The Spectacular Spider-man

by choejhulkp9

One happenstance trip to Central City in December changed the life of one individual in a way he never imagined. You wake up one day and all of a sudden, your body changed, you gain super powers and you find yourself wondering if it was an accident or maybe it was meant to happen. Who knows but all I know is with great responsibility comes...a lot of weird crap.

9. Quiet before the storm

Here is Chapter 9 of the Spectacular Spider-man. Tombstone's machinations have framed Spider-man and now the police are after him. There's a Spider-man impersonator out in the city killing people, framing him and putting Tombstone in a good light. If he's got any chance at clearing his name and getting the target off his back, he's got to find his imposter. Usually, that'd be fine but now he's got an up and coming dirtbag known as Brick who tries to take over a part of the city…and surprisingly that doesn't sit well with Tombstone who wants him dealt with. Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? No, he's still my enemy. Enjoy!

The Spectacular Spider-man: The quiet before the storm

January 2015-Starling city

Will's Christmas and New Year's sucked the most out of any Christmas and New Year's he had in his entire life. The reason for that? He was a wanted criminal now. Granted, he was technically a criminal since being a superhero/vigilante was against the law but at least before the people of the city viewed him as the good guy. Even most of the police were on his side or didn't hate him. All of that was thrown into chaos on Christmas when Tombstone manipulated the media, City Hall and the police to make everyone believe that Spider-man turned evil and started attack people, killing criminals and was a maniac. And given that two police officers were attacked and went on record, things were looking bleak. He was officially a wanted criminal with a bounty on his head.

But not all was lost as Captain Lance, Yuri, Laurel, and others were still on his side. A lot of the people he personally saved and helped kept their belief in Spider-man and thought that he couldn't be behind the attacks and killings. The Arrow had an impersonator so why now Spider-man? Still, most of the city had turned against him which just shows how easily people can be manipulated. Hell, he saved over 15 people from a deadly car pileup on the highway and all he got was booed and food thrown at him.

It sucked.

Will was at Palmer Tech doing some work for Dr. Connors. Since it was still break and the new semester wasn't starting for another week, he spent his time at Palmer Tech working on the Recombinator project. He didn't have to be there every single day during his break but considering how his superhero life had been going he needed a distraction. And he was able to use his time to help push the progress on their Recombinator testing along with his own research into the circuitry and framework for his pneumatic operated mechanical prosthetics. He was hoping working here during the break would give him a leg up and while he had already submitted his design for his engineering class and got an A, he was pursuing the project to try and make it viable.

Dr. Connors left early for the day and went back to the campus to prepare for the next semester and his classes. He told him he could leave whenever so Will decided to keep himself busy in the Palmer Tech lab. And with Dr. Connors gone, he could work on his Spider-man stuff on his personal laptop. He didn't want to do anything Spider-man-related on the work computers and risk leaving behind a file on Spider-man tech and risk his secret identity. Plus, using work equipment for his superhero escapades seemed kind of wrong in a weird way. After working on some design blueprints for more proto-type tech for him to hopefully use one day and finishing up some designs for an alpha-phase Spider-bot prototype he grabbed his Palmer Tech ID badge and went to the 15th floor where the cafeteria was.

Another pro to having Palmer Tech funding their research and working there besides the pay was the amenities, one of which was the fancy cafeteria. Cold press juice bar, organic salad station, all day omelet bar, and even a pasta station. Man, does working for a rich company have perks when he'd be eating leftovers or Big Belly Burger. Granted, his metabolism and constant exercise sort of nullifies the fattening effects of that fast food but it was nice for some variety. He got himself a fancy mushroom and cheese omelet, some cold pressed juice and toast and found himself a nice seat by the window where he could eat alone. That's when his phone rang and he saw it was Captain Lance so he answered.

"Please tell me this call is letting me know that the imposter Spider-man was caught and the city loves me again?" Will asked him.

"Sorry, no. I was calling to hope that maybe you caught him by now." Lance told him.

Will looked around to make sure none of the Palmer Tech employees were looking his way or listening in on his conversation. The truth is no one was giving him a second glance which was perfect. "Believe me, I've tried. I've been swinging through the city in the morning and late at night but I haven't found any kind of sign of the imposter Spider-man. It's like he's disappeared. All I get is yelled out and trash thrown at me by the people who used to cheer my name. It's crazy how quickly the city's turned against me just on Tombstone's word."

"Well, the two of us and Yuri are the only ones who know who Tombstone really is and our word right now isn't gonna carry much weight." Lance replied. He was sitting in his office and going through all the files and evidence the SCPD had on the supposed Spider-man attacks. He technically had to obey orders from the Mayor and the Commissioner who issued the warrant for Spider-man's arrest and with the two officers attacked he had no choice but to appear against the web slinging vigilante. "She's digging up leads on the attacks and this imposter Spider-man."

"What do you have so far?" Will wondered as he took a bite of toast.

"Well, his targets and people are all over the place and the CCTV footage we have does show Spider-man. And it's not your old suit with the sweatshirt, it's the one you started wearing after Halloween." Lance told him.

"After I confronted Tombstone face to face. Ok, fine. He wanted to make sure people knew it was me. What else?" Will ate some of his omelet and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Well, I had my techs go over the CCTV footage and it's genuine so your imposter was actually there. And from what we could see he's got some skills. He moves around a lot like you and he's a skilled fighter." Lance said, watching over clip of the imposter Spider-man attacking some Los Halcones and it did show some impressive agility and acrobatics along with intense training in hand-to-hand combat. "You don't have an evil twin, do you?"

"No, there's only one me but I'll double check that and make sure there hasn't been another Spider-man running around without me knowing." Will promised. "Anything else?"

"Well, I know he's not you because he also uses knives. Even found one embedded in someone's skull. Pretty nasty stuff." Lance told him when his phone rang with another call and he saw it was Yuri. "Hang on. Watanabe's calling. I'll conference her in." A few buttons later and she was connected. "Yuri, you're on with me and the kid."

"Hey, Will. How are you doing?" Yuri wondered, walking to her squad car after going to the news station and City Hall.

"Honestly…wishing this was a dream." He replied.

"Same. Look, I got back from the news station and city hall and managed to get a copy of the footage Tombstone's lawyers turned in after the supposed break-in." Watanabe told them.

"I'm surprised they were willing to give you a copy." Will pointed out.

"They have to. If they tried to stone wall us then it'd look suspicious." Lance informed him.

"He's right." Yuri got into her squad car and put the copy's on the passenger seat. "I'll get it to the tech lab as soon as possible and see if we can get the real footage."

"Yuri, do me a favor and make a copy of that footage and give it to Captain Lance. Captain, if you can make a copy of all the evidence, do it and give it to Laurel. She'll give it to Spencer and she'll give it to me. I can't risk showing up at the precinct and I think you two need to start acting like the rest of department, at least on the surface. If the mayor or anyone in the city leadership hears about police officers who don't believe Spider-man's turned bad then it could get back to Tombstone and then you two could have bullseyes on your backs." Will warned them.

"Will, you can't be serious." Yuri said to him.

"I hate to say it, Watanabe but he's got a point. Until we can prove Tombstone wrong then we need to play along." Lance told her.

"Captain Lance is right. Right now, I'm persona-non-grata so until we can find the imposter then you two need to act like you don't know me." Will added, hating this but not wanting to take any chances. Tombstone was able to turn the city against him and he didn't want Lance and Yuri to get in trouble or worse for sticking their necks out for him. "Just do what you can but don't draw any attention to yourselves."

Yuri's sigh could be heard over the phone before she answered. "All right but if you need anything just call."

"Likewise, to the both of you." Will promised.

"Keep your head on a swivel, kid. Laurel will get you the evidence later today." Lance told him before he ended the call.

Will rubbed his forehead in exhaustion and frustration. A part of him wished he could go to Tombstone's office and kick his ass but could end up falling into another trap so he needed to play it smart and he needed the city on his side again. And the first step in that was finding out who this imposter Spider-man is and take him down. He already had a feeling as to who he was working for.

Across the city in the business sector in Tombstone's office, the albino crime lord looked over the city with a smile on his face. People were so easily manipulated. The city turned against their protector and all it took was some damning evidence, engineered security footage, and money to hire a new associate. It couldn't have been easier. The arachnid's interference so far has been troublesome but now the wall crawler was public enemy number 1 and Tombstone's criminal empire was able to flourish.

The doors to the office opened and Hammerhead walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, boss but we've got a problem and it's not the bug."

"Brick?" Tombstone asked and Hammerhead nodded.

"Yeah. He's making moves in the Glades. More than half of our guys and runners have already joined up with him and he's killed the other half." Hammerhead explained. Tombstone turned around to face him and his usual stoic expression did give way to show disappointment.

"Are you're just telling me now?"

"Sorry, Boss but Brick is keeping his men moving and we haven't been able to find him. Plus, all the guys he killed that wouldn't work for him he had burned to a crisp. It took us this long to track them down and we had to use some of our contacts in the coroner's office to rush a dental record check." Hammerhead answered.

"Brick's actions were amusing but no longer. It's time he is dealt with." Tombstone stated.

"Got it, boss. I'll get right on it." Hammerhead promised.

"Actually, I plan on using someone else. And not only will it further turn the police and city against Spider-man but it will take care of Mr. Brickwell once and for all. How does that sound?" Tombstone asked and for a moment there was silence when someone dropped down from the ceiling and landed in front of Hammerhead.

He was wearing the dark blue and red spider-man suit complete with the mask and black spider symbol and web pattern on the chest but this Spider-man was much taller and bigger. While the suit looked pretty good and could easily fool a passing bystander, upon further inspection it wasn't since the belt this Spider-man was wearing was more military styled plus it had several knives and two holsters. One was for a .45 caliber pistol and the other was a modified gas gun that sprayed a type of sticky adhesive that allowed him to ensnare his enemies and fool the police and public into thinking he was Spider-man. The imposter Spider-man removed the mask to reveal a purple and black one with tactical lenses over the eyes similar to night vision goggles. The rest of the suit was quickly taken off to reveal a similar purple and black tactical full body suit that resembled special operations military gear. The black armor on the chest and shoulders was lightweight Kevlar plating on top of the purple body suit which helped in stealth and infiltration. His boots and gloves had special magnetic suction pads which enabled him to crawl on surfaces and race up walls similar to how Spider-man could.

This was Eric Needham, former soldier turned mercenary for hire who was now working for Tombstone. He was a trained assassin, expert marksman and acrobat and a skilled Martial Artist who had once tried to kill Batman before getting sent to jail. Alias Black Spider and he's been disguised as Spider-man in Starling City. He's responsible for killing criminals and framing the real Spider-man all because Tombstone paid him very well. (1)

"Sounds like fun." Black Spider told Tombstone.

"Find Brick, kill those who turned traitor and bring him to me alive. I want one final word before he dies." Tombstone ordered.

"Got it." Black Spider took the Spider-man suit and left the office with his new target in mind.

Will finished his day at Palmer Tech, unaware that Tombstone had hired his imposter to further ruin his name yet again with a target that he would soon go after as well. He walked out of the building and made his way over to Toro's for dinner where he would meet up with Spencer before Thea joined them. As he walked down the street, he passed a newspaper stand where the front-page story yet again was Spider-man going bad. Literally, the headline was Spider-man gone bad with an image of the imposter attacking a police officer. The body of the article was pretty much everything he had heard before and what the media and Tombstone were telling the city but the new thing added was the reward for any information that led to the capture of Spider-man. Grand total of $500,000 dollars. Will was working at Palmer Tech with a nice paycheck but that amount of money would get a lot of notice. Hell, if he didn't have the job, he might turn himself in.

"A load of crap." Will heard from the old owner of the newsstand.

"Excuse me?" Will asked him.

"That whole article and Spider-man going bad. It's all fake. Spider-man wouldn't go bad." The owner told him as he sorted some magazines on a kiosk. He was an old man, likely in his late sixties with glasses and grey hair and mustache but he had a kind and gentle nature mixed with the wise wisdom of a grandfather. His nametag read Stan. "I don't believe for one second that Spider-man went bad."

"A lot of other people seem to think so, including the Mayor and the police." Will pointed out.

"And like they haven't been wrong before?" Stan pointed out. "I'm not gonna believe that Spider-man, a guy who risks his life to help the people of this city suddenly turned evil. I think he's got an imposter."

"Really?" Will asked, wondering how this guy would think that.

"Hey, that Robin Hood guy got one when he showed up so why not Spider-man. The thing people keep forgetting is that Spider-man hasn't killed people unlike Robin Hood when he started so it doesn't make sense for him to start now. People come by here every day and tell me their stories about how Spider-man saved them from a mugging, pulled them from a car crash, took down the guy who robbed their store and hundreds of other stories. Spider-man's a hero and the people who really believe him won't lost faith in what he does." Stan stated, fixing some newspapers, and replacing the ones about Spider-man going bad with ones about Spider-man still saving people. Will smiled at Stan. With the whole imposter thing and now being wanted by the police and mayor and the city turning against him, it was nice to know that there are people out there who still believe in him.

