(In Pursuit of Vengeance)

SuperJoeyF721: Like I said, that's about as close to the actual Clone Saga as I'm willing to get here.

BlackCobra1607: I didn't know about that story, but it does sound pretty interesting. It does sound fairly dark for 2012, but it would likely fit right in with the 2003 series. I hadn't heard of Metal Gear Solid, but it does sound pretty interesting. I'll check it out if I get the chance. Also yes, I have seen the trailer for Daredevil Born Again, and I'm definitely looking forward to it when it comes out next year. Also yeah, they're definitely setting up Fisk as mayor. We'll be getting the return of Bullseye for sure, and I think we might be getting White Tiger. Though you shouldn't count too much on Fisk being that big of a player in this story, seeing how he's been established as more of a Daredevil villain here. Keep in mind that in Spectacular, the creators couldn't get the rights to him and that's why Tombstone was put in as the Big Man.

22jward: Your wish has been granted.

Gamelover41592: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. I've been trying to round out Scarlet Spider's arc as much as I could, and we'll see how it pans out in the end.

Jebest4781: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it.

Spectacular Webhead 11: Ad nit was tough for me to adapt, but I'm glad to see you liked it, so thanks.

TheIrishman1999: Begun and ended, I did say that this is as close to the actual Clone Saga as I'm going to get, but I'm glad to see you liked it regardless, so thanks. Nice job with catching the references to Owl House, and believe me when I say that I do know the rest of the story, every detail. Trust me when I say that Ben Reilly has some stuff to work through, but that'll come in due time. Believe me when I say that I have plans for Karai, and we'll see them pan out over the course of the story. Though I will say, the Axis of Evil is a cool name for the alliance between the Foot, the Kraang and the Goblin Nation. And yeah, Dr Ocotpus and his group are still out there, slowly building their war chest. I can't confirm that we'll see every villain that you talked about, the likes of Loki and Amora seem pretty out there given that the main group of heroes are relatively street level, but as for the likes of Dr Doom and Baron Mordo… stay tuned. The same may or may not go for the likes of the Black Order and Thanos.

Omni God Emperor Shadic: Thanks for mentioning that, I'll definitely be sure to check them out, though in the end I may decide to go with something else for them, since I do have a few ideas in mind. As far as April and Karai designs go, truth be told I haven't actually decided for them yet, but Karai picking a new outfit as a symbol of a fresh start does actually sound like a pretty good idea.

Godzillaboy2021: Yep, now Scarlet Spider/Ben Reilly is his own man, but now he has to figure out what exactly that entails for him, without being defined by the Goblin King or the Jackal. And yeah, Scorpion is more of an anti-hero than anything else in this fic. It wouldn't be the first time a member of Spider-Man's rogues gallery was adapted as a good guy. Take a look at the 90's cartoon.

Angel2023: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it, and I appreciate the input. I do have some plans for Peter and Gwen going forward, both after graduation and after… other events. But them living together is definitely something I won't be ruling out. I can see Gwen being a teacher, and a good one, and maybe introduce a few cameos here and there.

5FingerDeathFist: So basically a support group for people who got brainwashed or used by supervillains criminal masterminds. Actually that may give me a few other ideas, so I'll take it on board. Also yeah, that version of Karai does look like Elektra.

Guest99: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Scarlet Spider definitely has a lot of stuff to process after what he went through. As far as the Renette stuff goes, we'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

V: I have actually given a lot of thought to some of the ideas you mentioned, though maybe not in the exact way you're thinking of. And yeah, aside from the Foot, Kraang and Goblin Nation, there is still the matter of Doc Ock building his own war chest in anticipation of the conflict to come. And even with them out of the way, there's still gonna be a lot for our heroes to do going forward.

C.S. Allen: Yeah I hear you, My Adventures with Superman is the first animated DC series that's gotten my interest in a really long time. I also watched Batman Caped Crusader all the way through when it came out, and the same can be said for it. It's hard to say which villain is my favroite, seeing how they're all really well done, but I think I'd have to go with Two Face. At least until you know who makes his official debut.

Shakespeare RZA: Karai has her roles to play in this story, but I do have some ideas for how to make it somewhat different. Though I will say, the idea of having the Serpent Society try and recruit her is actually a pretty interesting idea. I did see the trailer for Captain America: Brave New World (definitely excited for Red Hulk), though I don't really know much about Serpent Society myself, since I only saw them in Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but Sidewinder wasn't on the roster in that version. They might make something fairly interesting for Karai to get roped into though, so I won't rule it out yet.

NERDY JETFIRE: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. I've got a few ideas for Hobie to come back as the Prowler, if only for a brief time. For the record Kingpin isn't dead in the MCU, watch the Echo series for clarification. Also the trailers for Daredevil Born Again. And yes, I am a fan of Iron Man: Armored Adventures. Truth be told it was my introduction to Iron Man. And RIP to James Earl Jones, along with Peter Renaday.

Fulcrum: Well said. James Earl Jones and Peter Renaday were masters of their craft that will never be forgotten.

Anonymous: Daylight by David Kushner. Huh. Gonna have to check that out.

Mr. E: Trust me, I made the connection between those versions of Fisk and Luthor a long time ago. Even if Luthor isn't as physically threatening, he's just as terrifying. And yeah, Norman in Spectacular is pretty similar to the likes of them. And no, Moxie isn't related to Bruno or Peia in Superman and Lois.

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Another night for the city, another night in a cell in Shredder's dungeon.

'Almost there, and I'm finally out of here…' at least, that was the case for Karai as she scraped away at one of the bars in her cell with a coin she was keeping hidden 'For two weeks it's been one day after another of using nothing but a freaking quarter to try and cut through these steel bars. One night after another of listening to Shredder pour his heart out, going on about how he did it for honor and because Splinter is trash. Now it's coming down to this, just a few more cuts and scrapes and I'm finally out of here.' she was about to do just that… only to be stopped by the sound of a door opening, followed by footsteps, forcing her to stow away her coin and lean against the back wall of her cell 'And here we go, more pouring his heart out. Or food, if you can call this slop food.'

"Here's your food." this was when Xever made her way over to the door to Karai's cell with a bowl of rice in hand.

"Well what do you know, if it isn't the sushi that I ordered. Along with whatever the hell it is that you're holding. Seriously, can't you lay a little bit of masago for me?"

"This is a dungeon in case you forgot, not a bed and breakfast. And you're a prisoner, so you eat whatever I bring."

"You mean I eat whatever Tatsu tells you to bring."

"...I swear I would teach you some manners if Master Shredder didn't need you."

"Is that right? And what exactly does he need me for?"

"Just learn to watch that tongue of yours girl, otherwise it's going to get you into real trouble one of these days." Xever sat down the bowl of rice, then turned on his mechanical heel and walked out of the dungeon, the door slamming shut behind him.

'Well on the plus side, I don't have to deal with Shredder pouring his heart out to me again, so thank god for that.' Karai immediately leapt into action, pulling on the bars she had been scraping away at, quickly pulling one of them off and using it to pry open the door to her cell, immediately sneaking her way down the halls and towards the exit to the dungeon 'Yes, just one door away and I'm getting the hell out of this hell hole! Nothing can stop me from-'

"Ahem."

'...Crapbaskets.' Karai turned around just in time to find a blade being pointed at her throat, with none other than Tatsu at the other end of the katana 'Super hearing. Right. Shit.'

"Did you honestly believe that you were going to escape undetected so easily?" Tatsu easily dodged Karai's attempts to strike him with the metal bar, eventually just using one stroke of his sword to knock the bar out of her hand, and a swift fist to the chest to send her crashing into a pillar.

"If you think I'm going down that easily, you don't know a damn thing about me!" Karai was quick to rebound and kicked one of Tatsu's legs out from under him, giving her the chance to try and leap over his head to get past him… only to be stopped in mid air by Tatsu landning a quick pressure point strike to her chest and throwing her to ground with a loud bang, leaving her out cold.

"Under normal circumstances, I would see to it that you would be executed as punishment for the transgressions you have committed." Tatsu paused as he returned his katana to the sheath on his back "But sensei has made it abundantly clear that you are not to be harmed, so… we'll have to go with the next best thing."

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One quick transition later…

'Ow… Okay, head pounding but I'm not dead…' Karai's eyes snapped open as she pulled herself up, only to find herself chained to the floor, her wrists now bound in shackles 'Definitely not an improvement though, especially given the metal asshole behind me.'

"Karai, I wish you were able to understand. Truly I do." Shredder stood on the other side of the door to Karai's cell, his expression solemn as he removed the face plate of his helmet "All that I have don is to restore the honor of our clan, so why do you insist on hurting me? Do you truly have nothing to say to me my daughter?"

"...Actually, I do have something to say." Karai turned around to face Shredder, her expression full of pure rage "I am not… your… DAUGHTER!"

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Meanwhile, with the main group of heroes…

"I'm telling you guys, this is the only way it can work." Leo glanced around at where the rest of the Turtles, along with Peter and Gwen, were seated in the main room of the Lair going over a certain plan of action "If we're gonna rescue Karai, this is how we have to do it."

"And I say you're missing the most important thing." Raph leapt to his feet and wasted no time in getting into Leo's face "If we're going to the trouble of rescuing Karai and actually breaking into Shredder's Lair, I say we might as well take him out once and for all."

"Assuming that's actually gonna work." Peter glanced over at him "Don't forget that me, Gwen and Harry tried fighting him three on one and we still couldn't bring him down."

"Well no surpris there, you couldn't bring yourself to do it if you tried." Raph gave a scowl and turned away.

"Keep saying that when you've got a gauntlet stuck at your throat."

"Alright give it a rest you two, we need to focus. If you two wanna get at each other's throats then do it later." Leo was quick to cut in before an argument could start "Anyway we've all got a part to play, from Donnie acting as support from within the Shellraiser to Mikey serving as the distraction.

"This bodes poorly my son." this was when Splinter mad his way into the room "Disagreement about a mission is never a good way to begin." he turned his gaze toward Leo, then to Peter and Gwen "May I speak with the three of you for a moment?"

"I'm not gonna object to talking to literally anyone else." Peter exchanged glares with Raph, then pulled himself to his feet as he, Gwen and Leo followed Splinter over toward the entrance to the dojo "Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling I know what this is about."

"Then you would be correct. I understand that all of you are anxious to free Karai, but all of you must know all too well that any plan that leads to a direct confrontation with the Shredder is already doomed to failure."

"Are you sure sensei?" asked Leo "I know that facing Shredder head on is a huge risk, but isn't it worth it if it means we can save your own daughter."

"...I am not willing to put any more lives at risk. Be they yours or my daughter." Splinter turned on his heel and walked into the kitchen without another word.

"Hai sensei."

"So what now then?" asked Peter "Does that mean we call off the mission?"

"...No. Splinter is wrong."

"Huh." Peter shared a look with Gwen "Not gonna lie, did not think he was gonna go that route with this."

"I'm just remembering what Logan told us before we left, we listen to him but we can't be afraid to trust our own guts. Besides we can't wait, who knows what Shredder is going to do to her if we let him keep her there."

"Right, the badger guy."

"Wolverine." was Gwen's input.

"Got it. Anyway I'm in, let's do this." and so the three of them bumped fists, with the other Turtles quickly joining in.

