Spider-Man: Destiny - Year 1
Chapter 9: Rubble and Revelations
…
As Peter and Sable ran through the darkness, the former's enhanced senses started warning him to an incoming massive chunk of the ceiling caving in above them. Peter instinctively tackled Sable out of the way, with the both of them rolling to safety just as the debris crashed down, trapping them in a small pocket of space under the rubble. However, the ground underneath them began to crumble, and the base continued to collapse until everything was dust and blood.
…
Sable woke up, her vision blurry and her body slightly aching. She groaned and tried to sit up, feeling pain in her left leg. The air was thick with dust, and it was hard to breathe. She looked around, realizing they were in a small, confined space with debris surrounding them. Peter was already awake, struggling to shift some of the rubble blocking their way. Peter utilized his strength as much as he could, but it was still slow going.
"Hey, you're awake," Peter said, glancing back at Sable. "Just hang on, I'm getting us out of here."
Sable managed to sit up, wincing at the pain in her leg. "We need to move quickly. Fisk's men might still be around."
"I'm well aware. And you're welcome, by the way," Peter replied, grunting as he pushed aside a heavy chunk of concrete with all his effort. "Almost there."
Peter pulled his mask up to above his nose to breathe better. With one final heave, Peter cleared a narrow opening in the debris. Peter and Sable then crawled through the gap, emerging into a dark, deep tunnel. The air was damp and musty, and the sound of dripping water echoed throughout the passage. Peter then noticed that Sable was standing with a slight limp on her leg.
"Uhh… are you okay?" Peter asked Sable.
"I'm fine," Sable replied through gritted teeth. "We have to get out of here."
"How?"
"There are some old maintenance tunnels and hidden escape routes down here. If we find one, we might have a chance."
Peter nodded, using his enhanced senses to feel for any immediate danger. "Okay, lead the way."
They began navigating through the labyrinth of underground tunnels. The two started to cough from smoke emerging from the burning debris behind them, prompting them to move slightly faster.
"These tunnels were built a century ago," Sable explained as they moved. "Became part of an old subway project that was abandoned during World War II."
"The perfect base for you all to hide out in," Peter assumed.
"It was the perfect sanctuary and fortress," Sable corrected. "It took five years to build, and that bastard brought my world burning down again."
"Yeah, about that. We still haven't gotten to the whole uncle and niece thing."
"Like that's any of your business."
"I'm not saying it is, but there's clearly a lot more going on here and some beef that goes further back than I thought."
"Beef?"
"Never mind. Point is, I'm trying to help and I'm not just gonna have you leaving me out of the loop. Especially after I just saved your ass."
"Help? Really? Boy, do you see what's been happening the past few months? You're just a kid in a costume trying to play superhero and you actually think you can do anything?"
"I'm not a kid and I'm not playing hero. You don't know what I've been through at all!"
"What you've been through-"
"Yeah! Someone I love is dead because of Fisk, and I'm not just gonna stand by and watch him get more people killed and blow the whole city up."
Sable shook her head. "My greatest sympathies to your loss. But there is nothing you will be able to do on a substantial or grand level that can change this war or take the Kingpin down."
"I'll have you know, I've taken out a lot of his guys. Like you saw at that nightclub," Peter defended.
"Yeah, and I also saw you getting your ass kicked by that flying bastard."
"Oh, 'cause you're one to talk."
Sable stopped walking, glaring straight at Peter.
"Anybody ever tell you you got a big mouth?" Sable growled.
"Yeah. All the time," Peter asserted. "Quit acting like you're better than me, I'm not the one starting shootouts on the street."
"I warned you then that you were throwing yourself into warfare," Sable argued, walking past Peter.
"No, no, don't pull that shit with me. You should really be grateful no civilians have even gotten killed throughout this whole thing. The damage you and your guys caused in the long run, God."
"We strategize. Coordinate. Innocents never get hurt. Fisk and his men are the only targets."
