Season 4 Ch. 5: Filial Piety
'How is the gig going, Petey? I saw the news and you were awesome out there! Makes me wish that my suit wasn't stinky so I could have a piece of the action back there.'
A few days have passed since that incident with the Dinosaur-Man situation—and with the collaborations of certain organizations and the Connors' willingness to find a cure to prevent such disasters, the tension dies down and everything slowly goes back to normal as they are. At least for now—as Peter hoped…
'It's alright anyway Liz, it was kinda out of the blue and you said that you had classes around that hour, so it's good that you kept a low profile. Unlike me, who's used to this type of thing,' Peter assured over the phone as he looked outside through their dorm room's window while his roommates slept.
'Oh please, don't start me with business class: it is a place of boredom, especially with how easy it looked. I even found Janice beside me taking short naps in the middle of lectures! Although MJ seemed to enjoy it a lot with how enthusiastic she is in the lectures,' Liz lengthily replied, lying on her bunk bed under Sha Shan's bed.
'I see...how are um...things between you and Sally…? Heard that she's with you guys—I mean girls! Quite more often than not…' Peter nervously probed out of concern.
'I admit, not really stable, but all she usually does is either give me the silent treatment or find a way to just not to interact. It stings, but thankfully, Sha Shan and Janice are around,' Liz briefly explained.
'I-I see, hope you're doing well though, see you later?' Peter replied.
'Mmm, maybe later at night, 'cause I wanna catch some more beauty sleep. Love ya Petey, bye,' Liz replied back happily before ending the call just at the moment Peter was about to say something.
'Suit? What suit? And action? Just what have you been hiding from me, Lizzy? Am I really not your closest friend anymore that you'd keep secrets from me...all this time…?!' Sally angrily thought to herself while lying across her bunk bed underneath Janice's bed, overhearing Liz's conversation with Peter over the phone.
—
Later in the morning on a weekend, Peter quietly leaves the dorm with some tools and materials in a bag before making his way to the workshop with a plan that he's always wanted to do after long contemplation, but just as he was strolling down the corridor…
"Whoa!" Peter screamed upon noticing a startled Kitty, walking in the middle of the corridor, but thankfully phased through her as she used her powers instead of colliding with him. "Oh man, Kitty! Sorry about that, I was kinda in a rush back there!"
"Oh no it's cool, I was absent-minded for a moment!" Kitty nervously assured, surprised alsofrom bumping and meeting with Peter by accident like that.
"So um, where are you going?" Peter wondered.
"Me? I plan to visit the library to kill some time. What about you?" Kitty wondered, keeping her usual ponytail and wearing a white t-shirt underneath her red flannel; some dark-blue jeans, and a pair of pink sneakers while carrying a small pink backpack.
"Me? Just heading to the workshop Hobie told me about. Wanna come with me? If you're not busy that is," Peter friendly suggested.
"Cool! But—don't you need some kind of approval to use it?" Kitty wondered.
"Yeah, so wanna join me and help me get it?" Peter suggested.
"Sure! Alright!" Kitty accepts and follows Peter for an approval from the faculty to use the workshop.
But then, finding the two of them by chance around the corner was the calm and collected Mary Jane, who just happened to be there while strolling and exploring around the campus.
'Well what do you know, Tiger; you really got both the skills, and the brains to make a man,' Mary Jane thought to herself with a smirk.
While she watches Kitty and Peter as they walk away, she's unaware of her male colleague from Mr. Devereaux's theater troupe named Jonathan Powers, who appears to be subtly stalking her while packing some instruments into some storage room with a menacing glare that wreaks of envy…
'Who is that guy? Doesn't he get cozy with some other girls? Don't tell me MJ's also got a thing for him!? I thought it was just the Webhead in her mind, but you've gotta be kidding me…!?' Jonathan thought to himself, boiling with jealousy.
—
Back at the Big Man's headquarters, with no information about Dr. Warren's whereabouts till now, Norman grew impatient playing things safe that he has finally decided to personally pay a visit to Trask Industries and take up the offer of a mutual business friend of his that also provided him the tech against superhumans like Spider-man and his mutant friends…
"So, Norman, after all that has happened, you've finally decided to call for an appointment with me?"
Sitting in the center of the room at a small desk with several armed bodyguards stationed around the room was the CEO of Trask Industries, Boliver Trask, a man who's notoriously known to be straightforwardly vocal and physical about his hatred towards mutantkind or almost generally superhumans like the Webhead.
"Yes, my friend, I wish to accept your generous cooperation in dealing with our common enemies. So, does your offer still stand?" Norman calmly replied.
"Oh Norman, I've witnessed what you do to your own people. Do you honestly believe that you won't do the same thing over with me?" Boliver chuckled with disdain. "I'd rather not be tied to an insane greedy narcissistic control freak such as yourself. Other than mutantkind, you are quite possibly one of the only people that I despise on many levels."
From there, he signaled his men to show Norman the door out of his office without any sign of remorse.
"A choice you've made for yourself, that's rich," Norman smirked like a maniac before leaving the office discreetly, filled with silent rage from his refusal. 'Looks like we have more things to work on…'
—
"Hey Pete, are you almost done with that? What are you making over there?" Kitty asked out of curiosity while sitting down and typing on her laptop, probably for her other class assignments while trying to watch Peter by the working table in the workshop with him.
"Oh yeah, kinda. It's going to blow your mind. Check this out!" Peter eagerly shows Kitty a piece of shiny gray rubberlike armor in his hand that appears to be a shoulder pad.
"Ummm, what exactly is that?" Kitty wondered.
"It's a piece of protective wear that I made by heat-treating the same chemical that was used for my web fluid," Peter briefly explained. "It feels and stretches like rubber, but when a forceful impact is applied…"
Peter then picks out a small stone he found in the garden area on his way to the workshop and then lays it on the sturdy working table before smashing the stone into tiny pieces of gravel, shocking Kitty to the point that her jaw dropped, even after he dusted off the debris from the table.
