looks at the Quiet Demon and notices his dark brown hair and short nose. Huh, this Demon looked somewhat familiar. And maybe it was him but his face looked like rubber, kinda like how Chameleon's masks would.
As the Quiet Demon drives forward, a garbage truck drives past them and the Quiet Demon suddenly puts his foot on the break.
"What are you doing?" Owen demands upon seeing they are about to run through a red light. "You motherfucker, slow down!"
The Quiet Demon veers the car to the left and exits the car at the very last second. The car crashes into an empty taxi with the airbags deploying.
Mr. Negative pulls himself from the crash and pushes himself up, a task much easier said than done, considering the crash did a number on him. He looks over his shoulder and the Quiet Demon standing on the end of the sidewalk, wearing a Demon mask in public.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Martin yells as Owen and Jardani climb out, covered in cuts and bruises. "You son of a fucking bitch!"
The Quiet Demon pulls off his Demon mask and the latex face mask underneath...
... revealing Spider-Man himself in the costumed flesh.
Martin's eyes widen and he forgets how to breathe. Owen and Jardani back away and feel their hearts racing in their chests like bullets. The three men hyperventilate as Spidey removes his jacket and rips his pants apart so he's in his full Spider-Man costume. He kicks off one shoe but leaves the other behind and doesn't dare move a muscle.
"Oh god," Jardani gasps, "oh no. No, no, no..."
Spidey kicks the other shoe off and sends it flying into Jardani's throat. Normally, when a regular human throws a shoe at another person, it'll most likely annoy or slightly hurt the person who got hit but Spidey kicked his shoe at Jardani's throat with such strength and speed that he broke his windpipe. Jardani grabs his throat and collapses headfirst to the ground, dead.
Spidey moves forward, inching closer and closer toward Martin and Owen before Martin powers up and shoots a beam of energy at Spidey. Spidey dodges the blow and knocks an empty car back a few feet. Martin reaches inside the backseat and yanks out a sword but before he can get a swing in, Spidey web-yanks a fire hydrant towards them and tosses it near their feet. The impact makes both men fall with Martin spotting the entrance to a subway before him. Leaving Owen behind, he makes a run for the subway entrance.
Sitting up on his knees, Owen sees Spidey towering over him, looking him dead in the eyes and causing the Demon to hold his hands in surrender. "No, please don't kill me!"
Spidey grabs Owen by the collar of his shirt with one hand and yeets him across the street and into the back of the garbage truck from before. Spidey yanks the lever on the side to activate the compacting mechanism. When Owen tries to climb out, Spidey webs him inside, leaving the last of the Demons to be turned into compact trash.
Spidey walks after him Mr. Negative into the subway, not rushing in the slightest and when he takes his first step down the stairs, it is like thunder crashing down.
Mr. Negative runs for the empty subway train and charges into the car in the very back. He ducks down under a window.
Spidey reaches the bottom of the stairs and walks towards the train. Mr. Negative leaps up from cover and swings his sword, sending a beam of negative energy flying at Spidey. Spidey sidesteps the energy beam, missing it completely, and not slowing down for anything. Mr. Negative swings another energy beam at Spidey, who bends back at a 90-degree angle and continues walking towards the train.
The negative energy was stuck to the wall and as Mr. Negative was about to call it back, the train started up and took off. Spidey web-zips toward the back of the train and crashes through the window on the backdoor. Mr. Negative steps back and stands at the halfway point of the train car.
"Spider-Man," Mr. Negative hisses.
Without saying anything, Spidey removes a pole from the floor beside him and rips the top off, turning it into a spear.
Mr. Negative steps back slightly before swinging his sword just to show off his sword-wielding skills. After a few seconds, Mr. Negatives swings while projecting horizontal beams of negative energy at Spidey.
Spidey sidesteps the beam and returns to his original position. When Mr. Negative swings again, the beam is horizontal this time. Spidey frontflips over the passing energy. The third strike was diagonal this time. Spidey jumps off the ground, angling his body at a 45-degree angle, and rotates.
Spidey marches toward Mr. Negative, who swings several more times and sends more negative energy beams at Spidey. Vertical beams, Spidey sidesteps, horizonta beams, he frontflips, and diagonal beams, he jumps at a 90-degree angle with a twist and he does all of this without skipping a beat in getting closer and closer to Mr. Negative with each passing step.
