(The Spider Slayer)
Gamelover41592: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it, and Wolverine was really fun to include here.
Superjoeyf721: Yeah, I couldn't resist making a reference to the Ninja Rap song, it's the most iconic part of the movie. Taskmaster was a hell of a foe for sure, and Wolverine had a chance to show how he earned his reputation. Ghost Spider on the other hand may have a ways to go, but she's starting off on a high note.
Spectacular Webhead 11: Trust me, Subprime has a lot of cards to play, and he's not above the use of underhanded tactics to get it done. Wolverine is an old friend of Splinter, and at the same time he knows Shredder, so that oughta be interesting, and Gwen had a pretty eventful first real outing as Ghost Spider.
Vfc15650: Oh trust me, I've got my own way to go with Scarlet Spider, which you'll see play out in due time. All in all though, I'm glad to see you liked the chapter, so thanks. You made a valid point about Gwen being inexperienced with her powers, but she's a fast learner and she has a lot of help, something Peter didn't. Taskmaster was a lot of fun to write out. Frankly I'm not really having Raph do anything I didn't see him do in the main series, including him getting thoroughly humbled and feeling ashamed over Leo's capture here. Also Peter has plenty of experience dealing with muscle bound jerks in high school, so someone like Raph isn't that big of a deal for him. I should warn you though, the Karai arc is going to be spread out for the time being, so there are a few chapters to go through before.
Awesomerebel55: I know, Taskmaster is a hell of a first foe for Ghost Spider to face off with, but at least she had Wolverine as backup. Trust me, I've thought a lot about the role that the Avengers are going to play in this story, but it's going to be a gradual process. But that idea for dialogue you had is amazing, I'll definitely keep it in mind going forward.
TheIrishman1999: I thought about Peter being the first to find out, but after deciding to have him become the Man-Spider that wasn't going to work, but Ghost Spider and Wolveirne are a good substitute if you ask me. Your idea regarding the Green Goblin is interesting, and I could use a few ideas for giving Mysterio something to do in this story.
5FingerDeathFist: Tiger Claw having a history with Kraven was actually one of the earliest ideas I had for this story. I had considered dropping it for awhile, but that wouldn't be a bad way to bring it back. Savanti Romero and Kang the Conqueror is a unique pairing too, but I doubt that either of them wouldn't betray the other at one point. Also as a quick note, I actually enjoyed Quantumania, regardless of what anyone says. You have some interesting comparisons for the likes of Green Goblin. Those ideas for Shredder are interesting too, but I can't promise anything. I don't really know anything about Black Mask, so I'll just take your word for it.
Frosty Wolf: You're in for a good time with the third season. Logan being a friend of Splinter and Shredder seemed like a natural fit, given that he spent some time in Japan. Also nepotism doesn't mean much with someone like Shredder, even for Karai. Leo's got his character arc over the course of the show, like coming to terms with the whole leadership thing, and having three brothers doesn't make that any easier, especially with someone like Raph. And yeah, the pigeon thing is fun. Taskmaster was more of a guest appearance, maybe one or two more later on, and the Tinkerer is moving on to other evil things, which you will see. His boss isn't Doc Ock for the record, but you'll see in due time. I did have to get him out of the Foot to make room for the return of Stockman. Peter being out of action for now is definitely a risk to the city and its people as a whole. But all in all, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
Godzillaboy2021: The Spider Sense does alert the user to danger, but doesn't always showcase where exactly that danger is.
C.S. Allen: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. That backstory for Hammerhead sounds pretty brutal.
Shakespeare RZA: I know, I spent the better part of a week binging the whole game once I got my hands on it.
Colacheunion: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Gwen may be lucky, but her healing has nothing on somone like Wolverine.
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Another night in New York, another night where insidious forces are at work.
'This does feel kind of nice.' Ghost Spider let out a content sight as she swung her way across the city skyline, eventually coming to a stop along the side of a building 'It feels pretty good to just be able to get away from everything, get some time to myself, feel the wind blowing through my face. I can only imagine how much Pete liked doing this on his own… If only we could enjoy it together… I guess we'll have to wait awhile before-' she cut herself short as a familiar sensation began ringing in her head 'Well so much for being able to swing in peace. What exactly is setting it off anyway?'
The answer came in what appeared to be a group of small flying drones that were quickly flying towards her, complete with glowing red optics.
'Okay, some kind of drones. But what about them could sense off my-' Ghost Spider received her answer when they began hurtling towards her, prompting her to start leaping up the side of the building to avoid them, but they kept pace with her easily 'Ask a stupid question, get a face full of drones. I still can't believe that Amazon is planning to deliver packages with those things. It's like trying to lose a mini air force. I wonder…' she waited for one of the drones to approach her as she reached the rooftop, then latched onto it with a webline and hurled it into another one, which caused both of them to explode, the force of which sent her crashing to the ground 'It's like flying smart bombs. No way I'm risking anymore of that tonight, time to start fighting without fighting.' so she latched onto the next drone with a webline and launch it into another, causing both of them to explode on impact, prompting her to websling off the roof right before it happened.
Unfortunately, there were still three more drones flying after her.
'They're splitting up, probably trying to box me in. Actually, I might be able to use that against them. I'll have to time this just right though.' Ghost Spider swung around the corner of a nearby skyscraper, one of the drones following after her, prompting her to drop her web and fall just before the second drone reached her, leaving both drones to crash into each other and explode on impact 'Good, one more and I'm home free.' once the last drone came at her, she latched onto a nearby trash can with a webline and hurled it at the drone, destroying it on impact, allowing her to catch her breath as she ducked into the alley below 'Okay, so… that happened I guess. But what was up with those drones? They didn't look like Kraang tech, so the question is, who's trying to stalk me?'
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Meanwhile, with the stalkers in question…
"Fascinating, truly." a man with gray hair in a dark blue suit (Spencer Smythe) and a younger man with a brown mullet in a wheelchair (Alistar Smythe) looked on with great intrigue at the footage on the computer in front of him "The level of speed, her agility and gracefulness. I can only imagine what the original Spider-Man is capable of."
"Yeah well, I don't have to imagine it." Tinkerker made his way into the room and shot a scowl at Spencer "And trust me, you'd be singing a different tune if you had the wall-crawler dangle you off the side of a building by your leg."
"True, but the fact that he was capable of such a thing further demonstrates just what the spider is capable of."
"Sad to think the same can't be said for you." it was at this moment that another figure, with white hair and black markings on her face, clad in grey and white armor (Silver Sable) stormed her way into the room and gave a scowl of her own "I ask you to do one thing Smythe, and you can't even do that. You're a failure."
"Madam please-"
"I'll have you know that my father is not a failure." Alistar shot a glare at Sable "He happens to be one of the world's foremost experts in the field of robotics, and I will not allow anyone to disrespect him in such a way."
"Calm down Alistar, there's no need for you to defend me."
"Not that it would do any good either way." Sable's glare only intensified "In case it slipped your notice, you two geniuses let that web-slinging brat in the tights make a fool of us."