"Whoa wait, hang on! Did you just make your own non-Newtonian material?!" Kitty excitedly geeked out in awe as she leaves her laptop and walks over to the working table beside Peter.
"I think I kinda did! By the way, because it is made of a material that imitates spiderwebs, it is meant to be tougher than steel in that it can withstand bullets and fire," Peter confidently adds. "I've always wanted to get an upgrade, so this is just a first step at getting there. Probably need to heat-treat it more to improve its tensile strength, but not too much to the point it gets stiff, hopefully."
"That's awesome Pete! Now you can kick butt harder! Literally!" Kitty exclaimed.
"Yeah, but the costs will hamper me down, along with the possible suit up time with how tacky and bulky it might be," Peter thought out loud as he examined and planned how his new suit would come to be as a result.
"Heya Pete! Morning!"
Startling Peter and Kitty so suddenly at the workshop's entrance were Hobie, Janice, and Johnny, making Peter panic and hide his armor piece behind his back while Kitty frantically froze with a stiff smile beside Peter.
"Hiya Kitty!" Janice greeted.
"H-Hey Janice! G-Good morning to you guys too!" Kitty nervously greeted back.
"Hey hey whoa, what're you two doing here so early in the morning, all alone and looking cozy around each other?" Hobie teased with a huff and a smirk. "Ooooh Liz and Gwen ain't gonna like this, I'm bettin' my bike on that!"
"Dude, Peter, nice moves!" Johnny exclaimed gleefully before pulling Peter into a playful noogie. "Man! Spill it! Show me how you pick up gals!"
"Agh! Johnny! Quit it man! Besides! We're just friends! Right, Kitty?!" Peter gently shoved Johnny away before looking at Kitty.
"Oh um, yeah! Nothing fishy's between us! Honest!" Kitty agreed, feeling internally wounded however from Peter's immediate answer.
"You guys are really sure about that?" Hobie interrogated with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow, getting their nods as a response before sighing. "Alright then, I won't say anything to Liz and Gwen if that's the case—only—if that's the case, got it?"
"Yeah man, got it," Peter replied before checking the clock above the door to notice that it's almost ten o'clock. "Oh shoot! It's almost ten!"
"Why the rush, Pete?" Johnny wondered as he watched Peter pack up his stuff in a hurry.
"I got an appointment to meet Dr. Connors for a talk, so—sorry to leave so soon guys, bye!" Peter bade before leaving the workshop with his things.
"Ookay, time for me to just head to the library, see you guys later!" Kitty subtly bade as she also leaves the workshop before making her way to the university's huge library.
"Pfft, the library, no thanks—not my style," Johnny shrugged.
—
Walking to the entrance of ESU's lab, Peter enters and suddenly meets a tall figure that caught him off-guard and nearly scared him to death before sighing out of relief when he realizes that it is just Dr. Curtis Connors, still stuck in his Lizard-mutate form.
"Whoa! Gosh Dr. Connors, you got me good," Peter sighed.
"Ah Peter! Sso nice of you to drop by!" Lizard casually greeted, wearing a pair of custom-made contacts and then lays a clipboard aside on the table with his tail. "Ass you can ssee, we sstill haven't made an improved formula for the gene-cleanser, so it will have to wait for a while. But in the meantime, it iss quite convenient having three armss."
"Oh I bet. Glad you're making the best out of 'em doc," Peter playfully nodded before seeing Lizard motioning him to lend him his ear.
'Keep your webss and sscent to yoursself, and you'll be fine,' Lizard pointed out, catching Peter off-guard from finding out his identity. "Honestly, I never realized it until I transsformed again. Don't worry, your secret'ss safe here, but not with Martha."
"Oh hehe alright, thanks, and speaking of secrets: can you tell me now what you know about my parents," Peter looked at the Lizard straight in his reptilian eyes as he requested for anything that concerns his parents' disappearances.
"I knew that you were gonna ask that, sso I have prepared a bit of my time to help you. Sso lissten carefully," Lizard urged out of his kind generosity.
—
"Yes yes sir, I understand. What? Oh it's fine, thank you… okay...have a nice day…"
Back at Ravencroft, where many notorious criminals reside for rehabilitation, Eddie Brock accidentally overhears Dr. Kafka's conversation over the landline for a few minutes—not that he exactly knows how long it went on—and it just caught his attention after returning from his sessions with other patients under the guidance of the other psychiatrist Dr. Tanis Nieves.
'Hey doc, know who could she be talking to?' Eddie whisperingly asks the confused Dr. Nieves, who shrugged her shoulders as a response.
"I am not certain, Mr. Brock. It's quite possibly just one of our kind investors from one of the charitable organizations that have been providing the funds for this place," Tanis guessed.
"Ookay, but—"
"If it makes you anxious, why not just ask Dr. Kafka yourself for confirmation?" Tanis suggested before looking at the time. "I must go now, the choice is yours."
"What? But I uh—ugh," Eddie sighed before entering the office with his notes and insights on a clipboard tucked underneath his arm.
"Ah, Eddie! Thank you for your assistance, greatly appreciated!" Ashley thanked wholeheartedly before noticing the uneasy look on Eddie's face. "Is something the matter, Eddie?"
"Oh what? No doc, everything's fine! Nothing's wrong at all! I-I gotta go check on my bro, see ya!" Eddie stammered before leaving his clipboard and exiting the office, unintentionally stinging Dr. Kafka's heart as a response.
'Eddie—what has gotten into you all of a sudden? That is not like you…' Ashley thought to herself while skimming through some files and documents before noticing a text sent to her cell phone from the sender named F.E.A.S.T.
