(Heroes for Hire)
Gamelover41592: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. I knew that Peter and Gwen talking was inevitable, and I thought this was the right time to do it.
Spectacular Webhead 11: Yep, with the inclusion of Raphael, all of the Turtles now officially know Spider-Man's true identity. Always glad to have another Peter x Gwen shipper. I'm also glad to see you approve of how I portrayed the Jackal.
Superjoeyf721: Who's to say that Leo didn't get the cane to the foot off-screen? Of course Raph would be mad about not knowing, angry is more or less his default emotion, but making that callback to that Risky Business scene with Peter and MJ from an earlier chapter. There's still a lot of work for our heroes to do, so you'd better get comfortable, because this story is going to take awhile.
Vfc15650: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Given how tense the situation of Peter revealing his identity to anyone can be, I figured humor would probably be the best way to calm things down for him, and I like to incorporate a fair amount of humor when I can. I'm glad you caught onto that nod to MJ's backstory. I figured that if I was going to have her act as support character, it was only right to at least hint to a backstory and give her some character development. Peter getting the chance to talk to Gwen was definitely something I was looking forward to, and I'm sure a lot of the readers did as well. It's going to be a while before Gwen reveals to Peter that she knows his secret, but I can tell you now, a lot is going to happen during that time. Thank you for understanding my reasons for taking a break from this story. Don't worry, I'll be back to it before you know it.
Tortugafash2002: Yep, with Raph's inclusion, all of the Turtles know Spider-Man's identity. Of course I did think about having Raph figure it out on his own, but then again he's not really much of a thinker, so I didn't really see it working for him. Bringing in the Jackal definitely does raise the possibilities of adapting the Clone Saga, especially given his affiliation with the Kraang and their plans with a certain character later on, but I haven't really decided where to go with that just yet.
Guest: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. I figured that if I was going to take a break, it would have to be at least after Peter and Gwen reconcile. They're not together yet, but they will be soon enough. Spider-Man revealing his identity to all of the Turtles. It's funny that you mention more heroes showing up in this story, because aside from Daredevil, I do have some ideas for at least a few others to appear. As for who they are, you'll just have to wait and see.
Guest (ch 1): You've definitely got a lot of ideas for characters to include. I can't say for sure that I'll be able to include all of them, but at the very least I'll be making a lot of nods and references to characters over the course of the story.
Guest (ch 14): Like I said, at the very least I'll include a series of nods and references.
Guest: I didn't mean anything by it, bringing up the video MJ took was just meant to be a funny callback to that scene.
Guest: I actually hadn't heard about it before you told me, but you're right, that is really good news for many Spider-Man fans. Thanks for letting me know.
Theawesomeflash: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. You do have a point, this is a TMNT story in addition to being a Spider-Man story, so an additional plot for the Turtles here and there probably wouldn't be a bad idea. I am giving Mikey more focus, since out of all four of the Turtles, Peter is the closest to him. I don't know about the Turtles getting super powers, but I'm gonna do my best to do right by them.
Guest: You'll see soon enough.
Guest: Your wish is granted.
Guest: You definitely have some good ideas. I guess we'll have to wait and see if that actually happens.
David Case: Since you put out so many reviews, I'm just going to respond to all of them at the same time. You definitely have a lot of characters on your mind to make appearances. I can't say that all of them will appear, but at the very least, I'll be making a fair number of references and nods to characters throughout the story, so keep an eye out for those. As for your idea about a redemption arc for Karai, it does sound like a pretty interesting idea. I'll do some brainstorming on that and see what I can come up with. As for Harry's role in the story, I do have some ideas for that, and you'll see what they are in due time. All I'm going to say is that he's going to have a pretty substantial role later on, though whether that's good or bad, I won't say. You'll just have to wait and see.
C.S. Allen: I actually didn't know Shredder and the Foot had front companies. I never really read those comics growing up, I just watched the shows. I might see what I can do for that, so we'll have to wait and see.
Guest: Now you have your answer.
Guest: I actually have given some thought to that, but as for how that's going to play out, you'll have to wait and see.
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The night was far from quiet throughout New York City, though also about as peaceful as it could be.
'Another night of crime fighting, another night of little to no decent sleep.' Spider-Man let out a long sigh as he continued web-slinging his way across the city skyline, letting out a long yawn as he did so, and being forced to shake off the exhaustion he was feeling just in time to avoid crashing into the side of a skyscraper, and he stopped on top of a smaller building "Seriously though, I don't know how the shell the guys can keep doing these all nighters without passing out for days on end."
"I can imagine it takes a great deal of dedication and discipline."
Spider-Man jumped and leapt back a short distance in a panic, only to relax slightly when he took notice of Daredevil standing in front of him "Seriously, my Spider Sense never works when I want it to."
"It could be that, or it could be due to the extensive fatigue you appear to be suffering."
"That's a pretty good guess. For crying out though, it's 3 in the morning. How in the hell do guys like you and the Turtles do this without passing out?"
"As I said, a great deal of dedication and discipline. That and a substantial amount of coffee does little to hurt in that regard."
"That sounds about right. Seriously though, as important as it is for me and the guys to keep the city safe, these all nighters are really taking their toll on me. Plus Peter Parker has some serious plans to be ready for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is a Saturday, so I know you don't have school."
"Nope, it's strictly a matter of the social variety. I'm meeting up with Gwen for breakfast in the morning."
"The daughter of Captain Stacy of the NYPD."
"That's the one. It's only been about a week since the two of us started talking again, but it feels amazing. It feels kind of like old times, before all of the drama started, but even better. It's like the past few months never happened."
"I see. I'm happy for you, truly. Speaking of the past week, I believe there was something else monumental that happened one week ago today?"
"You mean finally taking down the Jackal, and subsequently paying him back for how he created Kraven, Molten Man and Hydro Man, along with screwing over the Connors and forcing them to move out of the city?"
"There is that, and something else monumental in your life."
"Ah, you're talking about revealing my identity to all four of the Turtles. Yeah I've gotta admit, it does feel pretty good not having to hide who I am from any of them anymore. For a whole week now, things have felt really good. But I can't get complacent though. As good as things may be now, it means I have to work extra hard to make sure they stay that way."
"Well said. Our line of work has no room for complacency. You never know when something may come rushing around a corner." it was then that they noticed a getaway car being chased by a series of police cruisers "Speak of the devil."
"Pun intended?"
"Not particularly. I should be able to handle this one myself. Go and get some rest. I believe you need it more than I do."
"I would object to that, but I'm too tired to care, so I'm just gonna say thanks and get the shell out of here before my conscience wakes up." so Spider-Man gave Daredevil a two finger salute and promptly swung away in the direction of Queens 'I wasn't kidding though. It's been a whole week since the fiasco at the World Wide Genome Project, and things have actually been pretty great. I brought down the Jackal and avenged everyone he screwed over, my identity is out to all four of the Turtles, along with Splinter and April, so I don't have to hide who I am from any of them anymore, and to make it even better, I even patched things up with Gwen. I feel like I'm on top of the world. I don't think there's anything that can ruin this for me right now.'
What went unnoticed however, was a lone figure watching Spider-Man swing away from his place hidden on a nearby rooftop, clad in a trenchcoat and a dark hat 'So that's Spider-Man in the flesh, huh? I guess we'll have to see how this pans out.'
