Here is chapter 14 of the Spectacular Spider-man. A gang war has come to Star city and it's not good. It's the new school vs the old school. Hammerhead versus whoever is trying to make a play for Star City putting Will and the others right into the middle of it. Prowler's work for his mysterious boss had just ignited a gang war and now he and whoever he's working for are escalating things. Oliver and Thea sure picked a hell of a time to go away for training. Enjoy!
The Spectacular Spider-man: The City that Never Sleeps Part 1
February 2015: Star City
At the SCPD, Lieutenant Yuri Watanabe was staring at a large corkboard that had a large map of the city pined on it with certain areas highlighted and marked. Along with the map were photos, SCPD intelligence reports, CI statements, and pretty much everything she was able to get her hands on about the Maggia and the new criminal element that was a rising power in the Glades. Star City was in the middle of a gang war, and she needed to find out everything she could. She looked at the board before taking out an audio recorder and turning it on.
"Lieutenant Yuriko Watanabe, Star City Police and lead of the Major Crimes unit, recently established in response to the situation that has arisen in the city. Begin case study notes." Yuri spoke, looking over all the evidence and information she had gathered. "My sources and all the department CI's report that the Maggia have indeed mounted a comeback to try and take over the city with the recently established power vacuum left behind by Daniel Brickwell's arrest. The Maggia used to own all of Star city until a combined effort by the FBI, DEA, and Star City police brought down all the major heads including Maggia leader Silvio Silvermane Manfredi. Captain Lance was just made detective when they ruled the city, and he said that taking them down was anything but easy. The old crime families were all but wiped out, reduced to shadows of their previous glory. One of their lead enforcers, Hammerhead, went to go work for the Star City crime boss known as the Big Man aka Tombstone. Some suspect that he may have been a confidential informant and turned states evidence to help bring down the old leaders, but nothing's been confirmed. After Tombstone and his associate/ financial backer Roderick Kingsley fled the country, Hammerhead has been left to his own devices. I always suspected that he might try something, but we've been preoccupied with other matters. Hammerhead has been amassing weapons and cash reserves to try and gather resources for a Maggia resurgence to mount a takeover attempt, but several detectives believe this sudden escalation to be in response to another threat."
Yuri looked at another whiteboard which had pictures and all the information they had on the Prowler. They still didn't have any idea who he really was but had some ideas about his tech. Clearly light-weight yet durable body armor with an advanced helmet and arrange of stealth features and next-generation technology and weapons like the thermite flares, EMP grenades, and his gauntlets and boots that let him jump from buildings and grapple around. Also on the board were pictures of the Stokes Crime Family who operated out of the Glades and at the top was a picture of a greyed-out silhouette with a question mark on the face.
"Collaboration and a compiling of all the data and street talk from the SCPD gang division has reported a rise in prominence, wealth, and power for the Stokes Crime Family. Started by Samuel Stokes in the 1960s, the family got their start pushing alcohol, drugs, and using their club Harlem's Paradise as their headquarters. Ironically, Stokes was from New York which is why he decided to name his club after Harlem. The family got their start with alcohol and drugs before they expanded to gambling, illegal betting, laundering money, and stolen goods using their club as their headquarters. They were a player back in the day but never amounted to more then low-level tier control of one section of the Glades. Nothing more than a few blocks. Since then, the family has stayed hidden dealing with minor stuff compared to the other gangs in the city, likely to stay under the radar of the police. Prostitution, small-arms and the sale of stolen goods are their bread and butter these days, but their power and prominence has grown with them gaining more territory in the Glades since Brick's defeat. Sources suggest that the Stoke crimes family worked under the Maggia during their reign and then under Tombstone but with the recent power vacuum they've started to assert their dominance. The commissioner and chiefs think that the Stokes family and their current head Cornell Cottonmouth Stokes is the one Hammerhead and his Maggia are going to war against to assert dominance over the Glades and Star City. While I agree that Cottonmouth has a part to play, I don't believe he is the mastermind behind this. What makes me believe that is because of the newly established allies the Stokes have partnered up with in their war against Hammerhead. Word from informants and recent arrests suggest that the Russian Bratva and the Chinese Triad have been working with the Stokes which in itself is enough to suggest that someone else is at play. The Stokes would never work with the Russians unless someone else would be able to barter a better deal and get them to work together. And the key to finding that out may lie in our thief."
Yuri looked over all the photos and information they had on the recent surges of activity from the Bratva and Triads who have mostly flown under the radar the past year. The Bratva lost one of their heads a year ago and with China White in jail, the Triads have mostly been low-key but now they were resurging and working with the Stokes so there was something else at play. Someone else who was able to get them to work together and they still had no idea who. But if anyone could tell them what they wanted to know it was their newest mask in the city. Prowler.