"That's only what she's meant to believe, this was little more than a trial run. The Spider Seekers have served their purpose thus far, to prove that my targeting mechanism is able to properly locate the Spiders, through your generous funding of course Miss Manfredi."
"And a fat lot of good it's doing if they can't catch them."
"That's not what they were designed for. We have something else in mind for that purpose, don't we Tinkerer?"
"Way ahead of you Spencer, time to break out the fan fare." Tinkerer gave a smirk as he pushed a button on a control conceal, causing a compartment in the wall behind them to open up… and reveal a large red and black robotic spider standing before them "Tada."
"Miss Manfredi, allow me to introduce to you the Spider Slayer, the Black Widow."
"...I feel like we're gonna have a war over the trademark for that name."
"You know you're ruining the moment." Alistar pointed out dryly.
"I'm just telling it like it is, no matter how much people don't want to hear it."
"And we don't."
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Meanwhile, with the unknowingly hunted…
"Woah…" Mikey sat in front of the TV, looking on in awe "Awesome…"
"Oh no, super bad times for all!"
"Does great danger arrive? Where?"
"Kill beast bots from planet seven are here with steely resolve! Captain Coolster what are we going to do?" and cue the smack across the face.
"Get ahold of yourself man!"
"Don't worry squeakums with might super robo mecha!"
"Team! Combine in teamwork mode!" and cue the giant robot "Super!"
"Robo!"
"Mecha!"
"Force!"
"Five!"
"Team!"
"FIVE! GO!"
"I guess you like it then huh?"
Mikey looked over to see Ghost Spider make her way into the Lair "No kidding, this show is all kinds of awesome."
"And clearly we've got different ideas of awesome." Raph gave a scowl from where he and the rest of the Turtles were watching from afar "Seriously, what the hell is this stuff? It looks like a giant pile of crap!"
"More like the diamond in the pile of crap."
"You might as well blame me for this one guys." Ghost Spider let out a sigh as she pulled off her mask, revealing the face of Gwen Stacy "Me and my dad were clearing out the attic and I found these old tapes, I figured you guys might like them. Guess I was wrong."
"Totally not Ghosty, this show kicks hardcore shell."
"Beg to differ." Leo muttered "And you guys complained about Space Heroes."
"Becuase that's a ripoff of Star Trek, this is a ripoff of something actually cool. Like Power Rangers and Voltron."
"Their lips don't even match what they're saying." Raph pointed out dryly.
"They never do, it's called anime."
"Call it whatever you want, no way in hell I'm watching a show this bad."
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6 ½ minutes later…
"Holy shell…" as it turns out, it didn't take long for Raph and the others to wind up hooked on the show themselves "So she's the princess of an entire planet? That's freaking awesome!"
"No doubt about it." Mikey gave a grin "She also pilots the robot's left leg. Hey speaking of which, how come we don't have a giant robot or something?"
"I've been working on that one." Donnie told him nonchalantly "But the scientist is the one that made the robot right?"
"Yep. So what do you guys think?"
"The story has such an intricate and layered plot, I give it four whole stars!"
"E-Excuse me princes, I'd like to invite you for space dinner, if you please yes?"
"What? I date a weakling like you? Not for 10,000 zarkon crystals!"
"...I retract one of my stars." was all Donnie said.
Raph on the other hand burst out laughing "What, cause it's like you and April?"
"No it's not! You know what this show is stupid anyway, the plot doesn't even make any logical sense. Forget this, I'll be in the lab." and on that note, Donnie turned on his heel and walked off towards the lab.
'I guess the show hit a sore spot… I'd better go check on him.' Gwen pulled herself to her feet and made her way over towards the lab.
"What am I to her anyway?" as it turns out, Donnie was staring at a picture of April and bitterly lamenting over recent events "I'm not just some nerd, I'm a freak, we're all nothing but total and complete freaks of-" he cut himself short when he saw Gwen standing in the doorway "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to regret bringing those tapes here."
"Sorry, it's not you Gwen. Just kind of rubbed salt in the wound I guess." Donnie let out a sigh as he sat down the picture "Not like it matters anyway, April made it pretty clear she blames us for her dad getting mutated, and barely a month after we got him back from the Kraang."
"But it was an accident."
"Doesn't seem to make much of a difference with her. Either way I have to find an antidote, a Retro-Mutagen, and then Kirby won't have to be a mindless mutant bat anymore."
"And we can turn back everyone else, like Dr Connors… and Peter…" the thought of that was enough to make Gwen's gaze harden "What can I do to help?"
"That depends on whether or not this one works. Now let's see…" Donnie dropped a small bit of a liquid into a beaker of Mutagen… only for it to freeze and then shatter into pieces "Seriously, frozen? Well that's just perfect, all I got out of that is losing another batch."
"You don't have to do this alone you know." Gwen looked over a notepad Donnie was scribbling in on the side of the desk "I could help you with finding the retro-mutagen if you want, I don't wanna brag but I like to think I can contribute to it."
"Thanks but no thanks, this is my responsibility. I'm the one who promised to find a cure, and win April back, and I'm gonna do that whatever it takes-" he was silenced by Gwen giving him a scowl and a raised eyebrow, which stopped him in his tracks.
"First time I've had to use the Look on one of you guys. Honestly I'm surprised Raphael wasn't the one." Gwen leaned in close to Donnie, but then her gaze softened "We'll find a cure Donnie, and we'll fix this. We'll turn back Peter, Mr O'Neil, Dr Connors, everyone that got mutated. I promise."
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Another day came, and with it school at Midtown was in session.
'Okay, cleaning out my locker is finally done, that's a relief.' April breathed a sigh as she opened up her newly emptied locker, void of anything turtle related 'This is it April, your chance at a fresh start. You just have to pretend that you're a normal girl living with your cousin and her aunt in Queens. Don't talk about alien robots, mutant bat dads or superheroes in spandex, and don't even think about Turtles or-' her internal rantings were cut short by something hitting the back of her, knocking her to the ground with a loud thud, and she looked over to see a hockey puck spinning next to her head "Are you kidding me?"
"Gotta give you points Red." the owner of the puck, a guy with black hair and a gap in his front teeth, gave her a smirk as he grabbed hold of the puck "Nice job with stopping my puck out of the blue like that. You got a few moves."
"That's one way to start a conversation. Another is you could start with apologizing."
"Fine, sorry you got in the way of my kickass shot. What were you doing blocking up the halls like that anyway?"
"You mean standing at my locker? Seriously, who the hell do you think you are?"
"You signed up for extra credit right? Better start rejoicing red, cause I'm the guy that you get to tutor."
"...You've gotta be freaking kidding me."
"Yep, it's your lucky day." the guy then lost his smug demeanor as his gaze hardened "Look I ain't happy about the whole tutoring thing either, but if I don't pass trig then they're gonna kick me off the hockey team."
"This school has a hockey team?"
"No, but I'm trying to go pro and apparently those guys want their recruits to be well rouned, some new policy saying grades are important or some stupid crap like that. The thing is that nobody else wants to tutor me."