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And thus, the plan was set into motion…

"Okay, so here's the plan: Step one, Donnie will monitor the rest of us from the Shellraiser and give us some cover."

"It's times like this I think to myself, my brain is better than EVERYBODY'S!" Donnie gave a smug grin as he pushed a button on the keyboard in front of him 'Splinter always says ninjas work best in the shadows, so now let's see Mikey do his thing.'

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"Step two, Mikey will distract them with his mad shadow puppet skills, and he and Peter will take care of Razhar, Fishface and the Foot Bots on guard."

"What the hell?" Razhar and Fishface were immediately caught off guard by the power suddenly going out in the Lair, but their attention was quickly grabbed by two shadowy figures moving through the darkness outside the windows.

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"Step three: While Shredder's henchmen and the Foot Bots are distract, Gwen, Raph and I will sneak into the dungeon through the sewers."

Sure enough, Ghost Spider was quick to take out each of the Foot Bots standing guard over the entrance to the dungeon with a single shot of webbing for each one, and then she gave a quick hand motion for Leo and Nightwatcher to emerge from the sewer water "I guess this was a good time for me to test out our latest batch of impact webbing."

"Well it did its job, now let's get moving." Leo wasted no time in leading the group down the halls of the dungeon, until they reached the cell "Karai it's us, are you in here?"

"Leo, I'm over here." Karai drew their attention to one particularly large cell door, where she was visible through a single slot "Took you long enough to get here."

"Well excuse me, but we got tired of waiting for you to break out on your own."

"That's not the only thing we're freaking sick of." Nightwatcher grumbled dryly "Cool it with the flirting Skywalker, and let's just get the shell out of here already."

"...I thought we agreed never to discuss that again."

"Even I knew they would never have agreed to that." Ghost Spider suppressed a chuckle as she used her enhanced strength to rip open the door to Karai's cell, allowing her to get out "Okay no time to mess around, we have Princess Leia so let's get the others and get out of here."

"Princess Leia huh? You know what screw it, I might as well own it." Karai gave a smirk as she followed the two of them down the hall, grabbing the abandoned sword of a Foot Bot as she did so "By the way I have to ask, how did you guys manage to get past Tatsu?"

"Oh, well the thing is-" Ghost Spider cut herself short as a familiar sensation began ringing in her head 'Oh no…'

"They didn't." it was at this moment that Tatsu appeared before them, drawing his katana from the sheath on his back and blocking the exit to the tunnel "Nor did they manage to evade the presence of sensei's newest scientist."

'...Jackal, right. I should've seen this coming.'

"So nice of you to join us, Ghost Spider and reptile companions." it was at this moment that the hulking green form of the Jackal emerged from the shadows "I was wondering when I would end up encountering you again."

"You seem fairly eager to get your green butt handed to you again. I doubt you forgot about how this went last time."

"Oh believe me, I never forget, but that was more of a good will gesture towards my new group of companions than anything else. This on the other hand, I found this to be quite the opportunity to test out a certain side project I've been in the process of developing."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Oh just a little something that I've been working on with a series of gems found on the moon, which I was able to gain access to thanks to some dimensional, courtesy of the Kraang and their portals." Jackal let out a chuckle as the gauntlets on his hands surged with electricity "Yes, I get the feeling that Spider-Man and his reptillian friend are going to be in for quite the surprise any moment now. Not that it's going to matter to you in the grand scheme of things, seeing how you won't live long enough to see it for yourself."

"Pretty sure you said something like that last time." Ghost Spider leapt over the electrical surge being fired at her, launching herself toward Jackal and landing a roundhouse kick to his face hard enough to send him careening through a wall, and then quickly chasing after him.

"The doctor may choose to repeat himself, but I choose to stay with that sentiment." Tatsu turned his gaze towards Karai and the others as he tightened his grip on his katana "Sensei may wish for you to be unharmed, but your would be rescuers will not leave with their lives."

"Keep telling yourself that you Yu Yu Hakusho reject." Nightwatcher was quick to brandish his sais, with Leo brandishing his katanas as the two of them charged forward.

"Hm. You have courage and spirit, but your weaknesses are painfully clear." Tatsu dodged and blocked every strike the two of them sent his way, dealing Nightwatcher a kick to the chest that sent him hurtling backwards, then stopped Leo's swords with his own and dealt him a knee to the gut hard enough to snd him crashing to the ground "You are young and overconfident, and so foolish to such a painful degree. Such things will inevitably bring about your demise."

"Just what I was gonna say about you!" Karai took the chance to pounce at Tatsu with her own sword pointed forward, only to be met with Tatsu knocking away her sword and slashing at her with his own…

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Meanwhile, with the distraction team…

"I know you're here you hijo de puta!" Fishface rounded a corner on the rooftop of the church in pursuit of a certain shadowy figure, only for it to keep slipping away before he could reach it, much to his ire "Dammit!"

"I'm not letting you slip away that easily!" Razhar rounded another corner to try and pounce on the shadowy figure… only to end up crashing directly into Fishface, sending the both of them crashing to the ground in a heap.

"Dammit… Speaking of putas…"

"And if anybody oughta know about that, it'd have to be you." a small metal orb landed on the ground near Fishface's feet, releasing a wave of webbing that pinned both of them to the ground, courtesy of Spider-Man from where he stood on the edge of the rooftop, near where Turtle Titan was making shadow puppets "Yeah, it's times like these I really love using the web bomb. Gotta give it to you Mikey, your mad skills never cease to amaze and possibly disturb."

"Like a turtle do in the only way I know how." Turtle Titan gave a smirk and caught Spider-Man in a quick fist bump "So what now, we head down and meet up with the bros?"

"Unless you've got something better to-" Spider-Man cut himself short as a familiar sensation began ringing through his head "Hold that thought, I think it's safe to say that we've got more incoming."

"Like what?" Turtle Titan received his answer in the form of a purple doorway opening up behind him, and he turned around just as a white blur shot out of it at high speed, forcing him to leap out of the way, leaving a deep and bloody gash from the impact.

"I got it!" Spider-Man pounced at the figure and landed a roundhouse kick, sending it hurtling off the edge of the rooftop, allowing him to rush over to Turtle Titan's side "You good?"

"Yeah… Yeah, it's just a scratch." Turtle Titan paused as the sound of low growling drew their attention "Pretty sure we got bigger problems right about now."

"I noticed, now we gotta fend off man's worst friend over there."

"Spider… Turtle…" as it turns out, standing before the two of them was the hulking form of what looked like a humanoid white wolf (now referred to as Man Wolf), clad in green and gold armor with a sword in hand "Goblin King… wants your blood… Make you pay… for what you did to him… to us…"

"Yeah I don't speak Furry dude, you're gonna have to use full sentences- Crap!" Spider-Man was forced to dodge the oncoming slashes of Man Wolf's sword, only for his Spider Sense to alert him too late to his free claws slashing him across the chest 'Great, him having a giant sword is bad enough, but now what giant claws he has, and the better to rip through a good sewing job that took me like six tries to get right.'

"I got him!" a kusarigama chain suddenly latched onto Man Wolf by the arm, courtesy of Turtle Titan as he pulled Man Wolf toward him and landed a fist to the face, sending him hurtling off the side of the rooftop, and then he caught Spider-Man in a fist bump "Now we're talking, think we're good."

"Well if I had to guess-" Spider-Man cut himself short as his Spider Sense began blaring, just in time for him to turn around and see Man Wolf pounce back up and backhand him across the face hard enough to send him crashing into one of the roof pillars "I'm gonna say no… ow…" he let out a pained groan as the ear piece embedded in his mask "Hey Donnie, any chance you've got a dog whistle or something in there?"

"Actually I have been working on a little something like that since we picked up a resonance blaster from the Kraang awhile back. Give me a minute to get it up and running."

"Yeah you do that, I'm gonna try not to get turned into a man-sized scratching post for dogs courtesy of-" Spider-Man was cut short by a set of claws swiping across his face hard enough to send him hurtling off the rooftop, but he managed to rebound quickie and latch onto the wall of the building "Any minute now."

"Don't worry I've got it, I've been working on this since the last time we saw the Colonel."

"Hold up, Colonel?" Spider-Man immediately froze on the spot as the realization slowly dawned on him, much to his horror "You don't man… Colonel Jameson?"

"Yeah… We encountered him once in the sewers while you were gone. Apparently he had been hit with a canister during the Mutagen spill… It had a different effect on him at first, he only had sporadic transformations into a mutant wolf from what I was able to gather, but it looks like that problem was sorted out. For better or for worse."

"But that's him… In the fur covered flesh… Hold that though." Spider-Man quickly rushed his way back up to the rooftop to see Turtle Titan being sent hurtling across the rooftop, and then see the Man Wolf advance on him "Colonel it's me, it's Spider-Man."

"DIE!" Man Wolf grabbed Spider-Man by the leg and threw him into where Turtle Titan was picking himself back up, sending both of them hurtling onto another rooftop.

"Right… cause of the whole spores fight… Yeah, that wasn't fun…" Spider-Man let out a groan as he quickly pulled himself back to his feet "Colonel. John. I know you're not really my biggest fan, but I know you're still in there-" he was cut off by a set of claws grabbing him by the throat and shoving him up against a water tower "But this isn't you. You have to be the man you are, not the Man Wolf that's taking you over!" he was grabbed by the leg and thrown to the ground repeatedly, only for him eventually rebound and grab Man Wolf by the wrist, stopping both the claw and the sword before they could close in on him "Also an electric razor probably won't hurt either."

"Grr…" Man Wolf let out a snarl as he freed himself of Spider-Man's grip, only to pause and back away from him "Spider… Not bad… Help me…"

'Looks like I'm getting through to him… I guess the grooming tips got through… You think he'd like more of them or-' Spider-Man's musings were cut short by a sword slashing him across the chest hard enough to send him hurtling back to the edge of the rooftop 'Or not. So much for appealing to the man part…'

"Have to do… what Goblin says…" Man Wolf barred his claws as he advanced on the two of them… only to be stopped by a high pitched whistling ringing through the battlefield, causing him to howl in pain and fall to his knees.

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At the same time, with the rescue team…

"Okay, this definitely isn't working…" Leo let out a pained groan as he picked himself up after being thrown to the ground numerous times, and then he, Nightwatcher and Karai quickly found themselves being backed into a corner, with slowly Tatsu closing in on them "Donnie seriously, I think we could use the cavalry right about now."

"Peter already put in the request, I'm working on it now. I guess we'll find out how well the likes of a dog whistle works on him."

"I've had enough of these childish games. We end this now." Tatsu tightened the grip on his sword and advanced towards the group to finish things… only to be stopped by the sound of a high pitched whistling, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees.

"Good enough for me, now let's get moving!" Leo dealt Tatsu a spin kick to the head that sent him crashing to the ground all the way, leaving him in an unconscious heap, allowing both him and Nightwatcher to take off running.

"Right behind you. In just a second." Karai paused for a moment and levelled a glare at Tatsu's downed form "Don't think for a second that this is over." and then she took off running in the same direction as the others.

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Meanwhile, with the rooftop rumble…

"Have to do… what Goblin says…" Man Wolf barred his claws as he advanced on the two of them… only to be stopped by a high pitched whistling ringing through the battlefield, causing him to howl in pain and fall to his knees.