"You wanna know something I find funny? I almost never see you kill unless you really have to. Yet you're going on this whole high horse tangent about war and being a soldier and whatever."
"War isn't killing whenever you want to. It's when you have to, and that's only one of the many hidden components of being a soldier. All those Avengers the kids your age idolize? Black Widow. Captain America. They've killed. They had to. They sign up for it."
Sable's leg started to hurt a bit more, causing her to nearly slip. Peter quickly grabbed her arm, helping her back up. Sable moved her arm away from Peter's grip when she had the chance, and continued walking.
"I never aspired for this," Sable sighed. "My entire army, they're gone. And it's all my fault."
Peter looked ahead at Sable. "It's not your fault. You clearly want this to be done sooner rather than later. And the faster we can get this done, the better."
Sable turned back at Peter, visibly raging. "Shut up! Ignorant child, stop acting like this is so simple! Did you not just hear what I said, I got my entire army killed and my base blown up! My entire family got slaughtered in front of me all because of that son of a bitch. Symkaria was thriving before Fisk expanded his empire there. Now it's a shadow of its former self, plagued by corruption and poverty. All real problems you will never understand!"
Peter waited around ten seconds before responding. "You're right. I haven't gone through most of that. Yeah, maybe this is a bigger conflict that I don't understand or can't help in. But you're also so full of shit."
Sable turned around. "Excuse me?"
"How many times do I have to repeat that someone I love got killed because of Fisk? Hell, I actually got him killed! I'm doing my best out there to escape what's goin' on at home and just try to save the city. It's what he wanted and I'm not gonna let you or anyone else get in the way of that!" Peter exclaimed.
"I'm not saying you never got hurt. But to act like this is even on the same level-"
Peter punched the wall, cracking it a bit. "Try and compare our situations one more time."
A few seconds passed, and Sable continued walking, while Peter shook off his hand.
"You didn't answer my question from earlier. What did you mean when you asked if the Kingpin took everything from me, or if I did?" Peter asked.
Sable didn't answer.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
"Do you remotely have any evidence that it was Fisk who killed your loved one? Any proof there's even a connection?" Sable pointed out.
"I mean, all I've ever heard from goons on the street is Fisk and how all the crime in New York is connected through him. Doesn't take an idiot to put it together, he practically owns the city," Peter argued.
"Still no proof. Question is, is Fisk truly responsible, or are you just trying to avoid blaming yourself?" Sable asked.
"What the hell makes you think I had anything to do with it?"
"You literally just said you got him killed."
Peter got silent.
"Don't think for a second I'm trying to attack you. Who are any of us without a few skeletons?" Sable stated.
However, Peter continued to stay quiet, walking ahead. Starting to grab his arm out of pain, Peter's eyes were tearing up underneath the part of his mask still on his face. Besides walking, Peter couldn't do anything other than think. Peter and Sable continued to walk through the labyrinth for another ten minutes.
"You're quite silent now," Sable stated.
"No point in saying anything. You're not wrong about what you said. And we're not gonna get anywhere anyway," Peter muttered.
The usual hostility in Sable's eyes started to slightly fade. "My father went by Silvermane. He had his own thriving empire in Symkaria for a long time. However, he started talking with his half-brother, my uncle Fisk. Father and Fisk both had wide ambitions with what they could do to improve Symkaria's living conditions and collaborate their empires. My father had more than half the entire country under his pocket. Fisk didn't have nearly as much influence in Symkaria and his brittle ego couldn't take it. He started talking to certain people behind my father's back. Pulling jobs and making calls that only gave Fisk more power and disrupted the people's trust in my father. That's who Fisk is. He'll destroy communities and take out whoever has more power than him because he loves pretending to be a king. All under the facade of nobility."
Peter was in disbelief. "Jesus. I didn't know it went that deep."
"Believe it. And my father did try to talk it out with him. No surprise, Fisk couldn't take being threatened or even called out. Father chose to end things, and well… ten years ago one night, I-I got home from school and he was there. With my parents."
