Morning crept on the two lovers on the terrace. Noah looked down his shoulder to see Emma snuggled comfortably under her husband's shoulder.
Honking car horns started rustling him out of his sleepy state of mind and took a whiff of the urban-infested air. Noah smiled and scooped Emma up in his arms like the princess he treats her as.
"I promise I'll bring our kids home," Noah told Emma, still asleep, as she laid her on the bed.
Noah pulled the blanket over his woman and kissed her forehead.
Noah walked out into the kitchen to brew some coffee, and laid out some breakfast. As Noah waited for the coffee to finally brew his phone vibrated. Putting down the two mugs for him and Emma he picked up at his phone and looked at the caller ID, Angie.
"Hello, Angie" Noah greeted to her.
"Hey Noah, It's Angie."
"Angie, hey, what's happening?" Noah greeted Angie, she's known her since she was five years old.
"I've been hearing rumors that Arachnid's been seen. Have you heard anything?" Angie asked.
"...No Angie, I've not." Noah lied, knowing full well he's back.
"Okay, but he's back! I know it." Angie sounded excited.
"How's your schoolwork coming along?" Noah asked.
"It's been a struggle, but I'm making progress." Angie explained on the other line, "How is it that you and Peter are so smart but It's really hard for me to learn this crap."
"Me and Peter were the same as you, we made it one day of progress at a time." Noah smiled as he poured some coffee for Emma, and him, "You'll make it, Angie. You may not see it yet, but I do."
"You serious?" Angie asked not seeing it in herself yet.
"Absolutely." Noah was certain in his words. Being a good tutor for her has been good practice on being a father figure for her and the twins.
"How's Emma? Any news on the twins?" Angie asked.
"Not much more than what we already know from last time." Noah's tone changed rather quickly at the mention of the twins.
"Okay, lemme know when you hear anything. I have some schoolwork to finish, if anything focusing on all this has been a good distraction from the news." Angie admitted which he had to admit wasn't the worst kind of distraction he'd hear from her.
"Don't worry Angie, you'll be the first to know. The twins will have a good older sister to look up to I'll call you later, bye." Noah smiled, then hung up the phone.
Just then Noah heard groaning, he turned around to see Emma coming out of the bedroom with tired eyes.
"Who was that?" Emma asked.
"Angie." Noah answered and slid her a mug, "Umm… I made Coffee." Noah said pointing to Emma's mug.
Emma looked at the mug for a moment then said. "Thanks, but do me a favor and pour some of your whiskey in it."
"As much as I would, but I just found out, Angie has been distracting herself with her own schoolwork. I'm sure for this morning we can find a better distraction." Noah gave Emma her mug.
"Your lucky Angie knows how to cheer me up." Emma replied reluctantly taking the mug without whiskey.
"So what's on the schedule for today?" Emma asked.
"Well I'm going start looking into some favors on what we can do for the hospital bills that are stacking up. Of course with the fortune Noah has amassed with his jobs as the Arachnid money is most certainly not an issue.
"Alright, well Mr. Li needs me to run a few errands for the FEAST shelter in Hell's Kitchen."
After a moment of silence between the couple, he chuckled a little.
"Hey do you remember when I proposed to you?" Noah asked.
The memory of that made Emma chuckle a bit. "How could I forget your proposal was sweet… but a fuckin' disaster."
"Hey that's what made it so unique that day, how often does a woman say yes to a proposal that fumbled that bad?" Noah's response actually made Emma chuckle, Noah's explanation brought back memories.
"I don't even know why I said yes. It just felt right to." Emma smiled as she took a sip of her coffee then looked at Noah smiling. "You know I've been fiddling with your tech, trying to increase my skills it's better than sitting around."
"Really?" Noah was curious, "Reminds me when we were working on that prototype engine in High School and you kept getting shocked. That was funny."
Noah chuckled which resulted in getting a thump on his head from his wife.
"That isn't funny!" Emma scoffed, which made Noah laugh louder.
"You kidding, it was hilarious." Noah choked on his coffee.
"Well I'm not laughing." Emma said as she pouted with hint of heat in her cheeks.
"Yah, well any way I need to get going. We're having our test volunteer over to test his prosthetic." Noah finished his coffee, and went to gather his things.
"How long will you be gone today?" Emma asked.
"I'll probably be home by tonight. I have some things I need to get done." Noah answered, "What about you?"
"Probably for most of the day as well. Gonna go see the kids if I have time. Even if they're not in a good place, I can't just leave them to the hospital without their mother." Emma smiled a little, a bit of the hurt feels gone.
"Okay, give them a kiss from their father." Noah asked, and walked over to give her a soft peck on the cheek. Noah then exited the apartment, leaving Emma alone.
At the FEAST shelter, Peter arrived to meet with Martin Li.