—
In a certain temporary hideout where the two Beetles and the broken-out Enforcers hole up to rendezvous as their base of operations…
"Man, who woulda thunk you got our gizmos back together, all in one piece," Montana thought out loud as he along with Fancy Dan and Ox, don their suits and equipment as Shocker, Ricochet, and—well, Ox, once more—courtesy of the Beetle's gesture as ordered by his benefactor.
"It's nothing, now we just wait for the Big Lady," Beetle huffed while guarding the entrance.
"Hiya boys! Sorry for being fashionably late! How are ya'll doing today?"
Zooming to their location like a fly was their benefactor and leader of their small team now called and preferred by her as the Syndicate…
"Yo babe! We're all just here chillin', waitin' on you!" Ricochet nonchalantly replied, still starstruck by their leader.
"Ooh I see, don't worry boys, 'cause next time, we all will get to chill with great lives in dirty wealth! Sooner or later, we shall put our plan into motion," Lady Beetle assured.
"Well-ok, what the lady wants, the lady gets," Ricochet playfully shrugged.
"You mean this plan of yers takin' over yer daddy's big ol' criminal empire?" Shocker asked for clarification.
"Yup! You betcha, big boy!" Lady Beetle cutely responded with a wink. "Buuuuut, we are still one man short if we wanna pull this off right—and I found just the guy who could suit the job…!"
—
Later in one of the Webhead's nightly patrols, he along with the Prowler were the only ones that wander around the city like monkeys in an urban jungle while patrolling around nearby, still able to maintain contact thanks to Prowler's small communicators that he lent to Spidey.
"See anything weird, Prowler?" Spider-man asked as he landed onto a nearby ledge atop a building.
"Negative bro, you?" Prowler responded as he traveled around the alleys and darker parts of the city.
"Nothing over here, and hopefully it stays that way. I still got a date with Liz at a resto near her hotel," Spider-man replied back with a hint of fear of disappointment in his tone.
"Dude, rest easy. If trouble's not big enough, I got it covered. Don't worry," Prowler assured while looking around the dark night sky.
—
'Peter, your parentss have been a um, a pair of outsstanding scientistss in their own right. Their life'ss work paved the way to many breakthroughss, one of which iss in the field of animal-hybrid mutationss. Because of that, they've been highly sought after by various companiess like Osscorp that sseek to utilize their work for questionable purposess, sso to speak…'
While swinging and running around atop the nearby buildings, Spider-man pondered and tried to recall everything that Dr. Connors briefly talked about the Parker parents…
'Perhapss I should have talked to Eddie about this too. His parentss were also hunted in a sensse that they too were ssought after by companiess for their work like the Parkers, but I have failed to confirm and see or learn of what they're actually working on. Peter, both the Parkerss and the Brockss asked that we look after the both of you ass our own if anything ever happened to them. I hope both of you understand and forgive us for hiding this from you boyss…'
'So wait, does this mean that our folks were running away from something? Or someone? Was there actually a reason why they left New York until that accident…? What if that accident is no accident at all? I must find out the truth...' Spider-man thought to himself before trying to contact Prowler. "Hey bro? Are you still there? Anything on your end?"
—
"Yeah no, nothing over here," Prowler responded before noticing what appears to be the silhouette of a woman with wings, zooming through the night sky. "On second thought, I think I got something. Currently in pursuit. Find me somewhere near Central Park."
'Central Park?! But that's—hey!' Peter tried talking over the communicator, only to get shut down as Prowler chases down the stranger and then decides to follow his lead.
Now, Prowler tracks down the faint trail of the stranger in his surroundings before finding himself led to some rundown factory…
"Spoooky," Prowler thought out loud before arming his gauntlets and retracting his claws out of vigilance. "Okay! Come out come out, wherever you are…"
"Get 'im!"
Suddenly, Ricochet zooms swiftly towards Prowler, who manages to avoid him by a millimeter before noticing Ox who paddles Ricochet back to him.
"Got 'im! Dogpile!" Ricochet yelled, ordering Ox to pile himself on both Ricochet and Prowler to keep him from moving.
"Urgh—agh! Get—off—me!" Prowler huffed, struggling to wriggle out of his current predicament.
"Long time no see, kid. Where's yer bug friend?" Shocker smirked underneath his mask, standing beside Beetle.
"Ugghh...Montana, not you again...here for another ramble or a gamble?" Prowler mocked in annoyance.
"Hey! If it were just me, I woulda end yer miserable life for all I care after what you done screwin' 'round with the Enforcers," Shocker barked, walking up to him while he's down. "But right now, you and I are needed for a special job that you'd love to do."
"Stand down, or else," Beetle ordered as he appeared from the shadows, making the Enforcers give Prowler some space and breathing room.
"Ugh, some welcoming party. What's with all the hubbub?" Prowler barked while limbering up his sore shoulder.
"Oooh, just an invitation really!"
Appearing beside Beetle was the female masked stranger Prowler tried to track down…
'Whoa—I mean...whoa…' Prowler thinks to himself with wide eyes open and his jaw drops underneath his mask as his eyes follow the alluring appearance of the She-Beetle beside the Beetle.
"Hello big boy, welcome to the Syndicate! Now, what should I call ya? Got a name?" She-Beetle sassily demanded with her hands on her waist.
"My name...is Prowler, just Prowler," Prowler responded, nervous and uneasy from the She-Beetle walking around him and examining him like some feisty predator. "Ummm…"
"Not bad: quiet, sleek, sneaky, and not to mention snazzy," She-Beetle smirked. "Alright, you're stayin' with us! We welcome you to join our team!"
"Ummm, what? Hey wait a second, with them…?!" Prowler asked, referring to the Enforcers with a hint of annoyance in his tone. "No way, heck no. For what reason exactly!?"
