Spider-Man arrived at the docks, and found the facility already cleared of Fisk's men. Looks like the Arachnid was already here, which means the Demons are here too. Checking the bodies, they seem to be dead but a few that are alive have broken bones.
"Arachnid… I swear I'm taking you down tonight." Spider-Man sneered under his mask.
Spider-Man may act playful every time when he goes toe to toe with Arachnid, but this supervillain in black and green was starting to get on his nerves.
Just as soon after, a police siren was heard behind him. A police officer walked up to Spider-Man, "You know we can't have vigilantes trespassing or doing illegal searches."
"Yeah, I know." Spider-Man said while upside down.
"Which is why I brought a warrant. So what do you say, we do some perfectly legal searching?" The officer showed Spider-Man.
"I like the sound of that," Spider-Man jumped from the ceiling, "What's your name?"
"Officer Davis. Call me Jeff." Davis shook Spider-Man's hand, "And you are?"
"Uhh." Spider-Man was speechless. Which gave Jeff a chuckle.
"Just messing with you. My son's a big fan." Jeff mentioned.
"So, that warrant cover breaking down doors?"
"Not without a LOT of extra paperwork, but you can start with what's happened here." Jeff looked back at all the webbed corpses of Fisks men.
"Arachnid is working for the Demons." Spider-Man glared.
"That mercenary web-slinger? We've been looking into his case for years. He's as good at keeping his identity secret as you." Jeff added, "Anyway, check the back of the warehouse, might find an opening over there."
"You got it." Spider-Man called as he webbed up to the roof, and dropped down the roof hatch.
"I feel like I'm in a horror movie. Hello? Any fishermen with a grudge and a hook for a hand? Okay where's that locked door?" Spider-Man jumped down at the front door, and called for the cop, "Jeff you there? I'm doing my best to refrain from knock-knock jokes."
"Appreciated. You see a junction box powering the door?" Jeff called.
"Yeah, got it." Spider-Man noticed.
"If we can overload it, that should force the door open." Jeff explained.
"Smart… But I don't have anything that packs enough current." Spider-Man admitted.
"Try this." Jefferson slid his stun gun under the door.
"Thanks… hmm, this'll give me what I need for the prototype I've been planning." Spider-Man took the parts from the taser and put them into his web shooters.
Using his new electric web shooter, he zapped the junction box and the door finally opened.
"Gadget man, huh? You remind me of my son. Started taking apart the TV when he was five. Now he's unlocking his friends' phones." Jeff gave his son some praise. Even Spider-Man was impressed.
"Sounds like he can teach me a few things." Spider-Man admitted.
"Okay so nothing illegal in plain sight." Jeff said looking at the whole room.
"Kind of anti-climactic, huh?" Spider-Man was clueless.
"At first glance. Let's look closer." Jeff said.
"Whenever Arachnid is somewhere there's always something going aloof." Spider-Man mentioned.
"Agreed, bootleggers used to use this place back in the day." Jeff spoke about the past.
"You know while we're at it. Arachnid is only a killer if he gets paid for it. Aside from that he's not the worst villain I've faced. Even I don't know who he is, and yet… What do you think of him?" Spider-Man asked.
"I admit, Arachnid has done a good job avoiding the Law so far. But, in my years as a cop, I've learned that no matter how good you are, you'll eventually slip up." Jefferson said. "And I think Arachnid will slip up any day now. That web slinging merc needs to be put away."
"I know what you mean, but still… He's got a heart. I saw it earlier today. Don't suppose you have any advice on that?"
"Well, just because you're a criminal doesn't make you a bad person. Some criminals have lines they don't cross. Some do this because they have no other options in life. However, Arachnid is a hard individual to understand. Funny, kinda reminds me of my brother."
"What? Is your brother on the wrong side of the law?" Spider-Man asked.
"Something like that. Anyway, let's get back to work." Jefferson went over to one of the shipping containers, one of them had scrapes at the bottom, "This container sound hollow to you? I got a hidden panel like the one at the door. The conduits lead out the back. Look for another junction box."
"Will do." Spider-Man traced the wiring over to the conduit.
"So tell me more about the Arachnid? I only know him from the case files we have. What do you know about him?" Jefferson asked.