"I wonder why."
"I say it's their own fault for being intimate by my supreme awesomeness."
"And I take it this is your way of asking me for help? Charming."
"That's one way of looking at it." the guy's smirk widened as he leaned closer to her… and she eventually gave in.
"Fine, meet me at the park at 7, and don't be late."
"It's a date then, sounds pretty good to me." the guy gave a triumphant grin as he whacked a hockey puck… which sent it crashing into Hobie's face "Aw crap, better get going."
"You still haven't given me your name by the way."
"Oh yeah. It's Casey. Casey Jones." and then he walked off, keeping the smug demeanor about him as he did.
"...What the hell have I gotten myself into?"
"A damn good reason for reevaluating how you make decisions." Hobie pulled himself back to his feet and wiped the blood from his lip, shooting a dry look at April "You seriously traded up the Turtles for that jackass?"
"What?" April flinched visibly "You… know about that?"
"I talk to Stacy and Watson, if nothing else to keep tabs on the overflowing crap fest the city has become lately. O'Neil believe me when I say that this comes from the bottom of my heart… You just went for about as much of a downgrade as you can get." and on that note, he turned on his heel and walked away.
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Nightfall came, and another mission was well underway.
"Okay, if the tracker is right the next one should be… right here." Ghost Spider stowed away the Mutagen tracker she was carrying and found a canister lying in front of her on the edge of the rooftop, to which she reached down and moved to grab it, only to pause as a familiar sensation began going off in her head 'Spider Sense, is this meant to be some kind of trap?'
"Sneak attack!" Turtle Titan pounced at Ghost Spiders from the shadows, forcing her to leap into the air to avoid his nunchucks and subsequently pin him by webbing his arm to the ground "Two things to note here. One, sneak attacks don't work if you yell them out loud. Two, why attack me when we're Mutagen hunting again?"
"You said you wanted real deal training, this is how we're going with it." Turtle Titan used the blade of his kusarigama to cut himself free of the webs and pulled himself back to his feet "You can thank Leo for coming up with the lesson idea, he wanted to emphasize stealth attacks and how to deal with them. You couldn't see me coming could you?"
"Hence the whole stealth portion of this."
"There we go, and the whole stealth thing has two big parts going to it, it's misdirection and camouflage. Leo and Raph went over to check out a Mutagen canister somewhere in Brooklyn, so this one is just us."
"Meaning I have you and Donnie to fend off, right?" Ghost Spider was met with silence, and cast a look around to see that Mikey and Donnie were nowhere in sight "Okay, I'd appreciated some kind of signal that we're starting. But I guess that defeats the purpose, so fair." it was then that the sound of her cell phone ringing drew her attention, prompting her to draw it out of her suit, and then…
"Sneak attack!" Turtle Titan pounced at her again, only for her to duck under his kick and throw him into the wall "Ow…"
"Put a pin in that for now, my dad is calling." she answered it as pulled down her mask, revealing the face of Gwen Stacy underneath "Hey dad. I'm not actually home yet, I'm hanging out with those… new friends of Peter's. Yeah, I should be home in a little bit, what about you? Okay, see you later then. Love you too, bye." and then she hung up, and let out a sigh "So few words and yet so much stress."
"Still haven't told your dad about the whole superhero thing huh?"
"How am I supposed to? Hey dad, hope you had a good day at work. BTW, I nearly got stabbed by a super mercenary last week, pass the gravy. Not exactly a great conversation starter."
"Oh. Yeah good point. So you're never gonna tell him?"
"I never said that, it's just… A lot, you know?" the two of them sat down on the edge of the rooftop, glancing out at the city skyline "He was already really overprotective of me after my mom died, and then it practically tripled with all of the supervillain stuff I've gotten roped up in over the past year. Electro, Lizard, Venom, the Master Planner, Kraven, the Technodrome. And that was before I actually became Ghost Spider.
"I get that, but it kinda reminds me of this one thing Pete told me about awhile back. You know when Venom was trying to make his life hell?"
"You'll have to be more specific."
"The whole secret identity thing I mean. He wanted to make it so he'd make Pete look like some criminal, turn everyone on him. You really wanna go through the same thing?"
"I… I get what you're saying Mikey, I do." Gwen let out a sigh "You're right, I'm putting this off too long. If my dad is gonna find out his daughter is a vigilante then it's better I be the one to tell him on my own terms."
"Now we're talking." Turtle Titan gave a grin, then looked over to where Donnie was sulking on top of a nearby water tower "Hey D, you doing okay?"
"What? Oh yeah, whatever…" Donnie let out a sigh as he leapt down from the tower and sat next to the two of them "April is always in the park studying around this time. Would it seem too weird for me to just show up out of the blue?"
"Speaking as a girl, I can tell you now that wouldn't make you look good." Gwen told him "Two reasons for that. One, you and her aren't on the best terms right now. Two, memorizing every moment of her schedule like that and popping up out of nowhere, it honestly comes off as a little bit stalkerish."
"Okay fine, so maybe it does and she still blames us for her dad mutating but-" Donnie quickly cut himself short when he looked down at the park below, and then he and the others were quick to duck and/or cover themselves.
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Now for what Donnie saw…
"Okay, let's give this another shot." as it turns out, it was April and Casey sitting on the swings below them, the former trying and failing to get the latter to solve a problem "Now show me how you solve for X."
"Uh… you just dig right, because X marks the spot." Casey gave a cocky grin, which failed to impress April.
"Okay seriously, have you ever even opened this book?"
"Of course I have."
"Yours is still in the plastic."
"Uh… It's a spare?" he was met with a dull look from April, and chose to relent "Alright screw it, so school really isn't my thing. When I graduate my plan is to become either a pro hockey player or an international bounty hunter."
"...You've got a rich fantasy life, don't you Jones?"
"Meh, you know the world we live in, robots and aliens and god only knows what else. Not too much of a chance at a normal life, and who wants one anyway right?" his grin only widened as he leaned closer towards her "Hold still for a second Red, you got a little smudge on your face. I got it."
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And now for the bystanders' reaction…
"You've gotta be kidding me!" it took all but a few seconds for Donnie to start losing it when he saw the two of them "I don't believe this, she's actually on a datie with some punk human kid with gap teeth? What are they saying?" he leaned closer to try and her… only to end up nearly falling over the side.
"She's not on a date." Gwen pulled her Ghost Spider mask back over her face and pulled him back away from the ledge "Mary Jane told me that she's tutoring, she signed up for extra credit to make up for the points she lost while she was hiding out in the sewers with you guys. And saying this as a form of constructive criticism, if you showing up out of nowhere would be bad, think of how bad if you fell in front of them out of the blue like that."
"...She'd think I'm stalking her?"
"Along with you getting exposed, which is worse." Ghost Spider paused as she noticed the downcast and sullen look on Donnie's face, and she let out a sigh "That being said, it's probably time for me to have two uncomfortable talks instead of just one."
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Meanwhile, with the villainous forces…
"Fascinating…" Silver Sabel gave a wide smirk at the sight of the Black Widow robot being worked on, complete with acid that burned through its exterior "This is going to do very nicely for our cause."