"A big mission that could take us to riches, and that is taking down the Big Man," She-Beetle smirked, scaring Prowler from her brief answer.
"Whoa whoa whoa, you're serious!? Are you insane!?" Prowler hysterically retorted, knowing full well how capable the only person entitled as the Big Man—Tombstone—is capable of.
"Well, not like we got anything to lose at this point either way," Ricochet pointed out.
"And if we do succeed in this suicide mission here, we get plen'y of big bucks to spend for the rest of our lives while callin' the shots around the underworld of criminals like us," Shocker adds.
"B-but I—"
"Prowler! There you are!"
Appearing from a hole in the ceiling was Spider-man, who just arrived after following Prowler's faint trail to his location…
"Oh wait, my bad. How rude of me to not appear by the front door, but hey, spiders don't usually use the front doors," Spider-man playfully shrugged before noticing the Enforcers. "Whoa hey, Shocker!? Now isn't this quite a shocking reunion!?"
"Grrgrh!" Shocker growled before the Beetle grabbed his gauntlet, ordering him to stand down.
"What! Beetle!? You again!?" Spider-man cried out before landing beside Prowler. "Ok Prowl, what is going on here?"
"Well what do ya know, look what the bug dragged in?" She-Beetle retorted while holding her chin, startling the Webhead with her presence. "So pleased to actually meet you, Spider-boy!"
"Now who the heck are you supposed to be? Miss Beetle? And for the record, it's Spider-man!" Spider-man responded, confused by the She-Beetle and Prowler being around the group of thugs and mercenaries that bore grudges against him.
"My, you sure catch on quick! Smart guy. You can call me Lady Beetle, if you wish," She-Beetle playfully replied while circling around Spider-man and Prowler in midair with her wings.
"Okay then—Lady Beetle? Tell us: what's going on here? And why'd you lure us in here with these goons?" Spider-man interrogated, referring to the Enforcers and Beetle.
"Hey!" Ricochet barked in response.
"Why of course! How silly of me! Right, I want to invite you and your cool friend to join us for a small mission: and that is "dethroning" the Big Man of Manhattan!" She-Beetle straightforwardly and quickly answered.
"Wait wait wait, this Big Man you're referring to, don't tell me it's this guy named Mr. Lincoln, are you?...!" Spider-man asked for careful clarification.
"Bingo!" She-Beetle winked cutely in response. "So what do you say? You in? Or you—"
"Out. We are out," Spider-man finishes, shocking Prowler beside him and depressing the eager She-Beetle.
"Awww, why Spider-boy? Scared of making a big old white meanie angry?" She-Beetle cutely taunted.
"Nope. Believe me, as much as I wanted to take him down after all the headaches he's given me, I'd rather take him down without working with the same people that he sent out to tear me apart," Spider-man explained. "No offense Prowler. It's just that the last time I worked with foes, the relationship was quite short-lived."
"None taken. I've reformed anyway," Prowler shrugged and waved away.
"Awww, that's too bad, Spidey. You could earn an even bigger score when you do, after all. I promise that everyone gets a share," She-Beetle vowed.
"Thanks, quite tempting, but we'll pass, right bro?" Spider-man replied as he leaned on Prowler's shoulder, who coldly shoved his arm away.
"Sorry bro, but I gotta do this," Prowler replied in a depressing tone.
"What?! Why?!" Spider-man screamed, left confused from his response.
"I have to do this. He's caused lots of pain to people that I cared about. One of the biggest reasons I've taken up this path wearing the mask," Prowler replied before staring at his tightly clenched fist. "I'm going to make him pay for what he's done, even if it means dragging him to the slammer with me…!"
"...Bro, there are many other ways to go with this, but working with these guys shouldn't be our last resort," Spider-man urged.
"...Sorry bro, I've made up my mind," Prowler apologized before pointing his gauntlet at him, preparing to fire knockout gas at him.
"Prowler! No!" Spider-man urged before being slammed from behind by two heavy hammer fists from Ox, instantly knocked down and unconscious flat on the floor.
"Guys! I was gonna do it! Why do you—?!"
"Big boy, it's fine, besides, we didn't kill him, right?" She-Beetle assured
"I reckon that he'll be up in a few minutes or next to an hour or so. Ox knows his thing about control," Shocker assured.
"You better be sure, otherwise, I won't hesitate making you guys sleep after him," Prowler glared at him out of concern for his Webhead friend before facing the Lady Beetle. "So...shall we get going or are we waiting for someone else?"
"Nope, you're who we've been waitin' to recruit! Welcome to the team!" She-Beetle welcomes.
'Perfect, another day working with these guys again,' Prowler sighed to himself before taking a glimpse at the unconscious Spider-man. 'See you, Spidey…'
'Ugh...Hobie...noo…' Spider-man softly groaned as he watched and groggily tried to reach for Prowler, who walked away with the Syndicate before blacking out and dozing off for almost half an hour. 'Sorry...Liz...maybe next time...ugh…'
—
"Ah, Dmitri, so good to see you again, old friend," Tombstone welcomes.
"Whoa there, friends is the last thing I wanna be around you. Now, what is the next job prepared for me?" Chameleon straightforwardly demanded as he entered the premises around the lab near the Big Man's headquarters.
"No job, just giving you a little helpful gift—that can be greatly useful in your—field of expertise," Tombstone smirked, leading him to the desk of Phineas Mason, aka the Tinkerer.
"Long time no see, old friend," Tinkerer deadpanned, tinkering with some sort of device that looks like a watch.
"Well I'll be, never knew that you'd stick around with these shady blokes," Chameleon chuckled.
"Beats working alone," Tinkerer deadpanned before handing the device to Chameleon. "Here, take this."
"Wow, what kinda gizmo did you make this time?" Chameleon wondered in a monotone as he wore the device on his left wrist.