"Aside from being a conniving thief, and mercenary he's not an idiot. He's working with the demons, but he's not doing it for money." Spider-Man zapped the conduit active.
"Really? What does he get out of it?"
Spider-Man was hesitant to answer, he knows what he's getting out of it, but if he tells an officer, it might not end well, "I'm not sure exactly but whatever it is it can't be good."
"Well if you want my full, and my honest opinion, I'd like to know what he gets out of this. Also how do you know this in the first place?"
"Okay, the Demons offered him tech. High-grade tech, and… And, he told me this because he knows I can defeat the Demons. So if he doesn't get the tech he wants, he'll kill me unless I help him get the tech." Spider-Man spilled.
"Smart guy, and he's confident you'll defeat these Demons. There's definitely some respect between you two." Davis said.
"Yeah, he said that to me twice." Spider-Man zapped the last junction box.
"Alright, thanks for that, no way I could've unlocked this myself." Jefferson commented.
"Hey, I doubt I would've found it without you." Spider-Man returned the compliment.
"Hm, and we got a big fat nothing. Think there's more of these hidden doors." Spider-Man mentioned.
"Of course, check the bottom of the floors, the door scrapes are still there." Jefferson showed Spider-Man the flooring.
"They can hide the doors but they can't hide the scrapes they leave." Spider-Man realized.
"Check up top, I'll look down here," Jefferson said.
"You got it." Spider-Man complied.
"So, high-grade tech, huh… You know we've been getting reports of the Demons raiding Oscorp facilities stealing tons of lab equipment."
"Any idea what kind of lab equipment?" Spider-Man asked.
"I'm not sure specifically, but the tech consists of compound synthesis. Any ideas?" Jefferson asked.
"Compound synthesis? He must be trying to make something. Could be… I may have an idea. He told me was retiring a few months ago. Maybe he's trying to go into permanent retirement. At least I hope so." Spider-Man hoisted Jefferson up to the second story.
"Don't jump to conclusions, junior. The Demons are stealing tech from Oscorp, and Arachnid needs tech. That's all we know for sure. You wanna find the Arachnid, follow the tech the Demons are stealing." Jefferson educated Spider-Man.
"Thanks for that." Spider-Man praised.
"Alright, back on topic, gotta make a jump." Jefferson noticed the broken bridge.
"Need a hand?" Spider-Man asked.
"No, I got it," Jefferson took a running start and jumped over to the next part of the broken bridge.
"Nice, stuck the landing and everything." Spider-Man complimented.
"We're not all donut eaters," Jefferson added.
"Fair enough," Spider-Man admitted.
"Got another locked hidden door, do you see the hidden wiring?" Jefferson asked.
"I see them, be right back." Spider-Man leaped on the railing, "So the last place the Demons robbed for tech, don't suppose you can give me a location?"
"Unfortunately, as an officer, I can't relinquish intel in regards to support vigilantes. Then again, so is my captain recommending me to assist you. Maybe I won't mention the Captain has the location."
"That would definitely be a good thing not to do." Spider-Man played along with the ruse as he zapped the last junction box.
"Alright," Jefferson opened the second hidden door to show another empty with another junction box.
"Nothing. I'm starting to feel like this is Fisk's way of messing with me." Spider-Man pointed out.
"But look at the walls. They kept guns here. They wouldn't have moved them to the front door. There must be another room. Follow the junction wires for us."
"You got it." Spider-Man found the last box behind an elevator. Webbing the elevator above, and zapped the last junction box.
Down at the floor, a trap door popped open, "You were right, Jefferson."
"Outstanding! Think you can help me out? This thing's heavy." Jefferson asked Spider-Man.
Arachnid and the Demons were cleaning out the armory of all the weapons and grenades, "Hey Arachnid rip down this gate for us." one of the Demons called him over.
Arachnid pulled out his spider arms and tore down the gate, and the Demons poured in to gather all the weapons they could carry. Arachnid scoffed in disgust, this whole gig was leaving a bad taste in his mouth, and the weirdest part was he was used to it until tonight. Noticing they were leaving the tasers and flashbangs behind, Arachnid picked up a taser and ripped apart the components, "Might as well take what I can." ripping apart the correct piece he added the piece to his web shooters, "Hmm, electric web, I like it." Arachnid dropped the parts and resumed.