"You should be careful Miss Manfredi, you don't want to get too close." Spencer told her "That acid is the only thing that's able to penetrate the armor of the Black Widow."
"Which also makes it all the better for capturing those wretched Spiders."
"And god forbid any of it gets on you." Tinkerer muttered under his breath from where he was working at a nearby computer, but not quiet enough to prevent her from hearing it.
"You would be smarter to watch your tongue Tinkerer, I'd hate to have to turn this onto your hide as well."
"I'll keep that in mind." Tinkerer shared a look with Spencer as he pulled up a set of schematics on the computer "We're almost ready anyway, a little more work and this thing is going to be fully operational."
"Excellent. This is going to be a momentous occasion, so don't make regret bringing either of you in on this."
"I'm here because you want results, and I get that for my clients one way or another."
"But let's not forget your previous clientele Phineas, or the reputation that they've garnered for themselves." Spencer pointed out "Everything is to be done on the up and up. The last thing that we want is for things to get out of hand after all."
"Really? Don't forget Smythe, we're basically playing judge and jury here."
"Far from it." Silver Sable let out a scoff "What I want is to see that Spider-Man is brought to justice for his crimes against this city, and my family. He's the reason that my father is dead after all."
"Your father is Silvermane and he died during the Death Star thing like a month ago."
"He wouldn't have died if he hadn't been stuck rotting in that cell, and he wouldn't have been there if Spider-Man didn't butt his nose in where it didn't belong!" Sable let out a snarl, but then composed herself as she turned to face both Smythe and Tinkerer "But regardless of the legacy of my family, I do want this to be done by the book. You have to trust me on this" and on that note, she turned on her heel and walked out without another word.
"...Yep, this is gonna be a train wreck." Tinkerer shared a look with the others "She's got a big personal stake in this, that never ends well."
"For once I agree with you." Alistar muttered "That and I always get a bad feeling whenever I hear someone say I have to trust them."
"To be fair to you two, that's not an entirely inappropriate sentiment. But there is another very important consideration here." Spencer directed their attention to the computer, where he pulled up a certain image for them: a high tech hover chair "This. It's going to be just your size once it's been completed."
"Is that why you're working for Manfredi? To serve up Spider-Man and his companions on a silver platter, in exchange for this?"
"Alistar the explosion back at the old lab was my fault, I know this for a fact. I may not be able to restore your legs, but I will do everything in my power to help you."
"Even working with someone like her?"
"Even such a thing. Besides, there are far worse potential business partners to contend with than the likes of Miss Manfredi."
"Can't argue with that. Alright I'll leave you two to do some father and son bonding, I've gotta make a call anyway." Tinkerer patted Spencer on the shoulder and took his leave of the lab, and as he did he pulled out his cell phone "Get me to the benefactor."
"...I take it you have a status update?"
"The Black Widow robot is just about ready, complete with the paralyzing neurotoxin. That oughta stop them from getting away."
"And as far as everyone is concerned, you and Dr Smythe are the brains, but Miss Manfredi is the mastermind behind the overall plan?"
"That's what they think."
"Excellent, such as it should be. Spider-Man was responsible for the destruction of everything I spent so long working for, and now even in his absence, these Turtle creatures and a successor of his role are continuing his legacy. But even in the face of supposed death, I refuse to relinquish control of this city, my city."
"Hence why you brought me in for the Spider Slayer robots, this bad boy can neutralize all of the powers of either webhead. But what about the Turtles?"
"They're formidable in their own right, but even with their level of skills they're still bound by physical limitations. Still, they are a threat that have to be taken care of."
"You don't have a thing to worry about in that regard Mr Roman."
"Correct, I don't, but the same can't be said for Miss Manfredi. In the event of the Black Widow's failure, you have our fail safe put in?"
"Yep. I download Manfredi's mainframe, anything happens to the Slayer and the virus goes out, the files are automatically uploaded to the internet, in a heartbeat." Tinkerer paused, then gave a knowing smirk "It makes a man think though. Either a few pests in your way get squashed, or you get rid of a potential rival crime lord. You come out ahead either way."
"It's the golden rule of business Tinkerer. If you want to succeed, you have to think five steps ahead of your opponent."
"Can't argue with that. I'll go ahead and get started on the next round of Spider Seekers. All goes well and we'll have that wall crawling brat like putty in our hands by midnight." Tinkerer cut the phone call short and made his way down the hall, a smirk plastered across his face.
What he didn't notice, however, was that Shocker was watching his conversation from his palace perched on a rooftop, and he tapped an earpiece in his mask "You get all that?"
"I managed to intercept every word of their conversation. Evidently our masked ally's newfound companions have a bounty on their heads."
"We already said our policy on the Bug, but not these new ones. What's your move?"
"A wise man once said, you must keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Beyond that, I trust you know what should be done."
"Copy that." so Shocker ended the call and glanced back down at the lab, and he let out a long sigh 'The things I do to earn a paycheck.'
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Meanwhile, in the Lair…
"It's ridiculous, completely and totally ridiculous!" Donnie was wasting no time in venting out his feelings about seeing April, to the only available source: Mikey "I mean you saw it too, they were even swinging together. Swinging! And then she gave him that look."
"What look?" asked Mikey.
"You know, this look!" he started batting his eyes like one would only see in a cartoon.
"...Dude, I think you just made yourself into a meme." this was ignored.
"Why was she even with him? Because he's a human, I bet that's why. Big freaking deal! Do you have any idea how many people are human?"
"Um… a lot?"
"Exactly!"
"But that doesn't mean a lot bro, Pete and Gwen are human and they like hanging out with us, no problem."
"True. At least they understand science and manage to reverse engineer alien tech from another dimension. Why don't we see April's boyfriend design something like that?" Donnie paused as he took in the look Mikey was giving him, and so he let out a sigh as he pulled out a beaker and a canister of Mutagen "I guess I'll just have to face it. She'll never want to be friends again, and nothing is gonna change her mind."
"Um… you probably don't wanna say that too soon."
"Why?"
"Donatello my son." it was at this moment that Splinter made his way into the lab "I would like to speak with you for a moment."
"Um… sure Master Splinter. Mikey, don't touch anything."
"No promises." Mikey gave a grin as he watched Donnie leave, then turned to his T-phone 'I still gotta wonder how Gwen's doing. She said she was gonna have two talks tonight. One's with her dad, but the other…?'
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Meanwhile, with a certain wayward kunoichi…
"Well that could've gone better." April let out a sigh as she and Casey made their way along the sidewalk "We didn't really get much studying done."
"Big whoop, it's like studying all you do." Casey rolled his eyes "You gotta learn how to relax and cut loose a little bit."
"Hey, I'll have you know that I totally know how to cut loose! You don't have a clue about the sort of crazy things I deal with."
"Like what, being some kind of science olympian?"