Sable stopped walking for a bit, as she also felt her limping knee for a bit. Peter stopped as well.
"My father was bleeding. Completely bruised up. My mother was screaming and crying. All the things I'd do to forget the sound of her begging. Fisk told me to t-take it as a lesson. To avoid messing with him. He shot my mother right in front of me. Once he aimed for my father, I was already running out of there."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know…. oh man. I'm so sorry you went through all that," Peter sighed in disbelief.
"That was the day I chose to be a coward, running out of there instead of fighting back. Everyone tries to spew the bullshit, that I was some small, helpless seventeen-year-old girl. My own uncle murdered my parents. And I just ran. A few years later, Fisk relocated to New York. Since then, Symkaria… well, things aren't as bad as they used to be. But it definitely could be better."
"It wasn't your fault."
"Like you're the first person to try and convince me otherwise."
"Literally what were you supposed to do-"
"Anything would've been better than running!" Sable blurted out as she resumed walking. "If it had meant going with them-"
"You're here now! And you can't change that! What you can do is try and stop Fisk in a way that doesn't…. involve any more shooting or explosions in the streets," Peter stated as he also continued walking.
"Find a better way and get back to me. As you've experienced firsthand, trying to get real evidence is damn near impossible with this bastard. That flash drive that I assume you took to the police? Put together why nothing's come out of that."
"I know, I'm not an idiot. And the guy's obviously always five steps ahead, but I'm doing something about it."
"And what exactly would you call this naive little crusade of yours?"
"Not the shit you've pulled, that's for sure. Again, I'm not stupid, I know you plan on killing the guy by the end of this."
"And you have a problem?"
"I-I… I mean, you just can't-"
"Kill? As I already said, never taken a life unless there wasn't a choice. Fisk? He's a special exception and you'll only waste all your power trying to convince me otherwise."
Peter stayed silent for the next several minutes, and he and Sable continued through the tunnels until they found an old, disused subway station. The platform was crumbling, and the tracks were long abandoned.
"There," Sable pointed to an emergency exit staircase partially hidden behind a pile of debris.
Peter went over and started pushing the debris out of the way.
"I just have to ask. Why'd you all of a sudden just choose to open up?" Peter asked.
Sable sighed. "If you're really this adamant about getting involved, it's better off you know the truth. Also, you're pretty damn pushy."
"It's a gift."
Once the path was clear, Peter and Sable climbed the stairs. They emerged into the cold night air of Brooklyn, the city skyline visible in the distance. They could hear sirens several miles away, and the two proceeded to flee into an alleyway.
"We're out! Thank God!" Peter exclaimed. "How long were we in there?"
Sable took a deep breath, slightly wincing at the pain in her leg. "Over half an hour."
"Okay, I didn't want to say anything, but are you sure your leg's fine?" Peter asked.
"It's alright," Sable insisted.
Peter looked down. "Hey, look. I-"
Peter's enhanced senses started tingling, and he pulled his mask back down and quickly jumped over three incoming shurikens. Landing on the ground, Peter looked up to see the Foreigner incoming. Visibly battered up, covered with some dirt, and dealing with a broken arm, Foreigner ran over and threw some punches at Peter with his other arm. Peter dodged two, only to be knocked aside by a third.
"Sable! About time we deal with this asshole," Foreigner growled.
Peter got up and glared at Sable. "You tricked me!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Sable exclaimed.
"You think I'm stupid? That's why you opened up to me, so you'd get my trust before this-this trap!" Peter accused.
Sable rolled her eyes before pulling out one of her batons. "That's ignorant even for you. But it is the truth that your role in this war needs to be ceased."
"Don't even bother, kid," Foreigner warned Peter. "I just watched my whole army get blown up, so I'm really not in the mood right now."
Furious, Peter looked straight at Sable and Foreigner. "Don't tell me what to do. Either of you. And both of you get this through your heads right now. You've been blowing up the city for months, and more people are just gonna get hurt. Well, I'm done. I'm gonna take down Fisk, but next time you guys want to cause another shootout or put more lives at risk? It'll just be me and you guys. And I won't hold back."