"Thank you." Will said to him.

"For what?" Stan wondered.

"Just…some nice conversation. And I needed to here that. Spider-man has helped my life too…guess in more ways than one." Will smiled before he grabbed one of the newspapers about Spider-man saving someone and paid Stan $50. "Keep the change."

"Thanks, True Believer!" Stan waved goodbye as Will continued on his way to Toro's. He put the money in the cash register and watched Will disappeared in the crowd of people. "He's a good kid."

Will caught a bus and after a few stops and another few blocks he arrived at Toro's for sushi dinner with Spencer and Thea. He thought he was early but saw Spencer waiting there for him. "Hey, Spencer? Am I late? I thought we said 7?"

"We did. I just got here a little early considering what you told Laurel's dad to give to her to give to me." Spencer took out a large binder of paper and files. Will looked around as a sort of precautionary habit but no one was really looking at him so he put the binder away in his backpack. "That's a copy of everything the police and DA's office have on the supposed crimes your imposter has done."

"Thanks. How is it there?" Will wondered.

"Not that great. Spencer and her boss are getting requests from a lot of defense attorneys for criminals you put away. They want the charges against them dropped considering they were arrested by now a wanted fugitive." Spencer explained.

"Dammit, I was afraid of that. I put away over 200 people since I became Spider-man. If they actually get what they want and they're back on the streets then a lot of people are in danger. I put away some really bad people." Will told her.

"Don't worry, Laurel and her boss are fighting them and they're not getting any traction. All the evidence they collected is solid so their convictions are not being overturned despite how they were arrested." Spencer assured him. "Still, what are you going to do about your Imposter?"

"Find him if I can, clear my name, kick his ass, and give Tombstone a nice middle finger to the eye. That last one might be a little childish." Will pointed out. "All I want is this imposter behind bars where he belongs for the crap, he's thrown my way."

"I can only imagine. I've perused online and a lot of people are saying a lot of negative things about you. It's unbelievable." Spencer stated. "You've done so much for the people of this city and they just turn against you like that."

"I don't care what they're saying online. I didn't in high school, I don't care now. Besides…" Will remembered what Stan told him. "I met someone who reminded me why I became Spider-man. I didn't do it to be famous or be liked."

Spencer smiled at Will. Even with the city against him, he still managed to tough through it. "You did it to help the people of this city in a way only you could. With great power comes great responsibility."

"That's right." Will smiled. "I should get that stitched on a pillow."

"Well, after dinner I can help you with the research. We've still got some time before school starts. Hopefully we can find him." Spencer said when she saw Thea arrive.

"Hey, Will. Hey, Spencer." Thea greeted them.

"Hey. How's it going?" Will wondered.

"I'm doing pretty good. Verdant and everything is going great." Thea replied. "Thanks for letting me come."

"No problem. Hope you're hungry because I'm starving." Will told her as the three went into the restaurant and ate dinner. Unbeknownst to Spencer and Will, Merlyn was watching over Thea from a rooftop about three blocks away. This was just his overprotective side but she was just eating dinner with two friends so he didn't really need to be there. Again, if he knew Will was Spider-man he might feel different.

Line Break xxxxx

After dinner, Will and Spencer went back to his house where the two made use of his living room to go over all the evidence on the imposter Spider-man. Witness statements, crime scene evidence, surveillance footage, and everything else the police and DA's office had. Will jotted down notes onto a pad while Spencer watched over some of the surveillance footage on her laptop before making some notes. The footage was of the Imposter Spider-man taking down a group of Los Halcones at a cash drop off. She wrote down some notes when she saw him take down one of the gang members rather viciously with a brutal leg break and then neck snap.

"Geez, this guy is brutal." Spencer commented.

"Yeah, that's what worries me." Will told her. "But he's clearly got some training. Tombstone didn't hire some run of the mill criminal off the street. He wanted someone professional."

"I'll say. At first glance I can see how he could trick a lot of people into thinking this is you." Spencer pointed out. "So, he's got martial arts training at the very least."

"And knows how to use a knife." Will added. "He's an acrobat or at least got gymnastic training to be able to move like I can. But from what I can tell he doesn't appear to be web swinging through the city or even into the areas where he attacks his victims. He just jumps in."

"So, he probably doesn't have web shooters like you do." Spencer surmised. "But the police did bag webbing in evidence."

"Well, if it's still in evidence then it isn't mine. My webbing is stronger than steel cables but designed to disintegrate after a few hours, at most maybe six. If it's still in evidence lockup then it's something else." Will explained. "That could give me a way to Id this guy. Did they run a test on the webbing?"

"They did but the lab results are taking a while." Spencer replied.

"Maybe I can get Felicity to rush that?" he suggested when his phone rang and saw it was Felicity. "Speak of the devil."

"That's kind of eerie." Spencer muttered while he answered his phone.

"Hey, Felicity? What's up?"

"We've kind of got a situation. How quickly can you make it to Interstate 80?" She wondered.

Felicity's situation was also an SCPD situation. Two men, Jose Anton and Jermaine Fisher were running from the police in a van filled with heroin and PCP after they were stopped by a uniformed cop during a regular traffic stop. Jermaine Fisher shot the cop and now they were trying to escape from four police squad cars including Captain Lance.

"Hey, I want air support now! These bastards, they shot one of our own!" Lance radioed in as the police kept up their pursuit. Jose Anton drove the car and tried to outpace the cops while Jermaine Fisher was in the back and shot at them with an Uzi.

Fisher riddled one of the lead squad cars with bullets forcing the driver to veer to the side. Anton saw a truck closing in on the other side of the road and fired his pistol. He killed the driver and caused the truck to crash to a stop, blocking the police from following them. "Yes!"

That's when Arsenal arrived on the road on Oliver's bike and followed them. "It's him!" Fisher shouted.

"I thought he was green!" Anton shouted, speeding up the van as Arsenal swerved around to avoid Fisher's bullets.

"This bike is sick!" Roy said into his comms.

"Ok, you're not supposed to be having fun right now." Felicity reminded him, watching over everything via satellite feed at the bunker.

"Sorry."

"No, sorry is what you'll be when Oliver finds out you took his motorcycle."

"Ok, I've got them headed your way. Aim for the engine block." Roy told Dig who was perched up on top of an overpass. Dig was dressed up as the Arrow and using Oliver's bow. He aimed an explosive arrow at the van and fired but missed, causing the van to swerve to the side.

"This suit is too tight." Dig remarked.

"If they make it to the tunnel, we're going to lose them." Felicity reminded him.

"You're not helping." Diggle fired two more arrows but despite his best efforts he missed both times and the van neared the tunnel.

"I thought he was supposed to be good!" Fisher remarked when something crashed into the front of the van and sent it flipping several times before it crashed on its roof. The van was wrecked with the front of the vehicle destroyed by something fast and powerful. Fisher was miraculously alive with some serious bruises and possible fractures but he crawled out of the back of the van with his Uzi still in his hand. He struggled to get up only for something to yank him into the air and restrained him.

Jose Anton managed to crawl out of the driver's side window and fall to the ground where he saw Fisher strung up underneath the overpass. Anton held up his pistol only for some webbing to snag it and then hurl it in his face. He covered his broken nose when Spider-man swung down on a web and slid between his legs, firing a web line at his ankle as he did. With one yank Anton dropped to the ground before Spider-man flipped through the air and landed on his back in a crouch and then slammed his head into the pavement, knocking him out.

"One van of drugs plus two idiots equals an ass kicking by yours truly." Spider-man remarked as Dig rappelled down from a rope and Arsenal walked over. "You missed them."

"I'm more of Glock kind of guy." Dig pointed out.

"I didn't say anything." Roy muttered as the three left just as the police arrived and took Anton and Fisher into custody.

Will, Roy, and Diggle arrived at the bunker and saw Felicity adding Jose Anton and Jermaine Fisher to the growing list of occupants at Iron Heights. "Two bad guys caught. Nicely done." Felicity told him. "Thanks again for coming, Will."

"Don't mention it. I really needed it anyways." Will told her. "So, who are the two newest members of the Iron Heights prison gang?"

"Jose Anton and Jermaine Fisher. They're attached to a new crew working the Glades the head of which is this gentleman." Felicity brought up an SCPD arrest file on Daniel Brickwell.

"I know that guy. That's Danny Brickwell. His street name's Brick but I thought he was in Iron Heights." Roy pointed out.

"He was until a month ago. And then the case against him imploded. By which I mean every single witness suffered some sort of fatal accident. Three guesses as to who the police suspect in those cases." Felicity wondered.

"Jermaine Fisher and Jose Anton." Dig answered.

"So, they killed a bunch of witnesses to get Brick out of jail and then shoot a cop to do…what?" Roy asked.

"That's what we have to find out." Dig told him.

"And then put Mr. Brickwell back in Iron Heights where he belongs. I'm happy to help however I can but I could also use some help from Team Arrow in regard to my imposter who's been running around the city." Will told them.

"You haven't had any luck finding him?" Dig wondered and Will shook his head no.

"No, he's gone to ground. I don't think he left the city because I doubt Tombstone would let just a valuable tool in his war against me go so easily but he hasn't shown his face. Lance managed to get a copy of all the evidence the SCPD has on the guy and I started going over it. Best I can tell, this guy's got some serious skill and training to pull off what people say he can do." Will explained.

"If you give me a copy of the evidence I could help." Felicity told him.

"Thanks, Felicity. Also, the SCPD managed to bag a copy of the imposter's webbing and sent it to a lab to be analyzed but they're not done yet. Do you think you could speed up that process and see what they found out?" He wondered.

"Sure. I'll have something by tomorrow." Felicity promised.

"Thanks. I'll get you a copy of the evidence the SCPD has tomorrow at work." Will told her when he noticed Oliver wasn't around. "Oliver's not back yet?"

"No, but he'll be back soon." Felicity told him as Roy and Dig shared a look.

"All right, well I'm gonna go back out there and do a patrol. Let me know if something comes up." Will put his mask back on and left the bunker. Roy left soon after to dig up some intel on Brick while Dig stayed behind to talk to Felicity.

"You have that look you always get right before you tell Oliver something sagely." Felicity told him.

"Yes, and this is about Oliver." Dig told her.

"You think I'm in denial."

"I think 12 days ago Oliver challenged the world's greatest assassin to a duel." Dig stated.

"He survived Lian Yu. And Hong Kong, and god knows what else. He defeated Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson." Felicity listed off. "You have to believe in him."

"Oh, I do believe in him, Felicity. It's just…I'm preparing myself for the possibility that things didn't go Oliver's way. Not this time. You need to prepare yourself, too." Dig pat her on the arm and left the bunker.

Felicity took a sharp inhale that was filled with dread and worry. "Please, Oliver, where are you?"

Line Break xxxxx

The next morning, Will and Felicity went to work at Palmer tech like normal. The two ended up getting on the same elevator without anyone else there to eavesdrop on their conversation. Once they both pressed their floor numbers, Will handed her a flash drive which had a digital copy of all the evidence Lance was able to get him. "Here. Hope you can get me some answers on this guy."

"Give me a few hours and I'll have something." She promised as he got off on his floor and went to the lab. She stayed on the elevator and went up to the floor where she and Dr. Palmer worked. Ray was currently in his private lab working on his special Exo-suit project.

He was wearing a beta-version gauntlet and making some adjustments to the power relay and stress energy tensor for a compressed hard light beam test. "Two second burst at 800 volts. In 5…4…3…2…1!" All his gauntlet did was spark with electricity. "Damn it!"

He unplugged the power cable and slammed the table just as Felicity walked in and saw the inflatable clown dummies set up in the office. "Clowns?"

"Practice targets. Clowns always freaked me out as a kid." Ray explained as he went to his desk to run the numbers again.

"Well, you're showing them who's boss now." Felicity punched one of the dummies as it bounced back.

"Well, I would be, if I could figure out how to modulate the stress-energy tensor." He replied.

"Hmm. Ray, I've been thinking."

"About overclocking the magnetic coils? Because I tried that."

"No. About what you're doing." Felicity told him. "And about me helping you do it."

"Save the city, you mean?" he asked.

"Risk your life. I know you think you're going to be safe inside that suit of armor. I know there's like a gajillion movies that make it look easy. The only reason Spider-man is able to do what he does is because he has super powers. You've seen what he can do and there's no way a normal human can do that. You're just a normal human. A smart one but no super powers." Felicity told him.

"Well, the Arrow and his partner go out there every night, without armor or powers." Ray pointed out.

"And…one night, hopefully very far off in the future, they're not going to come back. I don't want that to happen to you." Felicity said from a place of concern and worry. Ray could see that she might have a point but he was set on his path.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Start small. Just see if you can get the nanite chip to function." Ray suggested, handing it to her and she took it.