Opening his door to knock on the other side to get Martin's attention.
"Peter! What can I do for you?" Martin quickly put away his journal.
"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Li, I have a friend, Mary Jane, she's a reporter. She's doing a story about art imports, and she found this piece, and she wanted an expert opinion on it, and I know you have a degree-"
"And this might be the first time I actually get to use it. Let's see what you have." Martin said, waiting patiently for what Peter wanted to show him.
Peter showed Martin the mask he recovered from one of the thugs from the Auction house.
"Interesting, where'd she find it?" Martin asked.
"Um, I'm really not sure. Why, what is it?" Peter asked.
"A replica of an antique Chinese opera mask. I haven't seen one in years." Martin turned the mask over to find a symbol.
"This symbol here roughly translates to "Demon"." Martin explained to hm.
"Demon?" Peter noticed Martin's eyes rapidly blinking.
"My father read me ghost stories with that mask and symbol in it when I was young. Scared the hell out of me." Martin returned the mask, "Peter, listen. That mask, it's… It could be connected to dangerous people. Mary Jane might want to find a different story." Martin advised.
"You think she's in trouble?" Peter asked.
"I don't know… Why take the risk?"
Peter exited Li's office, but before he could address his news with MJ, he found Angie listening in on Jonah's upcoming Podcast and was interested in what he was talking about.
"Hey Angie, what's Jonah have to say now?" Peter asked.
"I don't know it's just starting." Angie put the podcast on speaker.
"Folks, this is J. Jonah Jameson with Just the Facts, alerting the fine citizens of New York City to the threats they don't even realize. One of which is the menace Spider-Man, but the one, in particular, the notorious Arachnid, is a new low of a Menace. With me, today is an upcoming caller who claims to have theories that link the Arachnid and maybe Spider-Man to a spider-like creature in Greek Mythology. Hello, you're on the line with J. Jonah Jameson."
"I can't believe you fell for it, Jonah. For a man who has nothing but facts, you sure are obsessed with any idea about Spider-Man and I, the Arachnid. I've been retired for the past few months, but now I'm back, and I must say it's great to be back in the city I love."
"A-ARACHNID!? WHAT! What kind of trick are you playing at? What makes you think the authorities won't find you after this broadcast!"
"Oh please this broadcast is gonna rack up ratings out the roof, and you know it. Besides if Spider-Man can't catch me, what makes you think the cops will?"
"WHY YOU! ERRRGH!"
"Maybe you should have Jared plug in your book now, Spider-Man: Threat or Menace. Just a heads up, I gave it a ten out of ten. It was an okay book. The dogs loved using it for their spot to use the bathroom."
"JARED, CUT THE FEED!"
"See you next time Jonah! WOO!"
Angie was ecstatic to hear Jonah's broadcast. She looked up at Peter with super big excited eyes, "Peter! Peter!" Angie jumped in excitement.
"Angie." Peter calmed.
"Arachnid, he's back!" Angie was so happy jumping in place, she could barely hold in her excitement.
"Yeah. He is." Peter tried to mask his disdain.
"The Hero Arachnid is back! I'm so happy!" Angie cheers like a K-pop fangirl.
"Hey, Angie, calm down. You know, for a fifteen-year-old, you have a lot of energy." Peter tried to keep the energetic teenager down.
"I'm sorry… I just wish people could see the Arachnid I met. Deep down, he is a good person." Angie sighed in defeat.
After the last time Peter saw the Arachnid, he had the chance to kill him, but he could sense he didn't have it in him. Maybe she's right.
"You know Angie when you told me that the Arachnid brought you here and that he was a good man, I was… After some thinking, I think you might be right. He's not perfect, but there's a good man under that mask." Angie's face lit up like a light bulb. She convinced someone that Arachnid isn't all bad. The best part is that someone was also Spider-Man. She charged at Peter in a tight hug, "Thank you, Peter!"
Leaving the Shelter, Peter called MJ as he made his way outside the FEAST Shelter, "Hey. The symbol inside the mask means "Demon." It really spooked Mr. Li. Never seen him like that. He even said you should drop the story."
"Fat chance. Do you think Mr. Li knows more than he's letting on?" MJ asked.
"No, I think he just had some weird flashback or something. I know his childhood was pretty traumatic." Peter explained.
"Yeah, make sense. Demon's, huh? Catchy name. Okay, gotta get writing. See you soon." MJ hung up the phone on her end.
"Well, that went well as I would've hoped," Peter said to himself. As he was putting on his Advanced Spider suit then zipping over across Chinatown.
"I better get to Otto's. Noah should already be there."
Peter began calling Noah, while webbing his way to Otto's lab, "Hey Peter? What's up?"
"Nothing, you at the lab? I'm heading my way there now." Peter asked while passing Madison Square Garden.