Foreigner laughed. "Sable, you hearing this kid? Little tryhard thinks he's an Avenger or some shit."
"Watch yourself," Peter warned.
"Or what? If you're so macho, why don't you fight us now?" Foreigner mocked.
Peter smirked under his mask. "Because neither of you are in any fighting condition. It'd just be too easy."
Foreigner started to pull out his blaster, only for sirens to be heard. Peter ran as fast as he could and swung away from the scene, while Sable dropped a smoke bomb in the alleyway, encasing it in smoke.
"Come on!" Sable said to Foreigner as the two proceeded to make their escape.
Meanwhile, on a nearby building, Peter sat down and checked his phone. Six missed calls from Aunt May in the past half hour.
"Shit," Peter muttered.
…
Peter swung home as fast as he could. Making sure to cover up his bruised face with concealer and changing out of his suit, Peter walked into the house and braced for impact.
"Peter! PETER! Where the hell have you been, and why haven't you picked up any of my calls?!" Aunt May practically screamed as she hugged her nephew.
"May, May. I'm so sorry, my phone died! There was an issue with some of the trains in the subway, and people started to panic and overstuff the whole place. There were several delays, and I had to take a later train home with the amount of people around," Peter lied.
Aunt May took a deep sigh. "My God, Peter. Well, that would explain a lot. You said you'd be home a little while ago, and I just had to make sure. You know I have to. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'm so sorry. I really am. And I'll make sure to keep my phone charged."
"It's okay. Look, Peter. I want you to be able to have a life. And your independence. But at the end of the day, I'm still your aunt, and I need you to be safe. And to promise to run in the other way if danger occurs."
"No, no, you're right. I appreciate it, May. And I promise, I'm staying away from all the danger as much as I can."
"Well, that's good. Because according to the news, there was some huge explosion underground in Brooklyn," Aunt May revealed.
Peter felt a chill down his spine. "What?!"
"Yeah. Seems like most of the city felt it. They're still recovering some bodies. And-"
"Actually, I'm probably gonna head to bed. I'm beat. But seriously, I'll stay safe. I love you, May."
"Okay. I love you too, Pete. Have a good night's sleep."
"I will. And I'm not going anywhere, May."
Aunt May had a faint smile on her face as Peter walked up to his room. Collapsing in his bed, Peter started to groan from the bruises he picked up from the fight and explosion. On top of that, one sentence from Sable lingered in his mind.
"Is Fisk truly responsible, or are you just trying to avoid blaming yourself?"
Peter laid in his bed as he clenched his ribs. "Why am I doing this?"
Peter closed his eyes, and fell asleep less than two minutes later.
…
At around one in the morning, inside a shipping container at an abandoned harbor near Hell's Kitchen, Sable, Kris, and a dozen recovered battered soldiers were sitting and waiting.
"How much longer before Victor is here?" Sable asked Kris.
"Should be less than five minutes," Kris responded.
Sable blankly looked ahead at the wall. "Okay."
"Ninety percent of our entire army. Dead, missing, attested. We literally lost most of what we had going in only a few hours," Kris muttered. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still thanking God that we managed to find survivors. But it looks really bleak right now."
"It's horrible. But we have to keep going, there isn't any other option," Sable affirmed.
"Well, you better mean that."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, I'm gonna be upfront, but you were goin' a little softer on that spider guy than you should've."
"Bullshit!"
"I know you were always more hesitant with the killing, but we're not in a place where we can just pick and choose. Sable, Fisk just destroyed a part of Symkaria again. And making him pay before destroying everything isn't gonna be achieved by holding back," Kris argued.
Sable looked down, silent.
"That's what I thought," Kris said.
"You know better than anyone I'd do anything to destroy Fisk," Sable countered.
"Then prove it. Show me who you are."
