(Parasitic Swarm)
Superjoeyf721: Don't worry, I won't spoil anything, but I will say that it's worth the wait on so many levels.
Superjoeyf721: I didn't really consider the 2003 cartoon, but yeah it's pretty heavily based on the Spider Cycle from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.
Moheart7: Believe me, I know that Pulverizer was annoying, but I'm fairly certain that was by design. Plus yeah, him being mutated didn't really go anywhere after the first episode, so I didn't really see a point in including it at all. But I am glad you're still invested in this story, so thank you.
Vfc15650: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Yeah, the thing about Pulverizer is that he does mean well, but calling him misguided is an understatement, and Donnie said what he needed to hear. And trust me, there's a lot more of Peter and Gwen to come. And the war with the Foot Clan was pretty huge to begin with, but you'll see what I have in store in due time.
Spectacular Webhead 11: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Timothy is getting a better end here than in canon. And there's plenty more of Peter and Gwen to come, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.
TheIrishman1999: It's alright, just tone it down going forward.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): Thanks for understanding.
C.S. Allen: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. That is a pretty good idea, I'll keep that in mind for the future.
C.S. Allen (continued): I didn't know the Tinkerer had a son, but that is a pretty interesting idea. I'll have to keep it in mind.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): Interesting idea. I can't make any promises, but we'll see.
Guest616: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Trust me, if you've seen my other works, you'll know that I'm no stranger to TFS references. Also yeah, I liked to show Tinkerer intearcting with members of the Foot and showing the various dynamics. I have been thinking about whether or not Stockman will come around, but as for whether or not that pans out, we'll have to wait and see.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): Your description of Raphael is a little bit overzealous, but not untrue when you think about it.
Guest: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Yep, that about somes it up. We wrapped everything up with the Rhino specs, Gwen finally meets the Turtles and Splinter proper, Pulverizer is no more and gets to stay human, and now the Tinkerer is working for the Foot, and Liz is pretty much the only person from Midtown High that Harry is on speaking terms with and is trying to help him get his act together.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): I think that's for the best. Truth be told, I was never really crazy about the idea of Karai going to a public school. It would draw too much attention.
EdSonic: Yeah I know what you mean, Pulverizer's arc never really went anywhere after he got mutated. Liz will have a part to play in the story, so you'll see how that pans out.
Guest: I wouldn't have said it quite like that, but yeah he has to tone it down. I'm always up for listening to new ideas, but I can't include all of them, and he does give a lot of suggestions and ideas.
Guest: I didn't notice that error, thanks.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): That's probably for the best. Thanks for understanding.
C.S. Allen: I know what you mean, but I'm actually going a different route with the creation of the Scorpion when the time comes.
Althea Sirius: Tell me about it. At least the guy is taking a breather, and giving my inbox a break too for that matter. But on a more positive note, Gwen finally gets to meet the Turtles and Splinter proper, and Harry has his own stuff going on. Plus the change with Timothy was a pretty easy pick, given that they didn't really do anything with him after the first episode featuring his mutation.
5FingerDeathFist: Don't worry, I never intended for Leo and Karai to get together in this story, so consider your wish granted. But now that you think about it, that actually does sound pretty similar to Luke and Leia.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Keep in mind that the whole Timothy thing is exactly how it happened in canon, barring the mutation of course, and Donnie was the only one who had reservations about putting him at risk. Of course Peter would never approve of something like that, so it only makes sense he and Raph would butt heads over it. Also, Raph being Raph. I actually haven't heard of that fic before you mentioned it, but it does sound pretty brutal.
5FingerDeathFist (ch 9): I actually haven't seen the new Puss in Boots movie, but I'll take your word for it regarding everything you've said about Shredder and Death. Though I can't imagine Shredder whistling.
5FingerDeathFist (ch 19): Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it.
Zzz3: I'm not going to spoil anything, so you'll have to wait and see.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): I haven't seen Smallville, so I'll just take your word for it.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Thanks, and keep an eye out for the next update.
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Another night came, and with it a big event was fast approaching.
"Okay, forgive the arbitrary skepticism…" Peter looked down to wear Mikey stood fixing the tie on his tuxedo "But how do you know how to do a tie?"
"I got all sorts of mad skills that nobody knows about." Mikey gave a grin as he finished his work on Peter's bow tie, then stepped back to admire his work "Now that be how we do, and way to rock it bro."
"But seriously, where in the hell did you learn how to tie a tie?"
"You spend enough time on the internet looking for good cartoons to watch, you tend to pick up a few other things. Why do you think I offered to help you get ready for your big dance while your aunt is off playing poker? Plus I kinda needed some air."
"The rest of the guys?"
"Just Leo watching Space Heroes and Raph brooding, and Donnie's still bummed out about the whole Pulverizer thing. I just needed a little bit of personal turtle time."
"Speaking of which, any word on Foot or Kraang activity?"
"Not as far as I know, but even if there is, me and the guys can handle it. After all the crap you had to go through, you and Gwen oughta have one night to yourselves. Speaking of which, you gonna need to pick her up? I got the Stealth Bike so you can ride in style."
"Raph actually let you take that thing out?"
"Nope, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Or me."
"Or our eardrums when he starts screaming. Anyway her dad insisted on giving us a ride to the dance, something about not wanting his daughter to be seen swinging around the city with Spider-Man as to not draw too much attention."
"I get that. Ninja stuff, the most important part of it is keeping secret."
"I thought the most important rule was to do no harm, unless you mean to do harm and then do lots of harm."
"That's the first rule, but secrecy is the most important rule. We ever forget that and Splinter would pound our faces into pizza sauce." both of them cringed at the thought, and then the sound of a doorbell ringing drew their attention, prompting Mikey to grab a box containing a corsage and hand it to Peter "Looks like it's go time. Show them what you got and make the most of it bro."
"I can only promise to try, but I can't guarantee that it won't end with the universe kicking me in between the legs." Peter took a breath as he made his way over to the door and opened it… only to be met with a sight that made his jaw drop "Woah…"
Standing before him was none other than Gwen, clad in a strapless pink dress that went down to just below her knees and a matching set of heels, her father standing close behind her, and she gave a small smile "Hi Pete."
"Hey. Wow Gwen, you look… like an angel."
"You've said that before."
"Oh yeah. That. Right." Peter blushed slightly, causing Gwen to chuckle.
"It was still really sweet of you to say. You look really nice yourself."
"I… had a fair bit of help from a reliable source." Peter glanced over to where Mikey was giving him a thumbs up as he hid behind a chair, then held out the box with the corsage to Gwen "I got this for you. Special occasion right?"
"It's beautiful. Thank you Peter."
"I'd do anything for you Gwen." the two of them shared a small smile, and they leaned in to share a kiss, until…
"Ahem." George cleared his throat, snapping the two of them out of their daze, and then he cast a glance over towards a certain chair "So tell me something Peter, how long does your friend plan to hide behind that chair?"
"Probably for as long as he thinks you don't know he exists. It's cool Mikey, he knows that it's you."
There was a pause, and then Mikey poked his head out from behind the chair "Uh… hey."
"Hi Mikey." Gwen waved at him.
"Sup Gwen? So uh… this is your dad?"
"Right, again with the introductions." Peter stepped in between them "Anyway Mikey, this is my contact on the NYPD and Gwen's dad, captain George Stacy. Captain, this is Michelangelo, the youngest of my… new friends I have no comment on."
"And again, uh… hey."
"Hello." George gave him a simple nod, then glanced over at Peter "Why don't the two of you go wait outside by my car? I'll me there in a minute."
"...Okay." Peter shared a look with Gwen as he gently took her by the hand and let her out the front door "I'm pretty sure that I'm supposed to be the one that gets the dad talk."
"You are." George shut the door behind them, then turned back to Mikey "You know Peter has spoken highly of you and his other… partners in the field."
"He talks to you about us?" Mikey blinked a few times.
"He's tried his damndest not to, but I've gotten a few details out of him. Which brings me to why I wanted to talk to you." George levelled his gaze on Mikey, and then gave him a small smile "I wanted to take the chance to thank you."
"...One more time?"
"After I met one of the other Turtles that night at the cemetery, my daughter and I sat down and talked about certain… facts that I had been keeping from her, and vice versa."
"You kept stuff from her?"