"Yeah, Otto and I are preparing for the fitting with Corporal Texidor. Where are you?" Noah asked.
"I'm on my way now." Spider-Man zipped over as fast as he could.
Over at Otto's lab, Peter arrived just in time to see Otto and Noah help Texidor use his new prosthetic arm.
"How does it work?" Texidor asked.
"Just like a real arm." Noah explained. "Go ahead try it out."
"You think of what you want to do with it and…" Otto explained.
Texidor let go of his prosthetic and used his new arm to pick up the plastic cup slowly. Starting with opening his fingers, he reached for the cup with success.
Noah and Peter were ecstatic to the results of their work. Otto shared the same excitement until he saw some people enter the lab out of the blue with the grant director.
"Hey! Hey! Wh-what do you think you're doing?" Peter asked, approaching the City Worker.
"This site's been declared a safety hazard." the woman gave Peter the papers. Noah walked over and looked at the paper they gave Peter while one of the workers took a duffle bag of equipment.
"Stop that now! This is highly sensitive equipment. That's it I'm calling the mayor's office directly." Otto was about to pull out his phone when the man of the hour showed up.
"Peter Parker! Noah Monroe!" Norman greeted his son's two lifelong friends, "How the hell are you two."
"Speak of the Devil." Otto spat.
"Hello, Mayor." Noah greeted plainly to repress his memories.
"Mr. Osborn." Peter greeted the mayor as he patted both Peter and Noah's shoulders
"Boy's, please. How long have we known each other? It's Mr. Mayor." Norman laughed at his combination of how Peter and Noah called him, "For you two, it's Norman. Norman!"
"Norman, what do you think you're doing?" Otto asked.
"The grant agreement you signed has strict safety provisions. This isn't your first violation." Norman addressed.
"Those were excused." Otto fired back.
"By me. We should've confiscated this equipment long ago." Norman sealed the final hit.
"But- but I've had a breakthrough." Otto presented lance corporal's progress with their prosthetic.
Norman walked over to the veteran and shook his good hand.
"Thank you for your great service to our country. These folks will escort you to Oscorp Robotics, where you'll receive the latest in prosthetics, no charge." Norman patted his back and sent the soldier to his assistant.
"This isn't about safety infractions is it?" Otto realized.
"I'm trying to help you, Otto. You're free to continue your work in a secure environment."
"At Oscorp." Otto replied bitterly.
"You always were the smartest guy in the room." Norman complimented.
"You haven't changed a bit." Otto said with much venom hidden underneath his tone.
"Neither have you." Norman argued.
"Hey Peter, Noah." Norman turned to the two kids, "Harry will be coming back from Europe early next year. Maybe the three of you can start that business you always talked about. The three of you together can change the world…"
"Overnight." Peter answered.
"This is opportunity knocking." Norman left the room, giving his assistant the signal to finish up.
"Easy, easy." Peter helped Otto to his seat, "They didn't take everything. Maybe we can start over."
"Peter, there's no we. Without the grant from the city, I can no longer pay either of you. I need some time to think." Otto saw Noah approach the two.
"If I were both of you. I'd look for a new job." Otto gave them a hard truth to swallow.
Peter left the lab, leaving Noah and Otto alone, "I'm sorry Otto, I should get my things. I'll leave you my research if you get back on your feet, but… I don't think I can stay. I have kids in the line."
Otto stood from his seat, "I understand, if I were in your place I'd do the same."
"Thanks." Noah was about to pack his things until he heard Otto begin a recording, "Peter, Noah… Oh Peter, Noah. Don't even know why I'm bothering to record this. Norman has neutered us, and soon the lab will be out of funds. We were on the verge of such great things" Noah didn't dare step out yet, "If we had just a bit more time and money, I know all the ideas in our heads would have come pouring… Wait… Ideas in our heads, my God, Peter, Noah that's it!"
A sudden spark of inspiration erupted from his mind, and even Noah can feel it.
"Noah, call Peter, and let him know not find another job yet. We just might be able to still do this." Otto called as he raced to remove his coat.
"Where're you going?" Noah asked.
"To the bank and get a loan, and I'm gonna call some favors from ESU and MIT, and I'll even pull some strings to have them help your kids."
"Really?" Noah was surprised.
"Noah," Otto walked over to him, "Do you trust me?"
Noah looked over his shoulder, "Well I trust you more than Norman."
"That's the spirit, let's get going." Otto patted Noah's shoulder, and they went their separate ways.
After some time to process what Norman offered, Peter left to go out in the city. Soon after, Noah left the lab and switched out to his Arachnid suit he kept stashed under the neon sign.
"Hey Pete." Noah called.
"Noah I am so sorry for what happened. I got you that job, now we're both out of work."