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(the scene opens up to Peter Parker as Spiderman standing one top of one of the buildings in New York. The scene shifts to the same scene as before but now it shows the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo standing next to Spiderman. Spiderman turns to the audience as he raises his right arm before he shoots out his web from his wrist towards another direction off-screen and begins to web-sling as the TMNT begin to follow him as the title of the fanfic: Along Came Some Turtles appeared.)
Whoa Whoa Whoa...
(The next scene shows Peter Parker standing alone on top of a building, but then he looks back to see the Turtles standing behind him, and he smiles. The scene then transitions to the five of them spending time with their friends and family, all of them having a good time with each other)
Daijoubu ore ga nanman kai mo sakende yaru
Kimi no ashita ga subete kagayaite iru to shinjiteru
(The ext scene shows a past events involving Spiderman's origins (getting bitten by the spider and losing his Uncle Ben) and the TMNT origins (them and Splinter getting mutated, along with flashes of their training to become ninjas) as well with all the important details for each one shown and how they come to be who they are now.)
Yume o kanaeta subete no hito ni kasanariau kyoutsuuten
Akirame nakattatte koto soredake sa maken nayo
(The next scene shows the rooftops of New York city as Spiderman and the TMNT were having a stand off towards the Foot Clan ninjas and mutants. They all stood there in silence as the heroes charged forwards to face their foes)
Mukaikaze ni nagasare kujike sou na toki wa
Kono te nigire TRY TO TAKE A CHANCE mou
Kimi wa hitori nanka ja naize?
(the next scene shows the villains of Spiderman and the TMNT have delt with over the years as the Shredder takes the top of this pyramid of villains.)
Motto motto mae e mae e kimi no ikashita yume akiramenaide (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
Sou naite nai de susume MY WAY ima (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
Kimi o terashiten da hikari (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
Akirame nanka zenbu sutete tsuyosa to hikikae ni mata kizutsuite (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
(The next scene shows the heroes fighting their respective villains with Spiderman handling The Rhino, Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Venom while the TMNT dealing with Stockman-Fly, Bebop, Rocksteady, Tiger Claw, and the Shredder.)
Demo kimi no massugu na hitomi ni wa
Ima mieru daro hikari
(The next scene shows that the heroes looking battered and defeated but they begin to rise back up as Raphael stood up with a roar as Spiderman shot some webbing towards screen.)
Whoa Whoa Whoa...
(The final scene shows a still image of Spider Man and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ready to face off against their villains once again)
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Another day, and the sun was shining brightly over the skies above New York City.
'Gotta give it to this kid, he's faster than he looks.' the cloaked figure was making his way down the street along the sidewalk, only to be forced to duck into an alley to avoid being spotted by two specific people.
As it turns out, one of those two people was Gwen, walking down the street with Peter while engaged in a particularly intriguing conversation "So what's this called again?"
"I had some trouble with pronunciation, but he said it's referred to as ninniku seishin." Peter told her "Apparently it's the ability to endure insults with patience and humility, and you can't call yourself a true ninja without mastering it. And apparently you can't get through a single day of high school without it either. I learned that the hard way. Seriously, if only I had Splinter as my wisdom guru for our first three years, I could've avoided doing a lot of stupid stuff.
"So not to be like that right now, but I can't help but wonder…"
"Let me guess, you're wondering how I spent most of Summer vacation befriending four giant mutant turtles armed with ninja weapons?" Peter glanced over at Gwen with a raised eyebrow, causing her to blush and look away "Yeah I kind of figured, that's not the sort of thing that doesn't go unquestioned. And truth be told I kind of figured I was gonna get some questions when I called you and practically begged you not to tell anyone about Mikey."
"Right. So um…"
"Okay okay, I did promise them I wouldn't give away anything really crucial so I'm just gonna give you the short version. It was one night around the beginning of Summer, I was trying to get some more pictures of Spider-Man when I ended up coming across them. Thinking they were gonna turn out to be some kind of new group of supervillains or something, I trailed them back to their home, where I met all four of them officially along with their dad. He told me of how they came to be who and what they are, how he was an old friend of Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and I promised I wouldn't tell anyone about them, along with ripping up any pictures I had of them. I wasn't gonna make that mistake again."
"Again?"
"The incident with the Lizard."
"Oh. That. Right." both of them cringed at the memories "Well to be completely honest, looking back on that whole situation, I think I was harder on you than I should've been."
"What do you mean?"
"Well back when I first saw the picture you took in the paper, I was really upset that you just ran out instead of helping us. But I thought about it for awhile, and then I remembered you telling me about trying to earn extra money to help your aunt. At least then I knew you weren't just doing it for selfish reasons. You were looking out for your family and trying to help in the only way you really could. And to be completely honest, if I were in your position I can't say for sure that I wouldn't have done the same thing. Plus I think you said yourself, you made sure that there wasn't anything giving away that any of the Connors were involved."
"That's… That's actually a really big relief to hear. Thanks Gwen."
"No worries Pete, it was the least I could do." Gwen gave a small smile, though looked away as her thoughts began drifting 'Then again, it really helps to put things into perspective to find out that Peter was the one who saved Dr Connors and turned him back to normal. I can't even begin to imagine how many girls have to deal with the guy they've been in love with for years secretly being a superhero.'
"Speaking of the Connors, I can only imagine how happy they must have been when they heard that Miles Warren was behind bars."
"Oh yeah that reminds me, I actually got a message from Dr Connors yesterday."
"Which one?"
"Martha. Apparently the board at ESU contacted them a little while ago and offered to give them back their lab if they move back to the city."
"They're coming back when?"
"She didn't give a specific day, but sometime in the next few months. Before the end of the year, I know that much."
"No way, that's awesome." Peter's face lit up at the news, though he frowned slightly as another thought occurred to him 'Yeah it's great that they're finally getting back to where they belong, but it might cause some problems too. Part of me was relieved that the Connors left when they did because it was around the time I discovered that the Kraang were kidnapping scientists were using them to modify their Mutagen. At least with them out of the city, it put them out of the Kraang's reach. Coming back might put them in the line of fire.' he paused and glanced back as a familiar sensation started ringing through his head 'Speaking of the line of fire, once again the Spider Sense goes off when it's least wanted.'
"Pete what's wrong?" Gwen looked over at him.
"I can't say for sure, but I think we're being followed."
"We are?" Gwen followed his gaze until they spotted the figure in the trench coat hiding at the edge of an alleyway behind them "Wait a second, is that…?" and then she actually started to laugh, which left Peter considerably baffled "I think I know who it is."
"You do?"
"Only one way to find out." Gwen took a few steps back towards the alleyway, and then she started doing… well, this "New York City, it's your city. A city that you come to know like the back of your own hand, but that's how you know one crucial detail about it… That it has a dark side."
"That's where people like me come in." the figure slowly stepped out from the alleyway and subsequently started go go along with the bit "Whether people realize it or not, there are all kinds of criminal factions lurking underground and in the shadows. People like the Big Man, or all the other wannabes that lurk in the shadows, or hide in plain sight. But he's not the benevolent and kind-hearted philanthropist that he wants everyone to think he is. No, that part of his personality is as fake as the smile on a used car salesman."
'Well at least this guy seems to have a brain underneath that fedora.' Peter studied the figure in silence 'And Gwen seems to know him, so at least that's a plus. Then again, just because you know someone outside of the whole supervillain thing doesn't mean they're not bound to go nuts or try and kill you. Just take a look at Green Goblin, Venom, Electro, Molten Man, Hydro Man, the Jackal, the Lizard… Wow, a lot of the people I know have tried to kill me over the past year alone.'