"...You really know how to push people's buttons, don't you Jones? I bet you-" April was cut short by the sound of a loud splat, and she turned her attention to where a figure could be seen in a nearby alley 'Is that… webbing? No way, Peter got mutated, so… Dammit, why can't I turn off my conscience?'
"What's up with you Red? You're spacing out like crazy."
"I… have to take care of something… private. Girl stuff. I'll be right back, and don't follow me there." April turned and quickly snuck her way into the nearby alley, moving to grab her tessen as she did so "I know you're there, come out so I can see you."
"You can drop the weapon, I didn't come for a fight." Ghost Spider made her way out of the shadows and crawled down the wall in front of April "I just want to talk."
"If trying to rip off Spider-Man is your idea of a joke, it's a crappy one." April glared hard at Ghost Spider… but then paused as a familiar sensation washed over her "Wait a minute, don't tell me… Gwen…?"
Sure enough, Ghost Spider removed her mask just enough for April to see the face of Gwen Stacy and she gave a small smile "Hi April. Like I said, I just want to talk."
"Okay, first question… What the hell?!"
"Yeah, a lot has happened over the past two weeks. Big understatement." Gwen breathed a heavy sigh "I don't want to go into the details right now, MJ can give them to you later, but like I said, I just came to talk."
"About?"
"You. And the Turtles."
"...Just great." April's shock quickly morphed into a scowl "I can't believe you'd be on their side after what they did.
"I already know what you're talking about. The mutagen spill."
"Yeah, my dad getting turned into a bat, Peter being turned into a giant spider… and it's all their fault! How can you side with them after that?"
"Because I can recognize an accident when I see one, and look past it for the sake of looking at the bigger picture." Gwen pulled her Ghost Spider mask back over her face "They need someone on their side too you know. They've been running themselves into the ground trying to fix this, Raph is about to explode, Leo's already a nervous wreck about leading them, and Donnie has all but locked himself in his lab."
"So besides the Mutagen canisters scattered around the city, nothing has changed."
"April just-"
"Forget it Gwen, I'm never going to forgive those guys. I never want to see them again, and there isn't anything you can say or do that's gonna make me change my mind." it was then that the sound of a loud crash drew their attention "Okay, I might have jinxd myself there."
"Spider Sense, get down!" Ghost Spider leapt towards April and pushed her out of the way just in time to avoid the wall collapsing in front of them, dropping her out of the alley just as they saw the Black Widow appear before them 'Yep, I would definitely call this a jinx.'
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Meanwhile, in the Lair…
"This is an important lesson for you to learn my son." Splinter led Donnie into the dojo and then turned to face him "Today, I will be teaching you to enjoy falling down."
"Why would I ever-" Donnie didn't get a chance to finish before Splinter swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground "Ow!"
"Did you enjoy that?"
"No!"
"Then let's keep trying."
Several beatdowns later…
"Now then…" Splinter held out a hand to Donnie "Do you enjoy it yet?"
"No!" Donnie shot an incredulous look at Splinter "Why would I enjoy that?"
"I see, so perhaps one is not able to make someone like something."
"Of course not, who in their right mind would want to be-" Donnie cut himself short as the realization dawned on him "Oh. You're talking about me with April. I get it now."
"My son, for someone so intelligent, the obvious often eludes you."
"Yeah… I'm kind of starting to see that. What am I supposed to do though?"
"Remember this my son. We cannot make a person think or act in a certain way. All we can do is accept their thoughts and beliefs for what they are, for better or for worse."
"Maybe, but-"
"Donnie!" this was when Mikey rushed into the dojo, clad in his Turtle Titan suit "Just got a text from Gwen, she and April are getting attacked by some freaky spider robot!"
"What?!" and that was all he needed to hear for the two of them to take off running.
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Meanwhile, with the robot hunted…
"Okay, spider robot is a new one." April merely let out a groan at the sight of the Black Widow closing in on her and the others "Seriously, can't I go a month without some crazy monster trying to kill me?"
"Considering this is New York, I'm going to say that's a no. Now get back!" Ghost Spider made a wall of webbing between herself and April, then leapt towards the Black Widow and tried to deal it a roundhouse kick to the back… only to end up bouncing right off and being forced to land on a nearby wall 'This thing has some serious defenses to it.'
"Target acquired. Must eliminate Spider." the Black Widow then advanced towards Ghost Spider, forcing her to leap out of the air and leave it to embed itself into the alley wall, sending a large amount of rubble hurtling down onto her.
'Crap!' Ghost Spider used a barrage of webbing to stop the rubble from falling, then used a makeshift web slingshot to launch herself into the Black Widow… only for it to catch her with its two front legs and for two mechanical fangs (glowing green) to sink into her ripcage before she was able to break free 'What… What did it… body going numb…' she kicked the Black Widow away with whatever strength she had left, then cast a look at April and Casey "Both of you… get out of here…" and that was when she lost conscious and fell to the ground, allowing the Black Widow to pick her up and prepare to leave.
"Gw-Ghost Spider!" April gripped her tessen and moved to attack the Spider Slayer… only to be stopped by Casey holding out a hand to her "What the hell are you doing?"
"From what I can tell, looking at something out of Terminator." Casey gave a smirk "That thing is pure evil and looks completely badass. Stand back and let me handle this sweetheart."
"Okay, you did not just call me sweetheart." April paused and looked at the Black Widow "Also I'm pretty sure that thing wants to rip your face off."
"Yeah well, that makes us even, now move it!" Casey threw April out of the way of the Black Widow charging at them, while he dug his way through a nearby dumpster "Come on, for the love of god let there be something I can use in here."
"Threat detected. Must be eliminated." the Spider Slayer charged at Casey, forcing him to duck into the dumpster, which it then rolled down the alleyway.
"Ow… and hell yeah!" Casey burst out of the dumpster appearing none the worse for wear, and with a metal pip in hand, to which he started using it as a hockey puck to spike various smaller objects at the Spider Slayer "You like that, then how about this! GOONGALA!" and then he charged at the Black Widow at full speed… only to bounce right off its armor and smack face first into the wall behind it "Ow…"
"All threats to objective must be neutralized." the Black Widow prepared to advance on the downed form of Casey, until…
"Hey!" a small object smacked the Black Widow across the face, courtesy of April with her tessen "Back off you Terminator wannabe!" and then she began forcing the Black Widow back a few feet, albeit while not actually damaging it, with Casey looking on in awe from his place on the ground.
"Well hot damn… I'm liking what I see."
"Not the time to stare at my ass Jones!" and so April continued her attack, with the Spider Slayer focusing on evading while keeping Ghost Spider in its clutches "How about instead you help me get rid of the Skynet reject here!"
"Works for me." so Casey brandished his metal pipe, and the two of them launched a series of swift attacks at it… only for it to come to an end when Casey wound up breaking his pipe over its armor "Ooh… Aw crapbaskets." and then he got backhanded by one of its limbs.
"Casey!" April tried to attack the Spider Slayer from behind, only to end up getting backhanded by one of its mechanical limbs as it advanced on her, until…
"Grab on Red!" that was when Casey blitzed past the Black Widow on his bike, grabbing April by the wrist and hoisting her onto the back, with the Spider Slayer hot on his heels.