"No, Pete. I figured something like this would happen. Don't worry I have back-up plans underway. To be honest, Pete, Emma's parents, warned me this would happen. They said in just one month Otto would be history. Look I'm okay, right now I need to blow off some steam. I'm gonna go check one of Harry's research stations in Harlem."
"Oh really? There's one nearby, I'm gonna look into that one too. Remember the code Harry gave us?"
"Don't worry, I remember. Also just after you left, Otto may have found a way to save our jobs. He'll keep us updated." Noah assured as he webbed his way to Harlem.
"That's actually good to hear, Noah. That was fast." Peter was relieved to hear that.
"You have no idea, I'll cya later." Noah hung up the phone.
The trip from Chinatown to uptown Harlem was a slight hassle, but that's no problem when it just made it all the more thrilling.
Making it to the research station on the rooftops, Arachnid typed in the code, Harry gave him and Peter.
"Harry left me and Peter a message the day he left for Europe," Noah said to himself.
"Hey Noah, Peter my mom's pet project was research stations that could benefit the public. I launched 'em, but now that I'm… away... Oscrop's gonna shut them down unless they prove their value. I was hoping you guys could watch'em? I left details in each one. Thanks, brothers, as long as they're here, It's like a part of my mom is to." Harry's message closed.
"Only for you, Harry." Arachnid said to himself.
"This station may be safe, 'cause it's testing an oscorp military application. Cloaking tech, but I don't love using armed drones to test it. Someone might get hurt." Harry's message went off as Arachnid went over the notes.
"Child's play, Harry. I think you just gave me the perfect distraction. Love you Harry, can't wait to see you again." Arachnid went over the final parts in the station's notes, "Oh man, Oscorp this is some sloppy cloaking specs. Maybe I should leave some notes of my own… Fuck that!" Arachnid laughed off the idea.
"Wait, the drones are malfunctioning, I can't get them to self-destruct from here. My own cloaking tech can help me get close. I'll even download the data while I'm near, only for Harry." Arachnid ran over to the nearest drone invisible and got the first drone to explode.
"Kaboom!"
Arachnid webbed to the next drone down the block in the alley. Taking a dive down to the drone, Arachnid destroyed the drone.
"Death from above!"
Another drone was hovering near the Harlem subway station, "Oh boy gotta be careful here." Arachnid said to himself. Arachnid zipped to the roof and caught the drone over the people.
"Tick tick boom motherfuckers." Arachnid said.
The rest of the drones seem to be hovering all around Oscorp Industries refineries.
"Kinda wish I could cause some collateral damage while I'm here with these drones, as much as I love that idea, I'm not that desperate." Arachnid remained cloaked and sweeped for the remaining drones.
A few drones were hovering over the smoke stack silos.
"This is too easy!" Arachnid pointed his fingers like a gun at the next drone as it exploded. Diving down to the lower drones. Arachnid webbed back several stories swinging to fetch the rest of the drones below. All that was left was the data stored in each one.
"I swear the cloaking in that station was amateur, but the data stored should be worth keeping the station going. Thanks for the distraction Harry. Now to get my grub on. I could use a hot dog." Arachnid said to himself.
Spider-Man took some time to finish fixing all the NYPD surveillance towers.
Would you look at that, the surveillance towers are up." Yuri was impressed.
"I'm not just some pretty boy in a mask."
"Yeah sure fi- hang I'm getting some interference..."
"It would seem we have not been introduced, Captain Watanabe. Spider-Cop never mentioned me..." Arachnid broke into the call.
"Ugh Spider-Man is that who I think it is?"
"Unfortunately Yuri, no. You are in the presence of a part man, part spider, all thief. The roguishly handsome spider of crime. The Arachno-Thief." Arachnid called himself.
"Oh God, what is happening?" Yuri is shocked.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I don't understand. How're you getting this signal, Arachnid?"
"Thanks to Spider-Cop's tireless efforts of reconnecting and piggybacking the surveillance towers. The Arachno-Thief has received full access to NYPD's communications. Right under Spider-Cop's radar. Like any professional, the Arachno-thief is always one step ahead of Spider-Cop."
"This is my Hell," Yuri called.
"Yuri, I'm sorry, I don't know how he-"
"And Spider-Cop is too proud to admit it but he is an immovable object, and the Arachno-Thief is an unstoppable force. Spider-Cop lives for the chase just as much as the Arachno-Thief."
"Okay, I've had enough." Captain Watanabe walked away. After a moment of silence, it seemed to be just the two of them.
"Spider-Cop will never stop hunting his prize of the Arachno-Thief behind bars." Spider-Man narrated.
"And the Arachno-Thief wouldn't have their next meeting any other way."
"I swear you two are just children." Yuri hung up the phone as well as Arachnid.