"Mostly about Peter's secret. She also admitted to me that a certain someone else had played a part in saving her from one of Spider-Man's enemies." George's smile grew a bit more "So thank you for saving my daughter from Kraven."
"Oh. That." Mikey let out a bit of a sheepish chuckle "It wasn't that big a deal, I just found out who Peter was and a friend of his was in trouble, so I figured I'd help them out."
"Fair enough, but my point still stands." George turned towards the door, but then looked over his shoulder at Mikey "If you or your brothers need anything, know that you can count on me to help." and then he walked out the door without another word.
"...Huh. So we're friends with cops now. Cool." Mikey was then alerted by the sound of his phone ringing "What's up Leo?"
"Mikey we got a lead from Daredevil, another Kraang hideout. We need you to get back here now."
"On my way bros." so Mikey hung up and prepared to take his leave… but not before he poked his head into the Parkers' fridge and snagged a few slices of pizza 'I help my bro get ready for a big date with his girl, and this is all I ask for in return.'
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(the scene opens up to Peter Parker as Spiderman standing on 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 next 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 wo kanaete 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 Spiderman and the TMNT have dealt with over the years as the Shredder takes the top of this pyramid of villains.)
Motto motto mae e mae e kimi no ashita 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 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 the 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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A short while later, with the Kraang hunters…
"Aw man, this is so boring." Mikey let out a groan "Another day, another Kraang hunt that turns into a giant pain in the shell."
"It may be tedious, but it does have an important purpose." Daredevil glanced over at him "The missions like these are what make sure that the Kraang won't make anyone else suffer with their actions."
"I know, but it's still boring. At least with Pete I'd have someone around to talk to."
"Perhaps, but he has his own engagements to night, and we have a responsibility to do whatever it takes to stop the Kraang. And on that note, your brothers rely on you for navigation. Speaking of which, which route should we take?"
"Give me a second." Mikey paused as he looked at the map "Okay according to this, we have to turn right… about three blocks ago."
'...Perhaps he could use a bit more discipline, but Michelangelo does mean well.' Daredevil cast a glance over at him 'And he has great potential, he'll go far so long as it can be brought to the surface.'
"Wait hold on, there's an alley we can cut through here." and so the Shellraiser turned down the alley in question
"Alright, this is the place." Daredevil poked his head out of the Shellraiser and glanced up at a building in front of them "This is the hidden Kraang lab my informant told me about."
"All I need to hear." Raph gave a smirk as he barred his sais "Now let's get the shell in there and trash the place already."
"Let's not be too hasty, keep in mind that this is for reconnaissance at the moment. We have to find out what the Kraang are working on in there, and then we'll do your plan."
"Fine, just wake me up when we get to the trashing part."
"Duly noted, now let's go."
"Right." Daredevil was about to move in, only to stop as he glanced up at the building 'That buzzing sound is coming from inside… It sounds… wrong for some reason.'
"Dude you coming?"
"Yes sorry, let's go." so Daredevil followed after the Turtles into the building, though at a bit of a slower pace as he continued looking around 'I have a bad feeling about this.'
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Meanwhile, at the Fall Formal…
"I'm guessing this is what they call book ends" MJ gave a smirk as she made her way into the gym for the dance, arm in arm with Randy Robertson, and she took a look around "The last time I came to one of these was the first time I met the in-crowd here."
"And made a fair number of jaws drop the whole time too, mine included." Randy let out a chuckle at the memory "Not to mention you won Queen last time when nobody even knew your name."
"Pretty much shows what people value most." it was then that the two of them made their way over to the stand at the entrance "You got a vote for who's gonna win king and queen this time around? Let me guess, gonna go with Flash and Sha-Shan?"
"I thought about it, but Hobie said he's bringing his own girl tonight. Didn't tell us a thing about her except she goes to Brooklyn Visions."
"But?"
"But if you showing up with Parker last year is anything to go by, shock factor counts for a lot at these things."
"Fair point. But I've got my own pick in mind for who's gonna win the night." MJ glanced over and gave a smirk at who she saw coming in "And here they are now."
"Hey MJ." this was when Peter made his way into the gym, Gwen by his side "So how long have you guys been here?"
"Long enough to cast a vote on king and queen, but not long enough to start any drama with the rest of the in-crowd. Just the way I like it."
"I know what you mean." Gwen breathed a sigh "Believe me when I say I've had more than enough drama for one night."
"Tell me about it, and I'm mostly just a spectator to the drama so what does that say about all of it?"
"That it's only entertaining when it happens to other people." Peter noted dryly.
"Case and point Tiger. Speaking of which, you guys wana get a group picture while we have the chance?"
"Sure. Gwen?"
"I wouldn't mind." Gwen gave him a small smile "Commemorate the occasion right?"
"Yeah, make the most of the night while it counts. And before something comes up where I have to run out and get blown up or shot at.' so Peter took Gwen by the hand and led her over to the photographer, the two of them posing with his arms around her waist and hear leaning into his chest, with Randy and MJ doing the same next to them "You know, this just… this really feels right."
"I say make the most of it while you can." Randy told him "Any minute the exes are gonna come in, and there ain't a doubt in my mind hell is gonna break loose."
"What are you talking about?"
"Think about it. I dated Sally and you dated Liz, and now we got new girls and we're at the big dance with them."
"...Aw crap, I didn't think of that. This is gonna get ugly."
"It might, but it doesn't matter." Gwen gently gripped one of Peter's hands "If anything like that does happen, we can deal with it together."
"Yeah… Yeah you're right." the two of them exchanged a small smile 'Plus Liz and I aren't on horrible terms these days, so I don't think I have too much to worry about. I hope. But the ever personable Miss Avril on the other hand… Yeah, it might be for the best that I stowed a pair of backup web shooters in my locker.'
"I wouldn't worry too much about Liz if I were you." MJ told him "I talked to her earlier and she said she was gonna skip the dance and see a movie with a friend."
"You mean the Ever Personable Miss Avril?"
"No she's the shady figure in the corner trying to glare holes through Randy's skull."
"...That would explain a few things."
"Like where that chill in my spine is coming from." Randy muttered.
'And probably what's been setting off my Spider Sense. So what movie?"
"I don't know, probably some chick flick." MJ gave a shrug, only to notice the others staring wide-eyed at the entrance "Guys? Earth to fellow horny teens?" she followed their gazes, and the sight made her blink a few times "Well damn."
As it turns out, Hobie was making his way into the gym, arm in arm with a dark-skinned woman in a dark blue strapless dress, with matching gloves and a set of black stiletto heels, and he gave a smirk when he saw the group "Hey guys, this is Angela."
"...You know Randy, you might have been onto something before." MJ let out a low whistle and cast a glance over at Randy "Element of surprise does wonders."
"Thanks for the input Watson. Anyway Angela, the brunette and blond Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, and the redhead and the tall one are Mary Jane Watson and Randy Robertson."
"Right, you've mentioned all of them." Angela glanced over at Hobie "Are these four part of the in-crowd you've told me about?"
"Half of them are, the other two are just decent people, and believe it or not those two don't go hand in hand."
"Really? I'm shocked." her tone was dripping with sarcasm.
"I think I like this one." MJ gave a smirk "She knows what's what."
"A girl has to know what's what to survive around these parts."
"I hear that girlfriend. Hey Hobie how about it, you up for hitting the dance floor?"
"That is why I brought you here right?" Hobie gave a shrug, and allowed Angela to drag him onto the dance floor.
"...Okay, so that happened." Peter turned towards Gwen and gave a small smile as he held out his hand to her "So uh, you wanna dance?"
"I'd be honored." Gwen matched his smile with one of her own as she laid her palm in his, and the two of them made their way out onto the dance floor.
"Alright then, I guess we're doing this now." MJ glanced over at Randy "Kind of reminds me of how things went last year. It is Randy right?"
"Very." Randy gave a smirk as he held out his arm to MJ, prompting her to take it as he led her out onto the dance floor.
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Meanwhile, with the Kraang hunters…
"Oh you've gotta be freaking kidding me." Raph let out a groan as he took a look around the lab, only to find it littered with bits and pieces of broken Kraangdroids and other tech "Someone went and beat us to it. Just freaking perfect."
"It raises the question though." Daredevil took a look around himself "What could've done this to them?"