"I got him!" Turtle Titan pounced at Man Wolf and managed to bind him with his kusarigama chains, then leapt onto his back and managed to pin him to the ground, giving Spider-Man the chance to knock away the sword and pin his hands and feet to the ground.

"Well if nothing else, it looks like appealing to the man part kind of worked." Spider-Man was about to advance on the Man Wolf… only for a purple portal to suddenly appear beneath them, and for Man Wolf to be pulled through it before it disappeared 'Oh come on!'

"...Okay, what the shell was that?"

"Calling it a hunch, but I'm gonna blame the Jackal for that one. Based on what Gwen told sing portals to show up wherenobody wants him like popup ads on the internet is one of his things these days. Speaking of which-" he was cut off again by a white and pink blur soaring past their heads and landing on the ground next to them "Nevermind. Ghosty!"

"I'm okay." Ghost Spider took a moment to shake off the disorientation as she pulled herself back to her feet "More or less anyway. I had to fight off the Jackal. Again."

"And I was right, like internet popup ads he shows up when no one wants him. We had our own problems though."

"I heard him mention something about a side project he'd been working on?"

"That side project came in the form of a giant wolf man."

"I thought we went with Man Wolf." was Turtle Titan's input.

"Not going with a monster name for this one for a couple reasons, but yeah. It's not just some pet project though… turns out he's Colonel Jameson."

"Oh my god…" Ghost Spider's expression quickly shifted to horror "With everything that's been happening with the Kraang and the Goblin Nation, I completely forgot about him… and Dr Connors too…"

"Yeah. You're not the only one." Spider-Man looked at the spot where Man Wolf was pinned down only moments before "We gotta find the two of them and get them the shell away from the Goblin Nation before-"

"Die arañas!" this was when Fishface and Razhar appeared on the scene, free of the webbing and pounced at the trio… only for Spider-Man to uppercut Razhar and Ghost Spider to land a solid roundhouse kick to Fishface's jaw, sending both of them hurtling off the rooftop and crashing into the dumpster in the alley below them.

"...Before guys like that get their hands on them." Spider-Man turned his gaze back towards the others "We have to find a way to help him."

"Yeah. I know." Ghost Spider paused and looked down to see Leo, Nightwatcher and Karai climbing out of the storm drain outside Shredder's lair "Anyway we got Karai out of her cell, now the hard part is getting everybody out of here in one piece."

"One piece kind of varies, but if we get out of it without dying then I usually think that's enough to call it a win."

"You ain't gonna hear me object to that bro." Turtle Titan caught him in a fist bump with his good arm as the three of them returned to the ground, albeit cringing and holding the gash on his other arm as they did so "Okay, ow…"

"Guys!" Leo and the others were quick to rush over to their side, though their focus quickly fell toward Turtle Titan and the bloody claw marks on his arm "You okay?"

"Yeah I'm good, it's not the arm I use for the important stuff."

"Like throwing water balloons and stuffing down pizza, the real stuff." Spider-Man patted him on the back of the shell, but he and Ghost Spider quickly steeled themselves as a certain familiar sensation went off in their heads, just as a large squad of Foot Bots began surrounding the group on all sides.

"You would be wise to surrender." Tatsu made his way out the front door of the church building and pointed his katana at the group "You are outnumbered and outmatched."

"Yeah, wouldn't be so sure about that." Spider-Man gave a smirk underneath his mask "We got a couple of things you and the Stormtrooper knockoffs here don't. Backup for starters."

"That will not-" Tatsu didn't get to finish before another high pitched whistling rang throughout the area, causing him to cry out in agony.

"I say try counting again!" this was when the Shellraiser burst onto the scene, easily mowing down a good number of the Foot Bots in front of it as the doors opened up, with Donnie still behind the wheel "Hurry and get in!"

"Don't need to tell us twice!" Leo and the rest Turtles were quick to rush their way into the Shellraiser "Now let's get the hell out of here."

"No arguments here." Karai was about to board the Shellraiser with them, only to stop when she looked up and saw Shredder atop the roof of his lair glaring down at her, and she gave a dark scowl 'This isn't over. Not by a long shot.'

"Come on, we have to go." Ghost Spider snapped Karai out of her stupor and ushered her into the Shellraiser, which promptly took off at full speed the second the door was closed, while she and Spider-Man mounted the Spider Cycle (summoned via a certain phone app) and took off after them.

It was only after they were gone that another purple doorway appeared and the Jackal stepped through it, rolling his eyes as he glanced at Tatsu's downed form and the wreckage of the Foot Bots scattered around the area "Well, I suppose it's a good thing I decided to test out my little pet project tonight after all." he snapped his fingers, and in an instant the Man Wolf burst out of the portal and took off, with another squad of Foot Bots following close behind him.

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Now for the getaway chase…

"Well so much for making a clean getaway." Spider-Man looked over to see a group of Foot Bots leap onto the roof of the Shellraiser and begin to drill into it, followed by Tatsu, Razhar, Fishface and another group of Foot Bots following the group on motorcycles "So what do you think the odds are that Mikey forgot to load the manhole covers again?"

"Enough that I'm about to do this, just keep driving!" Ghost Spider leapt off the Spider Cycle and onto the roof of the Shellraiser, where she fired a barrage of impact webs at the Foot Bots on the roof, blowing them to the ground almost instantly, while the Shellraiser's garbage cannon fired at the Foot Bots on motorcycles, along with a smoke screen and wave of pizza grease on the floor. Once all of that was taken care of, she leapt back onto the Spider Cycle and seated herself directly behind Spider-Man "So far so good."

"As far as rescue missions go, nobody's dead yet so it could be a lot worse." Spider-Man paused, and then his face fell slightly "Could be better though, for a couple reasons. Or one that's big, furry and probably has fleas at this point."

"But in all seriousness, John isn't a monster like those two. Or his dad. He's a decent guy, and he's still in there somewhere. I'm sure of it." he paused as his Spider Sense began going off again… a split second before he saw Man Wolf blitz on top of the Shellraiser, punch a hole through it and pull Karai out, while hurling his sword at the Spider Cycle, embedding it in one of its wheels and sending it careening through the air, forcing them to shoot weblines and land on nearby lamp posts "Okay let me rephrase that, he's probably still in there."

"You're not getting me that easily!" Karai dodged the sweeps of Man Wolf's claws and moved to try and slash at him with her sword, only for him to bat it away easily with his claws and bring his own sword down on her, until…

"I gotcha!" Ghost Spider pounced onto the back of the Shellraiser and yanked Karai out of the way with one webline, with the two of them landing on the side of another nearby building, while Spider-Man used another to latch onto Man Wolf's back and hurl him off the Shellraiser, sending him crashing to the ground below "Take it easy, remember we don't want him hurt too bad!"

"Trust me I know, but one thing I've learned is you gotta rein them in if you wanna get them to listen, and frankly there's only one way that really works." with that said, Spider-Man leapt down onto the street below to meet Man Wolf at eye level "Take it easy Fido, stand still and take your shots like a good dog."

"Spiders… Goblin want you dead…" Man Wolf let out a low growl as he blitzed forward, taking the chance to grab Spider-Man by the leg and throw him across the street, then immediately pounced at Ghost Spider before she could fire any webs at him.

"Get… OFF!" Ghost Spider leapt upright and dealt Man Wolf an uppercut kick to the jaw, followed by a quick shot of electric webbing, causing him to howl in pain as he was electrocuted on the spot, giving Karai the chance to land a spin kick to his chest and send him hurtling to the ground with a mighty crash. With that out of the way, Ghost Spider went over to Spider-Man and held out a hand to him "You okay…?"

"Like I said, not dead so it's a win." Spider-Man accepted the hand and leapt back onto his feet, then turned his gaze toward Karai "You good?"

"Like you said, not dead and out of a cell." Karai gave a shrug, but then her gaze softened, if only slightly "So um, to you two and the Turtles… I just…"

"Yeah I know, you're not good at saying thank you." he gave a small smile under his mask, one that she returned, but it quickly fell away when he turned his gaze to Man Wolf "Now all we have to do is figure out what to do with him."

"Oh trust me, you won't have to worry about that." a portal opened up and Jackal stepped back through it, giving his typical smirk as he slung Man Wolf over his shoulder "And a quick bit of input to you Spiders: the Goblin King is looking forward to meeting you face to face." and then he carried Man Wolf back through the portal, which disappeared before either of the Spiders could reach it.

'Dammit, he does that every time!' Spider-Man gripped his fist in frustration, and then he shared a silent look with Ghost Spider as they gripped each others' hands 'Jackal is right about one thing though: It's about time for us to meet this Goblin King face to face… And just in case anything happens tomorrow, I'd better put a call in for some backup. Okay come on, let's head back to the Lair and meet up with the guys."

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One quick trip to the Lair later…

"I'm just glad you guys made it out of there okay." Leo was quick to greet the others, Karai in particular, when they finally made it back to the Lair "I don't suppose that means you'll be staying here? You are family after all."

"I have the likes of Shredder and now the Goblin Nation after me, so it's not like I have much of a choice in that regard." Karai paused and looked around at the Lair "Besides, it's… actually pretty nice here."

"Yeah I know, it's awesome isn't it? This calls for a family hug, who's in?" Mikey gave a grin as he pulled off his Turtle Titan suit, only to cringe as he held the newly bandaged wound on his arm, courtesy of the fight with Man Wolf.

"Michelangelo!" this was when Splinter made his way into the room and immediately took notice of Mikey's wound "What happened?"

"It's just a scratch sensei, you should've seen what we did to the other guys."

"What have all of you done? I thought I made it clear that you-" Splinter cut himself short when he took notice of Karai standing amongst the group "Miwa…"

"Father." Karai only hesitated for a second before advancing toward Splinter and wrapping her arms around him, with Splinter doing the same to her.

"My daughter…"

"I'm pretty sure you went over something like this before." Spider-Man gave a grin as he pulled off his mask, revealing the face of Peter Parker "Back when I first met you guys. I think it was something along the lines of, there is no right and wrong, just choices to make. We have to make a choice and deal with the consequences, good or bad."

"Yes… I am pleased to know you took my teachings to heart…" Splinter paused as he looked down and locked eyes with Karai "And it would seem that perhaps there are at least some things worth such a risk."

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Meanwhile, with the villainous faction…

"We have scoured the city." Tatsu made his way into Shredder's throne room and got down on one knee with his head bowed to Shredder "But unfortunately, we have not been able to find any trace of the Turtles or the Spiders… We still have squadrons of Foot Bots searching and they will report back their findings with every detail. And as for me… I beg your forgiveness sensei. I have failed you."

"...No Tatsu. You have not failed. Not yet." Shredder made his way down the stairs in front of his throne and motioned for Tatsu to rise to his feet "Karai's escape was inevitable. In fact, such a thing is what we are counting on."

"Even given all of the information she has on your operations?"

"It will not be long before Karai returns with Hamato Yoshi and his wretched turtles in order to finish what they have started, but that is when I will finally claim my vengeance."

"But until then?"

"Until then, we have our own preparations to make." Shredder looked Tatsu dead in the eye as his gaze hardened with greater fury "Get me Miles Warren."