Still, in Harlem, Arachnid noticed a hot dog stand. The line wasn't too crowded. Then again, since when did that stop him? Zipping his way to cut to the front of the line. The crowd was not pleased, obviously, "Hey Spider-Freak, no cu-" the man behind the Arachnid froze in place as he turned around to see it wasn't Spider-Man.
"Seriously? I'm wearing black, do I look like Spider-Man? Every damn time." Arachnid turned back to the cook, "Anyway, I'll take two hot dogs with two packs of ketchup and mustard." Arachnid looked back at the line as he was about to pay the man. The line wasn't too busy, but the mood could be brighter.
"Here you go, Arachnid." The cook gave him his order, and as Arachnid was about to pay with a single hundred dollar bill, he gave him another, "Everyone, your first Hot dogs are on me!"
The crowd gave light cheers, murmuring that this guy was a villain, and yet he bought them their hot dogs.
"Cya guys!" Arachnid zipped back in the air, and just before he left, someone yelled at him, "Fuck you, Arachnid!"
"Love you too!" Arachnid sarcastically replied.
Swinging to the nearby rooftop, it looks like he landed on what remained of a drug deal. All the people are beaten pretty badly.
"Drug deal? That takes me back!" Arachnid taking a bite of his first hotdog with ketchup.
Watching the city below him never gets old. Finishing his first hot dog he splattered mustard on his next.
Ready to eat his last hot dog his senses went off knowing someone was nearby.
And he was right behind him, "Arachnid? Since when did you…" Spider-Man noticed all the dealers and thugs are barely conscious, Arachnid turned around finishing his last hot dog, "No way you would do this."
Those last words almost made Arachnid choke on his final bite, "You're right, huh, maybe we really are bonding."
"Y-you ugh, I-uh!" Spider-Man stuttered and took a deep breath to reel in his thoughts.
"I'm looking for an imposter dressed like me, did you see him?"
"Wow an imposter, what a surprise- wait a minute?" Arachnid took a look back at the bruised thugs and all the drugs left behind. "Your imposter can definitely hold his own."
"That's what I thought too." Spider-Man leaned over the edge beside Arachnid.
"And you're not worried about me, why?" Arachnid asked.
"Well you did have a chance to kill me, and refused. I think I can spare a few minutes before we have to fight or something."
"That was a mere warning Spider-Man, like I said before I retired, I respect you, doing so much good and never asking for anything in return. It's an admirable thing, but let me be clear the next time we fight I won't be so merciful. Yes, I'm working with the demons and for an important reason. If you mess up my arrangement with them I am going to butcher your carcass and leave it strung up for all of New York to see."
"Sounds like something they would do in Game of Thrones."
Arachnid responded by grabbing Spider-Man by the neck. "This isn't a joke Spider-Man. Before I retired, I had nothing to lose. So stay out of my way or I'll lose everything." Arachnid let him go, and returned to his seat, "Also don't talk about Game of Thrones, I'm still finishing season seven."
"How was the Purple Wedding?" Spider-Man corrected.
"Best moment ever! That's when the show started getting good. Thank you, Olenna Tyrell!" Arachnid praised. As he was looking down at the Fisk construction site, he found Spider-Man's copycat, "Oh there's your imposter. He's wearing a cheap knockoff of your old suit." Arachnid pointed.
Spider-Man looked over down the sidewalk and found the fake Spider-Man, "Hm, people seem to like him… I mean me. I mean- ugh, this is weird."
"He's rocking that suit better than you did." Arachnid teased.
"Shut up, what's he saying?" Spider-Man asked.
"My pleasure, citizens."
"You don't talk like that." Arachnid commented.
"Thank you!" Spider-Man called.
"Excuse me… I hear someone in need!"
"Okay I do not sound like that." Spider-Man argued.
"It'd be funny if you did, you better get him, looks like he's heading into a squabble with Fisks men." Arachnid noticed.
"Let him go!" the Fake Spider-Man called over to Fisks thugs.
"Yeah, right. We'll get even more from Mr. Fisk when we bring him your head." the leader of the group said as they aimed their guns at him.
"Whoa, hey guys... I'm not the real Spider-Man." he held his hands up when he was surrounded.
"Not anymore you're not."
"Oh no, we gotta help him." Spider-Man jumped down in the
"Yeah you do that, I'll enjoy the show."
"What?" Spider-Man looked back.
"Not my problem."
Spider-Man shook off the remark and just zipped down, "Time to even the odds a little."
One of the thugs held the fake Spider-Man with a gun to his head. They were quick, but Spider-Man was quicker. He zipped the gun and pulled him in for a punch in the face.
"I always knew it was more than one guy. Kill'em both!" another thug yelled.
"I've got this, go!" Spider-Man said as he was beating the other thug.