"Looks like one of their Mutagen experiments got away from them." Leo muttered.
"But the question remains, where is it now?"
"Who knows? For all we know it could by anywhere." Donnie glanced over and noticed a series of charts on one of the walls "Weird, looks like the Kraang were conducting some experiments on arthropods."
"Knowing how the Kraang operate, there's no chance that could end well, especially given that some of them can be fatal."
"Wouldn't surprise me at this point, but let's not assume anything just yet." Donnie started to look through some of the nearby cabinets, and was pleasantly surprised by his findings "Well if it's any consolation, this equipment looks like it's still good, and they've even got a centrifuge here too. This will work out great for some of my experiments."
"I suppose that at least something good is coming out of this then." Daredevil then received a nudge on the arm from Mikey, directing his attention to something on the ceiling "Donatello, how big would you consider one of those arthropods to be?"
"Well a bee is about 4 millimeters, and a wasp would be about six."
"And a mutated variant?"
"I wouldn't be able to say for certain without seeing it, why do you-" Donnie cut himself short as he looked up and saw a giant mutant wasp appear from an opening in the ceiling, prompting the group to duck as it advanced on them.
"Get back!" Daredevil managed to stop the wasp from advancing with his Devil's Horn in its staff form, eventually managing to push it back and use his weapon to smack it in the face and send it hurtling across the lab, only for it to circle back and continue its assault, forcing him to go on the defensive 'When I first started out fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen, at no point did I think I would be fighting a giant mutant wasp alongside a quartet of ninja turtles.'
"You wanna go ugly? Let's go!" Raph charged at the wasp and managed to dodge its stinger, only to end up getting slammed into the ceiling "Ow…"
"Get down!" Leo swooped in next with his katanas in hand and managed to swat the wasp into a wall, giving the group the chance to hide behind a table "That thing is tougher than it looks, we need a plan and fast."
"I know!" Mikey's face lit up "I can catch it with my kurasigama chain, I can pin it down and give you guys the chance to take it down!"
"Unfortunately the wasp is clearly too strong for a tactic like that." Daredevil told him "I'll act as a decoy and draw its attention, and the rest of you can ambush it."
"Why don't we ever go with my plans."
"Because they're your plans." Leo told him dryly "Now get ready, we need to be ready the very second Daredevil gives the signal."
"But-"
"It'll be alright, I can handle this." so with that in mind, Daredevil brandished his Devil's Horn and leapt out of his hiding space for the wasp to see, using his weapon to fend off his attacks as he lured it to the other side of the room.
"Well he's got it covered so far." Raph poked his head out from his hiding space along with the others "Sure he doesn't make running and screaming into a form of art like Mikey does, but it's still pretty good."
"Let's not take too much time, even Daredevil won't be able to survive against something like that forever." Leo pointed out "Brace for it and get ready to move, on my mark. Okay, on one… two-"
"I got it!" Mikey suddenly swooped in with his kurasigama chain and managed to catch the wasp with it and yanked it to the ground… while also causing Leo and the others to miss when they tried to sneak attack it "Ha, how do you like me know ya Bee Movie wannabe?" he received his answer in the form of the wasp starting to fly around the room, the kurasigama still wrapped around its body, taking Mikey with it.
"This is why we don't go with your plans!" Leo drew his katanas and cut through the chains to free Mikey and let him fall to the ground, only to whip around just in time to see the wasp sink its stinger into him, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Get down!" Daredevil swooped in at the last second and slammed his Devil's Horn down on the head of the wasp, and then went on to bring it down right on its back, ripping it clean in two and sending it crashing into a nearby wall with a loud thud, where it twitched a bit before it finally stopped moving.
"See guys, my plan worked!" Mikey gave a grin "I tired the thing out."
"Unfortunately I don't think that's the case Michelangelo, the wasp is dead."
"Cause you cut it in half."
"And because it lost its stinger." Donnie pointed out.
"Yeah, and I'll give you one guess where it ended up." Leo made his way back over to the group as he clutched his arm… which had an enormous stinger sticking out of it "Thanks a lot for this thing Mikey."
"Hold on Leo, let me see that." Donnie knelt down next to Leo and plucked the stinger out of his arm, earning a small yelp of pain "Are you okay?"
"I'm pretty sore after that, but I think I'll be…" Leo paused, his body twitching, but he was quick to recover "I think I'll be fine."
"Good. Still though, mutations are generally anthropomorphic. I've never seen mutagen being used create giants like this one before."
"Neither have I, but in any case, at least this one is taken care of." Daredevil prepared to stow away his Devil's Horn, only to stop and clutch his head 'That buzzing again…'
"What's the matter?" asked Raph.
"I'm not sure, I've been hearing this buzzing sensation… I thought it was the wasp, but it's coming from another source…"
"Um, guys?" Mikey pointed to where the two halves of the mutant wasp were rising… and then regenerating into two separate wasps that both started flying in front of them.
"By Darwin's beard…" Donnie looked on in a mix of awe and terror as he drew his staff and began backing away, the others doing the same "It looks like these arthropods have the ability to use some form of self-replication."
"In other words, the more we hit, the more we make." Daredevil frowned in thought "So instead of destroying them, we need to find some way to contain them."
"That would be my first guess, but we'd have to find a way first." Donnie then paused as he cast a glance over and saw Leo drawing his katanas and ripping through the floor "Leo what are you doing?"
"What needs to be done." Leo stabbed one of the floor tiles and pulled it out… revealing a large hidden compartment underneath, which he promptly leapt down into.
"Leo wait!" Donnie tried to chase after him, only to be forced to fend off one of the wasps as it circled around and cut off the passage "Dammit!"
"You guys keep those things busy, I'm going after Leo!" and so Raph dove into the compartment after him.
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Meanwhile, with the wasp hunters (or one former wasp hunter)…
"I'm here…" Leo leapt down into the compartment and found himself in another lab, with what appeared to be a metal pod in the middle of the room "I've come as you instructed." he was met with the sound of buzzing "I understand." so he drew both of his katanas and slashed open the pod, releasing a burst of steam as its door shattered.
The steam subsided to reveal a human skeleton… which then slowly stepped out of the pod, a single wasp protruding from one of his eye sockets, before it suddenly began multiplying, and in a few moments the skeleton enveloped in a cloak of wasps "Excellent. You did well to follow the instructions I was able to send you mein schildkröte. Those alien creatures may have trapped my body in stasis, but the queen housed within me is stronger than they realized. Now this world shall once again know what Fritz von Meyer is truly capable of."
"Leo!" it was at this moment that Raph made his way into the room, only to stop when he saw the figure (to be referred to as Fritz for the time being) standing in front of him "Oh come on, two of those things was bad enough."
"Interesting, so there are more of you. And more of you to me my generals. Deal with him for me, won't you mein schildkröte?"
"What the hell does that mean you freak of-" Raph didn't get the chance to finish since he was forced to use his sais to block a slash from Leo's katanas "Leo what gives, what the shell are you doing?"
"What needs to be done, nothing more and nothing less." Leo looked up at raph, revealing his eyes to have turned black, and he promptly grabbed Raph by the arm and threw him across the room, leaving him to try and rebound.
"Dude I'm all for fighting and stuff, but this ain't the time or the place."
"That's where you're wrong Raphael. In my eyes, this is the perfect time." Leo got into a stance with one of his swords and let out a his… revealing a yellow slime in his mouth, much to the clear disgust of Raph.
"Alright screw it, I'm ending this freak show here and now!" so Raph barred his sais and charged at Leo, only to quickly be forced to fend off his attacks "Come on bro, snap out of it!"
"Ironic isn't it, I was about to say the same to you." Leo charged in with a ferocious assault with one of his swords, only for Raph to catch the blade with one of his sais and knock the sword out of Leo's grasp, leading him to get knocked to the ground "Dammit…"
"You're not yourself Leo, I want to help you but you gotta let me."
Leo didn't respond with words. Instead, he let out a roar and pounced at Raph like an animal, biting at him until he got a kick to the face, only to grab onto his ankle, but another kick to the face knocked him off, though he pounced at Raph again and tackled him to the ground, only to once again be kicked off.
"Leo seriously, what the hell are you-" Raph pulled himself back to his feet… only to find a large black bite mark on his arm "You- Did you just bite me?! You just freaking bit me!"