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Another day came, and with it more of the daily grind.

"Sounds like you got a hell of a night ahead of you." Foswell let out a whistle as he and Peter stepped out of the elevator and onto the main floor of the Daily Bugle "I say make the most of it, you only get one prom. Well I mean two if you count junior prom."

"I would say you're right, but junior prom didn't really do much for me." Peter gave a small shrug, then cringed slightly at the memories 'Kind of hard to think about prom stuff when it was like a week after my last fight with the Green Goblin. Why did I skip out on that? Well let's see, my best friend hated me for killing his dad even though he didn't know it was me, my dream girl was still dating my best friend to keep him from going back on the Green, and I was an outcast at school again for breaking up with Liz. Not to mention everyone thought I was a murderer who killed Norman Osborn. I was basically a pariah both in and out of the mask, so I spent that night brooding atop the Empire State building. Frankly my life sucked for awhile after that. It wasn't until I met the Turtles that things finally started to turn around for me. Come to think of it, it's been a little over a year since my last battle with the Green Goblin. Crazy how much stuff has happened since then.'

"Pete? Hey Pete, you still with me?"

"What?" Peter snapped out of his stupor and glanced back at Foswell "Yeah sorry, just got a little bit lost in my thought. You were saying?"

"Just going over another story I've been working on." Foswell paused as he grabbed a folder off of his desk and glanced over at Peter, his voice low "I know you've been gone awhile, but I gotta ask… any chance you heard of a little something called the Goblin Nation?" that was enough to make Peter tense up visibly.

"I uh… heard a few things about it from a couple of friends. You working a story about them or something?"

"Trying to at last. Rumors have been going around for the past couple months about how these guys are trying to take over the Big Man's turf, same for Silvermane and whatever else they can get their hands on. Word is they've got some real shady benefactors backing them up, along with some new crime lord calling himself the Goblin King."

"Eesh. Sounds a little hammy to me. Not that I'm one to talk.' Peter paused as his gaze trailed toward the empty office at the end of the floor "So what does the Jolly one himself think about this story?"

"Far as I can tell, he doesn't think there really is a story. He wasn't super thrilled about the whole thing, even before… what happened to the Colonel."

"Yeah. I heard about that." Peter cringed as memories of last night flashed through his mind, but then his gaze hardened "All the more reason we gotta keep doing what we can, right? And you never know… maybe a few pictures could help change Jameson's mind."

"Maybe… That can lead to a lot of stuff. Pretty sure it led to the Big Man being taken down after all." Foswell let out a chuckle, though it sounded fairly bitter "Figurd he was one of the good guys, a true philanthropist. Look how that turned out."

"I know. Kind of reminds me of something I heard awhile back. We all wear masks, but we don't know which one is the real deal: The one that hides your face, or the one that is your face."

"Huh. Sounds kinda crazy, but not too far off either." Fosewell paused as he looked at the file in his hand "Tell you what, I'll check it out for myself and let you know what I find. But for now, just enjoy yourself tonight okay?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. Gwen deserves a great night, especially after I left her and the others for so long.' Peter glanced up at Foswell as his gaze hardened "But make sure to take care, alright? Anything bad happens and get out of there, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire."

"Sure thing kid. But seriously, you only get one of these, so I say get out there and make the most of tonight." Fosewell gave Peter a pat on the shoulder 'I know I sure as hell will.. Or maybe I should say, Patch is gonna make the most of tonight, one way or another.'

"Yeah. I'll be sure to do that. But seriously, be careful." Peter held out his hand to Foswell, prompting him to shake it, and then he patted him on the arm and walked away, glancing back at him as he did so 'Can't hurt to be cautious with stuff like this, and it gives me the chance to try out my new Spider Tracers.'

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Hours passed, and another training session was in play.

"Oh yeah, now this I'm feeling all the." Peter gave a smirk as he ducked under a slash of Leo's katana and leapt over a barrage of shuriken Mikey was throwing at him, with Gwen dodging a series of attacks from both Donnie and Raph "Is that all you guys got?"

"No, but thanks for asking." Mikey gave a wide grin as he ducked under a barrag of webs being shot at him, as well as dodging a series of strikes from Leo's katanas, only to be met with a kick to the chest that sent him hurtling to the ground, as well as earning a cry of pain as he held his wounded arm "Ow, not cool dude!"

"Sorry I didn't- I mean it's a free for all and-" Leo was immediately cut short by a water balloon hitting him square in the face, to which his expression dulled "Seriously?"

"You said it yourself bro, it's a free for all." Mikey's grin widened as he promptly leapt back onto his feet "Plus it's like Splinter said, placement and surprise are a ninja's best friend."

"That is not exactly what I said." Splinter told him dryly "But I do appreciate knowing you were actually listening to my teachings Michelangelo."

"And putting them to good use, like now!"

'Yeah, like trying to make me look like an idiot.' Leo rolled his eyes as he wiped some water off of his face, but then he saw Karai laughing from where she was watching with Splinter, which instantly triggered him as he pounced forward.

"Wait wait dude don't- Not on the arm-" Mikey didn't get to finish as Leo tackled him to the ground in a comical rage, leaving them in a dog pile rolling around the floor of the dojo… and dragging Donnie down with them in the process.

"Right, so… I guess that's it then." Gwen shared a look with Raph as they watched the others roll around on the floor "I have to be honest, I'm not sure which is more shocking: The fact that you aren't part of it, or the fact that you didn't start it."

"...You know what, screw it." Raph gave a shrug and dropped his weapons, then leapt into the fray to join the others.

"Okay, there it is."

"I knew something was missing." Peter commented dryly "Now all feels right with the world again."

"That's one way to put it." Karai let out a chuckle from where she and Splinter were watching the scene unfold "Is this how training always goes?"

"I could lie and try to help Splinter save some face, but yeah pretty much."

"Yame!" Splinter gave the order, and the four of them untangled themselves and knelt down in front of him "My sons…. and my daughters… that is enough training for today. For a multitude of reasons.'

"Honestly, that's probably the right call sensei." Leo pulled himself to his feet and prepared to follow the other Turtles, but stopped to glance back at Karai "You coming?"

"Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." Karai glanced back and watched as Leo and the other Turtles left, then looked over to see Peter and Gwen still there "You two sticking around?"

"Just wanted to check in for your first day." Gwen gave a small shrug "I'm guessing it's not what you expected."

"I have to admit that it is a little bit strange being with… people I was told were my enemies for most of my life." Karai paused as she looked over at the family portrait on Splinter's shrine, and then turned to Splinter himself "I have to know Father. What really happened between you and the Shredder… and my mother."

"Hm… I was expecting this would come eventually." Splinter knelt down on the ground and motioned for Karai, Peter and Gwen to do the same as he sat down a tray carrying a kettle and a few cups "The truth is, the rivalry shared between myself and the Shredder goes much deeper than our rivalry over your mother. While it did greatly strengthen the tension between us, it was… I believe there is a proverb for it."

"Basically it was the straw that broke the camel's back?" was Peter's input.

"That, yes." Splinter took a breath and began his story "The feud between the Hamato Clan and the Foot Clan was a bitter one that lasted for several centuries, until it eventually seemed to come to an end when the previous head of the Foot Clan, Oroku Keiji, was slain by the hand of my father, Hamato Yuuta. Oroku Saki was the son of the enemy, but he was just a child, and so my father chose to give him shelter. The two of us were raised together as brothers, and we were rivals in all things as brothers tend to be."

"But eventually it went to hell?"

"It took time but yes, starting its descent into bitter darkness when we met Tang Shen. From there, jealousy turned into fierce hatred when Saki learned of his true heritage, and he swore to take vengeance and rebuilt the Foot Clan, with many members of the Hamato Clan defecting to serve him instead. Eventually the night came where Oroku Saki struck." Splinter turned his gaze back toward Karai "The blow that was meant for me struck your mother instead. Shredder chose to blame me for her death, and in his rage he burned our home to the ground, leaving me to my fate… and he took you away from me."

"My mother… so that's how it happened…" Karai gritted her teeth and clenched her fists "After all this time, haven't you wanted to get revenge for what he did?"

"After all this time, I have come to understand that revenge only leads to more pain, and it does not restore what was lost."

"But I've seen you fight Father, you have what it takes to take him out."

"We are safe here, and we are finally together again my daughter. As of right now, that is all that matters to me. And as I said, revenge will not restore what has been lost."

"I… I understand father." Karai just looked down as she was handed a cup of tea.

"...You know what, I think we'll give you guys a few minutes alone." Peter quickly pulled himself to his feet and took his leave , with Gwen doing the same, and he only spoke to her once they were out of the dojo entirely "And suddenly my problems don't seem anywhere near as important… or as petty."

"Thinking about Eddie again?" Gwen shot him a raised eyebrow.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't made more than a few comparisons between my situation and his since I first learned about it. Two bros that grew up together end up fighting to the death, the girl they love most gets caught in the crossfire…"

"Uh huh… Okay, I see what you're getting at. But Eddie is like a big brother to me, I don't think you have to worry about fighting him over me."

"Eddie, probably not. Harry on the other hand…"

"...Oh. Yeah, that's… actually probably a lot more justifiable."

"Would you believe it's part of the reason why I was actually considering not getting together with you before?" Peter paused as he noticed Gwen's shocked expression, and so he chose to carry on "I mean Harry pretty much said it flat out at his dad's funeral, you were the only thing that kept him from going back on the Green. Then I met Splinter and the guys and heard about his whole story with Shredder and… I kinda connected those dots."

"Yeah… I get that. It was a pretty rough time for all of us." Gwen's gaze softened as she slipped her hand into Peter's "But the way I see it, we can either dwell on those kinds of mistakes, or we can learn from them."

"Huh… I like the way you think." Peter gave a small smile as he and Gwen locked lips for a moment, before he broke away "And I have learned a lot since then, like how even with the kickass spider powers, I can't do everything on my own. I gotta have a few good people that can have my back, take care of things when I can't… like with tonight for example."

"Right, senior prom." Gwen gave a small smile of her own as she slipped her hand into his and leaned her head against his chest "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"You and me both. Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling this is gonna be a night we'll remember for a long time."

He would be right about that… but not in a good way.

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Hours passed, and night fell over New York City.

"Okay, just a little more and… there we go!" Mikey gave a wide grin as he finished tying the bow tie of Peter's tuxedo, then stepped back to admire his work "Like a turtle do, and this turtle know how to do this right!"

"Your prowess never ceases to amaze me." Peter let out a chuckle, then paused as he gazed at his own reflection "Yep, this is a night that we're gonna remember for a long time. And I probably just screwed it the hell over for all of us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Two words. Parker luck. It's like relatives, it always shows up when no one wants it."

"Hey your luck can't be that bad dude, you got Gwen and me and my bros backing you up. Ain't that the most important thing?"

"...Huh. As usual, you know what's what a lot better than people give you credit for. And I think you have the right idea." Peter gave a grin as he adjusted the jacket on his tuxedo "So you gonna head back and just take it easy for the rest of the night?"

"Probably, it's just taking some getting used to having a sister around. But I like it. Probably gonna take awhile for the others to get with it, you know like April and Casey. Speaking of which, you meeting up with them tonight?"