"And miss a chance to team up with the real Spider-Man? No way!" the fake Spider-Man was excited, and putting up a good fight.
"Huh… can't say I blame him." Arachnid said while still sitting on the rooftop.
At the corner of the construction site, someone familiar was creeping into the site to get a look at the fight.
"Angie?" Arachnid noticed. Shortly after, more of Fisks men caught eye of her and snatched her off her feet.
"Hey Spider-Freaks!" the thug held a gun at Angie's head, and another held a rifle aimed at the fake Spider-Man.
"Oh no." Spider-Man murmured.
"So what's it gonna be, you gonna be a hero, or are you gonna be my Spider-Bitch!"
Shortly, a couple of webs yanked both the guns away from the thugs, and they received kicks to the faces as the Arachnid decloaked, "Spider-Bitch really? That's what you came up with?"
Angie was mesmerized to see her inspiration again, "Hide." Arachnid patted her head.
Both Spider-Men resumed their fighting while Arachnid was forced into this mess.
"You know how to fight." Spider-Man was a little impressed.
"I'm a black belt. I teach at the Chikara Dojo. I wanted to help... Spread the legend, y'know?"
"When you dress like me, you inherit my enemies. And I've got a LOT of enemies." Spider-Man explained as he was webbing another thug.
"Yes he certainly does, and I'll tell you right now." Arachnid gave another thug a hard uppercut, "No one call's my Spider Bitch a Spider Bitch!"
"Seriously, Arachnid?" Spider-Man argued in the middle of the fight.
"There's more of them." The Fake Spider-Man saw them coming up from incoming vans.
"We'll handle the guys with guns. Stay close to the kid!" Arachnid told the fake Spider-Man, "Got it!"
Arachnid and Spider-Man zipped over to the incoming thugs. Both of them went through the thugs fairly quickly, Arachnid webbed one thug, zipped underneath him, and kicked him over to the lamp post. Causing him to stick to the post.
"Arachnid heads up," Spider-Man threw Arachnid a flashbang to zip and throw at the nearby enemies.
Spider-Man and Arachnid dove back into the fight to finalize the current wave of Fisk's men.
Spider-Man launched a thug, webbed him in the air, and slammed him on the ground, instantly getting wrapped in web.
"Amateur!" Arachnid called as he uppercuts a man to web him on the wall.
"Mediocre!" Spider-Man argued back as he kicked another webbed thug to the ground.
Spider-Man noticed they were bringing in RPGs aiming for Arachnid, "Arachnid!" Spider-Man zipped to catch the propelling rocket flying to Arachnid. The rocket made an impact, not to Arachnid but Spider-Man, and the inertia caused Spider-Man to crash into Arachnid and they're both dazed.
"Now this is what I love! Two spiders for the price of one!" The thug reloaded his next shot until the Fake Spider-Man caught the man off guard and punched him out cold, and kicked him off the ledge.
"Arachnid?" Angie called.
"Spider-Man?" the Fake Spider-Man called as well.
"Uggghh, why didn't you just web the damn thing?" Arachnid rubbed his head, coming back to reality. Offering a hand to help Spider-Man get back on his feet.
"You're welcome," Spider-Man answered sarcastically. Along with taking Arachnid's hand to get back up.
"Arachnid!" Angie launched to give her inspiration a hug, "I knew you'd come back!"
"Okay Angie, that's enough," Arachnid called.
"You remember me?" Angie didn't realize, and neither did Arachnid. He forgot he spent more time with her as Noah than the Arachnid.
Spider-Man looked at the two, and the way she looked at him. For a moment he didn't seem like a villain.
"Man, that was intense. How do you guys do it?" the Fake Spider-Man asked. "Wait a minute, aren't you a super villain?"
"Only when it pays. Until then, someone has to keep Spider-Man on his toes. Who else better than me!" Arachnid patted Spider-Man on the shoulder.
"Anyway, it's just one bruise at a time." Spider-Man answered his question, "Look, your heart's in the right place, but if you keep this up you're gonna get killed."
"You know there's a place called FEAST, I think maybe free self defense classes could be a better idea than looking like this thing." Arachnid pointed to Spider-Man.
"Hey will you sto- actually yeah that's a good idea." Spider-Man said completely stumped.
"Really? You think so?" The Fake Spider-Man asked Arachnid.
"Absolutely, you don't need a costume to make a difference." Spider-Man said giving his fan some wisdom.
"Heroes are people who stay strong and become the best they can be. Heroes work hard to make a difference for their home." Angie said, "You taught me that, Arachnid."
Spider-Man looked at Arachnid in surprise, he did not believe he'd teach anyone something like that.