"So how fast can you pedal?"
"No idea, lucky for us I don't think we gotta!"
"NYPD, put your hands in the air!" this was when George Stacy pulled up onto the scene, only for him to stop when he saw the Spider Slayer "Or… robot limbs in the air!" he pointed his gun at it, only to freeze on the spot when he saw Ghost Spider in its clutches 'Is that… no, it can't be, but… Get the hell off of her!"
"System override: Primary objective complete. Returning to base." rather than attack, the Spider Slayer tightened its hold on Ghost Spider and activated its rockets and immediately flew away from the scene.
"Dammit!" George slammed a fist against the side of his car in frustration, and then he noticed two figures appear in the reflection, to which he looked over to see Turtle Titan show up on the scene in the Stealth Bike "I'm guessing that you know where that robot came from?"
"We deal with a lot of robot stuff, but nothing like that." Turtle Titan told him "This looks likes a new one if you ask me. Don't worry we got this, just leave it to us."
"Under normal circumstances I probably would." George's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer so that only Turtle Titan could hear him "But if you think I'm going to sit around and do nothing when my daughter just got kidnapped by a giant robot, you're living in a fantasy."
"...Aw crapbaskets." Turtle Titan was quick to compose himself as the two of them ducked into a nearby alley "So… you know?"
"It wasn't that hard to figure out. Mask or no mask, one glance is all I need to recognize my own daughter."
"I… I never wanted to put her in danger. I promised Pete that I was gonna look after her." Turtle Titan's face fell.
"I know, and I also know that throwing around blame isn't going to bring her back. But with that being said, once we get her back, the three of us are gonna be having a damn long talk about all of this."
"Right, dad talks… great. Alright enough screwing around, she needs us. We can't wait for the backup either."
"We don't have any backup to wait for." this was when Donnie leapt down onto the scene with his T-phone in hand "Leo and Raph are still over in Brooklyn searching for Mutagen, and they wouldn't get here in time without the Shellraiser."
"What about Wolverine or Daredevil?"
"I sent them the list of the scientists kidnapped by the Kraang the other night, they've been going all over the places and raiding Kraang hideouts to free them. Also from what they told me, it looks like someone raided these hideouts and massacred all of the Kraang inside before they ever got there."
"Seriously? Who did it?"
"No idea, but Wolverine said the scent he picked up was… odd."
"Huh. No forget about that, we gotta figure out where they took Gwen. This is her dad by the way, captain this is my bro Donnie." he pointed between the two of them "So how the shell do we figure it out?"
"I might be able to triangulate the positon of her phone if-" Donnie was cut off when the three of them looked over to see a green wave of energy shoot into the air not far away "But that may or may not have something to do with it."
"I figured that'd get your attention." it was at this moment that Shocker dropped down onto the scene, prompting the three of them to reach for their weapons and/or gun "Cool it with being such quickdraws, I ain't here to pick a fight. Let me guess the one in the cape is the Bug's new partner, am I right?"
"You got that right." Turtle Titan's gaze hardened "So which one are you?"
"You can call me the Shocker. Like I said, I ain't here to fight, at least not now."
"Not until it serves your own agenda you mean." George's gaze hardened.
"It's called doing a job sheriff, goes for a lotta folk in this town. Short version is, right now that job involves me helping you lot out a little. That robot that took the Ladybug away, I know who's piloting it, and where they're taking her. A warehouse over on this dockyard in the Upper West Side."
"And what do you get out of it?" asked Donnie.
"Simple, my boss gets rid of a pain in his backside and that means he's up for having me help you out."
"So where do we go then?" Turtle Titan was handed a card "And what's this for?"
"That'd be my business card, you'll know it's me calling when we need ya. Also it's got the address on the back, so head over there."
"Got it. You getting this guys?"
"Clearly." George looked at the card, then the others "Let's get moving, we don't have time to lose."
"Got it." so the three of them mounted their vehicles (George in his police car, and Mikey and Donnie in the Stealth Bike) and prepared to take off.
"Hey Shellbacks." Shocker looked over at Mikey and Donnie "The Big Man wanted me to give you two another message: So long as you're working against Shredder, he's got your back. But don't get in the way of his work. And for the record, that Ladybug has the same spirit going for her as the original Bug. You'd probably be glad to hear that."
"Huh. Yeah, we would." Turtle Titan gave a small smile, and then the three of them took off to save Ghost Spider.
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Meanwhile, with the masterminds…
"The run was a success." Spencter and Tinkerer watched as the Black Widow set Ghost Spider on the ground in front of them before returning to its place in the wall "Although I would prefer a bit less collateral damage and interacting with civilians."
"It's a giant freaking robot that points out the spider." Tinkerer pointed out dryly "Pretty sure that people are gonna interact with it, and/or freak out at the sight of it."
"True, but I like to think we could've drawn less attention to ourselves."
"None of that matters to me now, because you did your jobs well." Silver Sable made her way into the room, a confident smirk plastered across her face "That's one Spider down, and it's only a matter of time before the other is found."
"With all due respect ma'am, it's been days since anyone has seen Spider-Man. Finding him will take time."
"Then I suggest that you get started. In the meantime, we have another Spider that's here and ripe for unmasking." Silver Sable knelt down and moved to rip Ghost Spider's mask off… only to stop short at the sound of a loud explosion.
As it turns out, the ones responsible were a large group of Kraangdroids in human disguises, armed with blasters "Kraang, capture that which is known as the Spider."
"What is this, in the hell do you think you are?" Silver Sable was promptly grabbed by one of the Kraangdroids and shoved to the side as they moved to grab Ghost Spider,
"Wait, what's going on?" Alistar glanced over at Spencer "I don't understand father, I thought we were going to hand Ghost Spider over to the police."
"That's what I thought as well." Spencer paused, then shot a glare at Tinkerer "You had a hand in this didn't you?"
"I did say my benefactor wanted me here." Tinkerer gave a shrug "You gotta expect a change of plans here and there in our line of work. But seriously, that paralyzing toxin is only gonna last so long, so get to it guys."
"Kraang, that which is known as the Spider will be taken to Kraang." the Kraangdroids grabbed hold of Ghost Spider and prepared to drag her away, until…
"Hey!" Ghost Spider suddenly snapped back to life and kicked the heads off of the Kraangdroids holding her, then subsequently used her webs to hurl them into the other Kraangdroids, before using a few webshots to bind them in place.
"You are not getting away that easily!" Silver Sable pulled out her gun and quickly started shooting at Ghost Spider, only for her to weave her way around each bullet with ease… until a smokebomb suddenly shot out and struck her in the face, blinding her and allowing two figures to burst forth from the shadows and knock her out with two simultaneous strikes.
"What the-"
"You gotta love the ninja smokebombs at times like this." the smoke cleared to reveal Turtle Titan and Donnie "Sorry we're late, but more importantly, you okay?"