After a while of looting all the lethal hardware, "Arachnid, let's go," One of the Demons called.
Arachnid was prepared to walk around the corner until his senses caught the one and only, Spider-Man.
Remaining where he stood, to be ready for a fight, "Spider-Man, how're-" He was met with a shot of lightning from Spider-Man's new weapon. His whole body went down, sizzling in a current of electricity and spasms all over.
"Best web shooter ever!" Spider-Man called.
Officer Jefferson Davis pulled out one of the tasers in the crates and aimed it for Arachnid, "Guess you finally got the Arachnid. I'll take it from here." Jefferson was about to pull out his cuffs.
"No don't." Spider-Man warned.
"What, why?" Officer Davis was shocked by Spider-Man's request
"Trust me, I want you to cuff him. He's been escaping me every time I've confronted him. Unfortunately, I can't do that yet." Spider-Man hauled his long-time rival. He knew he was conscious.
"What're you gonna do? Take my mask off?" Arachnid's limbs were still numb from the shock.
"You know I would love that more than anything, Arachnid. Not to mention knowing how many times you could've taken off my mask, you never did. Trust me, I'd still rip that mask of yours off here and now! The way I see it, you owe me for this. The tech the Demons offered you, what's it for?" Spider-Man said, actually sounded furious.
Arachnid could sense he was furious, and it felt like he'd do something unforgivable if he prolonged this rage inside him.
Spider-Man could sense fear in him, in this moment, and for something else or someone else. A part of Spider-Man is actually enjoying this.
"Equipment… Equipment to synthesize a serum." Arachnid answered, "I'm not working on any kind of bioweapon, so don't worry. I'm a thief, not a terrorist. I'm not telling you any more than that."
Looking down at Arachnid right now he realized something, "You're not as strong right now, your weakness is electric shock."
Spider-Man zapped another jolt into Arachnid, sending him another rush of unbearable pain. The current felt like it was nearly fatal, "What are you making!" Spider-Man roared.
"Spider-Man, I think you've done-" Officer Davis was actually trying to de-escalate the situation until Arachnid spoke up again.
"A cure to get this venom out of me!" Arachnid coughed, still able to lie to Spider-Man.
Spider-Man's rage suddenly dropped cold after hearing that, "The what?" Spider-Man asked.
"The venom in my veins that's what gave me my powers… If you're gonna be my ace in the hole, you might as well know. Didn't think you'd resort to this as your A-game, Spider-Man," Arachnid chuckled, "These Demons are gonna lose at this rate."
Before Spider-Man could drop him, "You got five minutes, Arachnid. Get out of here!" He dropped him, but instead of actually leaving, he kicked him down in the armory.
"Gotta make my escape look good, hero!" Arachnid covered up Spider-Man's moment of mercy.
Arachnid took a look at officer Davis, "You saw nothing. Spider-Man tried to beat me and arrest me as he always wanted. An enraged Spider-Man is the last thing New York needs."
Officer Davis just nodded his head, "You have time before he wakes up. You better get going. No way I stand a chance against you."
Arachnid cloaked and escaped from the scene and regrouped with the Demons.
Jefferson hauled Spider-Man out of the debris to get him back on his feet, "Where is he?" Spider-Man asked.
"Hey, don't worry about him. We still got Demons outside to take care of." Jefferson brushed Arachnid off Spider-Man's mind.
Spider-Man shook off any remaining emotional tension in his shoulders and caught up with Officer Davis. Spider-Man raced up to see the Demons driving away with weapons, and Arachnid cloaked.
Arachnid swung away from the mess he left behind. Leaving the truck at its drop point, and the Demons protecting the supply. Arachnid was not given another cache of Oscorp technology given the money he gave from Herman.
Landing on the nearest building top, the frustration of today and the stunt Spider-Man pulled on him. Everything going on at home, his kids, Emma.
All he could do was unleash everything.
"AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGHH!" Arachnid screamed.
He fell to his knees, "I need my friend." Noah spoke outloud.