While Felicity was talking with Ray, Will was doing some more work in the lab. He had computers running simulations on their cancer trials so he was moving into genetic diseases like Cystic fibrosis, Huntington's, and Sickle cell anemia to name a few. It was all alpha-phase level work so just setting up tests and such, following Dr. Connors layouts and instructions. The FDA was still reviewing Palmer Tech's case filing for the Genetic Recombinator for human trials. Will still thought that moving this into human trials was too soon. He was hopeful but there were still dozens if not hundreds of variables, problems or unforeseen side effects that could arise with human subjects. The one positive was that given the Genetic Recombinator's advance machinery and nature, it classified as a Class-Three medical device which meant the FDA was going to be thorough and extremely detailed in their research. It likely would take months if not a year before they were approved for human trials and even longer for it to be marketed and actually used. That helped alleviate his worries. They could use that time to really work out the kinks of the machine and make sure it was safe.

Will was doing some chemical analysis on a computer when his phone buzzed and the Caller ID read San FranCisco which made him chuckle. "Hey, Cisco. How's it going in Central City?"

"Not bad. We had another encounter with Captain Cold and his new partner who I dubbed…Heatwave."

"Oh, that's good." Will admitted. "Ice and fire supervillains. Always classics. I need an elemental supervillain. Wait, what am I saying? I don't need that hassle."

"Too late, dude. You jinxed yourself. Anyway, things are going good in Central City. You should really stop by. I know Dr. Wells would like to meet you."

"Sounds great man. If I can find the time to go visit then I will. Who knows? Maybe The Flash and Spider-man can have another team up." He joked. "So, what's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I am having a blast with all the designs, enhancements, formulas, and calculations you sent over. I'm serious, dude. You're gonna put me out of a job if you keep this up."

"What can I say? Gifted youth." Will replied.

"And are you gifted artist as well because those suit designs are badass."

"No, that's curtesy of my girlfriend. She's the one who is responsible for my previous suits. Before her, I was wearing some cobbled together sweats. The red suit with the blue sweater and the red and blue one I'm wearing now are all her. She's got serious skill." Will said with pride.

"She does. I'm loving the white and black futuristic one and I've got so many ideas that I think you'll like. While that will take some time, STAR labs can at least do something for you now. We made you a modified version of the suit you're wearing now and we sent it over a few days ago. It should be showing up today at Palmer Tech for Felicity. I figured if STAR labs sent something straight to you it would look weird so this way it's doesn't raise any eyebrows."

"Smart thinking. Now exactly what modifications did you make to my suit?" Will asked. He had full faith in Cisco and STAR labs in making him a kickass suit and he was beyond excited but he also needed to know what they had done and what he would have to compensate for.

"Given the time we had, nothing too serious dude. For your next few suits, we can talk about some awesome upgrades but for now we got you settled with some of the basics. We made the suit with a Kelvar carbon fiber so it's bulletproof and more durable than typical cloth or fabric without adding on additional weight. Your mask's got a built-in communications system and HUD that you can have Felicity connect to. It'll get you access to her and anything you need easily and I did some cool things with the eyes as well I think you'll like. It's got a GPS system, some cool HUD modes, oh and I equipped the suit with a vacuum seal so it can expand and then compress around your body for the perfect fit. When you visit us we'll get your proper measurements. I also included a parachute, some cool web wings so you can glide along with some new web shooters with your new webbing formula. I think you're gonna like them."

"Wow, if that's all you could do as a basic upgrade what can you do with more time?" Will wondered.

"A lot dude. I have so many ideas that you are gonna love but that's for the future. So, enjoy the suit. Don't get it blown up and seriously, get your butt here as soon as you can because it's gonna be some serious fun. Oh, Dr. Wells is coming. I've got to go." Cisco hung up right after that.

"Bye, Cisco." Will put his phone down and got back to work when his phone rang again and it was from Felicity. "Hey, Felicity. Cisco called me and said something would be showing up later today for you."

"Oh, good to know. So, I've managed to look at the evidence Captain Lance was able to get on your imposter and you were very thorough by the way. You should have gone into police work."

"I prefer science. What did you find?"

"I managed to hack into the lab where they were conducting the analysis on the webbing found at the various spots your imposter's been sighted at. It's not like yours from what I was able to see, especially since your webbing tends to disintegrate after several hours. This webbing actually hardened like concrete and no surprise it's composed of liquid cement, an acrylic adhesive and believe it or not cornstarch and water. It's a lot less advanced than the webbing you use."

"It doesn't sound like webbing, more like a glue. The liquid cement and acrylic adhesive would provide an adequate amount of cohesion and structural stability for a sealant. The Acrylic adhesive is pressure sensitive and allows easy deformity under pressure permitting them to wet surfaces and when are brought into contact they provide sufficient van der Walls force for fairly durable uses which when combined with the liquid cements properties could in theory provide a form of solid cement like adhesive. The cornstarch and water, believe it or not might actually give the combination a more controllable liquid form that could simulate webbing. And it would then harden into actual cement after enough time. Of course, that's to the layman and not someone who's familiar with a lab." He pointed out and didn't hear a response from Felicity. "Hello? Did the call drop?"

"No, I'm still here. How do you know all that? I spent the past half hour looking all that up and you explained it in less than five minutes."

"When I was designing my webbing or actually my super adhesive for a project last year I actually used a lot of those kinds of supplies and chemicals during my alpha-level tests. But they weren't what I needed for my project so I went in a different path and just made a combination of my own." He explained. "Ok. So, he's definitely not me but he's got his own mock-webbing that could ensnare and trap his victims which he has done. Can that help us track this guy down?"

"Actually, yes. I've been looking into police and ESU reports across the country and believe it or not this same formula and mixture has been around. Mostly at the murder scenes for serious crimes the FBI have looked into. Several mob bosses all over the country and even some abroad along with henchmen, industry leaders, one politician, and several police and FBI agents. Professional attacks done by an assailant with impressive agility and skill like the evidence seems to indicate. Even the same knife used on some of the murderers here match."

"I was right. Tombstone went professional for his imposter. Any ID on him?" He asked.

"I still working on it. I'll send Dig a copy of the info and he could talk to Lyla. I know you don't like her and ARGUS but he'll be tightlipped about what's going on and keep your secret." Felicity promised. "If we want to find this guy then ARGUS's database could help."

"Ok, that's fine. Just so long as we find this guy." Will said.

"We will. Promise. Ok, I've got to get back to work. Head to the bunker after work and we'll talk." Felicity hung up and Will got back to work.

Across the city at the courthouse, Laurel and the DA's office were prepped for the initial court hearings for Jermaine Fisher and Jose Anton. Captain Lance, Detective Watanabe and several other police officers were there to see these men get sent to jail. Laurel was presiding over the hearings as ADA and Spencer was sitting in the crowd as her assistant.

"Dad, I will do what I can." She promised as the bailiffs walked in Fisher and Anton. Immediately, all the cops wanting nothing more than for him to drop dead for shooting their colleague.

"The cop he shot? Father of three. May says he may never walk again, and that's if he makes it cause right now, he's 50/50." Lance told her.

She nodded as the judge walked in and everyone took a seat. "All right, Miss Lance, you're up."

Laurel walked forward to address the judge and everyone. "The People versus Jermaine Fisher and Jose Anton. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Anton are charged with 56 counts of attempted murder including 16 counts of attempt murder of a police officer as well as 1 count of first degree murder and 10 counts of drug trafficking a sum total about of over 100 kilos of Heroin and PCP."

"So, no bail is what you're saying?" The Judge asked.

"Vigorously, your honor." Laurel replied.

"Just as the defendants vigorously moves to dismiss all charges. Mr. Fisher and Mr. Anton's apprehension was not affected by the police, but rather by vigilantes and a wanted fugitive." The Defense Lawyer stated.

"The circumstances of their arrest are irrelevant." Laurel pointed out.

"Produce Spider-man as an eyewitness and we'll find out." The Defense Lawyer suggested.

"That won't be necessary." Laurel walked over to her table and held up the bagged guns and photos of the bricks of heroin and PCP. "We have the weapons with the defendant's fingerprints all over them as well as the bricks of drugs, your honor."

"Motion to dismiss denied, bail denied. Please remand Mr. Fisher and Mr. Anton into custody." The Judge banged her gavel and Laurel and Lance had smiled on their faces as well as the other cops. Spencer wrote everything down on a notepad as the two men were taken back into custody. Laurel would see them later at the SCPD to get them to plead guilty and give up who they were working for.

Later during the day, Laurel did go to the SCPD to speak with Fisher and Anton in interrogation. Spencer came along as her assistance but despite everything she could threaten them with or any kind of collaboration, their lawyer told them not to do anything and keep their mouths shut so it was essentially a waste of time.

"Your attorney doesn't have your best interests at heart, Gentlemen. Otherwise, you'd be walking out of here as free men." Laurel pointed out as Fisher and Anton were escorted out by officers.

"Yeah, more like dead men. Do you think you scare us more than Brick does? Think again." Fisher remarked as they were dragged away. Laurel looked over at their lawyer who was on the phone and she managed to hear part of his conversation.

"You have a real nice day now. No, they didn't flip. They like breathing too much." The Lawyer assured him as he walked out of the precinct, unaware that he was being watched. Black Spider got a tip from Tombstone's vast network of informants and got the name of the lawyer representing Fisher and Anton who weren't part of Tombstone's organization which meant they worked for Brick. Black Spider was in civilian clothes and watched the lawyer get into his car and drive away so he followed him to get some answers.

Elsewhere in one of the empty warehouses in the Glades, several men were moving with haste to pack up what looked like a mock set up for living arrangements along with burning various items that needed to be destroyed. "Hurry it up! Brick wants all of this gone within the hour. We need to get moving!"

"Make it half an hour!" They heard as Brick walked in. He was dressed in a business suit but despite his business appearance, he was nothing more than a rough and ready street goon who was happy putting people in the ground with a gun as he did with his own fists. He was a complete stark contrast to the Big Man. While Tombstone was ready to kill and do what needed to be done to maintain control of his criminal empire he had the maturity and wisdom to adopt a façade to the rest of the city so that his enterprise couldn't be traced back to him or compromised. Brick was the opposite. He was more than happy to own up and be nothing more than the criminal he was but what he had planned needed a little secrecy and the police unaware. "Our timetable is in endanger because of what those two idiots did and if they even think of blabbing to the cops then everything we've worked for is down the drain! No more screw ups and no more delays. You got that?!"

His men nodded and got back to work as one of his men walked over to tell him something. "Brick, we've got word that Hammerhead could be trying to get to you and they hired outside help."

"What do I care? Let that freak and Tombstone try anything and we'll do the same to them as their men who wouldn't jump ship. Soon the Glades will be mine and Tombstone won't be able to do a thing or else he'll risk exposing himself. And if he wants a fight then bring him on." Brick stated. "Back to work!"

Line Break xxxxx

Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, most of everyone in Palmer Tech went home so Dr. Connors and Will saved up their work and called it a day as well. Will left the building and got on a bus to Verdant. He managed to get a seat to himself in the back and called Aria to see how she was doing.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Aria. How's it going?" He wondered.

"I'm fine. I should be asking you that question. Tombstone's turned the entire city against you with that Spider-man imposter?"

"I'm doing better. Motivated to track him down and kick his ass to show him not to mess with the real Spider-man but I'm still looking for him. I'm actually heading to go do research right now." Will told her. "But enough about me and my depressing superhero life. How's everything back home?"

"It's fine. The holidays were great as you know and I've used my time productively but I'm ready to go back to school. I can't believe I actually just said that."

"I know what you mean. Some normalcy would be great and hopefully when you and Emily get back that can actually happen." Will told her.

"But you'll get this guy first. I know you will." She told him and Will smiled. "So, anything else going on? How's Spencer doing?"

"She's been kept busy working with Laurel at the DA's office. Everything going with my imposter has kept them busy but she's doing fine. She either works with Laurel or helps me out with whatever I need to avoid hanging out with her sister and Ian which someone could see as conflict avoidance." Will pointed out.

"Knowing Spencer and her sister, it's more like death avoidance. And what about you? How's your science project going? Think Palmer Tech will try to steal you away from school?"

"They could try but my mother would likely kill me if I dropped out, even with a job offer so I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me." He assured her, causing her to chuckle. "So, Spencer being Spencer, she told me she was already looking into possible semester abroad in France. And knowing her, she might try to extend that into a year either to make her eventual resume even better in part 67 of Spencer's 100 part plan to rule the world or just to avoid her sister and Ian."

"I would go with the second part and a semester abroad does sound like fun."

"True, it does. It's kind of the college cliché isn't it? Four years at college and spending either one semester or year abroad to broaden our horizons. Every single college movie touch on that." He joked.

"Ok, ignoring that. What do you think? You want to take a semester abroad?"

"Would I? Absolutely. Could be a fun experience and I've always wanted to go to Italy. But realistically I don't think that's possible ever since I put on the mask. Unfortunately, Spider-man doesn't get vacations, even a semester abroad." He stated, knowing that if he left then he risked a lot of bad things happening to Starling City. "I kind of came to that realization after doing my Spider-man thing for a month and the fall semester started. Once I put on the mask, I don't get vacations."

"That doesn't seem fair."