"Many a people know who he really is, not many live to shout it out." the figure took a few steps towards the two of them "There are some who don't want that fate to fall upon any more innocent souls than it already has, and that's where people like me come in. People willing to get their hands dirty and do what has to be done. I've been fishing for leads, but now here I am, drifting along a sea of dead ends… and then I run into her. The one that shines the only ray of light into my dreary world."
"You really know how to make a girl feel special." Gwen let out a chuckle, then suddenly pulled the figure into a hug "It's good to see you."
"The same to you kid. Now you wanna start with some introductions? I can see your buddy back there staring at me and it's pretty clear he's got no idea what the hell is going on."
"Oh yeah, good point." Gwen looked between the two of them "Anyway this is Peter Parker, the guy I told you about. Peter, this is Mac Gargan, my uncle."
"Your uncle?" Peter glanced over at him "I can see the resemblance sort of, but I thought you said your dad was…"
"He's on my mom's side."
"Ah. Gotcha."
"Yeah I know, she didn't get my rugged good looks." Mac gave a shrug as he and Peter quickly shook hands "Good to meet you kid."
"You too. Let me guess, you're wondering why I'm dressed like the sort of guy you would see out of a 20's gangster movie?"
"I didn't say-"
"You didn't have to, it's more or less the go to reaction people get with me. At this point I tend to just assume the position, so to speak."
"Fair enough I guess. So… why the getup and the narrating then? I mean I have no room to talk about other people narrating out loud, I've got four friends that can attest to that."
"Let me give you the short version. Since being a PI usually puts me towards doing all sorts of detective work, I figured that the only way to really be good at this sort of gig was to do the proper research on the subject."
"Which means what exactly?"
"In short, all of the decent detective books and movies people know of."
"Which has to do with dressing like a 20's gangster?"
"I'm just continuing a trend that's already been established, and based on my research, all of the success gained in this line of work come from people that wear hats and trenchcoats while they narrate their thoughts."
"You really think that copying something you see in a movie is a good way to go about doing your work?"
"Better something like this than any of the stuff out of Jackass."
"...Fair enough."
"And there you go." there was a pause, and then Gargan let out a chuckle "Credit where it's due kid, you've got some spunk. I like that. Gwen's got a good one if she sticks with someone like you."
"You… do know where just friends right?"
"I know a lot of things that are, a lot of things that should be, such as-"
"Okay, I think that's enough of that." Gwen was quick to cut into their conversation as her face turned red, and then she chose to change the subject "So Uncle Mac, what brings you around me and Pete?"
"Nothing too big, just checking in on my favorite niece."
"Is that the reason why you were watching us from a dark alleyway like a predator?"
"What, you really have that little trust in me?"
The only response Gwen gave was crossing her arms and giving Gargan a scowl and a raised eyebrow, which left both him and Peter frozen on the spot.
'God dammit, she had to break out The Look didn't she? Alright alright fine, you know I can't lie to you. Not like you had any complaints when you went along with our little bit. The truth is some annoying little schmuck hired me because he thought your future boyfriend over there-"
"We're not dating." Peter's interjection went ignored.
"-had some kind of connection to Spider-Man, and he wanted me to follow him and see if it would lead me to him. In my defense, I never thought I was gonna end up having to trail my own niece."
"So… you're here because of me?"
"To keep it short, yes." Gargan paused and looked between him and Gwen, then breathed a heavy sigh "But I'm just gonna go ahead and get this part over with, if for no other reason to make this guy shut up. You're the kid who takes the pictures of Spider-Man, right?"
"Yeah."
"You get good shots, you've got a real talent for the art. So how do you do it? It's like whenever there's stuff going on with Spider-Man on the scene, you seem to show up in just the right place at just the right time. What's your secret?"
"Uh… just a good lens and a lot of luck I guess. It's really not much more than that."
"Is that so?" Gargan studied Peter closely for a minute, then backed off "Alright, I'll take your word for it."
"Oh thank god, I mean you will?"
"From what I can tell, you seem like a good kid with a good head on your shoulders. Sure I might do this gig mainly to make about $75,000 a year and get dirt on people that deserve it, but I ain't gonna screw over the good ones just to make a quick buck. New Yorker or not, some of us have to have standards. Plus I wouldn't wanna do anything to upset my niece, lest she give me the Look for the rest of my life."
"That's… actually a pretty big relief to hear. Thanks for that Mr Gargan."
"Forget it kid, just stay out of trouble and take good care of Gwennie over there. Anyway I gotta go, gotta make a certain stop and then do some work stuff. Take care you too, and see you this weekend Gwennie." Gargan tipped his hat, and then he walked away from them."
"Well… he seemed nice enough."
"Yeah, he's a little rough around the edges and he's got his quirks, but he's a really good guy once you get to know him." Gwen gave a shrug, then let out a nervous sigh 'Honestly that was too close, part of me was worried he might have figured out Peter's secret. And then that I found out about it. But yeah, he really is a decent guy."
"I get that. So I guess helping people runs in the family for you then?"
"More or less. An uncle who's a PI, a dad who's a cop, and when I become a real scientist I want to use it to make the world a better place."
"I'd be up for that myself. Plus it's like Aunt May always says, if you help someone then you help everyone."
"I've been learning a lot about that myself." Gwen gave him a smile, her thoughts drifting as they continued walking 'One example that comes to mind is what I've been doing lately. I'll admit that part of it is trying to make up for leaving you alone Peter, but since I found out about your secret, I want to do whatever I can to help you. No matter what happens, I'm going to stay by your side… Because I love you Pete, I never stopped. I just hope the day comes soon when I can say it to you for real again.'
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Hours passed.
'Now comes the annoying part of the job: dealing with unsatisfied clients.' Gargan breathed a sigh as he made his way out of the elevator and into a certain penthouse, where he found a certain young man with short red hair "Sorry about the wait, I had something important to take care of."
"Don't bother with the apologies, my family isn't really known for that." Harry just led Gargan into the office "So what did you find out?"
"To put it frankly I didn't get a damn thing."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I spent like three days seeing what I could get out of the Parker kid, I think it's pretty clear by now that he doesn't have any real connection with Spider-Man."
"So I pay all that money to get you to help me, and I find out now that you're useless?!"
"Right start throwing out insults, like that's gonna make all the difference."
"Don't act like you don't know anything. Peter has to known something about Spider-Man, he's the one who keeps getting the pictures so he's gotta know something. How hard can it be to trail him to Spider-Man's secret hideout?"
"Don't blame me for that. How can you expect me to follow a trail when there's no trail for a guy to follow? Besides why the insistence on tracking Spider-Man down in the first place? It's not like he's actually hurting anyone or going into the whole supervillain motif."
"That's what you think." Harry scowled and looked out the window of the office "You know who my dad was right?"
"Yeah, he turned out to be the Green Goblin. That's pretty common knowledge around the city at this point."
"Everyone else only knows that part of it… but I know the other part. He was only like that because he was sick, a victim of… some really bad stuff that messed with his head. I know better than anyone else how much that stuff can change you, and not for the better. Spider-Man was supposed to be the good guy, the one that helps sick people like him, but you know what he did instead? He killed him in cold blood, let him get blown to hell. Someone needs to show the city, the world who and what Spider-Man really is. He goes around acting like a big time superhero, when he's nothing but a glory hound and cold blooded murderer."