Arachnid called Peter, "Hey Peter. I'm having a rough time, can I meet you at your place?"
"You know, I could use some time with my brother too. I'll meet you at my apartment." Peter responded.
"Thanks hermano, I'm heading to your place now." Noah hung up his phone and swung over to his friend's place.
Back in his regular garm, he made his way to Peter's apartment room. Sadly he was noticing all of his apartment was being hauled in trash bags.
"Hey, hey what's going on?" Noah asked.
"Peter Parker is hereby evicted. You wanna do him a favor tell him to keep up with his rent for the next landlord." The landlord spat at him.
Noah glared but he needed to catchup with the ones taking his things to the dump.
His dumpster is currently being hauled and emptied by the dump truck.
"Fucking Hell!" Noah jumped up to the nearby roof and switched out to his Arachnid suit, "Hey Pete, you've just been evicted. The dump truck just hauled all of your stuff."
"What! Damn, this day can't get any worse." Peter called on the other end of the line.
"Don't jinx it, Pete. I'm following the truck now, I'll call you when I catch'em." Noah assured.
"Thanks, Noah. You're a godsend." Pete called.
"Thanks, gotta go, I'll keep you updated." Noah closed the call and resumed his pursuit of the dump truck.
Going through the city, dump truck in sight, Noah caught the truck stopping at the incinerator, "Pete, the truck is over at the Incinerator. I'm gonna stop them before they empty their load."
"Please, Noah, you're my only hope." Peter called.
Switching back to his normal attire he jumped down in the next alley and called the dump truck drivers, "Hey hold on! Don't incinerate that load, my friend was just evicted. Please!" Noah raced quickly, just catching his breath.
"Ugh, sure what's his name?" The driver asked.
"Peter Parker." Noah called.
"Okay, we'll hold till he gets here," the driver assured.
"Thanks, I'll let him know." Noah called.
"Hey Pete, I caught your truck, just get on over here and they'll let you dive in the trash. Been a while since we did that." Noah wondered.
"Good times. I'm on my way now." Peter hung up.
"I'll wait here, if it's okay." Noah asked the dump truck driver.
"It's fine." The driver assured.
"Thanks." Noah was humbled.
After a few minutes of waiting, Peter finally arrived, "Hey Pete, here's your pile."
Peter walked over and hugged his friend, "Thank you buddy."
"I'll wait for you up front." Noah gave his friend some privacy. Unfortunately, a white van drove right in front of them, and then criminals armed with rifles came out of the van all armed with assault rifles.
Peter held his hands up, "Damn, I don't have my suit and I can't fight them without making Noah suspicious." he thought to himself.
"Seriously?" Noah said around the corner. Racing over to the alley he jumped for the rooftop and switched into his suit. Walking from above he dove down and slammed his foot on the biggest crook from above in the face, as the Arachnid.
"Seriously guys, robbing a garbage incinerator. Absolutely sad. So what're we going to do? I'll make sure the worst you'll get are broken limbs." Arachnid said them popped his neck both ways.
The crooks shook in their knees but their guns spoke for them, "Kill that bug." Arachnid webbed the first gunner and swung it to smack him in the head. Zipping over to him, Arachnid kicked him in the face and webbed the next one to the car he rode in. Using his new electric web zapper, the crooks were in a daze.
Peter was surprised at the new toy of his, "guess he learned that from me."
Giving them a barrage of punches and uppercuts the next crook in the air and yanks him back down to web him on the ground.
The last one was about to flee, but Arachnid caught him and slammed him to the wall and webbed him up.
"Seriously! I can't catch a break." Arachnid looked over to Peter, "You guys okay?"
Peter was hesitant until he shook himself back, "Hey someone call the cops, the Arachnid is here."
"Hey I just saved your ass." Arachnid walked over to Peter.
"You're a villain that needs to be put into the RAFT. A monster!" Peter stood in front of the Arachnid.
Arachnid noticed a maintenance worker on his cell phone, but he webbed his hand still.
So much anger flowed in his fists, he cracked out a few grunts until he just screamed out his anger through his teeth and punched out his anger not at Peter but at the nearby brick wall.