Mr. Negative turns and runs to the door leading to the next car and runs to the end. Spidey saw him clench his fists.
Spidey walks through the door, jams the makeshift spear into the railway coupling, and disconnects the car, the negative energy left behind on the train already out of Mr. Negative's range.
Mr. Negative stays at the very front of the car near the door. He smiles before swinging his sword and blasting negative energy at Spidey. He dodges and sidesteps each energy beam like before but this time, there seems to be more negative energy in terms of quantity. By the time Spidey got to the halfway point of the train, Mr. Negative was running into the next car and keeping his distance from Spidey.
Mr. Negative threw the sword in Spidey's direction like a ninja. Once the sword was in the center of the train, he summons all the negative energy around it and-
Spidey disconnects the car with him still inside. Before the car could be left behind, Spidey leaps onto the subway train, hanging on by the door in the very back, before he climbs to the roof, the makeshift spear still in hand. Spidey gets down to a crawling position and climbs down the left side of the train. He makes himself visible on the outside of the windows. He waves to Mr. Negative, who blasts energy at him. Spidey leaps to the top of the train, the energy destroying the window and getting stuck to the wall they were passing by.
Spidey climbs to the window on the other side and the process repeats. Once both sides of the train car sustained heavy damage, Spidey goes to the back and clings to the back door. And doing something that wasn't often seen with Spider-Man...
Spidey flips Mr. Negative off.
Mr. Negative growls and blasts all the negative energy he has in him at the back door. Spidey leaps to the roof of the car as the back is blown off completely.
With the car still attached to the train, Mr. Negative runs to the next car and blasts two projectiles at the coupling but unlike his previous attacks, he feels his fingers straining before he manages to fire the second blast.
The train car disconnects and Spidey makes sure to leap to the subway only after he knows Mr. Negative will see him.
Mr. Negative launches several blasts at the ceiling, blowing the roof from the car and creating an opening for Spidey to leap through, but he opts not to jump into the subway car yet.
"Why won't you die?!" Mr. Negative shouts at the top of his lungs, his glowing skin starting to flicker like a faulty lightbulb. Spidey leaps inside the train cars and looks Mr. Negative in the eyes.
Mr. Negative clenches his fists before throwing his hands forward. Spidey web-yanks a piece of debris from the destroyed ceiling. Once the debris shielded him from the negative energy and the energy was stuck to the debris like gel, he tossed it out the window. Mr. Negative launches two more beams of negative energy at Spidey, who keeps webbing debris from the ceiling to act as a shield and throws out once it catches all the negative energy.
Mr. Negative stumbles back into the last train car, a dead end, and Spidey does the honors of disconnecting the last train car, leaving them all alone at the very front of the subway train.
Mr. Negative raises his hand to blast one last energy beam at him, only for Spidey to chug the spear at Mr. Negative's hands. The spear goes through his palm and impales the controls. Mr. Negative jolts all of a sudden and screams at the top of his lungs the electricity from the controls frying him like plastic over a fire.
Spidey web-yanks Mr. Negative forward, pulling him free of the spear and being zapped, and uppercuts him, sending him flying to the door at the very front of the train.
All of the color in Mr. Negative drained away, making him Martin Li once more. Martin curls up into a fetal position before Spidey web-yanks the front door open and marches toward Martin.
Martin looks up and crawls back, almost falling out the front door as he feels the wind hit the back of his hair.
Finally, since the start of the battle, Spidey talks. "This is the end of the line... for you, Martin Li."
Spidey grabs a cufflink off of Martin before finally kicking Martin off the train and directly onto the tracks.
The train speeds over the human speed bump, causing the train to lift slightly off the tracks and go off balance. Without looking, Spidey leaps out the nearby window and uses his webs to catch the train and bring it back on the tracks. Once he completes the task, he lets the train ride off as he stays behind in the subway tunnels, holding Mr. Negative's cufflink in his hand. Holding it up, he removes his mask and smiles.
"Goodbye, Marty."
A/N: Don't worry, Spidey went back and pushed all the train cars until they caught up with the first car.