'So the kid says, but it's pretty clear he's got his own set of issues.' Gargan studied Harry intently for a moment, then slipped a card out of his pocket and sat it on the desk "Try giving them a shot then."
"What's that for?"
"I'm a PI kid, not a miracle worker. You can't expect me to be able to do everything you come up with just because you sign a paycheck. Speaking of which-"
"Check is already in the mail."
"Good. Anyway you can't expect a normal guy to be able to do everything, but try giving this a thought. If you wanna bring down a supervillain, try checking out a superhero to get the job done for you."
"What, you mean like call up the Avengers or the Fantastic Four?"
"I was thinking something a little bit more local. These are a few friends of mine from my poker group, stationed here in the city. They're good at what they do, but I should warn you now that their services aren't cheap. Oh yeah, and they usually want half the payment up front. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got other stuff to do." Gargan tipped his hat and walked out of the office and into the elevator 'Sure the guys are good at what they do, but they're also good judges of character. They'll track down the webhead for themselves and see if this kid's claims have any actual merit.'
Now Harry was left alone, scowling in the direction that Gargan left, until he took a look at the card left on the desk 'If you wanna stop a supervillain, get a superhero to do the job. Maybe he had a point. Fine then, let's see what these Heroes for Hire can do.'
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And that led to this…
"I've got a good idea of what you're probably thinking." Harry glanced out the window of the office, his gaze fixed on the skyline of New York City "And I know pretty well what you think of my dad too. But I know the truth that so many people out there don't. My dad wasn't just some psychopath. I know he did a lot of bad stuff, but he wasn't well. He couldn't help it! I knew that, and Spider-Man knew that, but instead of trying to help him, you know what he did? He killed him in cold blood. I know the truth now. He's not a hero, and he's a lot more than just some masked menace. He's a murderer. He's dangerous, and someone's gotta bring him down before it happens to anyone else. I can't do it on my own, but that's where you come in." he took a deep breath and turned around "So what do you say? Will you guys take my case?"
"Sure thing." standing before Harry were two figures, the first one being a tall dark-skiined man, bald with a goatee, wearing a sleeveless hoodie (Luke Cage), and next to him was a man clad in a green and yellow martial arts outfit, complete with a yellow mask over his eyes (Iron Fist) "But don't forget about our policy, we need half the fee up front."
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Nightfall came, and the moon was shining brightly over the skies above New York City.
"Don't just sit there you idiots, punch it!" and another night came another pack of idiots trying to make a break for it in a getaway car after pulling off a bank robbery, and taking the chance to count their new unearned riches as they did so "There's gotta be at least $30,000 in here, talk about a hell of a score."
"No kidding, this is freaking awesome." the driver gave a smirk "Plus that idiot Spidey is too busy with all the new freaks running around to worry about guys like us."
"You wanna bet boys?" this was when Spider-Man suddenly leapt down onto the windshield of the car "Ta-da, say my name and I magically appear.
"Spider-Man!"
"That's my name, don't wear it out. Plus I'm new and improved, complete with all sorts of new tricks. Check it." he used his webbing to yank open the hood of the car, then leapt up and fired a single shot of webs onto the engine, unleashing a powerful surge of electricity that caused it to sputter and die out, and then Spidey leapt down and used his enhanced physical strength to stop the car in its tracks "Done and done."
"Yeah, after I shove these into your skull!" the guy in the passenger seat bolted out of the car and aimed two guns at Spider-Man… only for them to immediately be clogged with webbing, and then for him to get an elbow to the back and subseqnelty webbed to the side of the car, with the rest of the thugs following not long after "Aw dammit."
"And that's how we do thinks around here, takes notes boys." Spider-Man was promptly met with the sound of a police siren rang through the streets, and then a police cruiser pulling up behind the getaway car "Ah, and here comes the not so adoring public now. In the form of a somewhat familiar face by the look of it.'
"Don't get ahead of yourself." it was at this moment that a figure stepped out of the driver's seat, this one being an asian woman in her 30's with shoulder-length black hair, and she took a look around the scene "Stopped the car with no one being hurt, and minimal property damage. I doubt many people would be able to complain about this one."
"And yet I'm sure people will find a way. Not like it's a surprise, we live in New York."
"You're one of those guys that likes to hear himself talk aren't you? Well better you than the guys that keep shooting people."
"Aw, that was almost a compliment. I think."
"As close as you're gonna get with me." she studied Spider-Man intently for a moment "You know the NYPD tends to have pretty mixed feelings about you. My captain is actually a pretty big supporter of you, the same with his sergeant. My best friend on the other hand, can't say the same for her."
"Uh huh. And where do you sit on the matter?"
"Keep rounding up the people that try to shoot people's heads off instead of doing it yourself, and we'll see how that goes."
"Anything else?"
"Try keeping the property damage to a minimum, the more of that you cause means a hell of a lot more paperwork for me."
"Duly noted officer."
"Lieutenant. Lieutenant Yuri Watanabe. Anyway clear out, the professionals have work to do here."
"Good enough for me. See you on the flipside lieutenant."
"And never say that again."
"I can only promise to try." and so Spider-Man promptly webbed a line and swung away from the scene, though as he did, a low growling noise drew his attention 'And that's a pretty clear indicator that I'm running out of steam. Lucky for me, pizza places in New York are as common as trash on the sidewalk. Time to get a little pick-me-up, maybe check in on the guys and see how things are going. I wonder if that place Eddie's is willing to do rooftop deliveries.'
'At least with him gone, now I can do my work without the unnecessary headache.' Yuri on the other hand, she turned to where the thugs were still webbed to the car and tried to pry them loose, to no avail 'And from the look of it, I spoke too soon.'
"Yuri!" this was when another female officer (Jean DeWolff) came rushing onto the scene "How bad was it?"
"The only thing unbearable was a certain guy in a mask making jokes he thinks are funnier than they really."
"In other words, Spider-Man showed up and made things more complicated. Again. Well that's just great."
"Hey watch it, being sarcastic is my thing. What's the big deal?"
"Listen Yuri, I've already gone over this with both the sergeant and the captain. Spider-Man means well, at least as far as we know. His intentions aren't the problem. What is the problem is that when he takes the law into his own hands, he goes too far."
"And Carter thinks that he hasn't gone far enough. Granted those are big words coming from the dude that's always so gung ho, but at least he knows a good thing when he sees one. Besides, you see anything about this situation that's going too far?"
The only response DeWolff gave was looking away.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"It still doesn't sit well with me."
"Neither does that one dude from HR that keeps hitting on me, but some things in life you learn to deal with. The way I see it, as long as he's making sure that people don't get killed by all of the lunatics running around the city, that's good enough for me."
"...Fine, I'll keep that in mind. For now at least."
"Works for me. Anyway change of topic, you got any tips on how to get these idiots out of the webs?"
"Frankly we haven't been able to come up with anything better than waiting for them to dissolve on their own."
"...Shit, we're gonna be here for awhile aren't we?"
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Meanwhile, with two more vigilantes…
"There is one thing I don't get about this." Iron Fist glanced over at Luke as they watched the scene unfold from their place hidden in an alleyway, while the cops were trying to chip away at the webbing binding the thugs "Why did he go with us?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Luke shot him a raised eyebrow.