"At first to believed be the work of a regular thief but combined with the information I received from the DA's office and talking with a source there's a solid pattern of events that I believe precipitated this war. According to ADA Laurel Lance, she had been looking into a rash of high-profile robberies being committed against several of Star City's wealthy and power. Alexander Graham, one of Star City's biggest power brokers and political aids. Mark Abelman, businessman with ties to organized crime and City Hall. Marcus Specter, defense lawyer to the city's rich, powerful, corrupt, and criminal. All high-profile targets where expensive valuables were stolen, and the thief was able to get past high-tech security. In the beginning the DA's office believed the robbery case to be a sort of Robin Hood situation but upon further investigation it revealed itself to be much more. Mark Abelman and Marcus Specter have ties to known associates to the five capos of what remained of the Maggia families in the city. Mark Abelman was their business partner and money launderer while Marcus Specter was their lawyer and has represented various Maggia members in the past. Also taken from Marcus's office weren't just valuables but files on all his clients related to or involved with the Maggia. With the Prowler being new to Star City, his first victim Alexander Graham was most likely a test-run for his new equipment and acted as a calling card that his services were for hire. Services I believe now in the employ of the Stokes. Reports from a CI indicate that the Stokes' influence and movements began to pick up after the first robbery. Prowler is likely using them to launder the goods he stole and they in turn hire him out for certain jobs. Question is, who they work for and what are their bigger plans."
Yuri looked at the board and hoped she and Will would be able to find an answer soon. Once they had an idea on their main targets then they would be able to take them down before things got worse.
With Will…
Will, suited up in his suit, spun through the air to dodge a spray of bullets being shot at him before he fired a web line and swung down the street. The source of a spray of bullets was coming from two black sedans speeding down the street through the Glades. The people inside those cars worked for Hammerhead and were on their way to deliver another batch of supplies and weapons but Spider-man captured the dealer and was now going after them.
"Speed it up, man!" One of the shooters said as he ducked back into the car to reload his H&K MP5 submachine gun.
"I'm flooring it but it's not as easy as it looks!" The driver shouted, swerving the car around other vehicles on the road while speeding as fast as the car could go to lose Spider-man. "Just do your job and kill Spider-man!"
"It's not at easy as it looks!" The guy shouted back before he leaned out of the passenger side window and fired a short burst from his submachine gun only to get snagged by webbing and yanked out of the car. He was hung upside by a light pole with his arms webbed to his side.
"Shit!" The driver decided to take a chance and took a right down a one-way street while the other car kept driving straight. A smart plan except for the fact that he went down the wrong one-way street and was about to crash into an oncoming car. "AH!"
Spider-man dove down and fired several web trip mines and web grenades at a building to the left of the car. They all went off and several thick globs and strands of webbing shot out and hit the car. Spider-man jumped off the roof of the car and fired two strands of webbing from his web shooters and landed on the building and pulled with all his strength. With the additional webbing of the web grenades and trip mines providing some additional surface area and grip on the car, his powerful pull was enough to yank the car onto its side. It crashed onto the sidewalk, destroying a bus bench and trashcan but the passenger car the bad guy would have run into managed to veer to the side and break to a stop.
The driver managed to open his window and pulled himself up onto to get webbed to his spot before Spider-man swung away. "Woo! Spider-man!" People shouted.
Spider-man swung around a building and kicked up into the air before diving straight down. When he was low enough, he fired a web and swung low to pick up speed and shot forward through the air. He turned another corner and saw the second car still driving away. "Shit! Spider-man's back!" The driver shouted, seeing him in his rearview window so the two passengers readied their guns. They had H&K G36 assault rifles equipped with forearm grips, telescopic sights, attached M230 grenade launchers and large drum magazines.
"Not for long!" One of the passengers said as he leaned out of the car and began shooting at Spider-man. His compatriot soon joined him as they laid down a large spray of bullets and in normal circumstances their firepower would be more then enough to handle the Stokes, Bratva, or Triad in their gang war, Spider-man was different. The gunmen aimed at Spider-man fired dozens of rounds, but the hero was too fast and agile as he easily evaded all their bullets. "Dammit!"
The gunman ducked back inside and reloaded his G36 with a regular magazine when the other gunman was suddenly yanked out of the car. "Crap!" The gunman fired his rifle into the roof of the car, thinking Spider-man was up there but in an enclosed space that was a stupid idea as he got hit by one of the bullet casings and the sound was so loud that it concussed him and the driver. "Shit!"
A thud was heard on the roof and Spider-man peaked over the side. "Parents warned us about loud noises but I'm not sure they meant guns. They probably did but would have said not to play with them so." Spider-man webbed the gunman in the back and yanked him out of the car, attaching him to a traffic light and webbing his hands to his side. He then flipped forward and landed on the hood of the car and waved at the driver. "How about we end this little game of Grand Theft Auto?!"
He flipped to the side and fired a web at the van, pulling himself back and smashing through the driver side window feet…well, boots first. He kicked the driver in the face and sent him flying out the passenger door but fired some webbing, so he was caught in web and didn't go splat on the street or sidewalk. He pulled the handbrake as he swung through causing the tires to screech to halt as the vehicle skid down the street but it soon spun out of control and flipped onto its side. Spider-man landed on the ground and managed to catch it, bracing the car on his back before pushing it off and it landed back on its wheels. It wasn't graceful but it was effective. And considering that the trunk of the van had several boxes of ammunition, guns, and some grenades he was glad that they didn't go off.
"Whew. That was close." Spider-man took a few deep breaths to relax for a moment before jumping into the air and web swinging away. The police arrived soon after to take the driver and van into custody along with the weapons. He was crouched on the edge of a nearby rooftop, watching as the police arrested the criminals. "Felicity, you there?"