"It's not but it's the price for being a superhero and doing what I do. It's fine." Will assured her. "Besides, there are some benefits to the job. For one thing, I'm supposed to be getting a new upgraded suit curtesy of STAR labs."

"That fancy lab from Central City? Wow, how'd you pull that off?"

"Superheroes tend to be a close-knit group. At least, when we're dealing with superheroes other than the Emerald Archer. I helped the Flash and his team who work at STAR labs which by the way you will keep to yourself." He told her.

"Promise."

"Anyway, they said that they were happy to help with enhancements and designs for me so I sent them some stuff including designs for my suits so we might be able to see them become a reality. The Spectacular Spider-man brought to you by STAR labs and designed by Aria Montgomery." He joked.

"I like the sound of that." She replied just as he arrived at Verdant.

"I've got to go but take care and we'll talk later. I promise."

"Ok. Stay safe Spider-man and good luck in finding your imposter. I know you'll find him."

"Thanks, Aria. Take care." He hung up and walked off the bus before heading to the alley behind Verdant. After triple checking to make sure no one was following him and with no tingle from his spider-sense he put in the code for the alley door to the bunker and walked in. He walked into the bunker and saw Diggle there alone. "Hey, Dig."

"Hey. How's it going?" Dig wondered.

"Fine. Felicity told me to come here after work. Any luck on your ARGUS angle, he said begrudgingly yet hopeful." Will commented.

Dig nodded and handed him a file. "Yeah, your guy is in the ARGUS database."

"So, we've got a name?" He asked. Dig nodded as Will opened the file to see the information ARGUS had on this guy along with his purple and black tactical suit and what he looked like outside the mask.

"His name is Eric Needham, former Junior Olympian and Delta Special Forcers operator before he was dishonorably discharged and incarcerated after an altercation with his superior that he killed. He escaped capture and put his skills to work as an assassin for terrorist group known as Basilisk. He took on the moniker Black Spider and they provided him with the suit and tech and he worked with them for years before he went to work for himself as an assassin for hire. A skilled acrobat, hand-to-hand combatant with a knife and gun and his suit has special magnetic pads that let him cling to walls and surfaces for infiltration. His trademark is using that adhesive to trap his target before killing them like a spider would." Dig explained.

"I remember when I captured Komodo he mentioned I looked like someone he worked with once. I thought he was joking but it was probably Black Spider." Will remarked, reading over the file. "Well, I know who this guy is and I know who he's working for. I'll get a copy of this to Lance and then I'm taking him down and clearing my name."

He heard the clack of heels and door opening and in walked Felicity and Roy who was carrying a large briefcase. "And we'll help you do it along with taking down Brick as well." She stated. "Roy learned something that could help."

"I got in touch with some of my street contacts. Turns out Brick is a new leader in the Glades and he's been recruiting. Pretty much every single street tough, enforcer, or bad guy in the Glades is signed up with him and the ones who aren't have disappeared." Roy explained.

"And by disappear we're assuming dead in this context?" Will pointed out and Roy nodded.

"There's also this. Brick isn't working for anyone else. He's running his operation by himself and word on the street is that he's pissed off someone powerful who wants him gone and the Glades back under control." Roy told him.

"Who could that be?" Dig wondered when Will connected the pieces and realized who it could be.

"Tombstone." Will stated making everyone look at him. "Of course. Brick's takeover of the Glades is messing with Tombstone's business over the city. Every single criminal and organization give homage or pays protection to the Big Man in order to operate in Starling City and they do it out of fear. Brick's either brave or an idiot and is trying to make a power grab."

"Ok, but why now? If Tombstone has had such control over the city, why pick now to try and make a takeover?" Dig wondered and that was a good question. Everyone thought over a reason when it dawned on Felicity.

"His press conference at Christmas." She stated. "Tombstone's been running the crime in this city for years if not decades. So much so that Oliver didn't even know about the Big Man of Crime until Will started messing with his organization."

"Right, which had him make those idiots with weapons and powers to try and kill me." Will added.

"And then he decided to get the police and the mayor on his side and make you enemy #1, completely exposing himself to everyone as a benevolent philanthropist in the process and putting a spotlight on him. Brick realizes that now he can make a power grab and take control because Tombstone has to be extra careful in the public eye." Dig surmised.

"He can't fade back into obscurity as another of the city's rich donors when he publicly accused Spider-man of a crime and is working with the Mayor and SCPD. Everyone's gonna have an eye on him now, which means that if he's not careful than his criminal organization could be exposed. Bricke can make a power grab and Tombstone either has to expose himself as a criminal to stop him or risk losing everything. And it's not like he can go running to the cops and tell them that Brick is taking over his Glades operation." Roy concluded.

"Tombstone is backed into a corner." Will said with a smile. "While we've got no way to prove it and it's just a theory between the four of us…I like it. Tombstone is stuck but there is one other thing. He's got a trained assassin working for him now and used him to frame me. If we don't stop him soon then we might have a breaking news story of Spider-man killing Brick. While that would solve one of our problems, it would create a bigger one for me."

"So, we deal with one and then the other." Felicity brought up some satellite and cell phone tower data and began hacking into them to track a recent call. "Laurel just called and she told me that Fisher and Anton's lawyer called Brick right after their interrogation with the place and time of the outgoing call."

"Can you trace that call back to Brick?" Dig asked and she did manage to trace the call to a burner phone.

"At least where his phone is. His burner phone to be exact. It's at a warehouse in the Glades."

"Let's go check it out." Will stated and Dig and Roy nodded.

"Seems like as good a time as any to break in Cisco's new suit for you." Felicity pointed out as Roy put the briefcase on the table for Will.

He walked over and the second he undid the latch the briefcase opened and he saw his new suit, mask, and web shooters. True to Cisco's word it looked the same as the suit he wore now but the overall look and design was more streamlined and the suit itself didn't look like it was made of a regular fabric. The same with the mask as it pretty much stayed the same but he did notice the eye lens were different. Instead of just chrome lenses over the eyeholes it looked like Cisco made actual eye lenses.

The biggest change came with the new upgraded web shooters that Cisco and STAR labs made. The web shooters he was wearing now, let's call them Mark 1 were focused more on function rather than fashion since he made them out of spare parts from the lab at SCU and what he could scrounge up. These new ones were sleeker and more high-tech with a black color and much smaller. He picked one up and saw the pressure pad for fingers, the nozzle the web fluid came out of along with an empty web fluid cartridge container. There was no wrap or band for wrist so he wondered how they stayed on as he tried to put it on and a metal band instantly wrapped around his left wrist and kept the web shooter in place. (2)

"Ok, this is cool." He put on the other web shooter and a metal band wrapped around his wrist, securing it into place and they felt good. He took the rest of the suit out of the briefcase which is when he saw it was very loose and easily a size too big for him.

"Guess Cisco didn't get your measurements right." Roy pointed out. Felicity walked over and saw that if Will put the suit on it would be extra baggy which could hinder him. That's when she saw the card at the bottom of the suitcase next to several cases of web fluid cartridges and other cases that were labeled web gadgets. She took it and read it out loud.

"I know it's baggy but put it on and press the spider symbol on the chest. Trust me, this suit is awesome. You can thank Dr. Wells for the idea. Also, make sure to put on the web shooters after you put on the suit."

Will did as the note said taking off his clothes and the web shooters before putting the suit on. It was literally massive and could fit a man twice his size but he managed to put it on and then put on the mask which was also too big. The second he pressed the spider emblem on the chest the entire suit and mask sealed up tight around his body with no lingering evidence that it looked like it was a size too big. It fit perfectly and it looked like it did as well. The web shooters fit perfectly around his suit and the second he pressed the trigger pad on one of the web shooters he saw a HUD appear that gave him an accurate read out of his web shooters including fluid capacity and a whole host of other options. The HUD took a little getting use to but he looked around and it was incredible. Dig, Roy, and Felicity watched as the lenses on the mask moved around like a person's eyes would. They tightened, enlarged and everything in between like they were his actual eyes which were weird but also interesting in a way. After making sure the suit fit, he took out the other cases in the suitcase and opened them to reveal high-tech versions of his web grenades, web trip mines, and acid bombs. They were much smaller so they could fit in his new belt and even fire some from his web shooters so he didn't need to bring his old belt. All in all, while the suit looked the same it was a brand new and upgraded Spider-man. (3)

"Ok, Cisco is officially the best person on earth." Will moved around a bit and the new suit felt perfect. He did a standing back flip and felt no problem. "Feels good but could use a test ride in the city. Waiting on you two."

Roy and Dig got changed and gear up as the three went to the warehouse. Dig drove him and Roy in the van while Will decided to try out his new web shooters and make sure they were working right. He jumped up onto the roof of Verdant and then climbed up the old smokestack of the old Queen Consolidated industries warehouse that was on the property. Once he was at the top, he took a moment and a deep breath before loading his web shooters with the cartridges containing his new modified web formula. The second they were loading, his HUD showed him that they were at 100% capacity and while there were numerous other various web shooter modifications or combinations, he could try he would stick with the basics for now.

With one step off the smokestack, he began his free fall to the ground which as always felt exhilarating. As he fell to the ground a pair of glider wings designed like webbing stretched out from his arms and he glided through the air like a wingsuit which was a new kind of awesome.

"Ok, Cisco is awesome! WOOOOHOOOO!" He shouted in joy as he glided through the air and down the street before he fired a web at a building and swung around a corner. His new suit felt good. Cisco and Dr. Wells were awesome. Now he was excited for all the kind of upgrades and modifications his future suits could have and he couldn't wait to go to Central City and see STAR labs for himself. In fact, during his swing through the city to the warehouse he was thinking up a weekend he could go visit.

Eventually he arrived at the warehouse and while he would normally use his telescopic and night vision to check for traps or security there wasn't a need. One of the upgrades Cisco and STAR labs did was a new reconnaissance mode which gave him various spectrums of vision including an x-ray function and the place was empty but his thermal vision did pick up a faint heat signature inside. He touched his right ear to turn on his earpiece but then realized his new mask had the communications system built-in so he connected to the communications line Felicity, Dig, and Roy were using. "Dig, Roy, I'm here. I'm on the east side of the building across the street. No one looks to be home but I'm picking up a faint heat signature."

"I'm coming in from the west. 30 seconds." Roy reported.

"Roger that. I'm at the north sector. No signs of life. Felicity, are you seeing something that we don't?" Dig asked.

"Will's right. The place is empty. The warehouse doesn't have any security cameras but someone disabled all the traffic cams on that block, which probably means you're in the right place." Felicity told them.

"All right, let's go in." Will fired a web line and web zipped onto the roof of the warehouse.

"You sure ditching the Arrow suit was a good idea?" Roy asked Dig.

"Only if I need to move or shoot." Dig pointed out as he made his way in on foot and entered through the north side. Roy got in through the west, breaking through a window and arrived on the second floor while Will descended from the ceiling with a web in his signature upside spider perch.

"In position." Roy stated.

"Clear." Dig reported.

"Yeah, Dig's right. This place is empty." Will said, lowering himself down from the ceiling before letting go and landing in a crouch. "Judging by the couches and stuff, this place was likely a base of operations. They must have left when Fisher and Anton were arrested, figured this place was burnt."

Roy dropped down and joined Dig and Will as the two noticed three barrels that had embers and smoke billowing from them. "What's this?" Dig wondered, kicking over one of the barrels and saw the charred remnants of ash, wood, papers, and cellphones.

"They burned their burners." Roy said.

"Torching evidence. Tying up loose ends." Dig figured.

Will looked through the pile of burnt remains and did manage to find two pieces of paper that weren't completely destroyed. One was blue and had white lines on it that looked like a building and the other was yellow and had a series of numbers like a catalog. "What's that?" Roy asked.

"Whatever it is, they wanted to make sure no one knew what they were doing." Will replied as his mask's HUD analyzed the two pieces of paper and made digital copies he could go back to later. Before he could do anything else, his HUD picked up a report coming over the SCPD radio frequency of another attack by Spider-man at a residential home. "Get this to Felicity. Maybe she can help us figure out what this is. I've got to go. My imposter just struck again."

Dig took the two pieces of charred paper as Will walked to the exit. "He's probably long gone by now."

"But his latest victim could give me some evidence to track him." Will fired a web at the ceiling and swung away. Dig and Roy left, heading back to Verdant to get the evidence to Felicity while Will swung through the city to go to the scene of his imposter's latest victim. He eventually found himself in the Brookside neighborhood of Starling where a lot of fancy and upscale apartments and homes were built next to the city's business sector. After a backflip through the air and a web-zip to the side of a building he began doing some recon and saw that the police were stationed outside a two-story residential home that must have cost a pretty penny. The CSU teams were bagging up some of the webbing again for evidence so Black Spider was here. He jumped onto the side of a house and crawled over to a window to see the CSU team and detectives going over the crime scene which the living room of the house.