"Not really. April's going to prom, she just mentioned going with that goth friend of hers, Irma I think her name was. Not gonna lie, something about her makes my skin crawl." Peter frowned in thought for a minute, but quickly shook those thoughts away "Plus Jones said he was gonna keep an eye on his sister tonight."

"Got it. Real talk for a sec though, don't worry about us. We can hang on our own for one night, and if anything goes down we got it. Take this night man, you totally earned it. Especially with what you had to go through over the last couple months."

"You're not gonna hear me object to that. Just to be safe though, I did text Daredevil and ask him to stay on stand by in case anything happened. Now just waiting on Gwen, she said her dad was gonna drop her off before he headed back to the precinct."

"Pretty late for that stuff isn't it? Unless somebody died."

"In his words, it's worse than somebody being dead. Apparently he and his officers have to deal with their annual HR seminar on workplace conflict."

"Eesh." Mikey cringed at the thought, then looked over at Peter "Probably not a good message to put out, but if he got stabbed with a kusarigama chain could he get out of it?"

"Legally he'd still have to make it up."

"Oh. Well points for intent I guess."

"Probably don't wanna mention that when she gets here."

"Good call. I mean… is it really that bad? They're supposed to be about stopping conflict in the workplace right?"

"It gets worse. Captain Stacy said that HR is sending a funny guy."

"...Oh they're screwed."

"Yeah I think they'd rather get stabbed."

"I'm still up for it, assuming Gwen doesn't give me the Look or anything." 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'm gonna go raid your fridge." and then he went off to do just that.

"We'll see how that goes and if I can get out of it without the universe making me into its chew toy again." 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 her typical strapless pink dress that went down to just below her knees and a set of pink high heels, and she gave a small smile "Hi Pete, sorry I'm late."

"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."

"My reliable source hasn't let he down yet." he jerked a thumb to where Mikey was waving at them from where he was now rummaging through the fridge in the kitchen, and then he 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… only for the moment to be cut short by the sound of his phone ringing, to which he let out a groan as he pulled it out "It's Mr Foswell from the Bugle."

"You'd better answer it."

"I can think of one good reason not to."

"Does it outweigh your conscience?" she gave him a scowl and a raised eyebrow.

"...No, and it doesn't beat you giving me the Look either. Although I never wished it did more than I do right now." Peter let out a sigh as he answered his phone "Mr Foswell, I say this in the most respectul and professional way I can: Your timing is atrocious."

"Yeah sorry to bust up the night Pete, but we've got stuff to cover here. You uh… remember about the night those canisters dropped out of the sky and lots of people disappeared? I think I just found the source of them."

"Hold on, what?! What are you talking about?"

"I learned about all this from one of my sources, another journalist called Kurtzman who's been looking into this stuff for awhile. Long story short, on the list of MIA people is Curt Connors. I went to see what I could find out, but I don't think he got turned into a monster like the rest of them did."

"Wait, so Dr Connors wasn't mutated?" that definitely earned the attention of both Mikey and Gwen.

"Far as I can tell, no. I stopped by his home to check for a clue of some kind and found the place being swarmed with those freaks in pumpkin masks, but I'm working on tracking where exactly they might have taken Connors, somewhere East of the city I think, not far out of Queens, but I think that-" the conversation was cut short by the sound of a thud, and a slam, and then the phone call was cut short.

"Mr Foswell? Mr Fosweell!" Peter's gaze hardened as he turned to Gwen "Okay, as much as I hate to say it…"

"We're gonna be way later for prom than fashionably, I know." Gwen reached into her purse and pulled out her Ghost Spider mask "Let's do this."

"Works for me." Peter cast a look over at Mikey "You up for this?"

"I got your back guys, nothing's gonna stop me from-" Mikey was immediately cut off by the sound of vibrating, which drew him to pull out his T-phone "Yeah… quick change of plans on that one. Leo texted me, says there's a Karai problem and they need me back home fast, like last week fast."

"Go help them, Gwen and I got this." Peter quickly pulled his Spider-Man mask out from the pocket of his jacket "Like I said before, Daredevil is on standy so shoot him a text and he'll be right over. If either of us wrap up early, we head over and help out the other."

"Works for me." the two of them engaged in a fist bump, and then the three scattered in order to head to their respective missions.

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Around the same time, in the Lair…

'It can't keep going on like this… This has to end now.' Karai cast a few subtle looks around as she made her way through the Lair, making it all the way to the entrance without being noticed, until…

"Going after Shredder on your own is a bad idea."

Karai glanced up to see Leo drop to the ground next to her "Forget it Leo, there's nothing you can say to stop me."

"I'm not trying to stop you." Leo paused and looked Karai square in the face "I want to go with you."

"Hold on, what?"

"You're not wrong, Shredder is never going to stop hunting us as long as he's alive. There's only one way for all of us to be safe, and it's to take him down once and for all."

"I've already dedicated so much of my life to revenge, I can't ask you to risk your life for this too."

"You're not, I'm asking you to let me help."

"Leo, I…" Karai fell silent as she slowly walked up to Leo, pressing him against a wall with a smirk spreading across her face.

'Okay… Is this going where I think it's going…?'

"...Sorry Leo." Karai suddenly punched him in the chest and threw a small smoke bomb at his face, leaving him to fall to the ground in an unconscious heap, and then she took off running down the subway tunnels with only one goal in mind "This ends tonight!"

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At the same time, with the (soon to be) kidnapped reporter…

"Mr Foswell, I say this in the most respectul and professional way I can: Your timing is atrocious."

"Yeah sorry to bust up the night Pete, but we've got stuff to cover here." Foswell (or Patch as he went by when he wore his eyepatch and fake beard) positioned his phone on his shoulder as he typed away on a laptop in the back of a van You uh… remember about the night those canisters dropped out of the sky and lots of people disappeared? I think I just found the source of them."

"Hold on, what?! What are you talking about?"

"I learned about all this from one of my sources, another journalist called Kurtzman who's been looking into this stuff for awhile. Long story short, on the list of MIA people is Curt Connors. I went to see what I could find out, but I don't think he got turned into a monster like the rest of them did."

"Wait, so Dr Connors wasn't mutated?"

"Far as I can tell, no. I stopped by his home to check for a clue of some kind and found the place being swarmed with those freaks in pumpkin masks, but I'm working on tracking where exactly they might have taken Connors, somewhere East of the city I think, not far out of Queens, but I think that-" he cut himself short at the sound of the van door being yanked open, to which he looked up to see a pumpkin soldier getting into the driver's seat, only to look down and see his phone fall off his shoulder and onto the ground outside 'Shit!' he quickly reached down to try and grab it, until…

"Enough screwing around, we got a deadline to meet so let's go." another pumpkin soldier went around and slammed the back door shut without noticing Foswell was there, and then he went back around and got into the front seat.

'...Aw crapbaskets.' Foswell was left to crouch in the back of the van as he reached into a crate next to him, pulling out a metal gauntlet that briefly surged with electricity as he put it on 'Not really what I had in mind, but better than nothing I guess.'

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Meanwhile, with the new A plot…

"Leonardo. Leonardo wake up."

"Ow, my head…" Leo let out a groan as he opened his eyes and found Daredevil kneeling in front of him "What the… Daredevil, what are you doing here?"

"I got a message from Peter, he said you might need help he was… preoccupied with a personal matter." Daredevil held out a hand and helped Leo onto his feet "I got here as soon as I could and found you like this. What happened?"

"Give me a second, my head is a little bit fuzzy… I came out here to stop Karai, and then-" he cut himself short as the realization dawned on him, much to his horror "Oh no… We gotta get the guys and sensei!"

"Leonardo!" it was at this moment that Splinter came rushing out of the dojo, with both Donnie and Raph close behind him "What happened, where is Karai?"

"She took off, she's gonna try and take out Shredder on her own."

"I see… I was a fool." Splinter gave a scowl and looked away "I fear that I told her too much too quickly."

"We have to stop her before she gets herself killed."

"Then we don't have any time to lose." Daredevil opened the door to the Shellraiser and quickly made his way inside, with the Turtles and Splinter following right behind him "Although I'm noticing there's only three of you, what about Michelangelo?"

"He's over with Peter right now, but we can't wait for him. Take the wheel for a minute, I'll shoot him a text." Leo ushered Daredevil into the driver's seat while he pulled out his T-phone and sent a text over to Mikey.

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

'Looks like this is it…' Foswell looked up just as he felt the pumpkin soldiers' van coming to a stop, to which he gripped the fist housing the gauntlet 'I guess we reached their base, or at least one of their bases. Either way staying back here isn't gonna work anymore.'

"Go ahead and report in, I'll get the supplies out of the back." one of the pumpkin soldiers got out of the van and moved to open up the back doors… just in time for Foswell to kick the doors open and hit him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground unconscious.

'Huh. That was lucky. Now if only I knew how this thing worked.' Foswell cast a look down at the gauntlet he wore

"You're gonna pay for that you little pig!" the other pumpkin pulled out a rifle and prepared to fire it at Foswell… only to be met with his gauntlet-covered hand grabbing the rifle, crushing it and unleashing a powerful surge of electricity that left him crying out in pain, and then falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

'Huh. So that's how this thing works. I kind of like it.' Foswell gave a small grin as he clenched the fist housed in the gauntlet and took a look at his surroundings 'Huh. Must be the old mansion on the east side of Brooklyn that got bought out a few months back. Guess now we know who the new owners are… Now to see what else I can find out.' with that in mind, he snuck his way across the grounds to the back of the mansion, climbing through an open window to find the set up of a makeshift lab, hiding behind a large piece of equipment.

"Yeah I know they're late, I heard you idiots the first time!" another pumpkin soldier stood at the lab desk at the far end of the room, unaware of Foswell closing in on him… at least not until he got a stun gauntlet to the face, knocking him out cold on the spot.

'Okay that's easy enough, hope I'm not jinxing it… Now let's see what this guy was working on in here.' Foswell knelt down in front of the soldier's laptop and took a look over the contents being displayed 'Weird, they've got up some kind of genome readout… Reptile genes? What the hell are they up to?' it was then that his attention was drawn toward a nearby pinboard, along with its contents.

As it turns out, said contents came in the form of several newspapers housing pictures of a giant reptile monster… along with an image of Dr Connors.

'This is the Lizard monster that Spider-Man fought last September… and images of Dr Connors, but why would-' Foswell froze as the realization dawned on him 'Holy hell… Dr Connors was the Lizard, and they're trying to make him transform again… so they can turn him over to their side…? Wait come to think of it, Pete handed in pictures of that fight and won the contest we had going… Did he know about Connors? No that can wait until later, I gotta focus… I gotta find a way out of here and… Maybe if I can find Connors, get him out of here too…' he poked his head out the door, only to see no one coming, and so he made his way down the halls of the mansion, casting a look around as he did so 'Looks like setting up shop here didn't inspire them to do any Home Improvement stuff. Only makes sense I guess, makes it look like its still abandoned so no on will come snooping around. Unless you're me apparently.' he continued sneaking his way down the hall… only for a trap door to suddenly open up underneath him, causing him to fall through it. A moment passed before he was able to pick himself up… only to be met with a sudden gunshot grazing one of his arms, causing him to grit his teeth in pain as he ducked behind a nearby crate.