"Yes, I am." She replied, currently in the bunker working at her station. "How did the world's deadliest car chase go?"
"Eh, I've had deadlier. I'd give it maybe a 6 out of 10 but it was illuminating. I eavesdropped on the weapon's deal before I made my entrance. Hammerhead's goons were just finishing up another arms deals. Assault rifles with grenade launchers and I'm pretty sure I saw some C4 in the trunk." He said, sending various images his HUD captured over for her to see.
"Definitely stolen but they didn't come from a run of the mill weapons dealer. They're all military-grade." Felicity surmised.
"I agree but nothing like what the Stokes or Prowler use so clearly Hammerhead and the Maggia are using regular arms dealers. Fits with Hammerhead and the Maggia, old school gangsters against the Stokes, Prowler and the new school of advanced tech." He theorized. "Any luck on tracking down Tinkerer?"
Felicity brought up the data on their Tinkerer AKA Dr. Phineas Mason, former head of research on advanced weapons from the now defunct Smythe Technologies. Felicity had copied a lot of the Smythe Technologies Servers before the company was officially shut down and everything was taken by the Feds. Dr. Mason was brilliant and responsible for several weapons that Spider-man has fought against including the super suits for Shocker, Ox, and Ricochet, the thermite rifles Brick's men used during his siege, and likely the one who supplied Prowler his gear. Granted, that last one was mainly a theory as they hadn't concretely proved it but given the similarity in the design to the other suits and the advanced nature of the tech, he had to have been the one to build it.
"No, our evil mad genius and purveyor of super technology to your villains hasn't shown his face anywhere I can find him. Facial recognition has nothing so we could be dealing with a similar situation to Dr. Octavius." Felicity suggested.
"Let's just hope we can end this one sooner but I'm probably jinxing myself." He pointed out. "The Stokes family, their associates, and the other gangs working for them have the better equipment so clearly Tinkerers gone to work for them."
"And that makes things difficult for us." Felicity remarked as she brought up some CCTV camera footage of the skirmishes Hammerhead's forces have had with the Stokes. Maggia enforcers were fighting against some enforcers from the Stokes, Bratva, and Triad. The Stokes had two new allies and all of them were equipped with more advanced weapons. Hammerhead and the Maggia have been using military-grade weapons like the batch Will just intercepted and while it was still wildly effective the Stoke, Bratva, and Triads had started using more advanced tech like the thermite rifles. Clearly, Tinkerer didn't sell all of them to Brick or made new ones. Still, Hammerhead and his Maggia weren't just lying down dead and while they may not have the most advanced weapons theirs were more then enough to give them equal footing in the war. "It's already been a week and this war doesn't seem to be ending."
"I know. We're lucky it's been contained to the Glades for now, but the second things spill out then the entire city's in chaos. Geez, Oliver sure picked the wrong time to go on vacation with Thea." He pointed out.
"Well, it's not really a vacation but more of a—"
"Ah, I don't want to know. Whatever Oliver's got himself tangled up in, I want no part." Will told her.
"Smart and lucky if I'm being honest." Felicity told him.
"Well, I've handled him being gone before so why should this be any different. Trouble is, before it was just one asshat and his minions and instead, I've got two. Technically, three if the Stokes are working for someone. Any suggestions?" He asked her when an alert came over his HUD.
"All units, I repeat we have officers under fire in Braverly Square, requesting assistance."
"Suggestions are gonna have to wait. I've got to go." Will jumped off the roof and swung away as fast as he could.
Two patrol cars were called to Braverly square to investigate a possible breaking and entering but when they parked their cars on the street and got out, they were immediately fired at by armed enforcers working for the Stokes. The four officers took cover behind their squad cars, shooting at their attackers with pistols while said attackers used assault rifles to pin the cops down. That's when the doors to the building in the square opened out poured 10 more enforcers all of whom were armed with weapons. Most were carrying high-tech assault rifles, but some had thermite rifles. The cops took cover as the overwhelming volley of bullets riddled their cars.
Spider-man landed on the corner of a building nearby and saw the shootout. His HUD scanned the area and facial recognition got to work on trying to ID all of them. "Will, I got a facial match for one of them. Isaac Clark. Lieutenant in the Stokes crime family." Felicity informed him.
"Something doesn't feel right. The Stokes haven't gone after the police like this. Too busy taking on the Maggia. Time to shut this down before someone gets killed." He jumped off the roof and swung forward before web zipping to one of the goons in the back and taking him out with a flying kick to the face. He then did several backflips in a row and landed on another goons shoulders before taking him to the ground with a hurricanrana. The thug hit his head on the ground and Spider-man quickly webbed him.
"It's Spider-man!" One of them shouted when Spider-man web zipped toward him and uppercut him into the air. He then jumped up and dropped kicked him away before web pulling him back and throwing him into the water fountain in the middle of the square. A little wet behind the ears.
Two enforcers looked for Spider-man when both were hit in the chest with webbing. Spider-man then landed in between them holding both web lines. "Hope you guys like each other!" He jumped into the air and pulled the web lines across his body causing the two enforcers to slam into one another. They broke their noses when they slammed into each other and were dazed allowing Spider-man to flip over them, trip them up with the webbing and knock them to the ground. The crack of gunshots triggered his spider-sense, and he quickly did a dive roll to the side, shooting a web in the gunman's face. He staggered around, desperately trying to yank the webbing off as Spider-man slid through his legs and drop kicked him in the back which sent him flying across the square and into a park bench.