He noticed more webbing in the room along with some blood splatter on the walls and floor. That's when he saw the corpse which was a man in his mid to late thirties and judging by the fancy pants and button-down shirt he was wearing he must have been someone with money. And considering he was tied up to a chair and looked like he was beaten to death it was probably torture. The trick now was figuring out why Black Spider went after him. His mask took a still image of the dead man and began running a facial recognition scan on him until it came up with a match. Joseph Banks, personal defense lawyer. Will web zipped away as his HUD managed to bring up some relevant information. Judging by his fancy house and the list of clients that he had, he brushed shoulders with the city's elite and not-so nice but that's not the reason he was targeted by Black Spider. The reason is because of the two people he recently represented and how he and the others found the old hideout Brick was using. Black Spider must have been following the lawyer and tortured him to get information on Brick.

He jumped up and landed on the edge of a rooftop and used his mask's communication function to contact Captain Lance. He told Lance and Yuri to act normal but now that he had more evidence it was time to loop them back in and catch this guy.

"Hey, kid. Did you find anything?" Lance asked him.

"Yeah, I'm at the crime scene for a murder your officers are responding to. Get this, the lawyer Joseph Banks was killed by my copycat. And I finally managed to get an ID on this guy. I'm sending it over now." Will told him as his mask send over the digital files to Lance's computer.

Lance, who was at the police station, saw the email pop up and opened up the attachments to see articles on high profile assassinations and the ARGUS data on Eric Needham, AKA Black Spider. "So, this is the guy Tombstone got to frame you."

"Yeah, and he didn't go bargain shopping in the city for a street thug. He went professional and arachnid theme but it's this guy. The webbing your officers found at all the crime scenes my imposter showed up at matches. It's this guy's signature." Will explained.

"Ok, good. With this information I might be able to get the DA and the Mayor to pull your arrest warrant but we still need to find this guy." Lance told him.

"Way ahead of you and I think we can kill two birds with one stone. I'm at the scene of his latest victim. It's Joseph Banks, the defense attorney who was representing Jose Anton and Jermaine Fisher."

"Those two dirtbags? Why would he go after their lawyer."

"Because of whom they all work for. Some new meathead in the Glades named Daniel Brickwell. Word on the street is that Brick is making a power grab in the Glades and it's impeding the operation of someone we know about."

"Tombstone. Brick is trying to take over part of Tombstone's operation so he is sending his imposter Spider-man after him. He must have gone after the lawyer for information. Ok, this is good because it gives us a target and something to pursue. I'll get Yuri on it but we've got to get your imposter and clear your name." Lance told him.

"Ready and willing to kick this guy's ass." Will replied when his mask picked up something on the police radio. A shootout turned high-speed chase a few blocks away. "All right, do what you can and keep me updated. I've got work to do."

"Be careful." Lance cautioned him as Will fired a web and swung away.

An SUV was driving erratically down 32nd street with two police cars in pursuit. The driver's eyes were bloodshot and judging by the sweat pouring down his face and sniffling he was definitely high on something. He had just scoured some drugs and stole a car when a police car happened to be driving by. That led the druggie firing a few shots from his pistol which resulted in the high-speed chase. The guy's erratic driving had him crash into several cars on the road and it wouldn't be long before someone was seriously hurt. He rear-ended a sedan which sent it into a spin to the sidewalk and it would have crashed into several pedestrians on the sidewalk when Spider-man swung down and fired two strands of webbing that split in two different directions. One hit the car while another hit a tree and it managed to pull the car to a stop before anyone was hit.

"Splitter Web. Pretty handy." Spider-man remarked.

The pedestrians who were almost run over breathed a sigh of relief as Spider-man landing on the roof of the car and jumped off before swinging away.

"GO, SPIDER-MAN!" A young boy shouted and, in the moment, any of the pedestrians who had turned against him were back on his side as they cheered for him.

Spider-man flipped through the air and swung alongside a building which he then ran on the side of before he jumped off and web zipped forward, landing on the roof of the stolen SUV. He then flipped onto the hood of the car and saw the driver. "Uh, excuse me. You ran like five stop lights. I think it's time for you to stop the car."

The drugged-up driver just raised his gun and fired through the windshield which was a bad idea as it caused some shards of glass to hit him in the face. The car was going over 80 mph and the shards of glass in the driver's face caused him to swerve and head straight towards a Big Belly Burger.

"That's not good." Spider-man quickly jumped into the air and threw a web grenade at the back of the car. After a beep, it exploded in a torrent of webbing which snagged onto the ground and brought the car to an abrupt and sudden stop. "Web grenade: new look but same old reliability."

The drugged driver scrambled out of the driver's seat and looked around in a panic before he ran away with the civilians backing away from him. The police arrived so he grabbed a woman on the street and took her as a hostage when some webbing snagged his hand and yanked him, causing him to let the woman go.

"Incoming!" Spider-man flipped through the air and threw the druggie to the ground with a flying head scissor throw and then knocked him out with a 720-drop spin kick to the head. The police rushed over and saw Spider-man take out the driver and flip back to his feet so they put their guns on him.

"Freeze, Spider-man! You're under arrest!"

"Seriously? I did all that and you guys still think I went crazy and started attacking innocent people?" They police just cocked their guns at him so he jumped into the air and swung away. The officers even tried shooting him but missed. "Unbelievable."

After swinging through the city and breaking up a few more crimes, he returned to the bunker and saw Diggle, Roy, and Felicity there. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, how'd it go?" Dig wondered.

"He was gone but his newest victim does prove that we're right. He went after the lawyer who represented Fisher and Anton at their trial and called Brick. And he didn't exactly die quickly."

"Torture. Needham's looking for information." Dig theorized.

"That's what I'm thinking. Tombstone must have sent him after Brick so he went to the lawyer of the two guys in his crew for information. Lance is working on some leads and trying to get my name cleared since I told him about Black Spider so I'm thinking we could look into the lawyer and figure out if he could lead us to Brick again." Will suggested when he noticed the looks Roy, Felicity, and Diggle had. "Is everything ok? Why do you guys look so worried?"

"It's about Oliver." Roy told him.

"He's not back from his trip? Maybe he got hung up with something." Will suggested.

"It's not that. Oliver left to fight the head of the League of Assassins." Dig told him.

"What?"

"And we haven't heard from him since he left."

"There's something else—Malcolm Merlyn stopped by for a little chat. He says Oliver's dead." Roy added.

"And you guys believe him? I get that I'm the newbie to this group but are you seriously gonna trust the word of a psycho who killed 503 innocent people and has done who knows what else? How do you know if he's telling the truth without any actual hard, physical evidence?" Will asked them. "I know I'm not privy to exactly what's going on and the only thing I really know is that there's a group called the League of Assassins but you guys have to have faith in Oliver. People thought he was dead eight years ago and he showed up. I don't know him as well as you three but he's a tough guy. If anyone could make it through that…he could. You just have to have faith in him."

Felicity managed to smile at Will and while his words did a little to help the mood the others couldn't help fighting the lingering shadow of death that revolved around Oliver. It wouldn't be until tomorrow that they would learn the truth.

Line Break xxxxx

The next day, Will was at home in the kitchen working on his laptop. He was reviewing the security camera footage that Tombstone's lawyers submitted to the SCPD and Mayor's office that showed him arriving at Tombstone's office and attacking him. Felicity manage to send him a decryption program so he was running it on the security footage to see if it had been digitally altered. The only problem was that his laptop had a finite amount of operating power compared to Felicity's computer set up so it was taking a bit longer than normal. While he was doing that, he was also looking into the numbers and blueprints they recovered from Brick's hideout.

May walked into the kitchen to pour some coffee into her mug before she left for work and saw Will working. "Spider-man stuff or Will stuff?"

"Spider-man stuff." He replied. "Just slowly working on destroying all the fake evidence Tombstone threw against me in his efforts to make Spider-man public enemy #1. And I decided to take a day off to work on this."

"Any luck?" She wondered.

"I know who my imposter is but can't find him. And I know all the evidence against me is fake but I'm still working on proving it so…ehh."

"Well, don't tire yourself out. We both know you'll figure this out." May kissed him on the head and left for work. "Stay safe."

"Always." He replied, watching the decryption program go over every single part of the video frame by frame. He got up and poured himself some coffee before grabbing a banana and sitting back down. That's when his computer beeped and he saw it managed to finish decrypting the video file and actually removed all the digital enhancements done. Instead of showing Spider-man breaking into Tombstone's office and assaulting him, it showed him forcing open one of the windows and restraining the private security before talking to the giant pale albino. Then it showed Tombstone attacking him and talking. Granted, the security camera footage didn't have the audio but this at least put doubt in Tombstone's statement. That's when he got another idea and remembered he kept the Go-Pro footage of his encounter with Tombstone that night on Halloween. If Tombstone was going to mess with him then he was going to mess back so he called Yuri. "Yuri, I managed to clear up the security footage which is gonna seriously revoke Tombstone's allegation against me and I figured out another way to screw with him. If he wants to use recordings to take me down then I'm gonna do the same."

"I'm like that idea." Yuri replied. Tombstone was going to get a rude awakening.

After getting everything set up exactly as he needed it, Will headed to the DA's office to hang out with Spencer and see if she or Laurel could help with the two pieces of paper they found at Brick's hideout. He walked into the Starling City DA's office and checked in, knowing his way around the place, and eventually making his way into the ADA room and saw Spencer working at her desk. "Hey, Spencer."

"Hey, what brings you here?" She wondered.

"Just thought I'd come hang out. I have off but you didn't so I wanted to check up on you. Plus, I could use your help." Will took out his phone and showed her the digital scans of the two pieces of paper he found at Brick's hideout. "Whatever these two pieces of paper used to be are important. I haven't been able to find anything yet so I was hoping you would be able to help."

"Sure." Spencer looked over the images and sent copies to her phone. She looked them over and for some reason the numbers seemed familiar. "I think I might have seen the numbers before. Give me a second."

"Take your time. If it helps me take down Brick then do what you need to do." He assured her when he noticed Laurel wasn't around. "Where's Laurel?"

"She's meeting with the DA, her father, and the Mayor. There was new evidence and information that proves your innocence so they went to the DA to get the charges dropped or at least the warrant revoked." She replied, looking through her notes.

"How's that going?" He wondered.

"Not very well." They heard as Laurel walked into the room with her dad. "The DA does admit the new evidence is providing enough reasonable doubt to Spider-man's attacks in the city but the Mayor says she needs more to go on."

"I tried to tell her that we're wasting police resources trying to take you down but she wouldn't listen. She says until I get her more solid proof that Eric Needham is Spider-man or bring him in, the warrant against you isn't going anywhere." Lance told him. "It probably didn't help that Tombstone's office donated money to the mayor and city council. Sorry, Will."

"You did what you could, Captain Lance. Now we just have to wait to see if what Yuri and I did kicks up enough dirt." Will said when he saw the news come on with a breaking new story. "Speak of the devil."

Laurel grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. "Channel 52 just received exclusive evidence which conclusively establishes that the security footage of Spider-man breaking into L. Thompson Lincoln's office was digitally doctored. The digitally doctored footage showed Spider-man breaking into Mr. Lincoln's office, assaulting him and his employees and threatening his life before the SCPD arrived but the actual footage is different. It does show Spider-man entering the office but it would appear that Mr. Lincoln engaged in a fight with Spider-man before the two talked and Spider-man left. The footage does not have audio so we do not know what was discussed but some new video footage dropped off with the evidence paints a new picture."

The news began playing the Go-Pro footage of Spider-man arrival at Tombstone's office and by this point everyone in the office and likely everyone else in the city was laser focused on the news.

Spider-man arrived and forced open one of the windows of an office before jumping in only for private security guards to arrive. Before they could fire their guns, they were web yanked forward, kicked into the ceiling, and webbed there for good measure. With the nuisance taken care of, he vaulted through the air and landed on the large desk.

"Trick-or-treat. I'm here to see Mr. Lincoln."

"Then you should make an appointment. But perhaps we'll make an exception for the hero of the day." The deep baritone speaker turned in his chair to reveal a tall, large, albino skinned man in the fancy business suit. "I am L. Thompson Lincoln."

"You can drop the act there, big boss. I know you're the Big Man."

"In my life I've been called many names. My favorite…" Lincoln stood up from his chair to show he was tall, at least 7ft and built like a UFC fighter. "…is Tombstone."

"Back off. I've taken down hundreds of your minions not to mention the Black Widow. A pale guy in a suit doesn't…UGH!" He was punched across the face and knocked to the ground but rolled back to his feet as Tombstone jumped from his desk and closed the distance. Spider-man threw out a punch that Tombstone blocked and responded with a gut punch and a right cross to the face that made him eat dirt. Tombstone slammed his foot onto his chest and kept him on the ground. Guess he wasn't the kind of boss who needed people to protect him.

"Don't move, just listen and I'll teach you the facts of life." Tombstone said only for Spider-man to web a billiard ball from the pool table and throw it at him. That didn't work as Tombstone caught it with his hand and crushed it into pieces. "The Big Man, whomever he might be, has nothing against heroes. No hero can thwart enough crime to dent his income. Even when the Vigilante showed his face his Starling, it did little to impact his business. But you…you frighten criminals off the street entirely. Except when you're off battling the likes of Shocker, Vulture, and the Black Widow. Then the Big Man's profitable army of petty thugs think themselves beneath the Spider-man's notice."