"That he did mein schildkröte." Fritz gave a smirk "Three… two… one."
"You're going down you piece of-" Raph was cut off when he started twitching, and then he fell to the ground.
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Meanwhile, with the other wasp hunters…
"Okay, done and done." Mikey gave a grin as he looked at his handiwork "I think that worked out pretty well."
"I have some concerns about that." Daredevil pointed to where eight giant mutant wasps could be seen trying to burst out of a closet door.
"Hey think of it this way dude, they're in there aren't they? So where's Raph?"
"He said he was going after Leo, but he's been down there awhile." Donnie looked over at the hole in the floor "I have a bad feeling about this."
"So do I. I'm still feeling that buzzing sensation, and now it's even stronger." Daredevil was quick to brandish his Devil's Horn as he moved towards the hole… only for a sudden explosion to blow him and the others back… and out of the lab. And out onto the open street in a sizable crater.
"Ow…" Mikey was the first one to pick himself up and let out a loud groan "What the shell just happened?"
"I believe we just found the source of that buzzing noise… and it's bad. Very bad."
"How bad are we talking?" Mikey received his answer as Leo and Raph made their way out of the building… both of them having black eyes and drooling a yellow slime "Oh, so it's about that bad. I think this is like people in Stranger Things who got taken over by the Mind Flayer."
"I think you might actually be right. You see that?" Donnie pointed to the bite mark on Raph's arm "He got bit, Leo must have bit him."
"Got it. Bros come on, you gotta snap out of it!" the only response Mikey received came in the form of Leo and Raph snarling and charging at them like wild animals.
"Get back!" Daredevil moved in to stop their advance with his Devil's Horn, and then kicked their legs out from under them giving Mikey and Donnie the chance to bind them with two sets of chains, bringing them to their knees.
"That was seriously messed up."
"Don't let down your guard yet, we have bigger problems."
"That you do meine wadersacher." from within the flames of the building emerged the figure of the skeleton cloaked in wasps, with more gradually appearing around him and causing him to grow to the point where it had become a giant physical mass made of wasps, complete with a giant eyes and face "For the time of my conquest is at hand, and you shall either be made to serve me, or be the first to perish!"
"I choose the third option, as in we defeat you." Daredevil raised his Devil's Horn, with Mikey and Donnie both brandishing their own weapons 'Fighting superpowered criminals and aliens is one thing, but this creature is made entirely of mutant parasitic wasps, and from what I can tell, they have the power to turn others to their side if they sting or bite you. On top of that, attacking the parasitic wasps seems to cause them to multiply, and there doesn't appear to me any limit to that. There has to be some sort of weakness we can exploit, if we can find it.'
"Well meine gegner, it seems you've made your choice!" Fritz gained a wicked smirk as he charged at the others… only to be stopped by a wall of sand to appear in front of him, which he slammed into, causing the wasps making up his body to scatter momentarily.
"That was… unexpected." Daredevil glanced back at Mikey and Donnie, only to notice the two of them breaking out in wide smiles "I take it you two know something I don't?"
"Oh yeah, and this is awesome!" Mikey's grin grew even wider "This dude might have all kinds of freaky wasps, but we got Sandman!"
Sure enough, from the wall of sand emerged the humanoid form of Sandman in front of the group, his expression both dull and annoyed "Oh yeah, the Turtle guys that like hanging around with Spider-Man. Hey there."
"What's up Sandy, what are you doing here?"
"A building just exploded out of nowhere and you guys are fighting a giant wave of bees with a face, what do you think I'm doing here?" Sandman paused as he cast a look back to where Fritz was recollecting himself "Let me take a wild guess, this is Kraang stuff isn't it?"
"To put it in simple terms, yes." Daredevil gave him a simple nod "I take it you're the Sandman I've been hearing so much about."
"I've been building a rep. And you are?"
"Daredevil, but I'm afraid we don't have time for proper introductions."
"Figures. Anyone wanna give me some backstory here?"
"Whoever this guy is, he's made up of parasitic wasps that the Kraang mutated." Donnie told him "And he can control people."
"You got a plan?"
"We just got out of an exploding building before you show up."
"Fair enough. I'll stall this guy for as long as I can, you guys try and work out a plan to take him down."
"You sure you can handle hold this guy on your own?"
"Hey if I can handle guys like the Hypno Hustler, Kangaroo and the Ringer, this guy oughta be a walk in the park."
"You fought who now?"
"The less you guys know about those idiots, the better. Trust me."
"Fine, but we'll be back as soon as we can. Let's move." so Donnie quickly took off away from the scene, with Daredevil following close behind them, with Mikey staying behind for another moment.
"You gonna go with them?"
"Just wanted to say one thing. Give him hell Sandy, show that Swarm guy what you're really made of!" Mikey gave him a grin and a thumbs up, and then he took off after the others.
'Swarm huh? You know that's not too bad of a name. I guess this one really knows how to name stuff. Good, no need to hold back." Sandman gave a smirk as he grew to the size of the building in front of him, or what was left of it now to get down to business."
"On that we can agree." Fritz finished reconstituting his body and gave a smirk "I take it you will not allow me to pursue the insekten that you just allowed to escape."
"You're damn right that ain't gonna happen."
"So be it. Fortunately for myself, I have other ways of disposing of bests." Fritz then cast a glance over to Leo and Raph "Free yourselves and pursue your former comrades, and see if they can be turned toward our cause. I have other business to attend to."
"Yes Herr Fritz!" Leo and Raph were quick to free themselves of the chains binding them, and they gave chase after the others.
"Now then, where were we?"
"I was about to kick you right in the stinger, so what do you say we get to that."
"Very well then sandmännchen, I accept your terms!" so Fritz swarmed in on Sandman, and their clash began.
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Meanwhile, with the remaining wasp hunters…
"Okay, I've got it up here." by this point, Donnie and the others had taken refuge on the roof of a building a short distance away "Based on what I've found so far, the parasitic wasp infescts other animals that brainwashes them into protecting its eggs."
"You think that's the kind of wasp that makes up that freaky Swarm guy?" asked Mikey.
"And the one that stung Leo back at the lab, a mutated version at least. Then he bit Raph and must have passed the virus onto him."
"But this guy didn't lay any eggs, are they gonna go back to normal at some point?"
"That wouldn't be the case either way. Based on the example I found online, what happened to a caterpillar guarding the egg of a parasitic wasp… it went from guardian to food."
"You mean… They're gonna get eaten?!"
"At some point if we can't snap them out of it."
"But that raises another question." Daredevil cut in "Is there antidote?"
"I might be able to create some kind of antibody, but we'd either have to get back to my lab or get some of the equipment from the Kraang lab, and I'd need a sample of the virus, either from one of the wasps or from a blood sample from the infected."
"Meaning we have to get blood from either Raphael or Leonardo."
"Yeah, but we'd have to find them first, and god only knows where they are now."
"That may prove easier than you think." Daredevil turned around and readied his Devil's Horn, prompting Donnie and Mikey to turn around and find Leo and Raph standing before them, eyes all black and both of them snarling like wild animals, and he started fending off Raph's assault, as Leo turned his eyes on the others.
"...Oh no. Stay back, I said stay back!" Donnie and Mikey were quick to try and flee from Leo's advance, only for the former to suddenly be tackled to the ground, Leo viciously trying to bite him "We've gotta get a blood sample, it might be the only chance we have to cure them!"
"The shell with that, I don't wanna get turned into turtle soup!" Mikey was now trying to gain some distance from Raph, only to be thrown to the ground and forced to stop Raph from biting him using the chains of his nunchucks, but eventually he managed to throw him off… and off the roof they were on entirely, resulting in a loud crash "Uh… hoping he doesn't remember that when this is over."
"I think we have more pressing matters to deal with!" Daredevil summoned the grapple from his Devil's Horn and used it to bind Leo and pry him off of Donnie "Are you alright?"
"I think so… but what about Raph?" Donnie pulled himself to his feet and looked down into the alley below, only to find that Raph wasn't there "He's gone… He's gonna be somewhere out there, waiting for us."
"He'll more than likely try to assault us when our guards are down, so we'll have to stay alert for the time being. But where do we go from here?"
"We have to work on on the antibody to turn Leo and Raph back. We could head back to my lab in the Lair to do it."