"We'll take enough time in Symkaria to restrategize and figure everything out. This way, the war ends with Fisk."
"Well, it shouldn't take us too long."
Sable groaned. "I just wish this would all be over."
"It can and will be," Kris stated.
"The amount that are dead. I-"
Kris' phone started ringing, and he picked up. "You here? Perfect. We'll be right out."
"He's here?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Yeah. Alright, soldiers! Our ride's here. Let's go home," Kris announced.
Sable and Kris helped some of the soldiers out of the shipping container as they approached a semi-truck outside. Everyone got in the trailer of the truck as it started to drive off.
"We'll be at the docks in Manhattan in around forty minutes. A jet there will take us back to Symkaria. There's no doubt that it's been an extremely tragic night. But we all fought and survived through the massacre, and we're not just gonna take the loss of our comrades and slap them in the face. Fisk will die. And we won't stop until his charred corpse is burned down," Kris declared to everyone.
…
Peter woke up that morning, feeling significantly better, but still slightly bruised up. He checked his phone and saw that the time was 11:47 AM. Yawning, Peter got out of bed and changed his clothes. Going downstairs, Peter made a toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich and orange juice. Walking over to the living room, Peter sat on the couch as he turned on the TV and ate.
"Good morning, New York. Chaos absolutely erupted in Brooklyn late last night as an underground explosion rocked the borough, sending shockwaves throughout the city. The explosion, which occurred underground, has left many questions unanswered and authorities scrambling for explanations-"
Peter switched the channel to an episode of Friends.
…
That Tuesday after school, Peter sat in a room in the school library, pulling out his laptop. Peter kept reading and watching news reports and social media posts on the incident.
The Underground Explosion that 75% of Brooklyn Felt: The Eyewitnesses and Damage
The Uncovering and Mystery behind the Brooklyn Boom
"I was literally walking home from McDonalds, and the ground just hella vibrated! Everyone fell on their feet, some cars and buildings got a bit damaged, it was insane. Everyone was recording and shit, I also-"
Five minutes later, Harry came in.
"Yo, sorry about that, dude. I asked Mr. Johnson about our final project and he wouldn't stop rambling after that," Harry apologized.
"You're good. I'm just trying to study and eat and kind of just chill right now," Peter sighed.
"I get that. You want to go get a snack or something?" Harry asked.
Peter got up. "Yeah, sure."
The two friends left the school library and started walking down to Jazzies, the school coffee shop.
"How are classes goin' for you?" Peter asked.
"Not bad, but… eh, I got a B- in geometry now. Dad was not happy about that one," Harry said.
"I mean, a B- isn't terrible."
"Tell him that. Went on the whole same tangent about how I have to put myself at the highest standards and all that bullshit. I swear, it's like he expects me to be as smart as him."
"Does he just get on your ass about this stuff a lot?"
"I mean, not all the time. But it's shit like this why I gotta especially be careful with my grades, or how I act in public with him, or whatever."
"Sheesh. You did tell me being Norman Osborn's son wasn't everything," Peter recalled.
"And don't get me wrong, I don't have a bad relationship with my dad. We have plenty of good days, and he always tells me I got limitless potential or something being an Osborn. But the guy definitely expects a bit too much sometimes," Harry admitted.
"Okay, I gotcha. I mean, at least he wants the best for you at the end of the day. Maybe he's just got a different way of showing it?"
"Yeah, maybe."
The two made it to Jazzies, where there was a small line. In front of them was Liz, much to Peter's visible shock.
Liz noticed Peter and gave him a smile. "Hey, Pete! What's up?"
"Hey, Liz! Uhh, not much! Just here with my buddy Harry. Uhh, Harry, this is Liz," Peter awkwardly stated.
Harry gave a small wave. "Hey."
"Hey! Norman Osborn's son, right?" Liz asked.
Harry chucked. "That's right."
"That's gotta be so cool. You livin up the billionaire lifestyle or?" Liz asked.
"Eh, not exactly. It has its moments. But I'm just here and chilling," Harry replied.