"So as long as I keep fighting crime, you'll keep making bigger and badder…" "Now you're learning." Tombstone smirked before walking over to his desk. "But there is a way out. Come work for me. You can still save the world like a good hero. I'll even pay you. All you have to remember is to look the other way on occasion. On any occasion I choose."

Tombstone took out a briefcase filled with cash to make his point. When Spider-man didn't respond right away he thought he won a small victory by getting him to join…but he was wrong.

"Sorry, but I make it a personal policy not to do business with anyone who doesn't get the adequate amount of sunlight and vitamin D…or is sociopathic. And no matter who you send after me, I'll send them right to jail where they belong. Then I'll come for you and I won't stop until you join them." Spider-man proudly told him before webbing the couch and throwing it at the window, causing the window to break. "Bill me."

Lance, Laurel, and Spencer looked at Will who couldn't help the smirk he had on his face. "This shocking new evidence suggests that L. Thompson Lincoln's statement to the public on Christmas may be false and that the man himself may be complicit in a complex criminal organization or in fact leading said organization under the moniker of Tombstone or the Big Man. While the evidence of the doctored footage is one thing, there is no word yet on whether any of this information about Mr. Lincoln is correct or another elaborate fake. What we can confirm is that based on the original undoctored security footage and the new footage provided at Channel 52, it would appear that the footage is in fact a first person perspective of Spider-man but that has yet to be confirmed as it was delivered to the studio by an unknown source. Still, questions are being asked and Mr. Lincoln's office has not commented on the legitimacy of this video or why doctored security footage was submitted as evidence of Spider-man's apparent criminal actions last Christmas. Many of the people in this city who have not lost faith in Spider-man have been quick to claim that an imposter could be parading as the known vigilante and the evidence of the doctored security footage would seem to support that but it is still unknown if Mr. Lincoln or even the Mayor herself were aware. Questions are being asked and Channel 52 will be here to report them…"

Laurel turned down the volume and looked at Will who had the biggest smile on his face. "And people say that everything the news reports on is fake."

"You sent in the footage you recorded on Halloween." Lance stated and Will nodded.

"Along with the descrambled security footage Tombstone submitted. A little help from Yuri and a quick drop off at the Channel 52 studios and I do believe that was my favorite bit of local news I've heard in years." Will smiled.

"Didn't know you could be so devious, Will." Spencer commented.

"Don't cross me, Spencer." He winked at her.

"And as great as this is, like I told you before that evidence likely won't be good if we take Tombstone to trial." Lance reminded him.

"I know but it was a nice piece of the truth and no better time to use it then on top of more truth. At the very least…it gets people wondering if Tombstone was actually telling the truth or if he's just a pale faced Albino criminal scumbag." Will cursed as they looked at him. "Sorry."

"No, no need to apologize. And this is really good. With this information, the DA will definitely have us look into this and everything else on you. This could help prove your innocence or at least get the DA and the mayor to consider the idea of your copycat." Laurel assured him.

"Well, here's hoping. And I trust you and Spencer to do this out of anyone, Laurel." Will told her and Laurel smiled. It was sweet and meant a lot that Will had faith in her.

"Laurel, while you're here could you look at these numbers." Spencer showed her the numbers on her phone. "I feel like I've seen these before and it's driving me crazy."

"What is it?" Lance wondered.

"Evidence on Brick. He's up to something but I haven't been able to figure out what. We think they could be some kind of catalog or something." Will told him. Laurel looked over the numbers and she did recognize them.

"These are active case numbers." Laurel answered.

"What?" Will asked.

"Case numbers for files and evidence on active cases the DA's office intends to push through to court. Each person and file are given a number." Spencer explained.

"Yes, one of these numbers is for Jermaine Fisher's file." Laurel recognized it since she had been working it the past 36 hours. "Spencer look up the rest of the files in the database."

Spencer did a quick search on the numbers and every single one of them corresponded to an active case the DA's office had on the docket. "They're all here." She answered. "Since the part you showed us was burnt there are probably more."

"Why would Brick have a list of case numbers?" Lance asked. "What are the cases?"

"They're all career criminals for assault, murder, attempted murder and things like that." Spencer told him.

"Brick could be recruiting." Laurel suggested. "But why? Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, there's another piece of paper. Looks like blueprints for a building." Will told him as Lance took a look. There wasn't a lot there but he did see part of an address and recognized it.

"That's the warehouse where we store all the physical evidence for our cases." Lance said.

"Recruitment…" Will muttered and that's when everyone realized what Brick was doing. "He's trying to get these cases thrown out of court by getting rid of the evidence."

"That's not good." Spencer added.

"No, it's not. I'm heading there now. I'll contact Watanabe and backup." Lance pulled out his phone and began dialing. "Will, we can't let Brick get that evidence."

"I'm on it." Will rushed out of the building and the second he was clear he raced to an empty alley and began suiting up but called Diggle. "Dig, you're not going to believe what I figured out."

While Will is at the DA's office…

Back at the bunker, Roy, Diggle, and Felicity were still working on identifying the numbers and blueprints they found at Brick's hideout. "Any luck?" Dig wondered.

"The number pattern is consistent with cataloguing numerics." Felicity told him.

"What kind of catalog?" Roy questioned.

"If I knew, I would be telling you." Felicity pointed out and Roy just looked at her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." They heard and saw Malcolm Merlyn walk in.

"We really need to change the locks." Felicity commented.

"What do you want?" Dig asked, not liking he was here.

"The League conducts matter of significance such as duels on ground sacred to its beliefs. I went there. And found this." Merlyn put a blood stained sword on the table and the three instantly felt their stomachs drop. "It's Ra's custom to leave behind the instrument of death as a memorial to honor the fallen."

"Merlyn, did you see…Oliver's body?" Dig asked.

"He fell into a ravine. His remains were unrecoverable, I'm afraid." Merlyn answered.

"Then how do we know that's Oliver's blood?" Felicity questioned.

"Because after I leave, you'll test it. And after you confirm that it is his blood, you'll exhaust yourself with conspiracy theories as to how I planted it or how it's all a lie. And after enough time passes, you'll be left with one inescapable truth—that Oliver Queen is dead."

"This is your fault. Oliver went there because of you—because of what you did to Thea. You made her a target for the League so he would have to challenge Ra's just to save her." Felicity told him off as she struggled to hold back her tears. "You killed him."

"You are right. And I will live with that guilt for the rest of my days. I am truly sorry. I can see how much you loved him." He told her.

"Save it, Merlyn. You're enjoying this." Dig told him.

"Miss Smoak is correct. I orchestrated the matter to eliminate the death warrant Ra's placed on my head. Oliver was that way. His death means my own." Merlyn said.

"Good." Felicity said with a small hint of satisfaction as he left the bunker but that turned back into sorrow and grief as she looked at the blade with Oliver's blood. She took a sample of the blood and was running a DNA test on it because she had to. But like Merlyn said it was confirmed as Oliver's. "The blood analysis on the scimitar. It's Oliver's. 99.997% match. If Merlyn's lying, he's being thorough about it."

Dig walked over to Felicity and comforted her. "Felicity…"

"Thanks for not saying I told you so." She muttered. "I got to go work."

"You really don't." Dig told her.

"No, it's fine. I'm glad we know now." Felicity left the bunker with tears running down her eyes. Dig and Roy weren't much better with the news of Oliver's death. Roy went up to Verdant, sat on the second floor and poured himself a drink.

"You know, it's weird. I don't think I've ever actually seen you drink alone." Roy heard as Thea walked over to check on him. "You ok?"

"Yeah. I just got some bad news about a friend." He answered.

"Anyone I know?" Thea wondered but he didn't answer.

"How are you doing?" Roy asked.

"Still freaking out, actually. Worried about Ollie. I was going to ask you a favor, but it doesn't seem like the right time."

"Well, it depends. What's the favor?" Roy wondered.

"You and the Arrow…you're close, right? I mean, that's you I've been seeing on the news in the red hood? Look, I haven't seen him. I haven't heard from him, he's not answering any of my phone calls. I'm actually starting to get really worried. So…I thought maybe the Arrow could look for Oliver? I just thought maybe if you saw him you could ask." Thea wondered and Roy nodded, feeling his stomach turn at what he might have to do and tell her the truth.

He went back down to the bunker to talk to Dig who was still at the computer. "Thea just asked me to talk to the Arrow about finding Oliver."

"And what'd you tell her?" Dig wondered.

"What else? I lied."

"Oliver didn't want Thea to know." Dig reminded him.

"That was then. But now, what's the point?"

"I keep asking myself the same question, Roy."

"Then why do you keep going over the case evidence?"

"Because it helps me keep my mind off of Oliver." Dig told him.

"Doing this without him while we're waiting for him to come back is one thing, but doing all this without him, without him? That's a whole other situation." Roy pointed out.

"Well, what do you want me to tell you, Roy?! I can only see one inch in front of me and this is the only thing in front of me right now. I keep looking at this file, and…something about it feels familiar." Dig muttered as he brought up one of the numbers. "I've seen this number somewhere…else."

Dig ran a search for that number in the CCPD database and it was Jermaine Fisher's casefile for the DA's office. "What are the chances that's a coincidence?" Roy asked him.

"There's only one way to find out." Dig began bringing up the file numbers and cross referenced them with the case numbers for the bad guys they put away.

"What are you doing?" Roy wondered.

"I'm bringing up the case files on the bad guys we put away over the past eight months." Dig answered and they saw that the numbers matched up with the people they brought down.

"Some of these are guys that we caught." Roy figured out.

"Yeah, and others were taken down by Spider-man or apprehended by the authorities. There's a pattern here." Dig began to put things together. "All these guys are awaiting trial for assault—assault with intent, murder, attempted murder."

"They're street enforcers. Muscle. But why would Brick have a list of these case numbers?" Roy wondered when Diggle got a call on his phone from Will. "Yeah?"

"Dig, you are not gonna believe what I figured out. Those numbers we found? They're the case numbers for the DA on a whole bunch of bad guys I've put away going back a few months. Some of them were even taking down by you guys." Will told him.

"Yeah, we just figured that out now." Dig told him. "We're still working on why Brick has these case numbers."

"That's also why I called you because I think I figured it out. The other piece of paper we found is blueprints for the storage warehouse where the SCPD keep all the physical evidence for the cases going to trial. Considering what we learned about how Brick got out of jail, he might be looking to recruit more guys by getting those cases thrown out of court. I already told Lance but we need to move now or things are gonna get worse."

"We're on our way." Dig told him as he called Felicity and Roy got suited up.

Line Break xxxxx

At the SCPD evidence storage and vehicle impound, a large truck was led by officers and backed up to the freight area. One of the officers opened the locked fence when a masked man grabbed him from behind and snapped his neck. Said masked man was Brick.

"Three minutes."

One of his men crawled out from underneath the truck and got into the driver's seat, backing up the vehicle through the locked fence where more of his men came from the outside and inside the truck and began going through the warehouse and grabbing evidence boxes that were then loaded onto the truck. Brick personally walked over to the secured vault storage and used a guard's key to open it. That's where he saw his prize which was a suit that belonged to one Montana AKA Shocker. He quickly grabbed it and walked back to the truck.

As one of his men grabbed a box of evidence, a stealthy figure dropped down behind him putting him in a rear naked choke and pulled him behind a wall. A sharp crack was heard and another of Brick's men heard the noise so he walked over only for some sticky webbing to ensnare him. He was then pulled close and a knife was driven through his jaw and into his skull before it was yanked out and wiped clean. Black Spider arrived dressed up as Spider-man and he was here to kill Brick and any of his men who got in his way. On the other side of the warehouse, Arsenal dropped down from the ceiling and took down one of Brick's men before he fired an arrow at another but missed. Said goon quickly ran as he fired his submachine gun, alerting the others that they had company. Dig had also arrived with a balaclava on his face and knocked out one of Brick's men with a pistol whip to the face before he ran for cover from a spray of bullets. Dig slid underneath an evidence truck and raced through the warehouse, shooting another of Brick's men. Arsenal raced through the stacks of evidence and shot another arrow at one of Brick's goons who then ran away to his friends.

Arsenal quickly jumped onto a cargo truck bed and raced through some piping which provided cover from submachine gun fire. Brick's goon had run alongside him and then jumped onto the truck bed where Arsenal kicked him off and jumped onto the large pipe. He kept running before he jumped off and fired an arrow, hitting another of Brick's men. Dig kept running through the warehouse as he traded fire with another Brick's men when Spider-man swung down and kicked the goon into a wall before he flipped through the air and used rapid-fire webbing to take out two more goons with multiple web bullets. Dig and Spider-man shared a nod as the two continued through the warehouse and took out more of Brick's men. Lance and some SCPD arrived at the warehouse where they were met with immediate gunfire from some of Brick's men.