"You stuck your nose where it didn't belong you journalistic hellspawn." one pumpkin soldier moved towards him with his rifle readied, only to be met with Foswell grabbing him by the leg and letting another surge loose, electrocuting him on the spot and knocking him out cold.

'Lucky for me it was just a graze… and I'm seriously loving this glove.' Foswell cast a quick look around the room he was in, only to find another laptop set up on a lab table along the back wall, to which he noticed another laptop and a series of files stacked near it 'More information on whatever operations they have going? Let's see here… Goblin Nation, current commanders include… Holy hell… The Goblin King, the Jackal, Subprime, Rhino, Snakeweed, something called Chong, whatever the hell that is, along with Man Wolf, Hydro-Man and Lizard is listed as pending… Guess they really are trying to recruit Connors… Former members include guys called the Tinkerer, Scarlet Spider, Beetle, Mysterio, Molten Man. MIA recruits include Liz Allen and the Black Cat… Opposition includes the Spiders, Venom and… Turtles? Is that talking about guys like Turtle Titan? And then there's the new Sinister Six… Isn't that what Doc Ock was calling his group of superpowered lunatics? I can't leave this stuff behind…' he pulled a small flash drive out of his suit pocket and plugged it into the computer, during which he took notice of something else lying on the desk'A cell phone ? One of the pumpkin guys?' he quickly picked up the phone and was taken aback by what he saw 'Dr Connors' cell phone… Guess they didn't bother getting rid of it after they grabbed him? Please for the love of god don't die… Only one guy I can think to call now…' he took a breath and dialed a number "Captain Stacy, it's Foswell from the Daily Bugle. This is big, I'm at this abandoned mansion East of queens, the Goblin Nation is set up here and-" he was cut off as soon as the call was 'Dammit, it's dead. What the hell do I do now?'

"No please, no you can't do this! Not again!" a voice gave the answer for him.

'I guess I have my answer.' Foswell cracked open the door to the lab and glanced out to get a look at the situation.

"Please you don't understand, you don't know the damage this will cause!" as it turns out, it was none other than Curt Connors himself, being dragged down the halls by a group of pumpkin soldiers, only to end up getting shoved into a cell, before they stormed off.

'And I got another answer.' Foswell hid behind the wall as the pumpkin soldiers took their leave of the scene, his gaze hardening with resolve 'Alright Connors, time to get you out of that cell, and then the hell out of here altogether.

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

'Foot Bots, check. Now to go for the real deal.' it was easy for Karai to sneak into Shredder's lair via the roof (ripping through the Foot Bots), and finding a figure seated on Shredder's throne, to which she drew her sword and moved in close… only to find a Chrome Dome roboted seated on the throne 'Okay, what the hell?'

"Karai." it was at that moment that Shredder stepped out of the shadows, which immediately prompted Chrome Dome to rise from the throne and grab her by the wrists "You returned to me even sooner than I had expected."

"Yeah, so I could do this." Karai freed herself and stabbed Chrome Dome straight through the chest, causing it to fall to the ground "And now Shredder, the time has come for me to say goodbye and end this." she hurled a smoke bomb at him, then launched herself forward and brought down her blade.

"You were foolish to come alone." Shredder blocked her strike with ease, as well as dodging the attacks that followed, until eventually he caught her blade in his hands and promptly threw it to the side "You forget child, I was the one who taught you everything you know. There is nothing you can do that can surprise me now."

"Don't be so sure!" Karai leapt back and fired a volley of shuriken at Shredder, only for him to block them except for one that he caught in his hand… revealing the Hamato clan symbol on them.

"Hamato Yoshi… Even now, you corrupt my daughter and turn her against me." Shredder let out a snarl as he backhanded Karai in the middle of an attack, sending her crashing to the ground, and then he used his blades to pin her down "This has gone far enough!" it was then that the lights throughout the throne room turned on… revealing Tatsu, Razhar and Fishface lined up with several dozen Foot Bots on all sides.

'...This may have been a horrible mistake.'

"Tatsu?"

"I sense no other presence." Tatsu took a step forward "The Turtles and Splinter have yet to approach us."

"They can't be far behind." Shredder pulled Karai upright and thrusted her over for Tatsu to catch her "Take her to Miles Warren, so that we may begin with our experiment."

"Hai sensei."

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A moment later, outside…

"Dammit, we were too late!" Leo and the others pulled up in the Shellraiser just in time to see the Foot clan driving away from the church building, with Karai being dragged with them "They got Karai! New plan guys, fire up the weapons!"

"No, not yet." Splinter put a hand on Leo's shoulder to stop him "It's too dangerous to risk a confrontation here, follow them closely but don't allow us to be spotted."

"Hai sensei." and so the Shellraiser followed after the Foot clan, albeit at a distance that would keep them from getting spotted.

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

'Okay, coast is clear… Now or never.' Foswell took a breath and braced himself as he snuck his way down the hall until he reached the cell holding Connors, unleashing a quick surge from his gauntlet to fry the electronic lock on the cage door, which allowed him to enter the cell "What's up doc?"

"What the-" Curt immediately jumped and backed away at the sight of Foswell "What are- Who are-"

"It's okay, it's okay. Frederick Foswell from the Daily Bugle, I'm here to help. And by that, I mean get us both the hell out of here without dying."

"No you don't understand, you can't be here. He has eyes and ears everywhere, you have to get away now!"

"Forget it, I'm not leaving you behind." Foswell helped Curt onto his feet, only to pause when he took notice of Curt's expression growing even more horrified "There's one of the big shots right behind me isn't there?"

"Not just one of the big shots big boy, the Big Man of the house!" a new voice prompted Foswell to slowly turn around to find a certain figure in a green and purple bodysuit, wearing a hood that covered his face, standing before the two of them "Hello, good evening and bonsoir. I think you already have a good idea as to who I am."

"Yeah, another guy going around calling himself the Green Goblin. Far as I know we had one of those guys already." Foswell stook a breath to calm himself as he took a step back, holding out his gauntlet-covered arm in front of connors "The real question is, who's the nutcase behind the mask this time around?"

"Ah, Frederick Foswell of the Daily Bugle. The man who put away Silvermane. A smart man for sure, but doesn't seem to ask the right questions when it really counts."

"So what is the right question then?"

"I could tell you, but it would be so much more fun for you to figure it out on your own.

"In that case, should I assume that you're this Goblin King I've been hearing so much about until now?"

"Ooh, good guess. As for your other question… not so important really, but here's a little bit of life advice for you." Goblin King reached into his suit and pulled out two things: a canister full of mutagen, and a vial with the image of a lizard on it, which he then poured into the canister of mutagen, causing it to turn a shade of green "It's like our dear friend Spider-Man learned oh so long ago… We all wear masks, but which one is real? Is it the one that hides your face?" he held up one hand to stop Foswell's attempt to strike him with the gauntlet, crushing it with ease and taking the chance to grab Foswell by the throat "Or is it the one that is your face?" he didn't waste a second as he threw Foswell to the side, then made his way over to Connors and opened up the canister "You never know what kind of monster are lurking inside. After all, it's like the old saying goes: Beware the nice ones."

"No, no you can't do this! My wife, my son, I have to-" Curt didn't get to finish before he was grabbed by the throat and the contents of the canister were poured onto his head, trickling down the rest of his body and causing him to scream in pain as he writhed on the floor.

"Yes… YES! Truly a sight to behold!" the Goblin King let out a cackle at the sight of Curt writhing in agony, until…

"BOOYAKASHA!" it was at this moment that the Spider Cycle came bursting through the wall of the mansion, ramming straight into the Goblin King face first and sending him flying through several other walls, courtesy of Spider-Man and Ghost Spider as the two of them leapt to the ground, the former quickly helping Foswell onto his feet "You okay?"

"Not dead so I'm calling that a win, but how did-" Foswell didn't get to finish before he cast a look around to see several pumpkin soldiers appearing outside the mansion with weapons aimed at them with weapons pointed, prompting them toward them, with Foswell himself turning his attention back to Curt "Hold on, let me just-"

"Don't touch me!" Curt gave the frantic order, causing Foswell to stop in his tracks "If any of it gets on you then you'll transform too!"

"So what the hell do we do?"

"There might be… a way to stop it…" Curt shakily pulled himself to his feet "There's another lab… in the basement… they might have a… sample to use… I don't have much time!"

"Then we'd better not screw around." Foswell cast a glance back at the Spiders "Any chance you two heard that?"

"Yeah we got it, we'll buy you some time!" Ghost Spider shot some webs at one pumpkin soldier to stop him from firing, then latched onto him with a webline and hurled him into another group of pumpkin soldiers "We'll keep the cavalry off your backs, just make sure to keep your heads down and don't look back!"

"Hang in there doc, we're getting you down to that lab! No chance in hell you're turning on us tonight!" Spider-Man leapt over one soldier aiming a club at him and kicked him in the back hard enough to send him crashing into another group, and then he webbed them all down in one go 'One thing doesn't add up though, I thought Dr Connors was one of the people that up and vanished after the Mutagen spill… So did he transform and then they turn him back? But why would they-' he cut himself short as a familiar sensation began blaring in his head 'Spider Sense going crazy, but what-'

"Get down!" Ghost Spider grabbed Spider-Man by the arm and yanked him to the ground a split second before a giant burst of green electricity shot directly over their heads, resulting in a small explosion powerful enough blow away a good number of pumpkin soldiers "You okay?"

"Yeah, but uh… That was a lot bigger than the ones the old Green Goblin put out. Looks like his majesty isn't a slouch either." Spider-Man leapt back onto his feet and subsequently ducked under a wave of bullets being fired their way by a group of soldiers "Seriously though, these guys are more annoying with numbers than anything else, but it's like they have a death wish or something."

"That's one way to put it, but the lengths they're going to raise questions about even that. Based on what the others and I have seen, they've been chasing after a bunch of suprevillains to try and recruit them or do god knows what else."

"And now they're trying to bring back the Lizard? Seems to me like they're more doing the dirty work for his majesty than anything else."

"One thing is definitely for sure." Ghost Spider dodged a large spear being hurled at her by one particularly large pumpkin soldier, then kicked his legs out from under him and subsequently webbed him to the ground as she gave a grin under her mask "They must have some really great benefits."

"Cracking jokes at the worst possible time? God I love you." Spider-Man gave a grin of his own, but it quickly fell away once they found more pumpkin soldiers coming "Looks like they're trying to stack the odds in their favor with sheer numbers."

"Not to mention the firepower they're packing. At this rate fighting them all in one spot might not be a good idea."

"You thinking we should split up?"

"Or at least spread it out a little bit."

"Works for me." and so Spider-Man leapt back a sizable distance, a number of pumpkin soldiers chasing after him and firing at him with rifles or just trying to attack him with clubs and other weapons, only for him to dodge and weave around every strike and take each of them out with a single blow, one after another 'A lot better organized than the last packs of pumpkin headed idiots the Green Goblin had working for him, but still a pretty motley crew. Which works out just fine for me.'

"Now's our chance, overwhelm him with numbers and pin him to the ground!" another large group of pumpkin soldiers closed in on Spider-Man from all sides, eventually managing to pile on top of him… until a large surge of electricity rippled through all of them, resulting in a large surge that sent all of them flying in different directions.