"A little lightheaded and kind of nauseous, but I'm alright." Ghost Spider gave a small smile underneath her mask… but it quickly faded when she looked over and saw George make his way onto the scene and taking out the last Kraangdroid "And the nausea just got worse."
"Trust me, nausea is the least of your concerns right now." George shot a look at Ghost Spider as he made his way into the room, then lowered his voice so only she could hear "And you and I are gonna be having a very long when we get home later young lady." then he turned his gun over towards the Tinkerer and the Smythes "In the meantime, NYPD, you're under arrest."
"Wait, you don't understand." Spencer was quick to cut in "We captured Ghost Spider with the intent of turning her over to the police."
"Then it's clear you don't understand that the Spiders aren't criminals, neither of them. They're both heroes in every sense of the word." George glanced back to see a Kraangdroid pick himself up and try to fire at them, only for him to shoot it in the face and send it crashing back to the ground in a heap "In any case, I think it's safe to say we've got a few things to sort out, most of it being misunderstandings. Hopefully we can do this without fighting."
"Yes, yes of course officer. I have no intention of fighting the police."
"See here's the thing Spencer, that's where we differ on things." the Tinkerer pulled a remote out of his pocket.
"Phineas what are you doing?"
"What do you think? Don't forget that we built the Black Widow cause we've got a job to do, and I like to do things to completion." so he pushed the button, activating the Black Widow and sending it hurtling towards them.
"Black Widow huh? I feel like you'll be fighting over the trademark for that." Ghost Spider cast a quick look over at George "I know we'll be having that talk and all, but…"
"I'm protective, but I'm not delusional." George gave her a simple nod "Go ahead and do what you have to do."
"Thanks. Alright guys, let's go." and so she charged into the fray, with Turtle Titan close behind her.
"Now we're talking! Booyakasha!" Turtle Titan pounced at the Black Widow and attempted to rip through it with his kusarigama chain… only for it to bounce right off "Huh. That usually does something."
"I already figured out first hand, that thing is really durable, but I think one of Splinter's lessons said to use the environment to my advantage." so Ghost Spider latched onto the broken body of a nearby Kraangdroid with a webline and hurled it into the Black Widow, causing it to stumble back a short distance, but still not damaging it 'Dammit, this thing is even more durable than I thought it was.'
"I think it's about time for me to even these odds." Silver Sable quickly pulled herself back to her feet and fired a barrage of shuriken at Ghost Spider.
"Nope." Donnie wasted no time in batting the shuriken away with his staff, before being forced to fend off the next few Kraangdroids that arrived on the scene.
"Fine, then let's see how you like this!" growing more frustrated, Silver Sable then pulled out a rocket launcher and moved to fire it at Ghost Spider, until…
"Don't you touch her!" George pounced on Silver Sable and tackled her to the ground, causing the rocket to careen into the wall and explode, setting the lab on fire "Dammit! Hurry and finish that thing off, we have to get out of here!"
"No arguments here, now move it!" Tinkerer wasted no time in taking off running, with George and Donnie chasing after him,.
"On that we can agree, now let's go." Spencer grabbed hold of Alistar by the wheelchair and moved towards the exit.
"Hold it old man." Silver Sable was quick to stop him "Keep in mind that according to our little deal, the only way you get that hover chair is if that Spider dies."
"But…" Spencer paused and looked at Alistar, then let out a sigh "Fine, but I want you to take my son out of here."
"No father, you can't stay here!" Alistar was quick to protest, though his cries fell on deaf ears as he was taken away "Father!"
"I'll be fine Alistar, I'll see you soon. And remember, I love you." with that in mind, Spencer made his way back over to the computer console.
"Crap, this is bad!" by this point, Ghost Spider and Turtle Titan found themselves being pushed back by the Black Widow "This thing is a lot more agile than I thought it would be."
"That and it stole your thing." Turtle Titan ducked under the steal girder it was swinging at the two of them, only for another one of its legs to backhand him, sending him crashing into a cache of oil barrels, dumping their contents onto the floor "So much for thinking fast."
"And it's getting worse." Ghost Spider helped Turtle Titan back onto his feet "I just ran out of web fluid."
"Don't you have more in the belt?"
"Yeah sure, but it's not like I can change it in the middle of a fight! I'm gonna try and get to high ground, attack it from above." so Ghost Spider began climbing her way up towards the roof, only for the Black Widow to spray oil along the wall, causing her to lose her grip and slide downward and into its line of fire, when…
"Booyakasha!" Turtle Titan latched onto the Black Widow with a grappling hook and hoisted himself onto its back, riding it like a horse "Aw yeah, now we're talking! Cowboy Bebop, eat your heart out! So uh… what do we do now?"
"Actually I think I have an idea." Ghost Spider took the chance to slip underneath the Black Widow and pull out a few things from her suit 'Now I can fill up my web shooters without being shot at myself… and maybe see how its rockets like my web fluid.'
"Cool, so what's our plan?"
"I feel like there's some kind of yoyo based pun here, but I can't think of it right now under the pressure." so Ghost Spider gave a shrug and latched onto the Black Widow with a webline, then yankd it towards the ground (with Turtle Titan taking the chance to jump up), the web fluid gumming up the interior of the propulsions and leaving it to fall into the tank of acid, leaving it to disintegrate into nothing.
"Aw yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!" Turtle Titan leapt over to Ghost Spider and was quick to catch her in a high five "Now let's get the shell out of here."
"What about that scientist, we can't just-" Ghost Spider didn't get a chance to finish before a sudden explosion went off, forcing them to retreat.
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Meanwhile, outside the building…
"Normally I'm supposed to be impartial to arresting criminals. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't find this extremely satisfying." George gave a smirk as he looked at the cuffed forms of Tinkerer and Silver Sable "Phineas Mason and Sable Manfredi, you're both under arrest."
"That's well and good and all, but I'm more concerned about-" Donnie cut himself short when he looked over to see Ghost Spider and Turtle Titan swing down onto the scene, and so he breathed a sigh of relief "Oh good, you guys are okay?"
"But what about my father, did he get out?" Alistar soon got his answer… in the form of the building going up in a mighty explosion, much to his horror "Father… no…"
"I… I'm sorry…" Ghost Spider hung her head sadly, the others doing the same.
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A little while later, in Queens…
"Okay, no sign of any giant spider robots, you're good to go." Casey and April made their way along the street until they came to the Watson household "So real talk for a sec Red, do all of your study sessions go like this?"
"Honestly, you have no idea." April let out a long sigh "At this point I'm pretty sure I forgot just what normal is supposed to be."
"Not a big loss. So how about you tell me when our next date is, you can tell me about that kickass metal fan you're carrying, or how you know Spider-Man's woman."
"You're really calling that a date? Trust me Jones, you don't want to get ahead of yourself, especially not with me. But anyway, another study session tomorrow?"
"I wouldn't say no to that myself. See you around Red." and so Casey mounted his bike and took his leave of the scene.
"Finally, glad that's over." April breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way to the door of the Watson household… only to stop as a cerain shadow passed over her "I already told you that you aren't going to change my mind."