"That's too risky. If Leonardo and Raphael follow us, not to mention our enemy himself, that could lead to the infection spreading even further. We have to keep this as isolated as we possibly can, which raises another question. Would the Kraang lab have what you need to create your antibody?"
"Probably, but that's assuming we can even get back there."
"We'll have to trust that Sandman can keep him at bay long enough for us to do what we need to do in there."
"But what about Leo?" asked Mikey "We can't just leave him here."
"Agreed. We'll have to take him with us. I'll carry him."
"You sure about that? What if he bites you?"
"My suit is durable enough to withstand gunshots wounds and knives, I'm sure it can handle a few bite marks." Daredevil hoisted Leo over his shoulder "Now let's get moving back to the lab, the more time we take the greater the chance this leads to an epidemic."
"Got it." so with that in mind, the three of them took off, dragging Leo along with them, during which Mikey pulled out his T-phone "You guys do what you gotta do, but I'm calling Pete in for backup. I just hate to ruin his date."
"He'll understand, and it's for the best, especially given our current handicap."
"I guess." Mikey then cast a glance out to where Sandman and Fritz were still clashing against each other in their giant forms not far away "You know if it wasn't for the whole "trying to turn us into wasp zombies" thing, this would be so cool."
"Perhaps, but we have more pressing matters to deal with."
"At least the building looks like it's still intact." Donnie guided Mikey and Daredevil (and Leo by extension) back into the Kraang lab, now with a large gaping hole in the wall and a majority of the room scorched, though that didn't stop him from looking through one of the cabinets "The good news is that it looks like the equipment is still in decent enough shape, so I should be able to make the antibody in here."
"Good. in the meantime, Michelangelo and I will barricade ourselves in here long enough for you to complete your antibody."
"Sounds like a plan." so Donnie started gathering equipment on one of the tables, leaving Mikey and Daredevil to gather as much material as they could to create barricade to cover the destroyed wall, until…
"Donatello. Michelangelo. Daredevil." Leo suddenly spoke from where he was sat in the corner of the room, still bound by chains "What happened?"
"Leo, oh thank god." Mikey breathed a sigh of relief "That wasp sting made you go crazy bro, and then Raph did too and he's still somewhere out there."
"Oh. Well you don't have to worry, I'm better now. You can untie me Mikey, then we can go and find Raph together."
"You can't trust me." Daredevil was quick to step in between them, his gaze locked on Leo and his demeanor hardening "I can tell from his heartbeat that he's lying, and his eyes are still a sign of his infection. You can't trust anything he says."
"Silence minderwertiger narr!" Leo let out a snarl as he tried to pounce at the group, only to be held back by Daredevil "It's useless to resist, it's only a matter of time before unser Führer takes control of you all, and remaks the world in his image!"
"That's not going to happen." Daredevil dealt Leo a quick chop to the neck, knocking him out cold in an instant "Not as long as at least one of us is still standing."
"Way to burst that possessed bubble of his." Donnie knelt down next to Leo and used a syringe to extract some blood from his arm "It may not be ideal to keep him with us like this, but at the very least, a sample of his blood should help me to create a cure."
"Yeah, now we can get our bros back before-" Mikey cut himself short as he looked at Donnie and let out a loud squeak.
"Mikey what is it?"
"D… your neck."
"What?" Donnie looked at his neck… and saw a large bite mark "Oh no… Leo must have bitten me during the fight, and that means… I'm infected too…"
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Meanwhile, with the black tie affair…
"Make a quick note for me." Peter was left rubbing the small of his back as he leaned against a wall, with Gwen trying to support him "If I ever figure out who it was that came up with the whole "Crack the whip thing," I'm gonna go find them and web their mouths shut."
"Okay I'll admit it, that only seemed like a good idea at the time." Gwen let out a sigh as she gently rubbed a hand against the small of Peter's back "But if it's any consolation, you're taking this a lot better than I would've in that position."
"Wouldn't be so sure. The spider powers work a lot of wonders, but apparently protecting a guy from cracking the whip isn't one of them. Note to self, talk to Splinter or Daredevil about that one when I get the chance."
"Fair enough. You know, it still is kind of crazy to think about it. You being a superhero and training to be a ninja."
"I still smack myself a few times every morning to make sure I'm not dreaming, so you're not the only skeptic here." it was then that the sound of a phone ringing drew their attention, and he pulled his Spider Cell out of his pocket "Speak of the devil. Hey Mikey, what's up? Hey slow down, I can't understand anything you're saying. You realize how crazy that sounds right? Yeah I know that's coming from me but the point still stands." he paused, then let out a sigh "Alright just hang in there, I'm on my way." and then he stowed away his phone and turned to Gwen "I hate it when this happens, so freaking much."
"The guys need you?"
"Apparently they're at some Kraang lab up in Harlem with Dardevil and Sandman fighting off what Mikey claims to be a big German wasp monster. And apparently the rest of the Turtles are being turned into German zombies. Believe me, I know how ridiculous it sounds, I'm so sorry to have to run out like this but-" Peter was silenced by Gwen putting a finger to his lips.
"I know, the city needs Spider-Man more than I need you. Just promise me you'll be careful out there." she caught him in a quick kiss on the lips "And don't forget that you owe me a dance once you get back."
"...You know that makes it really hard to pull away from." and yet despite this, Peter gave her a quick reassuring nod, and then rushed out of the gym as he pulled his web shooters out from his jacket and strapped them on 'I'm so gonna hate myself for this later on, but she's right. The city needs me. Hang on guys, I'm on my way! Now if only I had the Spider Cycle… yeah, this one is going to take me some time…'
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Meanwhile, with the battle between titans…
"Try it as much as you like ugly, it ain't gonna work!" Sandman continued holding his ground as much as he could against Fritz, the various attempts to sting or bite him failing each time as he maneuvered around the wasps forming a giant fist aimed at him and formed one of his own, which subsequently smashed into the giant face of wasps "I ain't like most guys you're gonna fight."
"So it would seem sandmännchen." Fritz let out a chuckle as his giant form re-materialized, the wasps further replicating
"How about giving me a little backstory?" Sandman crossed his arms "Usually that's part of the whole "superpowered psychopath tries to take over the world" thing."
"So you wish to know my story. Very well then." Fritz retreated back a big, meeting Sandman at eye leve, and he began his tale "I was once a man by the name of Fritz von Meyer, a world expert on toxic poisons, apiculturist and expatriate Nazi in service of Herr Hitler. Following his downfall and the end of the war, I fled to the jungles of South Africa, which hid me well and long. During my time there, I devoted myself to my research, which back then were the breeding patterns of various forms of arthropods, until the day came where I came upon a hive of parasitic wasps unlike any I had seen before then. I chose to investigate further and found that the wasps possessed a much greater level of intellect than normal, and I believed it to be related to the strange phenomenon I had been noticing in the area, which I later found to be the result of experimentation by a certain organization with a strange ooze-like substance they brought with them."
"You mean the Kraang and their Mutagen."
"As I am now aware, that was them yes. I also suspected that if I could find a way to take control of this swarm of wasps, then I could breed enough of them to pick up where Herr Hitler had left off, and follow through on his ambitions, and so I set about the creation of a device to do just that. However, the Kraang soon found me and took their device for their own purposes, despite my protests, to which they chose to use me as a test subject for their Mutagen experiments. Upon the previously mentioned hive being bathed in the rays of my device, the wasps attacked me and began to… consume my flesh." he shuddered slightly at the memories "And that was when the Kraang chose to expose the wasps and myself to their Mutagen. I could feel my conscious being shredded, dissipated somehow in the midst of that living hell… but I held on long enough to reach out and grab it… the queen of that hive, and with her in my power, the colony of wasps was mine to command. Of course the Kraang were watching my transformation from afar, and before I was able to get a grasp on my new state of being, they were able to capture the queen of the horde and subdue me, trapping me in that damned stasis pod for decades… Until they were foolish enough to try and recreate the results of the experiment that led to my new form, allowing one of my wasps to take on a new form." he let out a malicious chuckle "Thanks to their incompetence and my planning capabilities, I was able to free myself, ready to begin my ambitions once more."
"Yeah yeah I've heard that all before, you ain't the first guy who goes on about taking over the world and you're not gonna be the last."