"Yep, it's times like these I really love the electric webs." Spider-Man leapt back to his feet once he had some room from the soldiers 'Here's hoping Gwen's doing okay on her end.'

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Meanwhile, with the other half of the hero couple…

"You guys don't know when to give up do you?" Ghost Spider found herself retreating back into one of the halls of the mansion with a large number of goblin soldiers closing in on her 'At least this way I can make them come to me and deal with them without too much trouble.'

"Show the spider bitch what happens when you try to mess with the Goblin King!" the pumpkin soldiers brandished the various weapons they held (clubs, knives, axes, etc) and charged at Ghost Spider in a blind rage.

'And the angrier they get, the more it clouds their judgement, giving me the opportunity to do this.' Ghost Spider got into a stance and braced herself as they closed in, giving her the chance to flip one soldier after another over her shoulder and web them to the ground, as well as punch and kick some of them to the ground if they tried to grab her, during which she caught sight of Curt and Foswell sneaking down the halls behind her, prompting her to throw a concussive blaster at the remaining soldiers, unleashing a sonic wave that sent them hurtling backwards and either crashing to the ground or onto walls, giving her the chance to throw a web bomb and pin them to their respective surfaces, then cast a frantic look back at Curt and Foswell "There will be a lot more coming, hurry and keep moving but keep your heads down!"

"R-Right!" Foswell gave a simple nod and continued on ahead "Come on doc, if we're gonna go we gotta do it now!"

"I-I'm coming!" Curt limped his way forward (albeit at a distance to avoid getting any Mutagen on Foswell), only now his skin was beginning to turn green as the mutagen was being absorbed into his body "I can feel it… please!"

"I know I know, not too much further!"

'Come on Dr Connors, you have to keep it together just a little longer!' Ghost Spider braced herself as another group of pumpkin soldiers came charing in, prompting her to launch herself forward to meet them "Hey tell me something, if his majesty is as all powerful as you guys make him out to be, why doesn't he come out here and fight us himself? Honestly at this rate, he'd do a lot better fighting me than you guys are."

"Get real woman, the likes of you would be nothing but a giant waste of time for him." one of them let out a scoff "Besides, the other spider is the one he's got a real bone to pick with after what he did the last time they fought!"

"Last time they fought? Spider-Man has never met him before. The only Goblin he actually has gone up against is-" Ghost Spider froze in the middle of a roundhouse kick as a brief yet clearly horrifying realization dawned on her 'Oooooh… Oh no…'

"By jove, I think she's got it!"

'Could he be-' Ghost Spider didn't get to finish her thought before her Spider Sense began blaring in her head, prompting her to turn around… just in time to be met with a pumpkin bomb being hurled at her, right before a powerful green surge of electricity causing it to detonate, engulfing her in the explosion that followed, while also obliterating a sizable chunk of the hallway.

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

'Yes, now this is me in my element.' Miles Warren gave a smirk as he continued working on a certain set of chemicals within an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by various cages and a giant vat filled to the brim with mutagen 'This is what I love doing, pushing my research past any research that's ever been seen by conventional science. Beyond anything that would be green lit by governments or by those hacks in the ethics committee. Anything is possible when you're willing to take the risk.' he paused when he noticed that he accidentally knocked a beaker full of orange fluid into another beaker full of purple fluid 'Or when things like that happen. Well now, I suppose we'll see what happens when-'

"Dr Warren."

'-when he decides to show up.'

"The time has come." it was at that moment that Shredder made his way into the warehouse, with Tatsu, Razhar, Fishface and a large squadron of Foot Bots training close behind him, along with the bound form of Karai "Is the mutagen ready?"

"I prepared everything to your specifications, and I'm about to add in the serpent DNA. Along with whatever was in that other beaker.' Warren underwent his typical transformation into the Jackal as he leapt up onto the top of the vat of mutagen and poured in the contents of the purple beaker 'And now we'll see how this plays out I suppose. Now if that's all you need from me, I have another obligation to attend do." he pushed a button on his gauntlet and opened up a purple doorway, which he promptly stepped through before it closed.

"Excellent, now the rest of you make sure Karai is secure."

"No you can't, you wouldn't!" Karai continued thrashing around in a failed attempt to escape, only to be strapped into a cage with her mouth covered by Foot Bots and then hoisted into the air directly over the vat of mutagen.

"And now that is missing is our test subjects."

"I will admit that I have questions." Tatsu cast a glance over at Shredder "You made it clear that the girl was not to be harmed, so I can only assume she is not the one you wish to see mutated tonight."

"I have no intention of mutating her, she is merely being used as bait. When the Turtles arrive and attempt to rescue her, that is I will drop them into the mutagen, which will transform them into mindless serpents. What I want is for Splinter to witness his own pupils become one of the deadliest predators of the rat, and then once his spirit has been broken, I will shatter his body and end his miserable life."

"In that case, as your right hand I will-" Tatsu paused as something caught his attention, and he cast a glance up to see a shadowy figure lurking on a support beam above them "It seems that our adversaries have arrived."

"Then the time has come. Be ready."

"Saki!" it was at this moment that Splinter dropped to the ground in front of Shredder and his forces, with the Turtles (with Mikey and Raph clad in their Turtle Titan and Nightwatcher suits, respectively) and Daredevil dropping down a short distance away from him.

"Welcome my old friend, I was wondering when you would arrive."

"I have come for my daughter Saki, now let her go."

"You are more than welcome to rescue her, assuming that you can." Shredder gave a wicked smirk underneath his mask as the present Foot Bots began surrounding Splinter's group on every side.

"In that case… so be it!" Splinter drew his own sword from his cane as he and the Turtles burst forward at full speed, with Splinter himself closing in on Shredder.

"Yes that's it, now fight me rat!"

"I intend to do more than fight you!" Splinter launched himself at Shredder and began pushing him back with a rapid series of strikes.

"He's not the only one who intends to fight." Daredevil on the other hand watched as Splinter continued his assault on Shredder and the Turtles ripped through the Foot Bots, while he kept his focus locked on his own adversary, that being Tatsu "I had heard that the Foot Clan had acquired a new second in command, and that he was a formidable fighter."

"And I have heard claims about the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, the man who was able to defeat even the likes of the Kingpin and even stand on even ground with my sensei. Let us see if those claims bear fruit." Tatsu threw down a smoke bomb, and when the cloud of smoke subsided, he was gone.

'He's fast, but…' Daredevil whipped around to find Tatsu in mid air bringing down his katana toward him, to which he raised the Devil's Horn to block the attack, then went on to dodge and weave his way around the next series of strikes and let Tatsu roll over his back, only to be met with a knee to the jaw that sent him staggering into a nearby crate. Luckily he recovered in time to avoid the next strike of Tatsu's katana, leaving it to cut through a wooden crate instead, which also gave Daredevil the chance to slash at him with his Devil's Horn, knocking his katana out of his hand and his mask off his face while sending him staggering back, giving Daredevil the chance to take notice of one particular feature "So I was right… you are blind."

"So you noticed." Tatsu stopped himself and turned to face Daredevil, revealing his gray and lifeless eyes as he grabbed his katana and charged forward "I can tell that you and I are similar through your movements. You are like me, are you not?"

"Perhaps not in the same sense." Daredevil brandished his Devil's Horn and used it to block and counter most of the attacks coming his way "I was… experimented on by the Kraang as a child, and as a result I lost my eyesight but my other senses were heightened to entirely new levels that I never thought possible. My mentor taught me how to use this new gift."

"So our stories are similar." Tatsu grabbed Daredevil the forearm and flipped him over his shoulder and through the air, leaving him to crash into one of the wooden crates and shatter it upon impact "I was born blind but with an acute sense of hearing, which they say gave me a sixth sense of sorts."

"Meaning that you knew we were coming?"

"I could hear all of you from a mile away."

"Then I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Daredevil leapt back onto his feet and thrusted out the end of his Devil's Horn, resulting in a volley of shuriken being fire out.

"If you share my ability in a sense, you know of how others thought of us as inferior." Tatsu was quick to cut through every shuriken hurled at him with incredible precision and charged forward, restuling in him and Daredevil trading a series of even blows "Shredder recognized this to be a skill when all others mocked me, but I chose to use this prejudice in my favor and continue to push myself until I eventually became Shredder's right hand man." their clash came to an end when Tatsu tried to strike Daredevil with a kick aimed at his head.

"So you chose to become a soldier. That's where our stories differ." Daredevil caught Tatsu by the leg in the middle of the kick, grabbed Tatsu by the head and slammed him against a nearby wall before leaping away to gain some distance "My mentor tried to make me into a soldier for the war he was fighting, and chose to abandon me when I came to see him as a father figure. If he hadn't… maybe I would'v turned out like you. I chose a different path."

"Then we shall we how far it taks you!" Tatsu rcoverd in time to block a series of attacks from the Devil's Horn and grabbed Dardevil by the knee, only to be grabbed by the head and thrown to the ground, though he quickly recovered and rolled over in time to strike Daredevil in the back of the leg and hit a pressure point, bringing him down onto one knee.

Gritting his teeth from the pain, Daredevil managed to whip around enough to kick Tatsu in the chest with his other leg, knocking him back a short distance.

Tatsu managed to rebound in time to block an incoming roundhouse kick from Daredevil, as well as the next incoming barrage of attacks from the Devil's Horn, then grabbed Daredevil by the throat and rammed him head first against the wall of the warehouse, then moved to stab him with his katana.

Thinking quick, Daredevil cranked his head back just enough to avoid the blades, then morphed the Devil's Horn into its staff form and used it to knock Tatsu's katana out of his grip in one swift movement, leaving Tatsu somewhat stunned by the assault, but he shook it off and aimed an attack at Daredevil with his other gauntlet, only for the blades on that one to end up broken as well, and he was quickly flipped over and sent crashing to the ground head first. And then he got elbowed in the head and knocked into the back wall for good measure.

Tatsu managed to recover quickly and went on to deal Daredevil a series of swift blows to the chest, leading to the two of them trading even blows, which ended when Tatsu managed to strike Daredevil in the throat with two fingers, only to be met with a kick to the face, sending him hurtling back a sizable distance and crashing to the ground. A moment passed before Tatsu was able to pull himself back onto one knee, panting heavily, and he looked up to see Daredevil in a similar state "I see… so it would seem the claims of your skill are true… You prove yourself a worthy opponent… not that it matters."

"What do you-" Daredevil cut himself short when he looked back to see the Turtles all trapped in cages and Splinter being caught in ropes by Shredder and the Foot Bots 'Dammit, I was so caught up in my own battle I didn't notice them being trapped!'

"Now then, let us see if you can finish this battle with honor."

"In my eyes, there is no greater dishonor than to abandon those in need." Daredevil turned on his heel, rushed over to a chain and cut it, pulling himself into the air until he reached the cage in which Karai was behind held, giving him the chance to pull off the tape over her mouth "Are you okay?"

"I'll be better when I'm not dangling over this thing." Karai told him dryly, but then gave a small smile "But thanks."

"Of course, just let me-"

"DAREDEVIL LOOK OUT!" the scream from the bound form of Nightwatcher cut this moment short.