Peter stood still at the Arachnid's sudden action.
"You think I'm a monster? What would you know what a monster is? Every day I live my life in this mask, there's nothing but misery and death. Because I'm the Spider that does what Spider-Man can't, and I'll tell you now it fucking SUCKS! The only joy is killing and it's awful. You wanna know something else, tonight Spider-Man tried to kill me, you wanna know about that over there, garbage boy?" Arachnid looked over to the maintenance man, and he nodded yes, "Over at the shipping yard, Spider-Man zapped me with lethal doses of electric webs. He would never admit it, but I sensed it, he was enjoying it. Seeing me at his mercy after all of these years, he had his foot on my neck, and he loved it. And the biggest twist from all of it was that he was gonna let me go. Me! A criminal, he was gonna let a dangerous criminal like me go away. So I beat the crap out of him instead. He doesn't know this but I do. If he let me walk and I took it, he would've turned into me. The whole irony in all this, it's that me beating the crap out of him saved his life." Arachnid jabbed Peter's left shoulder with his finger. "I. SAVED. SPIDER-MAN. AGAIN! AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO CALL ME A MONSTER, YOU PIECE OF SHIT SPIDER-MAN-LOVING MOTHER FUCKING BASTARD! AFTER ALL THAT'S HAPPENED, WHAT WOULD SPIDER-MAN BE WITHOUT ME, THE ARACHNID!" Arachnid unloaded everything off his back to his best friend. In that moment, his eyes widened in realization and shock. He took several steps back in.
"My God, what have I done!" Arachnid dropped to his knees.
Peter was absolutely shocked by what Arachnid had to say, "He's right. I was willing to let a dangerous man like him walk away. Just like… My God, Uncle Ben."
Peter walked closer to the Arachnid, knelt to his level, and put a firm hand on his shoulder, "Thank you," Arachnid looked up to Peter, "for saving Spider-Man, and me." Peter thanked the Arachnid for saving his own life.
Arachnid felt better after hearing that. Peter always knew what to say when his friends were going through a tough time. Noah was in costume but he didn't give a shit, Arachnid needed his brother, Peter. He gave him a tight embrace, and broke out his whimpering.
Peter offered the Arachnid a hand to help him up, which he accepted. The police sirens were in the distance, "You better get going. You saved my hide just now, Arachnid." The Arachnid saved him twice today.
"Thanks." Arachnid webbed over to the roof tops and swung over a few blocks. After calming down for a moment, he called Peter as Noah, "Hey Pete, did you get your stuff?"
"Yeah I got it, thanks Noah." Peter responded.
"Do you need a place to crash? You can take our couch." Noah offered.
"Really that'd be nice." Peter was relieved.
"We'll see you soon." Noah hung up the phone.
"Need to get home, I haven't heard from Emma all day." Noah realized.
Peter took a seat at the nearby rooftop overlooking Fisk Tower. Before going over to Noah's Peter needed to speak to someone. Someone who would know this feeling inside him.
"Aunt May?" Peter called.
"Peter, it's late, what's wrong?" May asked.
"I need your advice on something… I met this guy who knew me from work, he said he always respected me, but he's been hounding me for so long. The way he always finds a way to win against me drives me so mad, and… I had this moment with him that made me so angry at him. I almost made the same mistake the day uncle Ben died. In the end he still won, but… Him winning kept me from making the same mistake. I'm just so confused and angry at all of this, and I don't know what to do."
"You start by doing the hardest thing for everyone. You forgive yourself for what you've done. I always believed in you Peter. You're a good person, and I also believe this man you speak of. I think he knew that about you as well, and I know you'll find a way to make things right."
"He said he always respected me." Peter mentioned again.
"Do you respect him in return?" May asked.
"I don't know." Peter was honest.
"Then you show this man the respect he gives you, not because he deserves it, but because of who you are. A good person." May spoke truly humbly.
"Thank you, May. I needed to hear that. I know what to do now." Peter sounded more confident.
"Good tell Noah and Emma I said hi." May asked.
"I will, I love you, and… I think this man does deserve my respect." Peter said.
"Love you too, Peter. I know you'll make things right." May hung up the phone.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, leave a review and tell me what you think.