"This kid is the son of that shady billionair industrialist, he's got the money and the resources to do pretty much whatever he wants. Why not just go out there and take Spider-Man down on his own, or get one of the big shots to do it, like the Avengers? Someone like him would probably have the connections."
"Just because his dad had the connections doesn't mean he's got them too."
"Either way, I just don't get it."
"It makes sense to me, the kid's got a lot of pride. He wants to avenge his dad, but he doesn't want to admit that he's gotta call on the big shots like the Avengers to do it for him. At least with us he makes it clear that he wants us to bring the guy to him, so he can pay him out."
"That's a fair point. Normally I don't believe in the path of vengeance, but I can see that if I did, I would want to go after my target directly."
"But the thing is that he's just a kid, he needs some real muscle to take this guy down and bring him back so he can meet him face to face."
"That does make sense. So what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that those guys were idiots. That bank they were robbing was a front, I remember being told by a few punks that it used to be controlled by Silvermane."
"And let's not forget about that brawl Spider-Man got into with Silvermane, Doctor Octopus and the Big Man back on Valentine's Day. For all we know, he could be genuinely trying to stop them and make the city safer."
"Either that or he's trying to get his hands on their cash for himself."
"Did any thugs or anyone tell you anything about that?"
"Nope, as far as I can tell no one's gotten their hands on any of Silvermane's cash, not even the Big Man himself."
"So whatever his game is, he's not even in it for the cash." Iron Fist paused for a moment, then let out a chuckle "It's kind of funny when you think about it."
"What the hell are you so happy about?"
"Just the thought of us trying to catch a supposed murderer and menace. Power Man and Iron Fist, fighting off fake injustice throughout the supposed greatest city on earth. We might as well be working with the Avengers then. The thought of it is kind of exciting."
"Dammit dude, will you give that a rest? And we've gone over this Danny, I told you never to call me Power Man."
"Fine fine. So what's the plan?"
"It's not gonna be that hard to track this guy down, he leaves the webs behind whenever he's swinging around the place. But aside from that, if he's looking out for the places holding cash for other crime bosses then maybe he'll do the same with another."
"Assuming that's actually what he's doing and he's not just being a good samaritan trying to do his part with the power he's been given."
"...Don't be so freaking corny with lines like that Danny. In any case, I think it's time for us to shake down some informants."
"Fine, let's just get this over with. I never liked this part of the job."
"Speak for yourself. Besides we need the info to track down the webhead, and god only knows what he's getting up to right now."
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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…
'Please tell me this is it.' Spider-Man had his eyes on the prize as he dropped down onto a the roof of a certain skyscraper, where he found a tall man in his 30s holding a pizza box "I take it you're Eddie?"
"Yep, and you're the one that's got good taste in places to get a pie." the man shot him a smirk as he held out the pizza box and opened it "As requested, with double pepperoni."
"Oh thank the great god above, Eddie you're a lifesaver."
"The hell with that Spidey, that's your job."
"Fair enough. So how much do I owe you for the pizza?"
"Don't worry about that, if anything this is my way of repaying you." Eddie handed the pizza to Spider-Man, his gaze softening slightly "Not just for the whole thing about saving the city from a pack of psychopaths a dozen times over. You saved my sister awhile back, during that whole thing with that giant water guy."
"You're… talking about Hydro-Man aren't you?"
"Yeah, I think that's what they were calling him. You saved her, along with pretty much all the others around there, from getting drowned by that freaking lunatic."
"...Not all of the guys I fight are that bad you know. Some of them of them just make a few bad choices or get roped into stuff they shouldn't."
"It's called life, some things people just gotta deal with Webs. But seriously, keep up with the whole saving lives thing, and I'll keep pumping out the pizzas when you ask for them. Oh and speaking of which, if you like the pizza can you give us a shout out here and there? It definitely helps with the business."
"Yeah, that's no problem. Thanks man."
"Sure thing. See ya around Webs." Eddie waved at him and then took his leave.
'And then there was one, and now it's pizza time.' Spider-Man sat on the ledge of the building and opened up the box in front of him 'Double pepperoni, and no Mikey around to inhale the whole thing on his own. Speaking of which, part of me thinks I should call and check in on the guys. The other part of me expects Mikey to figure out I have pizza and magically appear behind me and devour it all.' it was then that his Spider Cell began ringing, to which he pulled it out and answered it "Mikey I swear to god, I don't have any pizza on me. Oh hey Donnie. Yeah don't tell him, I'm still not convinced he won't pop up behind me and steal it. Thanks. So how are things on your end, work going well on that subway car? Cool, I bet the guys are gonna go freaking nuts over it. Let me know how it goes. Alright, see ya." and so he hung up and then turned his attention back to the pizza "As much as I love you, now I have to destroy you…"
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Meanwhile, with the Heroes for Hire…
"You see, this is where the dude said we'd have to go." Luke Cage and Iron Fist made their way into a dark and shady looking warehouse "I told you my informant had good intel."
"Fine I'll concede, he gave us solid information." Iron Fist glanced over at him "I still say that you didn't have to bend him like that though."
"It's called being persuasive, I had to make sure that he was giving us the good stuff and not just crapping out."
"That doesn't mean you had to smash a trash can lid on his-" Iron Fist didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before a green wave of energy suddenly hit him from behind and knocked him into a wall.
"What the hell?"
"I reckon that came as a bit of a shocker to the both of you." from the entrance to the alleyway stepped a figure clad in a yellow uniform wearing high tech gauntlets on his wrists (Shocker), aiming them at Luke as he readied another blast "I gotta admit I am kind of surprised, I didn't think there were any superheroes around these parts aside that were stupid enough to walk in on the Big Man's turf, aside from the Bug that is."
"Do me and my buddy look like superheroes to you?" Luke shot a glare at Shocker as he pulled down his hood "The big difference here is that if you mess with us, then you're not gonna end up in jail, you're gonna end up in the hospital."
"Bold claims partner, now why don't we see if you can back them up." Shocker rushed forward and fired a blast from each gauntlet directly at Luke, the pulsating waves of energy hurtling directly into his chest… but even after a few moments, it didn't even faze him, leaving Shocker to back up slightly "Looks like you ain't all talk after all huh?"
"It's a little bit of something called unbreakable skin." Luke promptly rushed towards Shocker and tried to land an uppercut to his jaw, only to be met with a burst of green energy that sent him skidding backwards a short distance "What the hell?"
"You might be able to take a few hits yourself son, but it's pretty clear by now that I've got more than some fancy gloves I can use to wreck a guy. But like someone said, clothes are pretty well known to make the man right?" he rushed at Luke and promptly struck him with another blast, sending him hurtling back and crashing through a few walls "Maybe I can't break you son, but it ain't gonna mean much if you can't land a blow on me."
"Then I guess it's a good thing he's not alone."
Shocker whipped around just in time to see Iron Fist catch him in a full nelson "Take a piece of advice and work on the listening skills. Now do me a favor and stay out of this boy, the grown ups were talking." he suddenly began vibrating and broke free of the hold, knocking Iron Fist to the ground, only to have his legs kicked out from under him, leaving him to fall flat on his face as a result "Clever move."
"Spending years training with the masters of Kun Lun will do that to you. Among other things as well."
"Good to know, now hows about you put your money where your mouth is." Shocker promptly fired another blast at Iron Fist from one of his gauntlets.