"A hologram-imaging device: this device enables you to pull on any disguise with ease after a single scan of the person you wish to impersonate; the voice, the clothes, everything except their gadgets and powers, that's basically what the device could do," Tinkerer simply explained. "However, it is susceptible to the same weakness as any other tech around like viruses, EMPs, etc."
"Wow, quite the luxurious gift you got me. Dunno what to say except: "nice doin' business with you!"" Chameleon thanked before making his way to the exit. "Anything you blokes need from me, I'm all ears. And my services will be free for once the next time you call—as a thank-you to my loyal clients."
—
In the Big Man's main office, where Norman Osborn sits as its current head and mastermind, he contacts a certain person that appears to have close ties with both Tombstone and Hammerhead…
'Hello? Who's on the line?' Asked the feminine voice over the other end of the line.
"Greetings, my name is Norman, an acquaintance of your thick-skulled friend, Hammerhead," Norman answered.
'Oh? And what is it that you want then? Surely you're not just calling to say hello, so spill it,' the female caller demanded.
"Why yes, I have heard of your profession from him, and I wish to ask for your cooperation in dealing with them," Norman kindly requested.
'Hmmm, I guess I could lend my assistance, only with something equal in return such as…' the voice trailed off.
"Such as what?" Norman kindly asked, waiting for her response.
'Specs. As I recall, you have your own share of advanced tech that can prove to be useful if it were at my disposal. I'm willing to give you my aid, and in exchange, you hand over a portion of your technology or specialized technicians. You have two days to comply,' the voice demanded before ending the call.
"Hmmm, well that was not quite the outcome I wanted. Hmph, I should find another way. There are many ways to go than just one," Norman thought out loud.
—
"You say what?!"
In the middle of one of their after-classes hangout at a nearby cafe, located just a block away from ESU, Peter quickly tells the team the recent events that transpired two days ago in the weekend involving Hobie, aka Prowler, and him tangling with the Enforcers, the Beetle, and a strange new villainess named She-Beetle…
"Call me crazy, but I know what I saw and felt, especially the part where they punched my lights out, again," Peter replied, bummed out and aching from Ox's heavy slam on his back. "Sorry for bailing on our date again, Liz."
"Forget about that date, Pete. I'm more worried about you getting captured or something, especially with the baddies you deal with every other day," Liz pointed out.
"You could have asked us to come along. And didn't you have unfinished assignments from Dr. Connors' lecture?" Gwen added while giving Peter "the look".
"Uh...I–uh, ehehehe," Peter stammered.
"Still, that kinda explains why Hobie's absent recently," Kitty pointed out.
"Now that you mention it, even Janice has been absent lately, but what made it strange was why she never bothered telling us. If it was a secret, she would have at least opened up to us that it is a secret. Right?" Liz briefly explained. "I dunno, Petey, just throwing that out there."
"Well whatever the reason is, Hobie's in trouble, and we gotta find him fast before he hurts himself," Gwen replied. "We can put our theories about Janice on hold. We're not into gossip anyway."
"And hey! While we're at it, we get to take down an evil underground empire, so why not? Am I right?" Johnny playfully suggests.
"Yeah, two birds with one stone!" Peter pointed out. "But then, if we gotta search for him in stakeouts from here on out...hmmm, if Gwen and I cram our assignments in one night, we might be able to go out for the night."
"I can also join you guys! My schedule's free, so I'm in!" Bobby suggests.
"Same here!" Liz adds.
"Hey wait a minute, don't leave me behind! Give me an hour later tonight! It won't take long!" Kitty pouted.
"Awesome! So—huh? What's up, Johnny?" Peter turned around from Johnny tapping on his shoulder.
"Uhh, I'd like to join you guys, but uhm, the workload we got is a bit heavy for me alone to take on. So uh, mind if I get a bit of tutoring? Please dude!" Johnny desperately begged.
"Well–sure, but I got my own stuff to finish too, so let's work that out together," Peter replied, making Johnny rejoice and pump his arm with joy.
"Hey Tiger."
Calling Peter from behind was the cool redhead Mary Jane Watson, followed by Sha Shan, Jonathan Powers, Randy, and Sally cuddling onto his arm.
"Oh hey MJ! What's up?" Peter responded.
"Nothing big, just came here to chill too. Nice bumping into you guys chillin' here, am I right?" Mary Jane smirked, catching Peter off-guard when she leaned onto the banquette he's sitting on and getting him flustered in response, inciting jealousy from the three girls on their table.
"Uh yeah! Yeah! Right, chilling! Ow!" Peter stammered, before feeling a kick to his shin from quite possibly Liz, who stares out of the window with a lax look. "Hey um, where's Glory?"
"She got something in her hands just now. She's missing a lot on our hangout," Mary Jane quickly replied.
"Hey Randy! What's shakin' man?" Bobby greeted with a fist bump.
"So far, I'm enjoyin' the college like you do," Randy coolly responded before noticing the cold stare his girlfriend gave towards her supposedly best friend since childhood. "What's up, Sal?"
"Nothin' Rand. Just nothin'," Sally shrugged, turning her gaze away from Liz, making her subtly hide her face downcast.
"Yo, you may not know me, but the name's Jonathan, Jonathan Powers," Jonathan quickly introduced himself to Peter and the gang, exuding an aura of contempt towards Peter.
"Oh hey! The name's Peter, Peter Parker! Pleased to meet you!" Peter responded.
"Parker? Hey wait, are you the photographer who takes shots of Spider-man in action?" Jonathan probed.
"Yup! That's me!" Peter confidently replied.
"Sounds neat for a job, isn't it? Being a bug crawling around a spider? Quite dangerous though if I were in your shoes," Jonathan callously commented, making the atmosphere between them a bit tense before the cool redhead broke the tension.