He rolled forward and leg swept another goon before landing a spinning roundhouse kick across his face and then doing a 720 spin over him and finishing him off with a tornado kick to the back of the head. Another enforcer took aim at Spider-man only to get a trashcan thrown into him and when he recovered, he got a flying kick to the face. Spider-man flipped and spun through the air to dodge gunfire while shooting globs of impact webbing to trap some of the enforcers. He landed back on his feet and then moving into a double backflip before firing a web at a streetlight and swing around it for momentum where he swing kicked another goon across the courtyard and then webbed him to the side of a building.
That seemed to be the last of it until a small moving truck sped down the street and swerved to a stop. "Oh, maybe it's the new slippers I ordered." He quipped when the back of the truck opened and out jumped a large, heavyset guy carrying a minigun of all things with an attached battery and ammo pack on his back.
"Die, Spider-man!" The big guy opened fire and Spider-man was quick to dodge while the police ducked down behind their cars.
"My slippers did NOT look like that online. I refuse to sign for this package!" Spider-man quipped as he easily dodged the heavy gunners barrage of fire which only lasted about five seconds and when his gun went dry, he slapped his gun in bewilderment. "Not a problem with the gun, dude. It's logic. Gun fires that fast eats through more bullets than you can carry. Points for intimidation though."
He webbed the guy in the face and pulled, yanking him forward where he drop kicked him in the face and landed back on his feet. He then webbed the large minigun and yanked it up into the air before giving it a powerful sidekick, knocking it into the gunners face with Spider-man finishing it off with a final jumping back kick that actually broke the minigun in two. The heavyset guy hit the ground hard, so he webbed him up when the two guys in the truck got out to back him up only for a web grenade to explode and trap them both. "And just like that it's over." Spider-man quipped.
One of the bad guys had managed to regain consciousness and slid away to hide behind a car parked on the street. He peaked his head out to see if the coast was clear and was about to make a run for it when his hand got stuck with webbing and kept him from leaving. He tried his best to rip his hand free, but he was going nowhere. "Come on! Come on!" He was panicking and wanted to get away when Spider-man landed on top of the car in a crouch and slowly crawled towards him. The guy leaned away but Spider-man just leaned in closer and closer until he couldn't take it. "Alright, alright, alright! I give up! Do I get time off if I talk?"
"You won't if you don't." Spider-man warned him.
"Aww…it…it was Cottonmouth. He told us to come down here and make some noise. For Prowler."
"Sucker bait. And I'm the sucker. Why? What's Prowler doing?" Spider-man asked him.
"I don't know, man." The guy said only for the lenses on Spider-man's mask to narrow so it was like he was glaring, and he leaned in again. "I swear I don't know! All I know is that things have been business as normal against the Maggia and suddenly Cottonmouth decided on a changeup. He had us come out here to make as much noise as possible to get the attention of the cops and you. To keep everyone away from the east side of the city."
"Why? What's Cottonmouth having Prowler do?" Spider-man questioned, leaning in and used his HUD to make an adjustment to the lenses on his mask. The white of the lenses turned red so he looked more menacing.
"I don't know, man!" The guy cowered in fear. "Just that it was on the east side of town, and I think I heard the name Cicero!"
The guy cowered in fear, hiding his head in his arms and awaiting a beating that never came. He peaked his head up and saw that Spider-man was gone but there was a small orb on the car his hand was webbed to which then exploded, covering him in more webbing.
Spider-man swung through the air and landed on a nearby roof to catch his breath and plan his next move. "Felicity, tell me those two vague clues that guy gave me is enough to give you something on Prowler's next target." He hoped and crossed his fingers.
"Surprisingly, yes." Felicity told him, working through various quick leads and searches based on everything she had compiled on both opposing factions in the gang war. "Cicero is in reference to Alberto Cicero of the Cicero Crime Family, one of the heads of the Maggia working with Hammerhead."
"So whatever Cottonmouth is having Prowler doing deals with them which makes sense but Prowler's not a fighter. He's a thief. Whatever this has to do with Cicero he wants Prowler to steal something from them. Do they have anything on the east side of the city? The bigger and more protected the better." He suggested and she adjusted her search.
"He's got various small fronts. Clothing stores, restaurants, a bodega. Surprisingly, he's got fewer fronts then the other Maggia heads…" Felicity tried for something else when her digging into the Cicero's got her a possibility. "Hang on. Looks like Father Cicero has got himself a fancy rooftop penthouse despite having a nice mansion in the Palisades outside the city. And he put in a lot of money to not only refurbish the place but turn it into a fortress. Top of the line motion sensors, infrared cameras, and a state-of-the-art anti-theft system. Sounds like the kind of stuff you'd find in a museum."
"Or in the residence of a Maggia head with something to protect. That could be it. I'm heading there now. If that's not it, then maybe I can at least find another lead on Prowler. See if you can find anything else, Felicity. Anything on what Prowler might be looking for." He told her before swinging away.