"Still, that's pretty cool," Liz complimented.
Harry nodded. "Thanks."
"Liz, I know you've always said you'd probably be too busy to hang," Peter interjected. "But are you doing anything for Halloween by any chance?"
Liz frowned. "Sorry, I already got plans with friends for a party!"
"And I assume you'll still be too busy to hang even after Halloween?" Peter asked.
"I mean, we'll have to see," Liz replied.
"French Vanilla with extra cream!" the lady at Jazzies called
Liz went over and grabbed her drink. "Thanks!"
"Next in line!" the lady called.
"Nice meeting you, Harry. And I'll see you in class Monday, Pete!" Liz said before starting to turn away.
"Later," Harry responded before walking up to place his order.
"Wait, Liz! W-would you maybe wanna get a selfie? Or something? For my Instagram?" Peter asked.
Liz looked down a little. "Oh, sorry, Pete. I'm actually really camera shy. Maybe you could take a pic with Harry or something!"
"Dude," Harry quietly groaned under his breath.
"Yeah, uh, totally. Sure. Whatever. I'll see you Monday, Liz," Peter sighed.
Liz walked away, and Harry got his chocolate muffin.
"What you gonna get?" Harry asked.
"I'm not hungry anymore," Peter muttered.
Harry sighed. "Sorry about that, man."
"I mean, it can't be the worst thing ever. Right?"
"Sure, but I mean… you have mentioned how busy she always is when you ask to hang."
"Yeah, but she's got a lot going on."
"Oh, I'm sure. But at the same time, we're around halfway through the semester. If she wanted to put in the effort to make time, she definitely could've."
Peter shook his head. "God, maybe you're right. Or she really could just be crammed. She's in cheer, she's got our project, she mentioned she was thinking about trying debate-"
"Peter. Why would she have been so 'camera shy' to take just one picture with you?" Harry asked.
"People actually can get camera shy!"
"Yeah, definitely. But don't you and Liz follow each other on Instagram? Isn't she probably posting a lot of stuff with her family or the popular kids or whomever?"
Peter pulled up Liz's Instagram and skimmed it again. "Is she really that embarrassed to show people we're friends?"
"No, I'm sure she's not embarrassed," Harry half-lied.
"Well, look at everything you're saying! I don't know, man. It's just… gah, I'm probably better off not thinking about it."
"Probably."
"Thanks for keepin' it real with me, though," Peter thanked.
"Of course, man," Harry said.
"And if you ever need any help in geometry, I gotcha."
"Definitely might have to take you up on that. Straight A report card would not be unattractive to the fam at all."
…
Deep in a dark, secret underground base, the Foreigner walked deeply through the shadows. A few lights shone on something, and Foreigner watched in awe. He made a call through his ear piece.
"Found it," Foreigner said.
"You sure it can do the job?" a soldier asked through the other end.
"It'll take some time, but it'll be enough to incinerate Fisk and his followers," Foreigner declared.
…
Yeah, I'm sure you guys have gotten used to me publishing monthly by now. Again, that's not necessarily something I strictly adhere to, and I'll publish earlier or later if necessary. Just whatever doesn't sacrifice quality. But I hope you guys enjoyed this newer chapter!
In terms of the personal life, I'm still spending time with family and friends, looking for a job, watching and writing stuff, and overall just trying to enjoy life. We got 3 chapters left before the first year of the story is concluded!
JohnnyPrime - Yeah, he sure did haha! Thank you for the continued support! Things will only keep getting more heated from here!
-redbirds12
Ehh, fuck it. I'm feeling hella nice, so here's the titles of the upcoming final three chapters! It's been a blast writing this first year, and make sure to stick around for the rest! I promise everything will pay off in an explosive, cathartic, and emotional manner. Until then, favs, follows, and reviews are appreciated as always! Thanks for all the continued support!
Chapter 10: Judas
Chapter 11: Break Free
Chapter 12: City of Snow and Fire