"The difference being that I was able to do what they could not. Thanks to those alien abominations, I was able to shatter the line between humanity and arthropods, and now I have become the swarm that you see now, a new species ready to show the world what I am truly capable of. They only wanted to control these creatures, now I am them!"
"So far I'm not impressed, so keep talking yourself up Fritz."
"Fritz von Meyer is no more, so from now on you may call me… What was it that little Schildkröte called me before? Ah yes, Swarm. Prepare yourself sandmännchen, for now you shall be the first to feel the wrath of Swarm!" and so the newly named Swarm charged towards Sandman, beginning their battle once again.
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Meanwhile, inside the Kraang lab…
"Come on, come on…" Donnie was pushing himself as hard as he could to finish the formula he was working on, though he was quickly "This is bad, this is really bad… I don't think I'm gonna make it!"
"Hey don't stress over it dude, you're almost done." Mikey tried to reassure him, though it didn't have much effect.
"Mikey I'm gonna need your help, if I end up turning then you and Daredevil are gonna have to knock me out and finish the antibody yourself."
"What?! But dude I-"
"Just promise me Mikey, it's gonna be up to the rest of you."
"So what do we have to do then?" Daredevil took a step forward "I'm not as well versed in science as the likes of you or Spider-Man, but I'll do my best."
"Just listen carefully. First up, the hybridoma culture has to incubate for 10 minutes, and then you have to spin it in the centrifuge for another 5 so-" he cut himself short when he started clutching his head in pain "There's not enough time, I'm… I'm not feeling so well… It's up to you guys now…" he stumbled back a short distance and fell to his knees, and then he promptly fell silent.
"Michelangelo stand back, I'll handle this." so Daredevil grabbed his Devil's Horn in its baton form and brought it down… only to be stopped by Donnie catching it with one hand, revealing his eyes having turned black, and he was yanked forward, but managd to stop Donnie from biting down on his arm by dealing him an elbow to the back of the neck, knocking him out cold "At the very least, that should buy us some time."
"So… what do we do know?" asked Mikey tentatively.
"In my case, I'm going to take Donatello and Leonardo away from this lab, to give you the time you need to complete the antibody yourself."
"What?! But dude I'm not the most sciency type of guy, that's Donnie or Pete's thing and I know he's on his way-"
"We can't wait for Spider-Man with a matter this urgent, just follow Donatello's instructions and then call me. You have the potential to do this Michelangelo, I know you do. So show me that I'm right about you." and on that note, Daredevil grabbed Donatello and Leonardo, slung them over his shoulders and made his way out of the lab.
'Okay, I can do this…' Mikey took a breath as he turned to the equipment 'How the shell do I do this?! No take it easy Mikey, you gotta remember what Donnie said… incu-thing for 10 minutes, then spin for 5… I gotta do this, for my bros…' and then he got to work 'I might be the party dude, I might screw around a lot, but when my bros and my friends are on the line, the gloves are coming off! Well I mean I don't wear gloves, but you get the point!'
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Meanwhile, with the vigilante…
'This should be far enough.' Daredevil stopped on a roof top and let Leo and Donnie (both still chained up) down in front of him, then glanced back to where Swarm and Sandman could be seen fighting in front of the lab a fair distance away 'Hopefully this will give Michelangelo the time he needs to complete the antibody.' he paused as a familiar sensation ripped through most of his senses, and he turned around to face the source of it "Your stealth skills are as impressive as always, but I could tell you were coming for me Raphael."
Sure enough, Raphael was standing before Daredevil with his sais drawn, his eyes black and his mouth oozing yellow slime "Your resistance is futile Daredevil, it is only a matter before unser meister takes control of this world, and devours all who stand in his way."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that right now."
"If you will not stand with us, then you shall be the first to fall." Raph tightened his grip on his sais and charged at Daredevil with a swift barrage of attacks.
Daredevil was able to maneuver around his attacks with ease and quickly kicked Raph's legs out from under him, knocking him back onto his shell, then dealt him another kick that sent him spinning out towards the other Turtles, during which he noticed Leo using a small knife on the chains that were binging him, with Donnie doing the same 'So they were discretely working to free themselves all this time, and I never noticed. Their stealth skills are more impressive than I expected. I can't afford to underestimate them again.'
"This is far from over." Leo was quick to free himself, with Donnie swiftly following, both of them brandishing their weapons "You will either join us and our master, or die like so many others will."
"I don't suppose I'd be able to talk you out of this?" Daredevil received his answer in the form of both Leo and Donnie charging at him with their weapons drawn, to which he dodged Leo's lunge and ducked under Donnie's staff, providing him the chance to elbow Donnie in the jaw and then deal him a kick to the chest that sent him hurtling backwards.
"You're wasting the chance to become a part of something glorious!" Leo charged at Daredevil with a series of both sword attacks and attempts to bite him, only for every attack to miss, and eventually culminate in him getting a roundhouse kick to the face that sent him crashing directly into Donnie, sending both of them crashing into a nearby wall.
'That's two of them down for the moment, but where is Raphael?'
"You're either going to join us or die like a rat!" Raph let out a snarl as he charged at Daredevil, only for every one of his attacks to be dodged, and his attempts to bite him met with the Devil's Horn being stuffed into his mouth and thrown to the side with the rest of the Turtles.
'I can hold the three of them off without too much of a problem.' Daredevil watched as the three Turtles got back up and prepared to charge at him 'The only thing is I'm not trying to hurt them, just buy time for Michelangelo. The other main concern is whether or not our enemy tries to infect anyone else.'
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Meanwhile, at the black tie event…
"If I might have your attention." a dark-skinned man with glasses in a suite and the (principal Davis of Midtown High got up on the stage and drew the attention of everyone else at the Fall Formal "The votes have officially been cast for the king and queen of the ball. Your king for this year is… Hobie Brown!"
"And there we go." Hobie stepped up onto the stage and shook hands with the principal as the crown was placed on his head 'Now to hope that people have good taste…'
"And your queen is… the brunette who came with Hobie Brown. Is that right?"
'...You know what, I can live with that.' Hobie gave a smile as he watched Angela maker her way up onto the stage "Not a bad way to spend the night huh?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Angela gave a small scowl as she looked away.
"Not satisfied with the adoration of everyone else?"
"It would mean a lot more if the people here actually cared enough to learn my name. I'm more than just your arm candy."
"I never said you were."
"But they clearly did."
"If it's any consolation, I was pretty much in the same boat last year." MJ told her dryly "They all voted me last year and never knew my name either."
"That helps somewhat. Though I don't think I'm missing out on much by not going to school here."
"You're missing out on a lot of dating drama." Hobie told her "So yeah, pretty sure you're right on the money with that one."
"Case and point."
"I here that girlfriend." MJ gave Angela a smirk, then made her way over to where Gwen sat on one of the bleachers "You doing okay?"
"Yeah, just… thinking a little bit." Gwen breathed a sigh as she watched Hobie and Angela make their way onto the dance floor "Part of me kind of wanted that to be me and Pete… but part of me wonders if I even deserve it."
"What do you mean?"
"It feels like almost a lifetime ago, but I had this chance with Peter last year… and I let it slip right through my fingers. On top of that, I chose to stay with Harry over Peter, and it ended up really hurting him. Just the thought that I put him through so much pain… I wouldn't have blamed him if he hated me for it."
"Ah, gotcha. This again." MJ breathed a sigh of her own as she glanced up at the ceiling "I did try talking with Tiger a few times in the weeks after the whole Goblin thing went down. I could tell that losing you really got to him a lot more than he was willing to admit. I never seemed angry or bitter about it though, just… sad and lonely. He was like that for a good while, at least until he met the Turtles. I think they really turned things around for him. But it's like I told you back on New Year's Eve, you're all he thought about back then. Plus after he fought that evil ninja guy for the first time… he told me that he was in love with you."
"Really? Way back then?"
"Yep. No matter what happened, he never stopped, and frankly I'm pretty sure that's the way it's gonna stay, Harry be damned. Speaking of which I've been meaning to ask, does Tiger know why you dumped him in the first place?"
"Yeah… I told him awhile ago. It wasn't something I was exactly thrilled to do, but he had the right to know. He took it better than I did at least, though I don't think he's gonna want to talk with Harry anytime soon… and frankly I don't either."