Line Break xxxxx
After some swinging through the city, Will arrived on the eastern side of the city and perched himself up on the giant antennae of a building for a birds eye view. As he looked out at the city, his HUD highlighted the various points of interest Felicity found in her search before highlighting Cicero's rooftop penthouse suite, so he web zipped through the air and landed on a building a few blocks away to give him a better look.
"Ok, things look normal. Nice neighborhood thought. Oh, is that a fancy steakhouse? How much you think rent is here for an apartment? I may move here after I graduate." Will wondered so Felicity got cute and brought up the cheapest renting listing to his HUD. Cheapest studio apartment in this area was 5 grand a month. "On second thought I'll pass on that. I'm making money now but I'm not spending that much on an apartment unless I get a free hot tub too. And free cable. And Wi-fi. And parking."
"Yeah, that's definitely too much for me too. Thank god my place is rent controlled and way cheaper." Felicity remarked as she did a check on the building and found something odd. "Huh."
"Is that a good huh or a bad huh?" Will wondered.
"I think a good huh for you because it may mean we're on the right lead. I'm trying to patch into the security system which I would normally be able to do, even with something advanced as what they have here but it looks like someone has already put their system on a loop." Felicity told him, trying the security cameras on the property but even they were on a recorded loop, and she couldn't interrupt the loop signal since something was hardwired onto the security system preventing outside access. "Something's definitely up."
"All right. I'm gonna see if I can get a closer look." He jumped off the roof and web zipped to the building. He landed on the ledge of the rooftop penthouse. It had a door that opened onto the roof that sort of acted like a courtyard/balcony. There were chairs, tables, an open bar, grill and other things you'd find if you owned a rooftop. His HUD highlighted a nearby circuit breaker box on the wall that had a small device attached to it. "I think I found something. It's attached to the circuit breaker."
He walked over and his HUD analyzed it before he ripped it off. "It's a signal looper. Well, a more high-tech version of one probably made by The Tinkerer and left behind by Prowler. It's what was looping all the security systems and keeping me out." Felicity told him as Will put the signal looper into his belt for safe keeping.
"Prowler was here. Maybe there's a clue as to what he was after inside." He walked over to the doors when his spider-sense went off. The doors slammed open and out rushed Prowler. He grabbed Spider-man's arm and threw him to the ground, but Spider-man landed on his feet and kicked Prowler in the chest. Prowler rolled back and managed to get to his feet as he and Spider-man circled around one another.
"I was wondering how the security system came back online. Now I know." Prowler remarked when Spider-man noticed that Prowler had a small marble statue of the Roman Goddess Venus in one hand. "You shouldn't have gotten involved, Spider-man."
"Well, kind of hard not to when you started a gang war. I told you that messing with Hammerhead and the Maggia was a bad idea. You think stealing from them again is gonna make things better?" Spider-man pointed out and saw Prowler look down a bit, sort of like he was taken back by what he just said.
"It's not my fault this war started. That's all on you!" Prowler fired his wrist darts, but Spider-man side flipped to dodge them, and web threw a chair at him. Using the moment, he fired several globs of impact webbing at the staggered Prowler and trapped him.
"Don't try and play the victim, Prowler. You're the one who stole from Hammerhead and the Maggia for Cottonmouth. That started this war and put people in danger, and I've been stuck dealing with your mess!" Spider-man told him off.
"Shut up!" Prowler ripped himself free and swiped at the hero with his claws but missed as Spider-man kept dodging.
"You want someone to blame for what's going on in the Glades then look in a mirror!" Spider-man jumped into a butterfly spin, kicking the statue out of Prowler's hand before landing a backflip kick to Prowler's head, knocking him onto his back and fired some impact webbing to keep him pinned. Prowler groaned in pain, glancing up to see Spider-man catch the statue. "It's over, Prowler."
"No, it's not."
The door opened and out came four of Cicero's men. Prowler sliced himself free and threw a flashbang onto the ground, blinding everyone temporarily. When the bright light faded Spider-man saw Prowler was gone and the statue he was holding had been cut in half. "You're dead, Spider-man!" One of Cicero's men shouted as he and the others took out their pistols and opened fire.
Spider-man webbed the broken statue to the side and backflipped into the air to dodge the gunfire before webbing two goons and pulling them to him. He drop kicked both in the chest, knocking them to the ground before he web threw a chair at the other two gunmen. Several more of Cicero's men rushed out and joined the fight. They took out their pistols and shot at Spider-man, but their guns were webbed and yanked out of their hands. Spider-man ducked and dodged a knife from one of Cicero's men before kicking the knife out of his hand and then kicking him in the stomach. With him doubled over he web pulled the guy into him and took him out with a flying knee to the face. He quickly leaned forward to avoid a crowbar to the back of the head and did a back elbow to his attacker's side, hook kicked him in the back of the leg sending him to a knee and then knocked him out with a 540 aerial kick to the back of the head.
One of Cicero's men grabbed a nearby chain used to secure the patio furniture and started swinging wildly at Spider-man while everyone else looked for weapons. "While I commend the audacity to fight for your boss you guys clearly haven't been paying attention!" Spider-man quipped as he flipped forward to dodge the chain whip. He then webbed the guy in the face and pulled him forward into a spinning hook kick to the side of the face. Then jumped up and finished it with a tornado push kick to the chest that sent him crashing into the patio table.