"I'm not here for that." Ghost Spider poked her head out from the rooftop "I just wanted to make sure you were okay after… you know."
"I'm fine. I've had worse anyway." she paused, then looked up "I'm glad you got away okay at least."
"I had some help." she pointed to two shadowy figures on the roof of the Parker household, with one of them creeping in through the window.
"Typical. Of course they'd get involved in this somehow." April gave a scowl "Whatever they do now isn't my problem."
"Yeah, you made that abundantly clear." Ghost Spider paused, then her gaze hardened, if only slightly "You hurt them pretty bad when you walked out on them."
"I hurt them? In case you forgot, they were the ones that screwed up so bad they got my dad, and your boyfriend I might add, mutated! I lost my dad again, because of them, and what have they done about it?"
"See, that's the kind of attitude that makes it hard to be on your side." Ghost Spider gave a scowl and a raised eyebrow from underneath her mask "In case you haven't noticed, Donnie hasn't rested since the accident. He's been spending every spare moment doing everything he can, going through every single chemical compound and formula he can come up with to try and find a cure, and he's doing it all for you. He's been doing it since the accident." that was enough to make April tense up visibly.
"He… He never said anything."
"Should he have had to say anything?" Ghost Spider didn't bother waiting for a response, and promptly webbed a line and swung away from the scene 'That's one painful conversation down then… Too bad I still have one more to go.'
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And now for the second painful conversation.
"I think I've made my feelings clear on this." George let out a sigh as he rubbed a little bit of medicine on the cuts and bruises Gwen had "And don't expect me to pretend to be happy about this, because frankly I'm not."
"Not happy that your daughter is a hero?" asked Mikey "I mean our sensei was pretty cool with the idea when it came to us. Eventually."
"What I'm not happy about is the idea of my daughter going out and facing dangers every single day."
"To be fair dad, I'm not doing it alone." Gwen pointed out "I have the Turtles and their dad helping me learn to use these powers properly. Plus keep in mind that Pete did this on his own for about a year."
"And as far as I recall, he nearly got himself killed at least a dozen times in the process. When I think about that happening with you…"
"It sounds like you don't want her to be a superhero anymore." Donnie noted.
"To be completely honest, if it were up to me then she wouldn't be." he was met with downcast looks from the three of them, but then he let out a sigh "But on the other hand, Gwen you were given these powers for a reason. You'll have to decide for yourself what that reason is, and when to use them. As much as I hate the thought of you putting yourself at risk, I also don't have the right to try and stop you."
"So then…" Gwen broke into a broad smile, and she enveloped George in a tight hug… which was quickly followed by the sound of a sickening crack, prompting her to let go "Oh right, the spider strength… sorry about that."
"Just don't combine it with the Look and we'll call it even." George let out a chuckle, but then he turned his gaze onto Mikey and Donnie "But with that being said, there's one other matter to attend to."
"Which is what exactly?" asked Donnie.
"If your father is going to be teaching my daughter how to fight… I want to meet him."
"...Aw crapbaskets."
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Morning came, and the sun was rising over New York City.
'To think this became such a catastrophe…' Alistar looked on as the flames engulfing the base were doused by the fire department, but that did nothing to curtail his grief 'Father… if only I could've done something to help you…'
"I take it there's no sign of him?"
Alistar looked back to see a group of figures approaching him "Who are you?"
"Firstly, I'm sorry for your loss, truly." one of the figures, bald and aging with a pointed nose, clad in a red and black suit with wings (Vulture) approached him "My name is Adrian Toomes, an old colleague of your father, though I doubt he mentioned me."
"Actually he did, and I know who all of you are. Who you truly are. You're the Vulture, as well as the ones called Electro and Dr Octopus."
"You've studied well, and you're appropriately cautious." Doc Ock was the next one to come forward, his metal tentacles carrying him "Your father was actually one of my mentors when I was a younger man. He took me under his wing… and now I'd like to do the same for you, if you'll accept it."
"I don't need to be under anyone's wing."
"Perhaps, but consider this. Society calls us evil, but they were the ones who rejected us for certain measures that were beyond our control." Doc Ock's gaze softened Take Vulture here, his work was stolen from him, and when he tried to reclaim what was his, he was cruelly punished for it. Then there's Max- Excuse me, young Electro here. A horrible accident turned him to what you see now, and everyone turned their backs on him."
"And you?"
"Me? My genius was undermined, my potential wasted, I was turned into a slave for a man that discarded me and tried to finish me when he had no further use for me. But I was stronger than he thought, and I survived. In fact, his attempts to finish me awakened my true self. The one that had the strength to go out into the world and take what rightfully belongs to me. I've also found colleagues that share my grievances and wish to follow my lead… and if you wish to do the same, then I give you my word that I can give you what you desire the most."
"And what do you think that is?" Alistar raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Revenge." now that got his attention "My companions and I will provide the resources that you need to continue your father's legacy of robotics, and in return, you lend us your talents to further our own goals. All of this, and we help you claim vengeance on the ones responsible for your father's demise…"
"You mean the Ghost Spider and Turtle Titan?"
"As tempting as it is to rid ourselves of those pests, I actually don't." Doc Ock shared a brief look with Vulture and Electro, and then turned back to Alistar "I believe there is another force lurking within the shadows, one that's using any and all pawns he can claim to further his own goals. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I was once one of those pawns. But together, we can ensure that this man's ambitions come to an end. So what do you say Alistar? Will you help us to eliminate… that wretched Goblin?"
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A little while later, in the Lair…
"Okay fine, I give up." Donnie rolled his eyes as he and the others watched another episode of Super Robo Mecha Force 5 "I'll give it 3.5 stars, but that's my final offer."
"How are you fairing my son?"
Donnie looked over to see Splinter standing next to him "Honestly, I've been better. I get the lesson you're trying to get through to me, I can't make April not be mad at me, but that doesn't make it any easier. For all we know, I probably never will see her again."
"I understand this is a difficult time for you Donatello, but April's decision to stay away is a choice that she made alone. If she is to come back, then we must let her do so in her own time, on her own terms."
"Yeah, but what if she never does?"
"Remember this Donatello, you must never lose hope?"
"Hope huh?" Donnie looked over at the show and watched the princess kissing the nerdy hero in gratitude for saving her, and he gave a small smile "Yeah, I still have hope."
A/N:
Yeah I'm going to be honest, I was not particularly thrilled about doing this chapter in the grand scheme of things. Believe it or not my original plan was going to be to debut Scorpion here, but eventually I decided instead to go with the Spider Slayer robots. To that end, I also brought in Silver Sable, mostly because I feel obligated to include her in some way. Truth be told, her portrayal in Spectacular didn't leave me with a lot of options in terms of where to take her character, so I figured I'd just do this now and get it over with. Plus I did at least manage to wrap up Silvermane's role in this universe. He's dead. So yeah.
On another note, I finally got to debut the Spider Slayers and their creators, the Smythe family. Well, only one of them survived. For the record, Spencer is dead here, but Alistar will have his chance to show off his own Spider Slayer creations in due time, and with new allies.