"Hey those are good lines, I'll remember those, thanks. I'm putting away the costume, for good. Only need one Spider-Man here. Oh and thanks Arachnid." The Fake Spider-Man was about to leave until Angie spoke up.
"Hey wait, can we get a photo? All of us." Angie pulled out her phone.
"Actually, yeah, can we?" The Fake Spider-Man asked.
Arachnid and Spider-Man looked at eachother.
"Well…" Spider-Man was hesitant.
"He did save us from the RPG, I guess we do owe him for that." Arachnid reminded Spider-Man.
"Alright, why not." Spider-Man knelt into position and Arachnid did the same.
The Fake Spider-Man and Angie huddled together with the two, and they all smiled. Spider-Man held a peace sign, and Arachnid gave him bunny ears.
"Everybody say cheese!" Angie smiled big. Clicking the photo, she looked down at the group photo, "Awesome!"
"Can I get a copy of that?" Fake Spider-Man asked.
"Same!" Spider-Man asked.
"Over here too!" Arachnid waved.
"Got it!" Angie assured all three of them.
"Anyway, do me a favor and get rid of the suit," Spider-Man asked the black belt fighter.
"Angie, do us a favor and take him to FEAST." Arachnid said.
"You got it!" Angie gave Arachnid a thumbs up.
The Fake Spider-Man walked up to the two, "Thanks Spider-Man. You too Arachnid." The four of them split and departed their separate ways.
Spider-Man was zipping his way down south until he got a call.
"Spider-Man." Yuri Watanabe called. "Shocker has escaped. And now he's robbing a bank on East Thirty-First."
"What happened? I thought he was behind bars?" Spider-Man was shocked.
"He was. But one of the guards just walked up to his cell and released him, then gave him his suit back." Yuri explained.
"I knew Shocker was working for someone. What'd you get out of the guard?" Spider-Man asked.
"Wish I could ask him, but he's dead. Whoever made him release Shocker didn't want any loose ends." Yuri explained.
"Damn." Spider-Man spat at the news.
"Looking at the security footage, the guard was in some kind of trance. And it might have been the lighting, but it looked like his eyes were glowing." Yuri explained.
"Well that's creepy. Okay, I'll see what I can get out of Shocker when I get to the bank." Spider-Man said.
Yuri hung up the phone as Spider-Man was making a detour to the bank.
"Hey, Spider-Man." Arachnid called.
"Arachnid, how did you get this number?" Spider-Man was shocked to hear Arachnid on the other line.
"Hello, surveillance towers." Arachnid boasted.
"Alright, what do you want?" Spider-Man asked.
"Let's be honest, you're never gonna beat me because I'm just too good, and I'll never beat you because you're too much fun. Now these Demons, on the other hand, definitely a different story. I know you're not gonna stop till you take them down so in that case, I need an ace in the hole. That's you." Arachnid confessed.
"What are you talking about?" Spider-Man asked.
"The Demon's offered me high-grade tech, what it's for is not important. You beat the demons before they bring me my tech, you help me get the tech I need." Arachnid told Spider-Man enough of what he needed to hear.
"You're desperate, aren't you?" Spider-Man was smiling, Arachnid could tell.
"When I said I was retiring, I meant it. So do we have a deal?" Arachnid spilled.
"Fine. Whatever puts you back in retirement." Spider-Man accepted.
"Good, just a heads up. This doesn't mean I'm going easy on you. Bring your A-game next time we meet." Arachnid explained, even though a part of him doesn't want to go back into retirement after this.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Spider-Man agreed.
"Well good luck at the bank." Arachnid closed the call and switched to cloak as he was nearing the bank.
"The bank?" Spider-Man groaned in anger, "Next time I see you Arachnid I'm gonna knock that ego out and beat you down with it." Spider-Man growled.
"Herman. Long time no see. Hey I'm no lawyer, but uhh- I'm pretty sure that's a parole violation." Spider webbed away the duffle bags of cash, and zipped over to kick him in the face. Landing both of them in the vault. With Spider-Man occupied with Shocker, Arachnid took this moment to swipe away the cash from under their noses. As Arachnid collected the cash, the safe was pulled shut, most likely by Spider-Man.
"This oughta be good!" Arachnid smiled. Unfortunately, Arachnid had to bug out quickly.
Arachnid left the premises with the cash in hand, and was on his way to the drop point. Over at the docks, one of the Demons was waiting for him.
"Where's Shocker?" The Demon asked.
"Probably heading to the RAFT." Arachnid explained as he dropped the duffle bags of cash on the Demon's feet.
The head of the Demon gang stepped out, still in masked, but he's not glowing.
"Good work, Arachnid. You do not disappoint. I was saving your compensation for your next assignment later tonight, but this surprise has given you my approval." The head Demon gave Arachnid another jumpdrive.