"Believe me, I intend to." Iron Fist summoned a set of crimson-energy energy into one of his fists and thrusted it at Shocker, the two bursts of energy colliding, though Iron Fist quickly one out against the energy, burning through one of Shocker's gauntlets in the process, and dealt him a brutal energy-enhanced uppercut to the jaw, followed by a swift roundhouse kick that sent him crashing through a wall, leaving him buried in a pile of rubble "Interesting. I guess there are at least a few thugs running around the city with a few good gimmicks."
"Yeah, they're all real tough guys aren't they?" this was when Luke finally pulled himself back to his feet "I'm being sarcastic for the record."
"I noticed. Still though, I remember this one. He's been spotted fighting Spider-Man at least a few times over the past year."
"And he works for the Big Man. That rules out this webhead working for him, but not for any other crime lords like Silvermane."
"Maybe, or there's still a good chance for my theory about being a decent guy trying to help people to win out." Iron Fist sat on the ground in a cross-legged position.
"You know you oughta be putting that magic fist of yours to good use by cracking a few heads, not focusing your feng shui."
"The proper term is focusing my Chi. For the record, if you were more open to focusing your own energy, you wouldn't be so angry all the time. It's not good for your health Luke."
"It's not good for other people either, so that makes it good for me."
"Agree to disagree. Now give me a minute." Iron Fist paused as he began focusing his chi, which lasted for a few moments 'Focus all of my senses… the vibrations in the ground and the air… the sound of people's breathing and… the sound of a thwipping noise? Luke get ready, I think we're about to meet our masked friend face to face."
"Are we now?" Luke glanced over towards the entrance to the alleyway and readied himself as he laid eyes on a certain someone "Sweet Christmas."
"Hate to break it to you big guy, but that ain't for another few months. I'd definitely put you boys on the nice list for taking care of the rodeo clown over there." this was when Spider-Man made himself known as he dropped down from a stream of webbing, though he quickly clutched his stomach as he did so 'Make a mental note, no upside-downies after double pepperoni.'
"So you're the Spider-Man we've been hearing so much about huh?" Luke took a moment to size him up, and then let out a snort "Not gonna lie, I didn't expect you to turn out to be so scrawny. Or smell like pizza."
"Hey give me a break dude, every spider needs a dinner break now and then. Now I just need the chance to work it off."
"Allow us to help with that." Iron Fist coated his arm in crimson chi and let it fly forward.
'Crap!' Spider-Man was quick to leap into the air to avoid the strike, then used his webs to catapult himself towards Iron Fist, only for him to sidestep the attack, though Spider-Man was able to land a follow up attack in the form of a roundhouse kick to the face, sending him stumbling backwards "I thought all of you zen guys were supposed to be pacifists and stuff, where the hell is all of the anger coming from?" it was then that his Spider Sense went off just in time to get clocked him in the face, and then grabbed by the arm and throw into a wall "Like that for starts… Also, ow…"
"If you wanna see anger, take a look right over here." Luke picked up Spider-Man by the front of his suit and aimed another fist, only to suddenly be met with a shot of webbing to his eyes, which was followed by a punch to the jaw and a roundhouse kick to the chest that knocked him straight to the ground.
"Yeah I'm starting to get that vibe from you Hulk Jr. Speaking of which, who the hell are you guys supposed to be? The Avengers?"
"Oh yeah runt, we're the Avengers. Yours truly is Captain America, and my buddy over there in the pajamas is Thor."
"Good to know. Also word to the wise, the trope of running around the city in an overly tight suit beating the crap out of people mainly belongs to me. Well me and this one guy that lives over in Hell's Kitchen." then his Spider Sense went off again, and he whipped around just in time to be met with a kick to the chest from Iron Fist, sending him crashing into a wall "Okay seriously, what the hell are those shoes made of? Also depending on the answer and how much it may or may not cost, can you give me the name of the guy who does it? I think I'm due for an upgrade but I'm working on a pretty limited budget."
"We'll see about that after we take you in." Iron Fist dropped into a combat stance.
"Yeah actually, you think we could just skip all of that? You both seem like pretty decent guys, and I'm not looking for a fight. And I'm not just saying that because I just finished downing a whole double pepperoni pizza and I'm concerned too much action might lead it to fight its way back up."
"Well that's too damn bad, because now I'm itching for a good fight." Luke grabbed Spider-Man by the ankle and subsequently started slamming him around into various walls, before ending it by smashing him into the ground, earning a series of quiet squeals of pain "He's fast for a little guy, but he's mostly talk."
"Funny thing about that big guy, I've got a few tricks to back up the talk." Spider-Man bolted to his feet and shot two streams of webs at Luke and Iron Fist, hitting each one of them in the eyes before they were able to react, allowing him to leap over Luke and kick him to the ground, then avoid another Chi-enhanced punch by Iron Fist, before using his webs to launch himself to the top of one of the buildings "As interesting as this turned out to be, I'm gonna have to take a raincheck on the rest of it. Hasta la vista Avenger rejects!" and so he promptly swung away from the scene.
"Well… that could've gone better."
"Don't know what you're talking about." Luke picked himself up off the ground and ripped the webs off his face, with Iron Fist doing the same "Alright let's be real for a second, no way in hell we're telling anyone about that. Ever."
"Agreed."
"He caught me off guard, that's all I'm saying."
"Sure he did Luke."
"I'm serious."
"I know, but I think there's more to him than meets the eye. I recognized some of the moves he was using. They come from the fighting style of the Hamato clan in Japan, but that clan has been defunct for nearly 20 years."
"So what then, he's got ninja magic mojo or something?" it was then that Luke noticed his phone ringing, which he promptly pulled out and answered "This is Cage. We're still working on that thing. Hey I said we're working on it. We've got another lead to chase down, we'll do that and then tell you how it goes." and then he hung up.
"We have another lead?"
"I was hoping you were gonna tell me that, I just wanted to shut him up."
"Great. Alright, now that I think about it, there might be a new lead for us to follow."
"What kind of lead exactly?"
"The kind that gives us a new angle to track down the webhead. We might be able to get some information from someone by the name of Peter Parker."
He thinks the guy might have connections with this kid who lives in Queens, Peter Parker."
"Isn't he that kid who takes the pictures of Spider-Man for the Daily Bugle?"
"That's him.
"And he thinks this Parker kid might have information leading us to Spider-Man?"
"Probably. Either way it's a lead, so let me see if I can dig up his address and then we'll go and see what he knows."
"Works for me."
"Good, but keep in mind that we're supposed to be going after Spider-Man. Let's not get into beating up some high school kid just to get information."
"Fine whatever, let's just get this over with."
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Meanwhile, with the love interest…
"Wait are you serious?" by this point, Gwen was making her way along the sidewalk in the direction of her home, engaged in a conversation on her cell phone "So you saw Spider-Man fight these two other guys? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, they never even saw me. I'm not even sure who these guys were, but apparently they ended up trouncing one of Spider-Man's many, many big bads before he got there."
"So that means they're not criminals themselves?"
"I don't know what to think, at least they weren't shooting fire and trying to blow up the city or something. Frankly that's a pretty clear sign of one of the Webhead's rouges gallery."
"Good point. Whatever happens, just make sure to be careful. I know you need the money from the Bugle but I don't want to see you getting hurt."
"Got it. I wouldn't want to wind up in a hospital bed with you giving me the Look for being too reckless."
"Good. Anyway I gotta go, dad is gonna be home soon and he doesn't like for me to be out too late these days."
"Tell him I said hi."