"Ah. Well brooding about the past isn't gonna change anything, this is supposed to be fun so let's have some good old fashioned girl time. Wanna hit the dance floor just you and me?"
"Yeah, that… that sounds nice." Gwen gave a small smile as she followed MJ onto the dance floor.
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Meanwhile, with the titan battle…
"Your meddling is growing tiresome sandmännchen!" Swarm let out a snarl as he reformed his body, only to look down and notice a small group of people huddled together in a nearby alley, and his giant face gained a smirk "Perhaps it's time to give myself another new tactical advantage." so he swooped down towards the group and sent out a few wasps, until…
"Like hell that's gonna happen!" Sandman materialized in front of Swarm and unleashed a wave of sand to rip the bees to shreds, then cast a quick glance at the people "Run like hell and don't look back." and that was enough to send them running.
"One might find your concern for innocents to be admirable." Swarm regenerated the wasps he lost and grew slightly larger as a result "But unfortunately, I am not like them, and I merely find your interference to be grating."
"You can thank Spider-Man for that, the guy has a way of pissing people off and I guess it's kind of infectious."
"Then I shall see to dealing with him once I've finished with you!" Swarm was quick to pounce at Sandman and circle around him to try and consume him, only for Sandman to form a large head of sand to literally bite down on Swarm, scattering the remaining wasps around him in the process.
"There's one big difference between us Swarm, you gotta get hit to make more of those wasps of yours, but I can absorb as much sand as I want, and I've got a bunch of other tricks up my sleeve too."
"So I've noticed. I will admit that your powers are impressive." Swarm reformed himself and morphed his body into a large hand that smacked Sandman to the ground "It's a shame that your constitution makes me unable to turn you over toward my cause, so the only choice I have is to eradicate you here and now. Once you're out of the way, no one else will stand even a ghost of a chance of defeating me! Each new foe I fight will only make me stronger, and I will continue to replicate and expand myself and my army, until the time comes in which Swarm is everything!"
"Seriously dude, if I had a buck for every time I've heard the megalomaniac speech about taking over the world, I'd have made a big score as it is." Sandman propelled himself up to Swarm and wrapped himself around his body, then enveloped Swarm in a large wave of sand and drove him back into a nearby alley 'Good, at least this way I can keep him from getting out onto the street, no risk of anyone else getting caught in the crossfire.'
"Your interference grows more tiresome as we drag this farce out." Swarm let out a snarl as he broke free of Sandman's attempt to envelop him and began to do the same thing in reverse "I choose to end this now!"
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Meanwhile, with Swarm's victims…
'This is taking too long…' Daredevil dodged another series of Leo's attacks and used the grapple of his Devil's Horn to send him crashing into Donnie, and then he dodged another series of attacks from Raphael 'It's been 20 minutes, Michelangelo should be done by now.'
"I've had enough of you interfering!" Raph let out a snarl as he continued trying to land a series of attack, Daredevil, only for him to weave around them all with ease, ending with Raph getting an elbow to the jaw and a roundhouse kick to the face, having his sai stolen in the process.
"I'd tell you to back down because you can't defeat me, but I think I already know the answer to that."
"Then you know what I'm about to do." Raph continued snarling as he charged at Daredevil and tried to bite him… only to end up biting down on his own sai.
"I know, and you should know what I'm intending to do. It's called stalling."
"Stalling for what?"
"He's talking about me bro."
Raph whipped around to find Mikey standing directly behind him… only to end up with a syringe injected into his neck "What have you done?!"
"Doing what you wanted me to do bro." Mikey gave a grin as he watched Raph collapse into an unconscious heap "I'm here to pull your bacon right out of the frying pan."
"I call this a good sign then." Daredevil placed Raph's sai at his feet and turned to Mikey "I take it that you've finished the antibody then?"
"Yep. It wasn't easy, I was totally wigging under the pressure, but I managed to get a grip and hurt my brain hard enough to remember everything Donnie told me. I even had enough to make like ten doses of the stuff."
"I see. Impressive work, I knew that you had what it took."
"Yep, now you just gotta call me Dr. Einstein-enstein."
"...I'd really rather not. In any case, we still need to cure Leonardo and Donatello."
"Already got them." Mikey pointed to where Leo and Donnie both lay sprawled out on the ground a short distance away "No idea how long they're gonna be out of it though."
"In any case, so long as they're cured that minimizes the chance of the infection spreading to anyone else. Now let's go cut it off at the source."
"Right. Uh…"
"That means let's go help Sandman fight off Swarm. You still have more of the antibody with you right?"
"Yep." Mikey held up a bag containing numerous vials, one of which he locked and loaded into the syringe "Ready when you are."
"In that case, we'd better get moving."
"You got it man." and so the two of them took off to make their final stand.
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Meanwhile, with the source of the infection…
"Your interference grows more tiresome as we drag this farce out." Swarm let out a snarl as he broke free of Sandman's attempt to envelop him and began to do the same thing in reverse "I choose to end this now!"
"Yeah well funny thing Swarm, I was thinking the same thing!" thinking quick, Sandman shrunk himself so that he could slip out of Swarm's grasp and increased his size to rival Swarm, to which he then summoned several large sand fists and started pummeling Swarm to the ground with them, though his mind was racing as he did so 'I can keep this up no problem, but the more I attack him the more wasps he makes! This ain't gonna work forever, so I'm gonna have to come up with a plan fast.'
"You can attack as much as you like sandmännchen, but it's pointless!" Swarm let out a snarl as his face reappeared amongst the wasps "Swarm will only continue to grow in strength in numbers, and we will conquer this world! Don't you understand you fool? WE are the future!"
"Talking about we stuff is never a good sign."
"Maybe not, but this is!" this was when Mikey and Dardevil swooped onto the scene, the former unleashing a series of vials filled with green liquid into the mouth of Swarm, which quickly spread to the rest of the wasps as he tried to rebuild his giant form.
"I end this now Sandmännchen, Schildkröte and der Teufel! NOW YOU WILL ALL BE MINE!" Swarm finished rematerializing his giant form and swooped in to devour the three of them… only to suddenly begin screaming in agony as the serum took effect, causing his body to turn a shade of green, and then the wasps all fell to the ground dead, leaving only a skeleton in the midst of it.
"Done and done, now I think I've earned this one. Booyakasha!"
"So… it's over then?" Sandman glanced over at Mikey as he shrunk back down to his humanoid form "What the hell did you put in there?"
"This crazy antibody stuff my bro Donnie made. Turns out it does more than just cure dudes who get all messed up in the brain by those wasps, they take the wasps themselves out too. Swarm is as good as gone now."
"So it would seem, but even…" Daredevil glanced down at the skeleton… only to frown when he heard the sound of buzzing coming from it "I never thought I would say this, but I think that the Kraang made the right decision putting him in stasis. We can't risk leaving him out in the open like this, for all we know he might just start another epidemic."
"So what, we wait for Pete to show up and web the thing down?"
"I don't think so. We should take this back into the lab and see if the Kraang have another stasis pod to trap him."
"So then-"
"Booyakasha!" this was when Spider-Man swung his way down onto the scene and readied his web shooters "Alright I'm here, show me where to shove the webs!"
"Would've been a giant wasp monster about five minutes ago." Sandman told him dryly "You pretty much missed the whole damn thing."
"...Seriously?"
"Yep, and I totally saved the day." Mikey gave a wide grin "Sorry we uh… had to make you run out on your date."
"Oh no it's fine, I just had to leave behind a gorgeous blond in a very form-fitting dress so that I could swing halfway across the city to help you guys, only to get here and find out it's pretty much for nothing. No biggie."
"...You're being sarcastic right?"
"I'm oozing sarcasm out of every hole in my body right now." Spider-Man breathed a sigh as he looked down at the skeleton of Swarm "So… is he…?"
"As far as we can tell, but I'm not entirely certain." Daredevil frowned in thought "In case he's somehow able to reconstitute himself, we need to keep his body contained. My suggestion is that we keep him in one of the Kraang's stasis cells."
"Sounds good, then I'll put a call in to Captain Stacy and they can cart him off to the Vault with the others." Spider-Man then shot a series of webs at the skeleton to pin it to the ground "At the very least, that'll hold it for the time being."