He webbed a patio chair and spun around with it before throwing it at a goon, knocking him out. "Crap! He got Monty!" A henchmen shouted only for Spider-man to knock him out with a flying side kick that sent him into a wall. He did a side flip to dodge a brick throw and webbed the guy in the face before shooting a glob of impact webbing that trapped him in place. He ducked a chair to the head and sent the guy to his knees with a low side kick to the back of his legs before finishing him off with right hook to the head.
The last of Cicero's men had gotten a pipe and charged, swinging wildly but it was for little to no gain as Spider-man easily avoided all his attacks. He quick used his webs to disarm the goon's metal pipe and tripped him to the ground with a leg sweep but jumped into the air to do a 720 aerial spin and when he landed, he punched the guy in the face. The impact and force from his spin adding more then enough force to knock the guy out and probably fracture a few bones.
"As fun as that was, gentlemen…" Spider-man quickly reloaded his web shooters and grabbed the broken half of the statue from the wall he webbed it to. "…I've got places to be and Prowler to find so best of luck to you."
He jumped off the roof and swung away, landing on a nearby rooftop looking around to try and find any trace of where Prowler went but he was gone. "Damn. He's gone."
"But why would Prowler steal a statue if he was only going to destroy it?" Felicity pointed out so Will looked over his broken half and noticed that the inside was much larger and partially scooped out.
"I don't think the statue was what he wanted. Well, not entirely. Felicity, bring up my HUD footage when Prowler tossed the flashbang." He said so Felicity did but all they saw what the blinding flash of light that obscured Will's vision. "Ok, now add in a multi-spectrum overlay to remove the bright flash."
Felicity did and the bright flash on her screen and his HUD slowly faded to show them Prowler cutting the statue in half with his claws and taking a flash drive that was hidden inside before making his escape. "So that statue wasn't a statue but a holder for a flash drive? Why would Prowler want a flash drive?" Felicity asked.
"He wouldn't. Whoever is working for him wants it and considering it used to be with the Cicero's it clearly has something to do with the Maggia. Whoever Prowler is working for is switching things up and we need to find out why. Felicity, see what you can find. I'm gonna loop in Yuri and Captain Lance. Maybe they can help." He told her.
"Got it." Felicity said when she got an alert on her computer. "Dig and Roy just took down some of Cottonmouth's men and destroyed more of their weapons. I'll tell them to keep an eye out for any word about what's going on."
"All right. Tell them to be careful." Will shot a web line and swung away.
Starling City General
The nurses, doctors, and hospital doctors were all working diligently in the Emergency Room tending to the influx of injuries and deaths that have been occurring in the city the last week. It was a gang war and primarily stuck in the Glades but that didn't mean that the war was bloodless. The hospital had dealt with plenty of assault and gunshot victims on both sides. Some survived and were immediately taken into police custody while others weren't as lucky and sent to the morgue. The most recent Emergency Room entries were enforcers for Hammerhead who were transporting weapons to him when Spider-man stopped them in an ensuing car chase. The police arrested them and those that needed treatment were taken straight to the hospital. The nurses tended to them while they were handcuffed to their gurneys and officers nearby kept watch over them.
May was busy, helping in the Emergency Room as well. She was chief of Radiology so she normally wouldn't be spending much of her time there unless it pertains to the scans of a patient and even then, would have one of the doctors working for her handle the situation while she oversaw the department but given the increase in patients circumstances had changed. With the influxes of injuries and deaths the Emergency Room needed all the help it could get so May volunteered her time there as a regular doctor which was fine with her. All the people they had to deal with was disconcerting but definitely not abnormal. It was Star city and they had seen their fair share of bad days, so a gang war was nothing new. They were accustomed to it and had the medical supplies for the influx of patients, so they were prepared but that didn't mean they liked it when it happened.
"Keep him sedated with 10 milligrams of epinephrine." May told a nurse as she finished tending to a patient. Said patient was one of the Maggia enforcers Will stopped in a car chase and was currently being treated for a broken arm, severe concussion, a few broken ribs and some internal bruising. He was patched up but still passed out with one of his hands cuffed to the gurney and a police officer standing guard nearby.
"Yes, Doctor." The nurser replied before going to get the dosage. May finished up some charts and walked out of the room to hand them to the emergency room desk when she saw some more people arrive. They were escorted by police officers who also needed some medical attention, so the doctors and nurses got to work.
"What happened?" A nurse asked, giving one of the wounded officers a quick once over. He wasn't seriously injured. Just some cuts and bruises so she was just gonna patch him up quickly.
"Heavy shootout. We were ambushed. Would have been killed if it wasn't for Spider-man. He should up just in time." The officer answered.
"So, you saw him? You actually saw him?" The nurse's excitement was subdued so she could remain professional but was still there.
"Yeah. Saw the ass kicking he gave those guys." The officer pointed over at Cottonmouth's men currently being tended to by other nurses and doctors while being watched over by SCPD officers. "Wherever Spider-man is going now I feel bad for whoever is getting in his way."
May overheard their conversation and smiled. She took out her phone and sent him a quick text.
'I'm at the hospital dealing with the bad guys you beat up and I'm hearing a lot of people singing your praise. Be careful out there.'
She waited a few seconds and saw the three dots that meant he was texting and saw the message he sent.