"Anyways, we'll leave you guys here. Sorry to intrude and disturb your company. See you later!" Mary Jane bade before she and the others found their seats elsewhere in the cafe.
"Oookay, that was kinda harsh," Peter deadpanned.
"That was more than harsh, Pete. It is what you "usually" do after all to help make ends meet," Gwen pointed out, with Liz nodding in agreement as they both know full well about Peter's circumstances.
"Nah nevermind that. Different people and different things happen. Can't be helped. It's cool," Peter assured, even though he felt cornered from Jonathan sounding confrontational towards him.
"Dude, he shames all Jonathans everywhere! I ain't like that! Maybe…?" Johnny rambled from Jonathan's interaction, making everyone at their table laugh in response.
"Thanks man, but like I said, it's cool," Peter assured.
—
In a secret hideout just blocks away from the Big Man's headquarters where the newly formed Syndicate holed up as their temporary, they're preparing themselves for the battle that will commence tonight...
"Hey um, Lady Beetle?" Prowler nervously called out to their female ringleader, viewing the eerie building of the Big Man's base of operations.
"Hm? Oh Prowler hi! Anything you need, big boy?" She-Beetle excitedly asked.
"Uh, not really much, but I'm just wondering about…" Prowler trailed off, making the She-Beetle curious.
"Yeah?" She-Beetle asked.
"I'm just...wondering about the exact reason why we're doing this mission again? I got my reasons, but I'm curious about yours," Prowler replied.
"...Initially, I once had a reasonable ambition like yours that drove me to prepare for that day," She-Beetle confessed. "But now, it's not enough to just stop him! Why bother beating him and playing goodie-two-shoes when you could become more and better than him, right?! Yes, I'm going to show him!"
"But why? At what cost anyway?" Prowler asked again, noticing her clench her fist in frustration and annoyance.
"...Next time...I'll tell you…" She-Beetle hissed, making Prowler leave her alone in a discreet manner.
'Crud, maybe I should've asked for advice on girl talk, more importantly, villainess talk,' Prowler mumbled with his masked face downcast.
"Stepped on a landmine, eh kid?"
Catching his attention was his rivalling mercenary partner Shocker, jeering at him while sitting on some foldable recliner…
"You could say that," Prowler replied, making Shocker chuckle in response.
"Don't push it, kid. Women are much more complicated than games, crime-fighting or my line of work. Believe that," Shocker shrugged.
"I'm believing that already," Prowler sighed.
"Excuse me, sorry to spoil the merry mood, but now is the time to arm yourselves. It is almost dusk now," Beetle ordered, reminding and conditioning them for their small-scale attack against the Big Man of Manhattan.
"Right right, time to gear up," Prowler thought out loud.
"Hold up, you on the other hand, you should come with me," Beetle ordered Prowler as he led him down to his little workshop, where he kept his prototype projects and armed equipment.
At the left corner of his workshop was a winged-suit that's patterned with black and violet colors, armed with mounted concussive and plasma blasters, along with a visored mask that has two antennae-like protrusions on the ear sides.
"That noisy miss told me to suit you up. It has almost the same capabilities as mine does, except it being lighter than my armor, just in case I need to dispose of you if you try anything funny, got it?" Beetle hissed and glared at Prowler. "The suit can augment your physical capabilities about three to four times of yours, but don't stress it out."
"Oh I'll take care of it alright," Prowler smiled with excitement, beaming at the new suit he gets to try.
—
Later that night, on the rooftops of an apartment building that's found three blocks away from the ESU Laboratory, Ghost Spider arrives first with Shadowcat at the rendezvous point, followed by Screwball and then the two elemental players in their team: Iceman and the Human Torch. However, their leader Spider-man is still absent at the moment
"What's taking Spidey so long?" Screwball wondered.
"He said he's gonna be "fashionably late", as he usually is. Although it sounded like he was serious from the way told me," Shadowcat shrugged.
"If he doesn't make it here in five minutes I'll boil him," Human Torch jokes.
"Incoming!" Ghost Spider warned from spotting a shiny object falling from the night sky.
It then landed on the rooftop so hard that it created a small crater around it. However, what they saw was not just any object, but Spider-man, wearing shiny pieces of silver-colored armor over cloth that's made of robust spandex or possibly carbon fibre.
"Whoa hang on—Spidey?! Is that you?!" Ghost Spider cried out of astonishment and surprise.
"Cladded in metal!" Spider-man quipped, showing off his new armored suit. "I call this one—the Spider Armor! Made it myself—pretty cool or what?!"
"Oh my gosh! Now this is a sick suit!" Shadowcat geeked out as she stroked and knocked on his armored chest, making Spider-man blush underneath his mask in response and making the two other heroines jealous. "Now this is an acceptable excuse for being "fashionably late". Am I right?"
"Oh heck yeah! With this, I can take harder hits than usual. Now then, it's time we go and get our friend back!" Spider-man rallies then assembles the team and leads them while swinging to the direction of their destination: the Big Man's headquarters.
—
At the abandoned factory where the Big Man tested his shady tech for mercenaries and other experiments, the Syndicate made their first move by breaking into the factory to avoid being conspicuous or seen by security…
"...alright, coast is clear," Beetle warned after cutting a huge hole from the floor with his gauntlet-mounted laser-lined shortsword after travelling down the sewers, helping Ox up, followed by Shocker and Ricochet.
"Ahhh...whoah, deja vu," She-Beetle muttered while flying around the old factory. "Man, to think this place was recycled for something else, very clever…!"
"Hey! I hate to break it to you, but do you even know your way around here?"
Flying out of the sewer hole with bright yellow wings in black and purple colored armor with a visored helmet was Prowler, wearing the suit that was made by Beetle as requested by the Lady Beetle.