"And you tell May I said hi."
"Will do. See you at school."
"Bye." and so Gwen hung up and continued onward a short distance until she got to her house, only to be surprised by what was waiting for her.
As it turns out, it was Harry sitting on the steps to her front door, and he shot a pissed off look in her direction "Hey Gwen."
"Hi Harry. What are you doing here?"
"Nothing too big, just waiting around. For about an hour and a half. We had a date scheduled for tonight, remember?"
"Oh right, Saturday is our date night. I don't know what happened, I've just been so busy for the past week."
"Well thanks, it's good to know that you were thinking about me. "
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shut you out or anything. I've just had so much going on over the past few days."
"Yeah I have a pretty good idea of who you've been doing it with."
"I did tell you about me going shopping with MJ and April the other day. And… I was hanging out with Pete earlier today."
"So what, you forgot you had a boyfriend?"
"No, but it's not like my whole life revolves around you."
"But apparently it does revolve around Peter." that was enough to get under Gwen's skin.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. You're supposed to be my girlfriend, and now you're hanging all over him!"
"I am not! Peter's my friend and I wanted to spend time with him. He's your friend too for that matter."
"So what, it's not like he's got anything in his life that makes it so horrible that he needs to steal a guy's girlfriend or-" he was cut off by Gwen shooting a scowl at him, complete with arms crossed and a raised eyebrow "W-Why are you giving me the Look?"
"Do you know what MJ told me at school today? She told me that at one point over our Summer vacation, Peter got mugged. Whoever it was, they beat him until he was bloody and bruised and left him in some alley. They scarred him Harry, they left him with genuine physical scars that are going to stay with him for the rest of his life."
That was enough to leave Harry stunned, and it took him a minute to find his voice and give an adequate response "We… We didn't know about it."
"How could we know about it? We're supposed to be his best friends and didn't bother reaching out to him even once over the Summer."
"But-"
"No Harry, let me say this. I know you just lost your dad and you needed time to grieve, and I swore that I would do whatever I could to help you get through it. But that doesn't mean that we're supposed to turn our backs on the rest of the people that we care about. Peter is our friend, and we're supposed to be there for him when he needs us. We didn't do that over Summer, and that was a mistake. Now I'm going to do everything I can to make things right, and I think you should too. Call me when you do." and on that note, Gwen walked past him and into her house, closing the door behind her.
Now Harry was left alone, so he just got up and walked away from the scene in silence.
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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…
'Well that was a hell of a night.' Spider-Man breathed a sigh as he poked his head through the front window of his house, only to find April sitting on the couch in the living room looking at her laptop, so he promptly slipped his way in "Not the person I was expecting to see in my house so late."
"It should be when you ask them to keep an eye on your aunt while you go out and beat the crap out of thugs." April pointed out dryly without looking up from her screen.
"Fair enough. Speaking of, thanks for looking after May for me."
"Don't worry about it. She was up until a little while ago, insisted on waiting up for you to get back, but I guess certain forces wanted her to get a good night's sleep."
"Certain forces meaning?"
"A little bit of benadryl in her cup of tea. Just enough to get her sleep."
"Seems a little bit excessive, but as long as she's okay."
"Exactly. You okay? You look pretty worn out."
"That's an understatement." Spider-Man breathed a sigh as he removed his mask, revealing the face of Peter Parker "I got into a fight with these two dudes that could probably give most of my big bads a run for their money."
"More supervillains? Mutants created by the Kraang?"
"No these guys at least looked human, so that rules out any mutations. Supervillains, I'm not too sure about that either. When I first saw them they were beating the crap out of Shocker, so at the very least I know they're not working with him or Tombstone."
"So who then?"
"No idea. Maybe Shredder? I know him and Tomby aren't exactly BFFs." it was then that the Spider Cell began ringing, to which Peter took it out of his pocket and put it on speaker "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man speaking."
"Way to be subtle with the approach bug." the voice that came through on the other end was enough to leave Peter and April on edge.
"Oh joy, the one person I wanted to hear from and my life would be complete. You sure this is how you want to use your one phone call, Shocker? I should tell you now you're looking at the wrong guy to bail you out."
"I ain't behind bars this time bug, that ain't the way these guys roll, at least from what I know about them."
"So these guys are friends of yours?"
"They drop kicked me across an alley and buried me in a pile of rubble, what the hell do you think?"
"So what then, do these guys work for some other crime lord?"
"Don't you bother looking at ads in the news? Those two are Luke Cage and Iron Fist, the Heroes for Hire."
"Am I supposed to know who those guys are?"
"Seriously kid, pick up a newspaper. The Heroes for Hire are pretty notorious around the city for people who do. They're a group of superheroes that use what they can do to help folks out that need it in exchange for profit."
"And that explains why I never heard of them. So what the hell do they want with me?"
"Oh gee, that's a real tough nut to crack ain't it? Why would two guys getting paid to do stuff for clients go after a dude that people call a menace and a murderer for one reason or another?"
"...You just had to hit below the belt didn't you?"
"You got me sent to jail three times. My point is, if they were going after you then it's pretty obvious that they were paid to."
"So who handed out the cash to them?"
"The hell if I know, someone around these parts that hates you enough to want your head on a pike and has enough cash to make it happen."
"That doesn't really narrow it down. Tell me this, how did you end up fighting off the two of them in the first place?"
"Simple, they wandered into some of the Big Man's territory while they were trying to track you down. I just happened to run into them first. After that I reported to the Big Man, and he told me to give you the heads up about what was what."
"What, because me and Tomby are supposed to be BFFs now?"
"Don't get too cocky about it bug, it's more like you're against the Shredder and that's good enough to get you some points in favor with the Big Man, at least for now."
"Just what every guy wants, the approval of a notorious crime lord that looks like he just came out of the Walking Dead."
"You're not as funny as you think you are. Anyway that's the deal, so try not to get yourself killed before the Shredder is taken down." and then the line disconnected.
"...Well that was kind of abrupt."
"At least now we know what the deal is." April pointed out "Now we gotta figure out how we're gonna them off your trail."
"Assuming that they don't show up here looking for me." it was at this moment that a knock sounded from the door "I really have to learn to stop doing that."
"Just go and get some regular clothes on, I'll take care of this." April ushere Peter out of the room as she went to open the door "Um, can I help you?"
As it turns out, it was Iron Fist standing at the door, with Luke hanging back behind him "Sorry to bother you, but we're looking for a Peter Parker. We were told that this was where we could find him."
"Oh um, he's a little bit… indisposed at the moment. Can I pass on a message?"
"We were just hoping to ask him a few questions about a… sensitive topic."
"I'm here, I'm here." Peter finally came to the door, dressed in a bathrobe over his suit "So what can I do for you?"
"As I was saying, my associate and I just wanted to ask you a few questions. You're the one that takes the pictures of Spider-Man, correct?"
"You mean for the Daily Bugle. A guy's got bills to pay."
"Something I can relate to all too well." Iron Fist paused and studied Peter for a moment, until a certain something caught his eye "A rather intriguing choice of footwear."
"What?" Peter glanced down and saw the feet of his suit sticking out 'Crap! Um… there was a big sale, and I'm kind of a fan of Spider-Man."
"I see. Does that explain that as well?" he gestured to where the bathrobe was slightly opened, and part of the suit was poking out.
'Dammit! Yeah… I just got back from a… costume part." he forced a grin and sublty motioned for April to back away from the door 'Please be as stupid as most of the guys I fight.'