'Always. Sorry for the influx of bad guys in the ER but hopefully I'm close to ending this. I'll keep you posted if something happens and if you hear anything useful in the ER send word to Captain Lance. Stay safe, mom.'
She smiled and texted back that she should be saying that to him.
"Dr. Detmer!" A nurse called out so May sent the text and quickly rushed over, getting back to work.
SCPD
Things at SCPD were beyond crazy with all officers reporting in giving the current gang war going on in the Glades. Detectives worked leads on possible avenues to exploit in both criminal organizations while uniformed officers helped them or escorted arrested gang members into holding cells. Given the gang war they had taken over two of the giant holding cells to put in the members of the two criminal organizations. Captain Lance walked into the precinct with his daughter Laurel after they finished meeting with the DA, Chief of Police, and Mayor.
"If my doctor wants me to avoid stressful situations for my heart then he should have been in that meeting. That's more stressful then other parts of my job." Lance said in disbelief before he and his daughter walked into his officer where he took his medicine.
"Relax, dad. They know that you're doing your best." Laurel assured him.
"Really? I didn't get that from their blatant messages of just putting an end to this war. At least I got the overtime pay and everything for Watanabe's taskforce. I'm making that permanent if I have anything to say about it." Lance sat down in his chair and let out a sharp exhale. "How about you? The DA was rather quiet on any progress she's making."
"That's because she didn't want to admit it but we're getting nowhere like you. All we can do is bring up the charges we have on the guys you bring in, but no one is talking. I've tried everything but no one is willing to go on record for a better deal. The Maggia are too loyal or afraid of Hammerhead to say anything while Cottonmouth's don't know anything. Neither do the Triad or the Bratva. It's just like with Tombstone and we're getting nowhere like before only this time we don't have a scientist from Smythe Technologies to give us an ID on the leader." Laurel said. "You think Lieutenant Watanabe is right? That there's someone else in charge of Cottonmouth, the Bratva, and the Triad?"
"I trust her instincts and she's right. The three groups would never work together unless someone else was playing peacemaker and had something to offer them. My guess? Expanding their territory after taking out Hammerhead and the Maggia." Lance theorized. "One of the things I always regretted when I was starting out was that we never completely took down the Maggia but not like this. Will's been keeping busy and I'm glad to see that the Black Canary hasn't been seen as much out there."
"Well, with everything going on at the DA's office all my time is needed there, even after hours. And I've got enough clarity to understand that Will's got enough on his plate right now without worrying about me in the middle of a gang war." Laurel said and Lance smiled. "He's been busy enough as it is."
"Remind me to thank him for getting through to you." Lance quipped when their was a knock at the door. "Come in."
"Hey, Captain." Yuri peaked her head in. "Got a second?"
"Yeah." Lance nodded to Laurel, and she left. Once she did, Yuri walked in and closed the door behind her. "What'd you got?"
"An update from Will. Prowler showed his face again in a robbery of the Cicero's. Didn't take the money, jewels, just this." She showed him her tablet and an image Will sent her from his HUD of Prowler slicing open the small statue and taking a flash drive that was hidden.
"A flash drive?" Lance was confused.
"Yeah, hidden for safe keeping. Thought it was weird too but until I began going over all the reports on the Maggia bust from years ago including the FBI ones and even personal comments and speculations and I think I may have found the puzzle piece that will have all of this make sense." She showed him a file made by a senior FBI agent working for the cyber division and her speculations on the case. Lance read it over and saw the pieces connect.
"I'll contact records and the FEDs and get us everything we can." Lance promised, getting on the phone with a new sense of urgency. This may finally be the piece that gives them the edge in this gang war.
Line Break xxxxx
In the Arrow bunker, Will, Diggle, and Roy were resting for a bit after returning from stopping another skirmish between the Bratva/Triad and the Maggia. The Bratva/Triad were encroaching on the Maggia's west territory, so things escalated. Luckily the trio were able to take both sides out before more people got hurt. They returned to the bunker and Will was stitching up Diggle's left arm. A bullet grazed him, and it wasn't anything serious, but it needed stitches.
"Hold on…one more…" Will finished up another stitch and then cut it with some scissors. "Done."
"Nice work. I know plenty of medics in the army who can't do this as well as you did." Diggle praised as Will put a bandaged on the wound.
"Well, when your mother's a doctor you learn a thing or two." Will pointed out. "But I draw the line as heart surgery."
"Good to know." Diggle chuckled. "Thanks again for the backup out there."
"Don't mention it. Always happy for a good team up although I could do without the gang war." Will remarked.
"Yeah, seems like every time Oliver leaves Star City something like this happens." Roy said which was weird how true it was. "He and Thea sure picked a good time to be out of the city. I'm sure a lot of people would do the same."
"Just in the meantime. We'll stop this like we did Tombstone and Brick. It's just taking a little longer then normal." Will got up and walked over to the touch table monitor to bring up a map of the Glades. It was more or less split down the middle but certain parts of one side were encroaching on the other. One side was colored yellow while the other was split into three and colored red, blue, and green. "Before when it was just Hammerhead going up against Cottonmouth we could have ended this in a few days but with the Bratva and Triad now joining its taking longer.