"Not bad an upgrade, kid," Shocker huffed.
"I told you I'm no kid. I'm uh...Prowler? No—ah! Hornet, call me the Hornet," Prowler, now renaming himself as the Hornet, corrected.
"The suit "suits" you big boy, me likey!" She-Beetle playfully complimented.
"Awright awright, break it up you two. Don't we got a criminal empire to crash?" Ricochet recalls.
"Right! C'mon, we still got the element of surprise," She-Beetle urges.
However, in the absence of surveillance cameras, one of Mysterio's small robotic imps caught them right in the act before flying away to report back to him.
As they all enter into a passage that connects the headquarters to the factory, they are vigilant and estranged by the fact that security seems oddly minimal with no henchmen patrolling and guarding the premises…
"I don't like this, boys. It's too quiet," Shocker pointed out as he charged up his gauntlets.
"Yeah, I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Hornet agrees as he looks around the place.
"Huh? Hey—whoa?!" Ricochet screamed as a metal clawed appendage traps him to the wall.
"Dan!" Shocker barked before noticing several other arms appearing around the walls and manages to blast some of them into shrapnel until he was smacked and incapacitated to the floor.
"Shocker!" Hornet yelled before activating his wings and carrying Ox by his arms, followed by Beetle and She-Beetle as they flew their way out of the rigged passage, leaving their two downed members.
Now, as the Syndicate's three fliers and tank quickly made it out in one piece, they were greeted by an unwelcoming committee consisting of Mysterio, Tombstone, and the Tinkerer, waiting for them…
"Ohh boy," Hornet muttered before putting Ox down on his feet.
"Fools! Now you shall face the might of the great Mysterio!" Mysterio dramatically urges with holographic mystical circles forming over his hands.
"You made a big mistake, thinking you could get in this place unnoticed," Tombstone commented as he cracked his hands for combat.
"Well what do you know?! Just the guy we wanna punch!" She-Beetle exclaimed, making Beetle and Hornet facepalm in embarrassment. "Let's take 'em down, boys!"
With that, a showdown immediately takes place, but before the battle could even prolong, it is almost swiftly over after Tombstone manages to knock down Ox while Mysterio and the Tinkerer shoot down the Beetle. The three villains intimidatingly corner both Hornet and She-Beetle to the wall…
"Any last words, little flies?" Tombstone smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
"Don't you hurt her!" Hornet roars as he tries to land a punch on Tombstone, who dodges his line of flight and then grabs him by the leg before slamming him to the ground. "Ughugh!"
"Hornet!" She-Beetle screamed before following with plasma shots at Tombstone, only to be grabbed by the neck and then pinned down beside Hornet.
"I'm…sorry…" Hornet groaned, with She-Beetle trying to reach for his hand.
"Excellent work, gentlemen!"
Suddenly, entering the room with an aura of arrogance and cunning was the supposedly deceased Norman Osborn, walking to meet the brave apprehended intruders…
'No way,' Hornet looks over in shock.
'Didn't he explode?!' She-Beetle thought with eyes wide open.
"They're nothing but small fry," Tombstone assured.
"Well then, you know what we do to intruders. I believe you all remember?" Norman asks.
"Yes, my liege. Allow us to escort our prisoners downstairs," Mysterio offers as he summons his robotic imps.
'Sorry bro, I'm gone,' Hornet thought to himself.
However, just when all hope was lost, coming into the scene from the glass ceiling was a silver-armored Spider-man and his teammates Shadowcat, Screwball, Ghost Spider, Human Torch, and Iceman. They stood in between Norman and the apprehended members of the Syndicate…
"Ey Norman! Long time no see! What's shakin?!" Spider-man quipped while pointing his web shooters at him and Tombstone. "Hello Tomby, how's your skin?"
"Spider-man!" Both Norman and Tombstone glared at him.
"Spidey?!" Hornet cried out in surprise.
"Bro! Why didn't you invite us to your party?!" Spider-man quipped as he webs up Mysterio's bubble helmet, giving Shadowcat the chance to phase through him and fry his tech.
"Ugh! Not now!" Mysterio groaned before being slammed to the ground by Human Torch and then tied up by Screwball.
"Oh no!" Tinkerer whimpered after trying to aim his stun ray at Iceman, who reflected the beam back to him with an ice wall and got stunned to the ground by his own beam.
"Alright Tomby, I'm ready for round three!" Spider-man quipped as he landed strong punches to his face thanks to his new metallic knuckle dusters on his gloves.
"Grrrgh!" Tombstone then retaliates with punches to his face and gut, followed by an elbow pounded onto his back, but having little effect on him because of the new armor.
"Ogh man, that still kinda hurts," Spider-man groaned before sweeping Tombstone off his feet with a strong kick and wrapping him quickly in webbing. "Iceman!"
Responding to Spidey's call, Iceman immediately encases the trapped Tombstone in ice and turns him into a human popsicle after freezing both Mysterio and Tinkerer as well.
"Nice work team!" Spider-man yelled.
"Now, let's get them ready for the police to take them away," Ghost Spider suggested while binding all the villains into one bundle.
"Hey wait, we're missing someone: where's Norman?" Spider-man noticed.
"Probably ditched his own men," Human Torch replied. "I checked the facility. He's nowhere to be found."
"Dangit, awwell nevermind, at least we got Tomby down. But as for you…" Spider-man turns to She-Beetle, Beetle, and Ox. "You might wanna explain yourself first, so let's chat, arachnids to insects."
"Well, you sure did all the work for us, so thanks a bunch!" She-Beetle thanked and stretched her arms before telling Ox to stand down.
"Okay…but what is your deal with Tomby anyway?" Spider-man asked.