"So… that's it then?" Sandman glanced over at the others "That's the end of it?"
"Far as I can tell."
"Cool. So then, good luck with bringing down the Kraang. Later." Sandman gave a quick mock salute, and then he disappeared into a nearby sewer drain.
"So… since I don't think I'm needed anymore, I'm gonna opt out. See you." Spider-Man gave his own mock salute and swung his way off the scene.
"Okay, so…" Mikey cast a glance over at Daredevil "So what are we gonna do about all the dead wasps and stuff?"
"Given that they're dead, they shouldn't be a problem anymore." Daredevil told him "Let's just leave the cleanup efforts to the police. In the meantime, we should get your brothers and go back to your Lair before anyone else arrives."
"Got it. You know I'm gonna lord this whole thing over them forever right?"
"I never expected anything less from you. But you did do very well tonight, so I think you've earned some rights in that regard."
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Meanwhile, with a certain other pairing (not necessarily a couple)…
"You know I have to be honest." Liz glanced over at Harry as the two of them made their way through Central Park "I actually enjoyed that movie a lot more than I thought I would. It was pretty good."
"Are you kidding? It was amazing!" Harry's eyes lit up as he turned towards her "When Mario and Luigi both managed to grab the Super Star and went to town on Bowser's thugs, I thought I was gonna jump up and hug the screen!"
"I'm pretty sure I saw at least four guys who did. Thanks for not being one of them, that might have been a little bit much."
"I definitely thought about it, don't get me wrong." the two of them stopped, and then he cast a glance over at her "You know I gotta be honest Liz, I actually had a lot of fun hanging out with you like this."
"I had a lot of fun too. With all the dating drama and everything it felt kind of good to just relax a bit for once." Liz gave a small smile, then frowned slightly "At least we don't have to deal with any of that tonight. Probably for the best we skipped out on the Formal. I didn't wanna deal with all of the drama."
"At least you wouldn't have had everyone trying to set you on fire with their mind." Harry's tone was filled with a mix of sadness and bitterness "Everyone from shool hates me now."
"I wouldn't say everyone."
"Okay, almost everyone. After Itried so hard to get them to accept me too."
"Yeah I noticed a fair bit of that at the Formal last year. My arm hurt for like two days after Flash dragged me onto the dance floor because he had something to prove. Actually everybody had at least one thing to prove now that I think about it." she glanced over at Harry "You weren't really an exception to that either."
"...I know." Harry hung his head as he sat down on a nearby bench, with Liz taking a seat next to him "I've always been like that in one way or another. Like last year, I was so desperate to prove myself to the popular crowd, I did a lot of stuff like joining the football team, more or less trying to shove my dad's money down everyone's throats to make them like me more."
"Like treating everyone in the in-crowd to the most expensive restaurant in town? Which I've been to before by the way, and frankly it's not even that good."
"What place were you going to? I made a whole case about the chocolate soufflé being topped with powdered sugar and gold dust!"
"I went there with my parents a few years ago, the gold dust is fake. There was a whole scandal about it, it's why the restaurant lost a star."
"...Huh." Harry blinked a few times "You know my dad mentioned some king of big scandal about that. It does explain a few things."
"Uh huh. Anyway, you were trying to prove yourself to the popular crowd?"
"Not just to you… to a lot of people really. Mainly my dad. It kind of got to a head during the Formal last year, when I went with Gloria. I went to get her some punch, then when I made my way back over to her I saw her and Kong get back together… and I snapped."
"Yeah, I noticed that you kind of left in the middle of the dance, which pretty much blew the afterparty, and our ride. Of course Sally was more mad about that part, but…"
"I left in the middle of it and… that was kind of all she wrote for me then. But it did send me down a pretty slipper slope, doing a lot of things I'm… not proud of."
"So that was when you started… juicing?"
"In a word, yeah. For awhile it was great actually, seeing how it got me a 4.0 GPA, I got to be a football star and it got me in the in-crowd, but then… not so much. For awhile I thought it was turning me into… something way worse. Turning me into something I'm not. I was pretty much terrified so… I had to go away and get better."
"You mean when you left for Europe."
"Yeah. And to think I took that stuff because I wanted to prove myself."
"Uh huh. Let's put a pin in the juicing for a minute." Liz moved a bit closer to Harry on the bench "Tell me something Harry, did you ever think that you might get further in getting people to accept you if you didn't try too hard?"
"...Are you kidding?" Harry let out a scoff "Look at me. Without that… stuff… I'm not super buff like most of the jocks, I'm not some super genius like Peter. What chance do I have to get anywhere if I don't try too hard?"
"Actually, a lot better of a chance if you ask me. And to be honest, over the past year I started thinking that… maybe being with the in-crowd is a little bit overrated."
"Seriously? When did you start thinking about stuff like that?"
"Honestly… around the time Peter started tutoring me in science last year. I mean sure I barely even looked at him at first, but he didn't take any crap or anything, and he just… left when he got fed up with it."
"And that was a good thing?"
"Looking back on it, it actually was. It was the first time I could remember someone from school treating me like… well like a real person, instead of just a cheerleader or Flash's girl. And to be honest, it felt… nice, actually. Kind of like this too."
"What do you mean?"
"Well the two of us haven't really hung out together like this before, seeing how whenever we were near each other, it was just in big groups with the rest of the in-crowd. But now I'm seeing the real you."
"Everybody else has seen the real me, and look how that's turning out."
"Maybe, but I'm being serious. I've been around you for awhile, and this is the first time I feel like I'm talking to you as a person, as an actual human being. And you know what? You're a nice guy, when you're just being yourself."
"You… really think so?"
"Yeah, I really do."
"That's… That's actually really nice to hear from someone else."
"Well it's the truth." Liz gave a shrug, then paused as she looked at him "You're not gonna try and kiss me out of the blue are you?"
"No no, nothing like that."
"Good." she paused again "I mean maybe at some point, but not right now."
"Okay good to know." this time he paused, then looked back at her "So… you wanna go bowling or something?"
"Sure why not, sounds fun." and so the two of them took their leave, sharing small smiles with each other as they did so.
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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…
'Crap crap crap!' now back in his tuxedo, Peter rushed back into the gym… only to find that almost everyone, save a few pairs, had already left, to which he let out a sigh and sat down on one of the bleachers 'So much for making the most of tonight.'
"Hey."
Peter glanced over to see Gwen sit down next to him "Hey. So uh… anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
"Well Hobie and his girlfriend Angela got crowned the king and queen, and I spent most of the time you were gone with Mary Jane, but beyond that, not really too much." Gwen gave a light shrug "What about you? Did everything go okay with the guys?"
"Pretty much yeah. Sandman managed to subdue the giant German wasp monster, and apparently Mikey was able to save the other Turtles after they got turned into zombies for the wasp guy, and then take the guy out. Now his skeleton is probably gonna end up under lock and key in the Vault with the rest of the guys who want to kill me."
"Oh. That's good, I guess. Why do you sound so annoyed?"
"Because they took care of all of it before I even got there, so I basically ruined tonight for pretty much nothing."
"...I wouldn't say that."
"Why not?"
"You remember what I said before you left don't you? You owe me one more dance, and I did save the last one for you." Gwen stood up and gave a small smile to Peter as she held out her hand "So how about it?"
"...Well when you put it like that, it's an offer I really can't refuse." Peter returned her smile as he took Gwen by the hand, and the two of them slowly began waltzing throughout the gym 'Okay, so like with many other things, tonight didn't go to plan… But if I get to cap off the night with a dance with Gwen, I don't think I have any complaints. Tomorrow is probably bring a lot more work for me and the guys to do, but I might as well enjoy tonight while I can.'
A/N:
And this time around, we get a lesser known and lesser acknowledged member of Spider-Man's rogues gallery as the main antagonist. of an episode. In this case, it's the villain known as Swarm. You know, the Nazi made of bees. I will admit that this one was a bit tougher to plan out than I thought it would be, and I was a bit hesitant to go through with it, mainly because I don't really know that much about Swarm, but I am pretty happy with the end result.
On a related, Spider-Man was pretty much pushed to the side this chapter, given that he doesn't actually take part in the battle, instead paving the way for me to do my own adaptation of the episode Parasitica, and give time to shine to some other heroes that deserve it, like Daredevil and Sandman.