Yuri was leading some SWAT officers into the warehouse through it's northside emergency exit to try and trap Brick. They quickly entered and engaged in a firefight with Brick's men, forcing them stop taking the evidence cases they were taking and fire back. Yuri led the SWAT team into cover as they moved in formation while Brick's men just shot in their general direction to keep them back. One of Brick's men threw a grenade which landed right next to Yuri and the SWAT officers but at the last second it was webbed and thrown into the air. The explosion didn't kill any of the officers but it did not them back a bit. Before any of Brick's men could do anything, Spider-man swung down and barreled through them like a wrecking ball. Two were knocked back while the other six fell to the ground or staggered back.

One goon was web pulled into a backflip kick and then taken out with a 540 spinning hook kick. Spider-man then jumped into the air and fired two web lines at the ground and pulled, letting him drop kick one goon right into the ground where he bounced off into the air with a twist and used his splitter web to snag two guys. When he landed on the ground he pulled them to him and then drop kicked them both in the face and backflipped into a crouch. Another of Brick's goons grabbed his assault rifle and aimed at Spider-man only for some webbing to snag and disarm him. That allowed Spider-man to then use a side kick and kick the gun back into the guy's face, breaking his nose before Spider-man knocked him out with a vicious right cross. He hit another guy with a hook kick, a roundhouse kick, and then landed a jump spin hook kick that sent the guy into a shelf. With some webbing, he pulled a guy to him and took him out with a flying knee to the face before ducked and backflipped to avoid a crowbar swing by a fairly large enforcer of Brick's. He hit the guy in the face with some webbing and pulled him to his knees where he then knocked him out with a cartwheel kick to the back of the head.

One of Brick's goons aimed his pistol at Spider-man only to get shot in the knee by Yuri. She rushed over and kicked his gun away as the other SWAT officers arrived and helped secure the men that Spider-man knocked out. Given the situation and how he saved them, they were more focused on Brick's men. That's when his HUD informed him of a call from Felicity.

"Will, Dig's in danger!" Felicity told him.

"I'm on it." Spider-man web zipped away to go help him.

Dig stalked through the warehouse with his pistol at the ready when Felicity informed him of a person behind him so he used his last bullet to take him out. "I'm out."

He was then hit from behind and knocked to the ground as a silver Baretta pistol was tossed next to him. "Here, use mine." Dig looked up and saw it was Brick. "So, here's the deal—you take me down, you walk out alive. I don't fancy your chances, though."

Dig picked up the pistol and shot Brick in the head. Brick recoiled and Dig would have shot him again but the pistol only had one bullet. Brick wiped the small cut on his head and chuckled as Dig's bullet must have just missed him. "Smart man. Nobody thinks about going for a head shot."

Brick charged at Dig who shoulder tackled him in the gut and pushed him back until the two hit the ground. Brick quickly elbowed Dig in the gut but missed his next punch as Dig rolled out of the way. Dig threw out several punches that Brick blocked and got hit across the face with a right cross, hit with a gut punch and then a right straight to the face.

"Felicity! Felicity, where's Dig and Will I'm pinned down! Felicity!" Arsenal shouted over the comms but she seemed to be frozen as she watched over everything.

Brick kneed Dig in the gut several times before throwing our several punches to his face and then tackled him into a giant stack of metal cases. "Any…last…words?!" Brick shouted, punching him in the face several times before choking him. "Or are my hands too tight around your neck?"

Brick was then shot in the leg and recoiled back as Spider-man jumped down and threw him to the ground. Dig groaned in pain as he saw Spider-man punch Brick in the face, block his wild punches before twisting his wrist and then kneeing him in the gut several times before taking him to the ground with an armbar takedown. Brick grunted in pain as this Spider-man quickly pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the hand before Brick powered through the grapple and got on top of him in the mount position and threw out several wild haymakers and punches that look like they hurt. Spider-man quickly put him in a triangle choke and then shot him in the face with some webbing which disoriented Brick, allowing him to punch him in the face several times before kicking him back into a pile of old chairs that were evidence. Spider-man got back to his feet and walked over to Brick with his knife in his hand and pistol in the other, ready to end him there.

"Daniel Brickwell, Tombstone sends his regards."

Before the killing blow could be dealt the real Spider-man swung down and took his imposter to the ground with a hurricanrana. Spider-man spun through the air and did five quick backflips in a row to avoid the bullets from his imposter. Brick saw the two arachnids fight so he quickly left. A quick pistol reload was enough time for a fire extinguisher to be thrown right at the fake Spider-man's face before the real one drop kicked him in the chest. Both Spider-men landed on their back and both did kip-ups into crouches that were a stark contrast to one another. The real Spider-man was in his signature Spider-man crouch with one knee on the ground, the other bent and one hand touching the ground while the other was in the air. Black Spider's crouch was more military minded keeping his limb close to his body and all it was missing was a rifle in his arms. The two Spiders looked at one another and titled their heads a bit like looking in a mirror.

"You picked the wrong time to intervene, hero." Black Spider warned him.

"And you picked the wrong hero to frame." Spider-man threatened.

Black Spider saw his pistol on the ground to his right so he quickly reached for it only for Spider-man to kick him in the chest and knock him back. He rolled back to his feet and pulled out his knife, slashing and swiping with quick efficiency precision but missed every time as Spider-man was too quick and agile. Spider-man caught an overhead slash that allowed Black Spider to pull him into a rear naked choke only for Spider-man to flip forward and throw him to the ground which opened him to a roundhouse kick to the face. Black Spider threw out a leg sweep that Spider-man flipped over and fired a web at his leg, yanking as he landed and throwing him across the floor.

Black Spider landed near a discarded Uzi so he picked it up and fired it at Spider-man who flipped and spun through the air to avoid being hit like it was easy to him and it was. Needham was getting annoyed as he kept firing before he pulled out some throwing knives and threw them. Spider-man backflipped as the knives skimmed past his face before web pulling Black Spider to him. Spider-man kicked the Uzi out of his hand when Black Spider threw out several quick punches that he had to block. He then blocked a kick to the side, a knee to the stomach and then a left cross to the face before Black Spider grabbed him by the head and put him in a clinch, managing to knee him in the gut twice. Spider-man pushed him off which he could easily do with his super strength and using his training from Ted Wildcat Grant, he went on the offensive.

He blocked another kick to the side and landed a left straight punch to Needham's face and then another punch to his side. Black Spider threw out some of his own punches that were blocked before he trapped Spider-man's wild haymaker and threw him over his shoulder to the ground. He quickly threw out another roundhouse kick that Spider-man caught and threw him into a crate face first. Needham rolled back to his feet and pulled out another knife which was web pulled out of his hand. Needham then pulled out his own webbing gun and sprayed it, trapping Spider-man's arms at his side before he kicked him in the chest and them jumped on his back. He wrapped his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist as the two fell to the ground. Black Spider pulled out a knife and stabbed it in his side.

"Like I said, you chose the wrong time to intervene, hero." Black Spider told him as he twisted the knife.

"And you didn't do enough research about me!" Spider-man released a fully body Venom shock that coursed through Black Spider like a bolt of lightning.

"ARGH!" Needham screamed in pain as he let go of Spider-man who managed to roll away and get back to his feet. Needham's body sparked with electricity as every single muscle in his body essentially shut down. Spider-man ripped his arms free of the webbing and pulled the knife out of his side before he webbed up his wound to keep it from bleeding.

"All those fancy gadgets and stuff but there's only one Spider-man and you pissed him off!" Spider-man web pulled him up into the air and side kicked him in the gut. He was then web pulled back and Spider-man jumped onto his shoulder and threw him to the ground on his face with a head scissor throw before again webbing him up onto his feet. To finish him off he ran at him and kicked his leg out from under him so he fell to the floor but the kick was also a gainer flip into a 360 spin where he landed on Black Spider and punched him in the back of the head with full force. It knocked him out, gave him a serious concussion, an orbital fracture, several bruises ribs, a few cracked ones, and a deadly reminder to not mess with Spider-man. "There's only one arachnid here. So, tell your friends and beware."

After the adrenaline was gone, he grabbed his side in pain as that knife really hurt. That's when he heard a truck going so he limped over as fast as he could as Dig and Arsenal fired at the truck to try and keep it from leaving. Will fired webbing at the truck and pulled but the garage shutters came down and cut them.

"Damn it!" Dig shouted, punching the shutter in anger.

Will saw Yuri and Police coming and they were heading to Dig and Roy. "GO!"

Dig and Arsenal left as quickly as they could while Yuri and the others secured the warehouse and all of Brick's men. In total they managed to arrest about 15 of Brick's men but Brick and three of his men managed to escape with a truckload of evidence boxes. Probably not as much as they intended do to the interference of Black Spider-man, Arsenal, Diggle, and Spider-man. Despite that interference, Brick still managed to get away with some case evidence.

Yuri and the SWAT officers secured Brick's men as Captain Lance and backup arrived in the warehouse. The place was a warzone and they just prayed that the battle didn't destroy anymore evidence. That's when they saw someone drop from the ceiling and dangle in the air. The SCPD trained their guns on him but saw it was a webbed up Black Spider. He was still wearing a torn up Spider-man suit but the mask was off so they could see his real mask. While Lance was pissed that Brick was gone, he was glad to see Black Spider caught.

"Cut him down and take him into custody. Something tells me that we'll be putting him into jail soon enough." Lance ordered as his men went to get a ladder to cut him down.

The rest of the SCPD walked through the warehouse to find any more of Brick's men and evidence. Among the evidence was Black Spider's gun and the knife he used in many of his murders. His spare knives were taken too but the bloody knife that was used against Spider-man was still on the ground. Before any SCPD could find it, it was quickly webbed and taken by Spider-man who was on the ceiling and wall crawled to an exit.

Diggle, Roy, and Will arrived back at the bunker together. Roy was supporting Will as they entered the bunker. Felicity rushed over and saw Diggle's face from his assault by Brick. "Oh my god, John!"

"It's ok, it's all right, I'm fine." Dig assured her. "It's not that bad. Will, sit down. I'll take a look at the knife wound."

Will nodded as Roy helped him through the bunker but before he took off his mask it alerted him that it picked up an audio/visual signal in the room. After a quick scan, it managed to track down the signal and located it as a small camera attached to Felicity's computers. Will managed to limp over, took the camera between his fingers, and crushed it.

"What?" Felicity asked.

"Mini-camera was placed there. Took it out to keep identity a secret." Will told them before he removed his mask.

"Merlyn, of course." Dig commented, grabbing the medical kit. Will sat down in a chair and pressed his spider symbol, causing his suit to expand so it easily slipped off. Dig checked the knife wound and luckily it wasn't that serious and didn't hit an organ or major artery. "You'll be ok but I'll have to clean and stitch this up."

"Thanks, Dig." Will replied as Dig used some first aid spray to clean the wound before he began stitching it. "What about Brick?"

"He escaped. They put one guard in the hospital on the way out but he's gonna pull through." Felicity explained.

"If that door hadn't shut, we would have had him." Roy muttered.

"Just our bad luck." Dig said when it dawned on him who closed the door. "Unless it wasn't."

"You both were pinned down and Will was busy dealing with a trained assassin and got stabbed in the process. They would have killed you all!" Felicity defended her actions.

"You did that?" Roy asked her.

"They had machine guns. You had a bow and arrow." Felicity pointed out as she tried to clean some of Dig's bruises while he was busy stitching Will but he fended her off.

"You let him get away?" Roy asked in disbelief.

"I saved your lives." She answered.

"Felicity, it wasn't your call to make." Dig told her.

"It wasn't my call to let Oliver go challenge Ra's al Ghul to a fight to the death, either!" Felicity told them.

"Felicity, we could have ended it right there. Put all of this behind us!" Will told her as Dig finished the stitching and put a bandage on it. "We could have slowed him down and with the SCPD we could have taken them in but now Brick is gone with who knows how much evidence and all of those men are now free to tear the city apart!"

"And it was either that or the three of you. My friends being killed so I made my choice. I chose not to let anyone else I care about die." Felicity stated.

"We've been in tough spots before and we've always managed to come out on the other side." Dig reminded her.

"No. Oliver did. But he's not here anymore, because he's dead." She said.

"Ok. But if the four of us and really gonna protect the city then we need to stand together." Will reminded her.

"There is no this without him. It's done. I'm done." Felicity walked away.

"Felicity!" Will shouted, getting her to stop for a moment. "If you really loved Oliver then you wouldn't let his mission die and walk away like this! This city needs you too!" His begging didn't do anything and she just left. Team Arrow was fractured and now the city was in danger.

Line Break xxxxx

At the SCPD, the police were still going over the crime scene at the evidence warehouse but an early estimate indicates that over a hundred case boxes were taken which meant that a hundred criminals would soon be released. There was one silver lining as Eric Needam AKA Black Spider was taken into custody and after a quick CSU and evidence assessment, Captain Lance and ADA Laurel Lance had a slam dunk case. Needham had his Spider-man suit taken into evidence along with his Black Spider suit and weapons so he was wearing old police sweats. He had several bandages and stitches on his face with serious black eyes and bruises and he wasn't in good shape.