"Yeah, and with them joining Cottonmouth things are more even then before. Things are pretty much gridlocked, but they won't stay like that forever." Diggle said as he and Roy joined him.
"Are we still going with the hidden boss theory behind all this?" Roy asked.
"It's the one that makes the most sense. The Triads and Bratva would never willingly work with the Stokes and vice versa. Yuri thinks someone else is pulling the strings behind the scenes. The Big Man 2.0 only this one is doing a better job at staying hidden." Will stated. "But maybe Prowler could be our way to figuring out who is behind this. Whatever he's doing now is definitely weird."
He brought up a freeze frame taken from his HUD. It was of Prowler slicing the statue and stealing the flash drive that was hidden. "What could Prowler want with a flash drive?" Roy wondered.
"Considering it belonged to the Cicero's and he took the extra time to hide it then it must be something important." Felicity said, trying to find any kind of information on what could be inside the flash drive but wasn't able to find anything. "But I have no idea what was inside and I'm finding no record of it anywhere."
"No surprise there. Criminals like the Maggia wouldn't leave a record of something valuable." Diggle said.
"Which makes sense to have a thief to steal it but why? And how did Prowler know where to find it?" Roy asked aloud.
"My guess would be the same person behind all of this." Will said when something clicked. "Felicity, remember when Prowler first showed up and stole a painting from a Maggia depot. Which Maggia family owned that depot?
She didn't know so she did some quick digging. "After several shell corporations and fake names, it traces back to Sableona Manfredi. Nothing special about her. Living in Europe and whoa…she's Silvio Manfredi's daughter."
"Silvermane's daughter. She fled the country after her father's arrest." Diggle remembered reading about that.
"She left but the family name still means a lot. The painting belong to the Manfredi's and statue to the Cicero's, both stolen by Prowler." Will said and started feeling the gears turn in his head. Before he could think of a few more ideas his phone rang, and it was Captain Lance, so he put it on speaker. "Captain Lance, what's up?"
"Hey, kid. Yuri and I found something we think you'd like to hear." Lance said and Will motioned the others stay quiet. Yuri still didn't know about the others secret identities.
"It's about Prowler and the flash drive he took. We think we know what he's doing?" She stated.
"Well, don't keep me in suspense. What does he want?" Will asked.
"According to a report from a Senior FBI agent for the cyber division, she believed that all the assets the FBI and DEA recovered wasn't everything. She managed to find a source to confirm this only for said source to end up dead, most likely to keep him from testifying." Lance said.
"He claimed that years ago when the Maggia had complete control over Star City they all agreed to a joint accounting database in an off-shore bank. They did this to keep the peace and prevent infighting among the families." Yuri said.
"Makes sense. With all their money put together they couldn't threaten war against one another as all their assets are tied together." Will pointed out.
"The agent suspected that all the money and resources they did capture during the Maggia arrest years ago was not enough and she was right. It was just the stuff that the Maggia were ok with losing and keeping most of their financial assets secure in a collective account. According to the CI the account could only be accessed by flash drives which acted as electronic keys to the account. Flash drives like the one you saw Prowler take from the statue." Yuri explained.
"From the Cicero family. Keys to all their assets would need to be protected so they would take steps to keep them hidden and well protected." Will said and the pieces began to come together. "You know this all started when Prowler started working for Cottonmouth and some of the first things he stole was the Maria painting from a Maggia Warehouse. Out of all the things he stole he took that when there was millions of dollars in contraband just laying around. A painting that was worth a lot but not compared to everything else there."
"What are you thinking?" Lance asked.
"I did some digging and the warehouse where the painting was being held was owned by the Manfredi family. Now knowing what was in the statue, I'm guessing that a flash drive was hidden in that painting after the Manfredi's got a hold of it." Will theorized.
"With the Manfredi's and Cicero's that leaves the Libris, Costa's, and Karnelli's as the last three remaining families with flash drives." Yuri said.
"Which means those are Prowler's next targets. If he gets to them then whoever he's working for will get all their assets and control over everything. The entire tide of this gang war will change. Question is…who's gonna end up on top?" Will pondered.
End of Chapter 14
I hoped you guys liked the chapter. It's another two-part chapter that sets up one of Spider-man's biggest foes that will be a recurring nemesis for him and the others to deal with. It's short, sorry, but that only means the next chapter will be huge and I also had a lot of writing for the other chapters updated this month.
Next chapter, The gang war for Star City enters a new phase as the Prowler ramps up his thefts with Spider-man right on his tail. But collateral damage may soon be unavoidable as Hammerhead is willing to do whatever it takes to show Star City he means business and to draw out whoever is messing with him. Oh boy. Until next time.
Update for January: Omniverse Earth-38 and A new Chapter for What If…Superman will be updated today. The surprise is a new chapter for What If Superman so soon after its release. Hope you guys like it.
Updates for February: Mandalorian Maverick, The Blue Wolf, and the Perfect One for February. Everyone stay safe and stay healthy!
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 and insulation, 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. New capacitors to hold and resist an electrical overload.
STAR Labs modified Web Grenades/Bombs, Web Trip Mines, and acid embrittlement bombs
New Spider tracers, mini-camera/recording device, spider-thumb drive.
New Spider-bot. Mini-drove capable of field reconnaissance and interfacing with security systems.
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.