"Because…I'm his illegitimate daughter," She-Beetle answered, as her mask retracted into her suit, revealing her identity to be Janice, their new friend in ESU. "I am a Lincoln, Janice Lincoln, to be exact. Quite the shocker right? How can a gal like me be related to that Whitehead? That's what you're thinking, right?"
"Uh huh, I see," Spider-man still doubted. "What other reason do you have for doing this? Surely not trying to say hi to daddy, right?"
"On contraire, I plan to take his place as the new Big Man, the Big Lady of Manhattan!" Janice laughed before putting her mask back on and charging her blasters. "You know, you could actually work with me or for me, right?"
"Mm yeah," Spider-man shrugged before standing beside his team. "But you gotta talk with "all of us" first."
"Sad," She-Beetle sighed before shooting plasma shots at Spider-man, who responded by shielding with a web shield, but ended up blasting Hornet who got in between them.
"Gaagh!" Hornet cried from the searing pain before falling on his knees, shocking Spider-man, his team, and She-Beetle in the process.
"Prowler! No!" Spider-man runs over to Hornet. "Dude! What were you thinking?! You could've—"
"I'm fine! Urgh hssssh—I'm fine," Hornet panted, enduring the pain.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry, I—"
"No, it's fine, I made that choice—to stop you and my friend from beating up each other," Hornet assured. "You're better than this, Janice. You don't have to do this."
"Why?! How?! You're not the boss of me! You don't even know me!" She-Beetle screamed angrily.
"Yes…you do," Hornet differed as he removed his visored helmet and then removed his Prowler mask, revealing his identity as Hobie Brown, her savior.
"No…no! What?!" She-Beetle couldn't believe it, retracting her mask out of shock and surprise. "H-Hobie…? Is it really…?"
"Yeah, it's me, telling you that you're better than this. Although, this kinda showed me a cooler side of yours," Hobie nervously commented.
"B-b-but, I…I—"
"Janice, for what it's worth, I really don't want to put you in jail," Hobie sternly answered before putting on the mask and the helmet. "And see you in jail."
At that moment, loud police sirens were heard from outside the abandoned factory, answering Ghost Spider's call that was made long ago. There, police officers enter the scene apprehending Shocker and Ricochet that were still stuck before meeting with the heroes and the incapacitated villians inside the passage…
"Wow, another job well done. I'd give another extra points for your second attempt in putting Mr. Lincoln down," George Stacy applauded before noticing She-Beetle. "Lemme guess, a new friend?"
"Uhhh…" Hornet trailed off.
"Yeah, she is the reason we were able to take down Tomby," Spider-man defended, shocking everyone except Captain Stacy in the room.
"Really? And who are you supposed to be?" George wondered.
"I…am his illegitimate daughter," She-Beetle reluctantly replied.
"Is that so? Quite strange, I must say. Do you have any idea what your father's been doing all this time then?" George probed further.
"Yes, I have. His activities, some of his secrets, I can tell you a lot," She-Beetle offered. "But in exchange, I would like the media to know that I will be taking over his company. However, I promise that under my management, I will cut all shady ties and make it a better company that everyone can look up to, not like how my father would've made it."
Almost leading to a misunderstanding from the first half of her speech, Spidey listened in awe at the sudden change of heart—possibly because of Hobie's persuasion, which also brought him and the others relief as they wouldn't need to fight another friend.
"Hmmm, a wise negotiation, I'll try to find a lawyer that would delight in your vision and help you take control over the company. In the meantime, we will further investigate this place for anything that won't ever fall into the wrong hands," George assured. "You fighters can rest easy now and let us take over from here on out."
"Roger that," Spider-man playfully saluted, leaving the arresting and investigating to Captain Stacy and his team.
—
Few days later passed, and the news of Tombstone's trial resulted in a life-sentence in jail. The evidence that justified the verdict was carefully handled and well-explained from the witness Janice Lincoln, and her appointed lawyer, Matt Murdock. The news spread like wildfire across all of Manhattan and New York as to how a notorious crime-lord was finally brought to justice, thanks to the spectacular Spider-man and his unlikely allies.
—
In a certain building in Chinatown located somewhere in Manhattan…
"Hahahaha! Yes! Finally! The moment to shine is near! With the dragon gone, the tiger shall rise!" Exclaimed a young Chinese businessman while reading the news on his tablet. "Am I right, Hammerhead my friend?"
"…Yes, Mr. Martin. Ah–I mean, boss," Hammerhead nervously replied, cowering before his new boss that bailed him out of jail.
"Yess, yess, soon, I will make my move, but not yet until I get what I've wanted," the man named Martin, thought to himself out loud before looking at a small portrait of Dr. Ashley Kafka.
—
"Milady, did you hear? The Big Man's gone now. Arrested in the slammer," says one of the technicians under Silver Sable's command.
"Yes, I have heard that story already. Pretty good, but not that interesting—although I suppose it opens a window of opportunity…" Silver Sable thought out loud to herself before looking over one of their surveillance drones' recorded videos showing the whole battle. "But right now, what I am interested in is that little man in purple spandex. Seemed like he could be quite the fighter against that annoying Webhead."
"Wait, are you serious about recruiting him into your own team? Milady, please think twice about—"
"Shouldn't I be saying that to you? After all, you were the one who created a dumb shady advertisement to guise our chance in recruiting people. Who accepted? Only a mentally unstable university student," Silver Sable hissed.
"B-b-but I—"
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Silver Sable growled, with her hand tapping on her favorite rifle to silence him into submission. "Good grief, if only I got better people in my ranks, my father would be jail-free by now…"
—To be continued
A/N:
Whoohoo! Finally I finished this one!
Thanks for sticking around till now everyone!
Sorry about the long wait, 'cause I got busy and preoccupied lately and also dealt with mental blocks and a bit of laziness.
I'll try to update faster with longer chapters though.
Take care and God bless!