Detective Watanabe, Captain Lance and Laurel were in the interrogation room with Eric Needham and his defense attorney. A cheap one with almost zero experience which meant that Tombstone didn't finance his legal defense.

"I've got to admit something to you, Mr. Needham. I've seen all manner of bad guys on the other side of this table but I've never seen one in your condition. Must have been a serious fighter that you lost to." Yuri said with a smirk.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've seen some hit and run victims who were just like this but they were in a hospital and the victims, not the perpetrators." Lance commented as Laurel walked forward.

"The knife your client had matches several murders in the city that were attributed to Spider-man. Seeing as how your client was wearing a Spider-man suit and the restraint webbing he was using is a direct match to the one found at the various crime scenes attributed to the brutal attacks, it's more than enough to sway a jury beyond reasonable doubt that he's been impersonating Spider-man. On top of all the multitude of charges your client is facing from other precincts, the FBI, and Interpol, he'll be lucky to avoid the death penalty." Laurel informed them before sliding a piece of paper in front of him. "Which is why we're ready to offer you this one time deal: Life in prison without parole. Provided you give a full confession and tell us who hired you."

The defense lawyer gulped and was sweating. Representing a wanted hitman and assassin was not his idea for his third case but there was literally no one else who would take it. "Uh, give me a moment to discuss this with my client."

"The offer is over the second we leave. If we're right about who hired you and we're definitely right, he's got enough heat to deal with so he's not going to help you." Laurel told them. "Who hired you?"

"L. Thompson Lincoln…otherwise known as Tombstone. And his second in command, Hammerhead." Needham answered and Yuri, Lance, and Laurel couldn't smile any brighter. Once they got everything they needed, Needham was taken into custody and Laurel put it together for a file and it was going to be a slam dunk case that would free Will of suspicion and put Tombstone in jail.

"That couldn't have gone any better." Yuri commented. "Captain, let me leave now with a SWAT team and take Tombstone and Hammerhead into custody."

"Go, with three full tactical teams and be careful. He probably won't give up without a fight." Lance ordered and Yuri nodded, leaving as quickly as possible. "This is good."

"But not over. Tombstone's trial is going to be long and tense but the deeper we dig we might be able to find more evidence that will put him away. At the very least with Needham's confession we can free Will of the warrant. That's got to make him happy." Laurel pointed out.

"A small victory. Laurel, I know the evidence is gone but is there anything you can do to stall the cases getting thrown out?" Lance asked her.

"I'll do everything I can. We'll keep in touch." Laurel replied and Lance nodded, kissing her on the head as they both left to get to work. Despite how tenuous their relationship had been, it was being repaired and practically back to normal.

Yuri and the SCPD tactical teams were already geared up and with what they learned they managed to get a quick warrant and had probable cause so they rushed over to Tombstone's building to arrest him. The security guards at the building didn't fight them and neither did the receptionist so things were on their side. A battering ram broke open the giant doors of Tombstone's office and the SCPD SWAT readied their guns and moved in formation as Yuri came in with them. But instead of seeing Tombstone's armed men, Hammerhead or even the man himself the office was empty.

"Damn!" Yuri pulled out her radio. "Team 2, did you find Lincoln in his penthouse?"

"Negative, Detective. The place has been cleaned out. He's gone."

"Shit!" Yuri put her gun away, unaware that they missed Tombstone by hours. "I want every single inch of this building searched top to bottom three times. Get me something!"

With Tombstone…

Tombstone was long gone from the building, in fact he wasn't even in the country. He was lounging on a private plane on it's way to Europe. A flight attendant walked over with a cup of Scotch and he took it, downing it on a few gulps before he crushed the glass in his hand. Hammerhead went underground in Starling, staying behind to manage the city operation while Tombstone left to Europe. Spider-man turned the tables and exposed him. While it wasn't enough to put him away, the fact that the news even played it was a concern and was a risk but he wasn't leaving forever. He was going to return to Starling with help and then he would crush Spider-man and everyone who helped him.

Back at Starling City…

Will, Diggle, and Laurel were in the bunker looking at the breaking news story of Eric Needham's arrest and the exoneration of Spider-man. They explained that the evidence the police and DA's office gathered shows Eric Needham AKA Black Spider was hired to frame Spider-man and was responsible for the various murders and attacks including the attacks of the police officers during Christmas. With the new information and confession from Needham himself, the Mayor and Police Commissioner exonerated Spider-man of the crimes but of course still stated that his vigilantism was not endorsed. Along with his exoneration came the revelation that L. Thompson Lincoln who came forward last Christmas to speak out against Spider-man actually hired Needham to frame him and was a huge crime boss in the city. Automatically, the Mayor, City Council, business leaders, and everyone else who had ties with him or his money were covering their butts and while he escaped, the manhunt was still ongoing.

"A victory but a hollow one with how I'm feeling." Will remarked. He was in his socks, jeans, and a white t-shirt. There was small red splotch on his side where some blood stained the bandage on his side but it would heal. He closed the news as Dig pressed a few buttons on one of the monitors that showed the various criminals Team Arrow and Spider-man had put away.

"Eight months to put them away…eight minutes to set them loose." Dig muttered.

"I'm sorry, guys. I tried everything but it wasn't enough. Without the evidence, the judge had to let them go." Laurel told them.

"He's not coming back." Dig told Laurel and Will. "Oliver. I know you guys don't want to believe it, god knows I don't, but…he's not coming back."

Dig then walked to the stairs, seemingly giving up. "Are you?" Laurel asked him. "Are you coming back?"

"I don't know. For the first time since I met Oliver Queen…I don't know what happens next. I know it's silly, but I…still like to think of myself as Oliver's bodyguard. I just couldn't protect him." Dig said, tears coming down his eyes as Laurel walked over and hugged him. "It's funny. He was worried something would happen to me."

Diggle gave them both a nod before he walked out of the Arrow Bunker. Will took a deep breath before he walked over to the mannequin he placed his suit on. There was some scuff marks on the side from the knife and while he patched it up as best he could it would do good enough for the field. Seeing the Arrow suit on the mannequin gave him a moment of pause.

"You know…when I first met Oliver in the Arrow suit I didn't like him." Will said as Laurel looked at him. "His attitude towards me was one thing but I respected him. He did a lot for the city and putting himself in harms way to protect it is a sacrifice that no one else in the city will find out. But I'm not letting what he stood for die in vain."

Will took his suit off the mannequin and got suited up. "What are you doing?" Laurel asked him as he slipped on the suit and pressed the symbol so it fit his body before he put on his web shooters. "Will, you were almost killed tonight and you're hurt. You should get some rest."

"You did your job and cleared my name but Brick is still out there with an army. I'm not about to let him take over my city without a fight even if it's by myself. I started out solo so I guess I'm going back to it. But I don't think I'll be alone soon enough." He slipped on his mask and gave Laurel a wink. "The DA's office is gonna be busy. I've got work to do."

Will walked to the exit and despite his injury and his exhaustion, he was going to defend his city against Brick and keep the people safe. Laurel smiled at Will and felt bad that he was now alone in the fight against Brick. She walked over to a table and saw the bloody arrow from Sara's murder along with her Canary wig, gloves, mask, and sonic disruptors. She traced her finger over one of them before she made a decision.

In the Glades…

In an old, abandoned warehouse, Brick was meeting with all the people he freed from Iron Heights to go over his plan. "Thank you all for coming. But seeing as I'm the reason none of you are sitting in a prison cell right now, I figure it's the least you can do. I know I'm the guy that made all the evidence against you go away, but as you can see it didn't go too far." Brick gestured to the truck filled with evidence boxes. "I don't know if any of you have been paying attention to the news but Tombstone AKA the Big Man is gone. He fled the city with his tail between his legs after a little issue with the media and an arachnid. Now this city is ripe for the taking. You are all part of my crew now. And if any of you have a problem with that, I can send a gift wrapped package to the DA. Together, not only will we make a lot of money, we will make history. TOGETHER, we are going to take over the Glades. And squash any bug or hero that gets in our way."

A man stepped forward into the light to reveal himself to be Shocker, wearing his suit again and he couldn't help but smile. "Sounds good to me, boss."

Brick smiled as did the rest of his men. This was the start of a new chapter for Starling City, one that Brick would rule over. After the meeting, Jermaine Fisher and Jose Anton went to a club for a bit before heading to their car.

"You think Brick's crazy? Take over a whole section of town?"

"I know he's crazy. I don't know what he's got planned, but whatever it is, I'm in."

A loud, screeching high-pitched sonic sound made the two cover their ears in pain and the windows on the car exploded. Jose Anton stumbled a bit when a blonde woman in a black leather suit with a metal staff jumped over and kicked him in the face. Jermaine Fisher managed to get back to his feet, his face bloody and cut up from the glass as he saw the woman walk over. "Who the hell are you?

The woman was Laurel wearing her sister's blonde wig and mask and using her staff and suit but with some minor modifications. She was taking on her sister's mantle of the Canary and going to help Spider-man keep the city safe. "I'm the justice you can't run from." She then bashed him over the head with the staff.

Spider-man was perched up on his skyscraper rest point standing next to Bob the Gargoyle as he looked out at Starling. He cleared his name and Tombstone's operation was exposed but he was gone and now Brick was going to try and take over. Guess there are some consequences to taking down a crime boss who usually scares the idiots into line. Be that as it may, he wasn't going to abandon his city now. "Looks quiet, huh Bob?" Spider-man asked when his HUD picked up a police call. "Looks like I'm up. What do you say we meet up for breakfast? Something tells me I'll be busy all night."

Spider-man jumped off the skyscraper and activated his web wings, gliding from the tall height before he began web swinging through the city, following a group of police cars on their way to the same incident he was responding do. He swung down low next to them and waved and they even waved back, some of them smiling that Spider-man was still with them. He swung high into the air and dove to the ground before swinging around the side of a building as more police cars, a few fire trucks, and even two police helicopters seemed to fall in line with him. Like Spider-man was leading the way to protect the city and no matter what…it was gonna always be that way.

End of Chapter 9

1). Black Spider from Batman: Assault at Arkham in terms of appearance and skill. Played by Aldis Hodge.

2). His previous Mark 1 Web shooters are like the comic ones. The silver ones with the large band that wraps around his wrist. The new modified one are like the ones in Spider-man: Homecoming. The sleeker, black high-tech design.

3). His new upgraded suit still is the same Ben Reilly dark blue and red suit with the black spider logo and web pattern but has features like the Spider-man suit in Spider-man: Homecoming. The HUD, connection to web shooters and the lenses in the eyes.

I hoped you guys like the chapter. I know I did and I think it came out really well. It sets up a lot of stuff going forward and I can't wait to get into more of it. This chapter, Will managed to clear his name and expose Tombstone but you rip out one weed then another takes its place. And Brick is a lot less subtle than Tombstone, something Will is gonna find out pretty soon.

Next chapter, Brick's war against the city heats up and it's up to Spider-man to take him down. He'll bring back Team Arrow and he'll have to lead disparate people grieving their friend and a new rookie vigilante before Brick turns the Glades into his own personal playground. Until next time!

Hoped you guys like the fight scenes and Will's new upgraded suit. Again, it's just the first basic upgrade and the suit looks the same but more high tech. I do have plans for Will to head to Central City and for more upgraded suits to appear in the future so don't worry.

Updates for August: The Perfect One and Omniverse: Earth-38 for sure. I can't say when the next Multiverse will be up since it's going to be long and I haven't gotten much done with it yet but I'll try for late August if I can. Stay safe everyone.

William Alexander Detmer-Age 20/Sophomore at SCU: Birthday, October 8th, 1994

Moniker: The Spectacular Spider-man

Appearance: Tyler Posey

Uniform: Ben Reilly's dark blue and red spider-man suit with the black spider logo and web pattern. Now STAR labs upgraded with new durable fabric, built-in HUD and communications systems with various modes of vision. Built-in parachute and web wings and new utility belt.

Casual outfit: sneakers, blue jeans, black or red t-shirt with blue button-up or sweatshirt.

Weapons:

STAR labs upgraded Web Shooters capable of configuring to over 200 different web-shooter combinations and connected to HUD for easy configuration and control.

STAR Labs modified Web Grenades/Bombs, Web Trip Mines and acid embrittlement bombs

New Spider tracers, mini-camera/recording device, spider-thumb drive.

Skills: Genius intellect with 250 IQ, Superhuman strength, Superhuman speed, Superhuman reflexes, Superhuman agility and balance, Super senses, accelerated healing factor, wall-crawling/adhesive stick, Spider-Sense, Night Vision, and telescopic vision, Bio-Electrokinesis/Venom strike-blast

May Detmer: Marisa Tomei

Aria Montgomery: Lucy Hale

Emily Fields: Shay Mitchell

Spencer Hastings: Troian Bellisario

Dr. Curt Connors: Dylan Baker

Yuri Watanabe: Kelly Hu

Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-man, Arrow or any above-mentioned products. All rights belong to their respective owners, I'm just a big fan.