Arachnid plugged in the drive and watched the data open in his HUD. The location was another Consolidated shipping property.
"How much this time?" Arachnid asked.
"Your last assignment won't be till next week." The head demon left the area without a clear answer. Shrugging off whoever this guy is, Arachnid went over to the location.
Making his way to the location, Arachnid found another truck full of the tech he needs, "Just one more truck, huh? I hope that's the case." Arachnid said to himself as he started the truck to drive over to Central Park.
The last thing he needs now are the Oscorp compounds. Once he gains the final truck, he can begin harvesting his venom to begin synthesizing a cure.
"I'm getting close, Anna, Josh… Emma, they're coming home, I promise," Noah said as he laid the next shipment of tech in his base, "I'm gonna need to tidy this place soon. Should probably get my arms installed on this suit." Noah went over to the worktable and installed his signature weapons.
At the FEAST shelter, Emma was serving coffee to the late sleepers. At the other side of the hall, she saw Angie drawing up in her sketchbook.
"Hey, Angie." Emma called.
Emma looked up to see her, "Hey Emma. How're you doing?"
"Super tired." Emma sighed as she took a seat beside Angie. Looking over her sketches, she found some pretty cool designs, "Is that a gender-bent Spider-Man?"
"No… I'm designing an Arachnid costume for Halloween this year." Angie cheered.
"Why would you want to dress up like him?" Emma asked.
"He saved my life… Twice actually." Angie showed Emma the photo they made today.
"That is… I don't… know what to say about that," Emma was speechless, looking back down at the sketches, "You know, Noah is a pretty good tailor. Maybe I can have him help you make this costume." Emma patted Angie's head.
"Really?" Angie's face lit.
"It's a hobby he keeps to himself." Emma puts a finger over her mouth, "Don't tell anyone."
"I promise!" Angie whispered and gave Emma a hug.
"You guys are the best! I'm sorry about your kids. I'm sure they'll be safe." Angie returned the affection.
"Thanks, kiddo." Emma rubbed her shoulder.
"You and Noah have been good to me. Ever since I've been here, you guys have been like the parents I always wanted." Angie closed her eyes to feel warm in their embrace.
"It's nice to know the kids will have an older sister when they come home." Emma smiled.
"Thanks, that's nice of you to say. I look forward to meeting them when they're feeling better." Angie replied with a smile.
"Hey, so I looked into reports of... 'Demons'." Yuri called.
"I knew you'd come around." Spider-Man was happy.
"They've been pretty busy tonight... hitting a lot of Fisk properties." Yuri explained.
"They're going after Fisk? Damn. You thinking what I'm thinking?" Spider-Man and Yuri were thinking the same thing.
"Brewing gang war?"
"Let's try and get ahead of it. Are there any Fisk properties that haven't been hit tonight?" Spider-Man asked.
"Let me see. Patrol reported the Arachnid at one of his shipyards in Portside. He's not listening, is he?"
"To be honest, I'm pretty sure he is, and he probably doesn't care. To him this is all just a game, this city is his playground, and he doesn't care what happens." Spider-Man said, explaining the game Arachnid has played with him since he became his enemy.
"You know you just described yourself, Spider-Man." Yuri pointed out.
"Hey I am nothing like the Arachnid." Spider-Man called.
"Yeah, two spiders on the other side of the law. Very convincing." Yuri gave him a fact check.
"Ooh someone get my Spider-Bitch some aloe vera. He just BUUUURNED!" Arachnid laughed as he chimed in on the call.
"Oh shit." Yuri responded.
"Oh don't worry, Yuri. I won't say a thing. I always enjoy these personal calls. See you at the docks Spider-Man." Arachnid hung up.
"Thanks Yuri I appreciate being compared to a villain, thank you. I'll check out the docks. Any idea what Fisk uses that shipyard for?"
"No idea, let me send an officer to meet you there. His name's Jefferson Davis. That's his beat. He's a good cop, been working the Fisk case for years. If anyone knows what's going on at that shipyard, it's him." Yuri suggested.
Wasting no time Spider-Man swung his way over to the shipyard hoping that it hasn't been hit yet.
"These Demons, what could they be planning, and what kind of tech could they have to enlist Arachnid." Spider-Man spoke to himself.
Something evil was lurking in all of this, "None of this never happened while Fisk was around, wait, am I missing him? No! Screw that." This entire feeling was feeling way deeper, like a surge of energy creeping around him from the insides of his spine. A cold chill froze his blood as he started thinking of these Demons, and how they could manipulate Arachnid and Shocker to work for them. The one who's behind these Demons, the idea alone quakes inside him with fear of whoever this person is.
"I gotta get this city back under control." Spider-Man hissed as he made his way to the docks.
Sorry this took so long to publish, I have had serious writer's block but I'm back now.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review for this story.