"Alright enough screwing around kid, we want some answers." Luke finally broke his silence and stepped up to the plate, looming over Peter "Start giving us some answers kid, where can we find Spider-Man?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Peter backed away a little bit and held up his hands in defense… only for a certain something to slip out of his pocket and fall to the floor in front of him: his Spider-Man mask. Lying on the floor for everyone present to see.
"Ah. So that's how it is." Luke shared a brief look with Iron Fist "Now a lot of things are starting to make sense."
"I- I don't know what…"
"Save it kid, we might be tough but we ain't stupid. It's pretty obvious what the whole deal is right here."
"But that's not- But I can prove I'm not- I can explain-"
"Just be glad you fessed up as soon as you did, you saved yourself a world of ass kicking from yours truly and Fist over there."
"Look I-I can explain, I swear." Peter quickly tightened his robe and stuffed away his mask "It's not like I like hiding this away and keeping it a secret, but I was worried that if word got out about this, then my friends and my family would be in danger."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah so please, I will get on my hands and knees if I have to but don't-"
"Alright alright, I think that's enough." Iron Fist was quick to cut him off and pulled Luke away from them "Listen Luke, I think it's safe to say that this information is the sort of thing he would want to be kept secret."
"You serious about this man?" Luke shot him a raised eyebrow.
"I am. After all, profit or not, we're not in this to endanger innocent people. This kid has people he wants to keep safe, and he and them are bound to be made into targets if word gets out that he's the one that designs Spider-Man's equipment."
"Yeah, that…" Peter paused and shared a look with April as he took a moment to process just what Iron Fist was saying "I mean yeah, that's exactly it."
"You don't have to worry, we won't tell anyone about your involvement, or let your loved ones be put in danger." Iron Fist put a hand on Peter's shoulder "However, we are going to need you to answer at least one last question for us."
"What's that?"
"To put it bluntly, the reason why we agreed to take up this job in the first place."
"Aside from getting paid." was Luke's input.
"Thank you Luke. Anyway, there's one thing we need to know about Spider-Man. What are his true intentions?"
"...So that's the route we're going with this huh?" Peter shared another look with April, then turned back to Luke Cage and Iron Fist, and with a deep breath he began his story "The truth is that Spider-Man is someone who's been by my side for as long as I can remember, even before he became Spider-Man. Growing up here in Queens was a pretty typical childhood, and he and I were pretty much inseparable. Then came the radioactive spider bite bit him and gave him the powers… and the night I lost the only man that I could ever call my father. That was when the two of us, with his power and my intellect, made a promise to do something good with the hand that we were dealt by fate, things that neither of us would ever joke about, even if we knew how to."
"So what you're saying is that everything he does, subduing criminals and bringing down crime lords, it's all out of genuine altruism?"
"More like he has the power, I have the intellect, and we both have the responsibility to use it for the right reasons."
"...I see. I think we're done here then. Thank you for your time." Iron Fist gave Peter and April a single nod, then turned on his heel and walked away "Come on Luke, we're done here."
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." Luke took one last lonk look at Peter and handed him a card, then followed after Iron Fist "So he's the guy who builds the gear for Spider-Man, that's what you're going with?"
"He made it pretty clear that this is a secret that he's keep for selfless reasons, and as I said to him, doing this isn't worth it if it hurts innocent people."
"...We're still gonna get paid for all the crap we went through today right?"
"We'll figure out something to tell Osborn."
"We'd better, I can't afford to keep ripping through my jackets like this."
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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…
"Okay, that was definitely way too close for comfort…" Peter let out a long sigh as he slumped down into one of the chairs in the living room "Seriously, if those guys got any closer to figuring out my secret identity then my Aunt May wouldn't have been the only person in our family to have a heart attack."
"Not gonna lie, that sounds a little bit excessive." April pointed out.
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah I do. I will say this though, using the line that you're the guy who builds Spider-Man's equipment is actually a pretty good idea. Now that I think about it, you should use that whenever you get caught holding any of the gear or the suit. It would be the perfect cover story, and it's not like you need any more people finding out your secret identity."
"Hey come on, it's not like that many people know."
"Oh really? Me, MJ, the Turtles, Splinter, Captain Stacy, Daredevil, and the Prowler. There's also the fact that Gwen knows but he doesn't know she knows.'
"...Okay you make a fair point. Plus you're right, saying that I'm Spider-Man's suit crafter, assuming that's the right term for it, is actually a pretty solid alibi. As long as I don't have to use it with someone like Harry for obvious reasons."
"True. Hey by the way, what was that the big guy gave you at the end?"
"Oh it's just their card, apparently if I ever need any heroics done for me and I can't get in touch with the Avengers or the Fantastic Four, call them. Yeah, like I can afford that. Besides, if I need backup I can just call the Turtles."
"Speaking of which, what are the guys up to now anyway?"
"Oh they're working on that subway car they got from Leatherhead and suping it up with the power cell they stole from the Kraang. Probably gonna take it for a joy ride. Anyway like I said, they're all the backup I need." it was then that his cell phone began ringing, and so he pulled it out of his suit pocket "Go for Peter. Oh hey Mikey, what's up? Uh huh. Really, you guys have a fanboy? Uh huh. Uh huh. Okay thanks for letting me know, I'll stop by the Lair tomorrow and we can work something out. See you then." and then he hung up "God dammit!"
"What's the matter?"
"The guys lost the power cell to the Kraang. And apparently Xever is a cyborg fish."
"...What?"
"I don't know, I'm sure it'll make sense when I see it in person. In any case, with the power cell back in their possession, that means they can open the portal to their dimension, and god only knows what they're gonna bring from there." Peter breathed a sigh as he glanced down at the card that Luke gave him "In any case, maybe having some extra help isn't gonna be that bad of an idea after all. Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling we're gonna need all the help that we can get when the time comes…"
A/N:
With a new chapter comes more challenges, this one involving the appearances of two new Marvel heroes stationed in NYC. In this case, it's the Heroes for Hire, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. I figured that if I brought in Daredevil, it would only be fair to include a few other local heroes too. But just to be clear, these are not the same versions of the characters from the MCU shows. I haven't seen those, and frankly I have no interest in seeing them. If anything, their appearance here is more akin to their adaptations from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Before going any further, I want to give a big shoutout to FinalReviewer, who helped me out with crafting a theme song that I'll be using for the rest of this story. Also be sure to check out his stories too, they're really good.
Also I think it's time for me to address the elephant in the room: Yes I did introduce Mac Gargan in this chapter, aka the guy who becomes the Scorpion. For those of you who don't know, the character was foreshaowed in Spectacular Spider-Man at the end of the second season, being a PI that got involved in the mystery of the identity of the Green Goblin. Now he's appearing in the flesh. And yes, I did make him Gwen's uncle in this version. Trust me, I plan to go somewhere with that concept, but not until at least the second season.
In addition to that, I've also properly introduced Yuri Watanabe, the one many know as the cop from the PS4 game, and had her meet Spider-Man face to face. I've got some plans for her later on, so you'll have to wait and see how things play out from here.
Now then, I think I need to address something that I've noticed with this story since I've been on hiatus. Some of you guys have been pretty… overzealous about putting forth ideas for me to include in my stories. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the input and I'm happy to see that you have such interest in my stories, but it's kind of overwhelming to see so much coming at me all the time.