Daredevil whipped around to find Shredder leaping at him in mid air, prompting him to duck at the last second… only for Shredder's gauntlet to instead cut through the chains holding Karai in mid air, leaving her to plunge into the mutagen vat below with a mighty splash, much to the horror of everyone present.

"Karai! NOOOO!" even Shredder was horrified as he clawed his way back to the top of the vat and watched Karai disappear into the mutagen "Karai…"

"MIWA!" in his rage, Splinter ripped through the Foot Bots to free himself and launched himself forward to catch Karai as she fell out of the tank, cradling her newly mutated serpent form in a moment of grief "Miwa… my child…"

In an instant, the newly mutated Karai's eyes snapped open and she lashed out at Splinter with her tail, pushing him away before she did the same to the Foot Bots that closed in on her.

"Hang on!" Daredevil quickly rushed his way over to Leo and freed him from his cage, and then they moved to do the same to the other Turtles… only to pause when another sensation washed over him "This is about to get much worse."

"How much worse could it get from now?" Nightwatcher received his answer as he glanced over to see a barrel of oil spill onto the remains of a Foot Bot… followed by a surge of electricity igninig it into a large fire that quickly began spreading to the rest of the warehouse "Oh, that's how."

"YOU!" Shredder was less than concerned about the flames as he spotted Splinter and rounded on him in a rage "You Hamato Yoshi, you were the one who did this!" he moved to charged at him in a rage, only to be stopped in his tracks by a large chunk of the ceiling caving in, quickly separating them "NO!"

"Sensei!" Tatsu quickly picked himself up and rushed over to his side "The flames are spreading, we have to go now!"

"Leave me!"

"You will not be able to claim your vengeance if you perish here!"

"...Kuso!" Shredder let out a snarl as he looked back to see Karai ripping apart the last of the Foot Bots, and he removed his face plate for a moment "My daughter… I shall avenge your loss today… this I swear!" and then he and Tatsu made a beeline for an opening in the debris right before move of the roof caved in.

"The flames are spreading!" Daredevil used his Devil's Horn to rip through a large chunk of debris about to fall on them "We have to get out of here NOW!"

"We cannot leave her!" Splinter looked up at Karai to try and appeal to her "Karai you must listen to me, we must go!"

Karai let out a hiss as she shot down toward Splinter and began constricting him in her coils, then began looming towards him.

"My daughter… please…"

"...Father?" Karai seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then she released Splinter from her coils and shot forward, spitting acid in Leo's eyes as she did so.

"Karai wait!" Leo tried to chase after her, only to fall to his knees, with Dardevil being the one to pick him up "We can't leave her!"

"She has the right idea, we can't stay here or we're as good as dead!" Dardevil slung Leo's arm over his shoulder and made a beeline for a nearby open window, with Splinter and the rest of the Turtles doing the same just before the entire warehouse went up in a fiery explosion.

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

"Here it is!" by this point, Foswell had managed to lead Curt to the basement of the mansion, where they found a lab setup waiting for them "This the place?"

"Yes… this is it…" Curt slowly limped his way toward the work station, where he found a vial containing a lizard symbol "I can… use this to… create an antitode for-" he was cut off by a sudden explosion, followed by Ghost Spider being sent crashing to the ground a short distance away, the force knocking the vial out of his hand, leaving it to clatter to the ground, much to the horror of Curt "No… he's here…"

"Ding ding ding, guess who just found the prize!" the Goblin King gave a wicked smirk from under his hood as he leapt down onto the scene, picked up the vial and stuck it into his cloak "So then, who wants to play a little game with yours truly?"

"I… I'm sorry…" Curt fell to his knees as green scales covered his body and a tail sprouted out from his backside, just as another group of pumpkin soldiers.

"Looks like we have a volunteer. Excellent."

"Get away from him!" Ghost Spider leapt back onto her feet and pounced at the Goblin King, managing to land a few punches and kicks, only for him to rebound and subsequently hurl a pumpkin bomb at her, resulting in a sizable explosion that sent her hurtling backwards.

"Let me think about that… nope!"

"HEY!" it was at this moment that Spider-Man burst through a window and into the lab, and he kept his gaze locked onto the Goblin King.

"Ah so here you are, the so-called Spectacular Spider-Man in the flesh." the Goblin King gave a smirk, but it quickly twisted into a dark scowl "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to meet you face to face, to see you for what you really are: A pathetic little child playing dress up, pretending to be a hero."

"Can't say the feeling's mutual your majesty, so you wanna tell me who you really are?"

"Oh I'll be getting to that in a moment, but right now there's only one thing you need to know about me."

"And what's that supposed to be?"

"So glad you asked!" the Goblon King gave another wicked smirk as he pulled out a pumpkin bomb in one hand "When someone like you chooses to stand in the way of someone like me, the people you try so hard to protect… they're the ones that will die first, and they will suffer." and then he hurled said pumpkin bomb… right at Ghost Spider's downed form.

"Ghosty!" Spider-Man tried to make a beeline toward Ghost Spider and aimed a webline at the pumpkin bomb, only for him to be caught by the wrist by the Goblin King and met with a quick yet powerful surge of electricity, forcing him to watch as the pumpkin bomb hurtled closer and closer to her, until…

"Get down!" this was when Foswell suddenly dove onto the scene, holding a discarded rifle from a pumpkin soldier and fired a round of bullets at the pumpkin bomb, causing it to explode in mid air a fair enough distance away from Ghost Spider that the ensuing explosion wasn't able to harm her… but it did release a single razor bat that hurtled through the smoke, resulting in a loud squelch. As the smoke finally cleared, it became visible where the razor bat wound up… having embedded itself directly into Foswell's kidney, much to the horror of everyone present that wasn't associated with a pumpkin.

"NOOOO!" in a mix of horror and rage, Spider-Man freed himself of the Goblin King's hold and dealt him a furious barrag of punches and kicks, ending with a roundhouse kick that sent him hurtling straight through one of the mansion walls and toward the yard outside, and then he cast a quick yet fury-filled glance over at Ghost Spider "I'll work on dethroning the king, hurry up and get Foswell the hell out of here! NOW!"

"R-Right!" Ghost Spider quickly leapt back onto her feet as Spider-Man pounced out the hole in the wall after the Goblin King, then quickly slung one of Foswell's arms over her shoulder "Can you hear me Mr Foswell?"

"He… He's right there…" Foswell managed to raise one of his arms to point toward where Curt had finished transforming into the Lizard, followed by him leaping out of the aforementioned hole in the wall and into the night sky "You gotta… go after him…"

"We will, but before anything else I have to get you out of here. It's okay I've got you, just try not to move around too much." Ghost Spider began gently leading Foswell down the halls of the mansion, casting a quick glance at the battle between Spider-Man and the Goblin King raging outside 'I don't think I've ever seen Peter so angry…'

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Spider-Man was thrown across the yard but managed to rebound in time to duck under the Goblin King's attack and land an uppercut kick to the jaw hard enough to send him flying, and then promptly launched himself after him.

'I have to wonder… is this how he felt whenever any of his enemies were targeting me, May or anyone else he cared about? Now I understand it…'

"Gotta be honest… this doesn't feel good…" Foswell spat out a little bit of blood, but then gave a smirk "Though this oughta… make a cool scar at least…"

"Yeah… that oughta be a fun little souvenir…" Ghost Spider gave a strained smile to try and keep his spirits up.

"Ghost Spider… that's your name…? I don't think… am I breathing…?"

"You are… just hang in there…"

"Sounds like the Spider-Man has come out to play!" the Goblin King let out a maniacal cackle as he leapt toward Spider-Man and fired a barrage of razor bats, only for Spider-Man to maneuver around all of them with ease, leaving them to rip more holes through the walls of the mansion, forcing Ghost Spider to duck and avoid them while holding onto Foswell.

'That's way too close… I have to hurry and get him out!' Ghost Spider focused herself as she continued leading Foswell until they came close to a set of doors leading outside.

"Okay yeah… it really hurts…" Foswell coughed up more blood and held a hand to the wound on his side, only to cringe as he saw the blood staining his palm "Oh boy…"

"Yeah, yeah I know… Just try to hang in there… We're almost outside…"

"Listen Ghosty… I found some stuff… while I was searching through here… I think you might wanna… put it to use…"

"Wait, you did? No forget about that for now, try and save your strength…" Ghost Spider used a webline to rip the doors off and lead Foswell outside, reaching the front yard of the mansion near where she could see Spider-Man laying a brutal assault on the Goblin King, only to pause when she felt Foswell go limp, forcing her to set him on the ground "Come on, get up! Mr Foswell we need you to get up, come on! Pe-Spider-Man!"

"I'm coming!" Spider-Man dealt the Goblin King another uppercut to the face hard enough to send him hurtling away a fair distance, and then rushed over to Ghost Spider's side and knelt down next to Foswell "Mr Foswell I need you to stay with us, I promise we're gonna get you to a hospital."

"Don't bother… I'm spent… Gotta know when to fold them…" Foswell spat out more blood, then let out a chuckle "Sorry I… had to ruin your prom night…" that was enough to make both of them stiffen.

"I… I don't know what you mean."

"Yeah… I figured you'd go that route…" Foswell's grin widened slightly "You don't have to pretend… not with me Pete…"

There was a pause, and then Spider-Man slowly lifted up his mask to reveal the face of Peter Parker, his expression solemn yet filled with slight shock "You… You knew…?"

"Kinda figured it out… during that whole Venom thing… last January… I knew you were a good kid… and a hero… Didn't want to freak you out… So much for that now…" Foswell slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object, that being his flash drive, which he then handed to Peter "I found a few things… while I was looking around… It might help you out with these guys… Put it to good use…"

"R-Right." Spider-Man stowed away the flash drive and grabbed one of Foswell's hands "We'll be sure to put it to good use… Me and my team… I promise…"

"I know you will… you're a good kid… a good man really… and a real hero… I'm glad I got to work with you…"

"You're the good man… I looked up to you…"

"A big time hero looking up to me… a big honor I guess…" Foswell's grin turned pained, but he kept it up regardless "You guys… you're the best of us… Keep going… stay close to this team of yours… and take these guys down…" and with that, his eyes close as his body fell limp, his hand slipping from Peter's grasp.

'Foswell… no not again… Never again… DAMMIT!' Spider-Man let out a scream of grief, only for it to be cut short as his Spider Sense began blaring wildly, forcing both of them to duck under the barrage of razor bats being hurled their way.

"It's like I told you before." the Goblin King gave another wicked grin as he leapt down onto the ground in front of Spider-Man and Ghost Spider, with a squadron of pumpkin soldiers appearing to surround them "When someone like you chooses to stand in the way of someone like me, the people you try so hard to protect are the ones that will die first, and they will suffer.

"...Well guess what?" Spider-Man let out an outright snarl as he leapt to his feet, with Ghost Spider doing the same, his entire demeanor shaking with rage "You try and target the people I care about, I'm done talking and I'm done holding back. You're gonna pay for this. We're about to make sure of it."

"Is that right? I'd love to see you try." Goblin King got into a stance… only to instantly be blown off his feet by two simultaneous punches from Spider-Man and Ghost Spider, with the former grabbing him by the throat and hurling him to the ground.

"You're about to see a lot more than that!" Spider-Man didn't waste a even second as he began punching away at the Goblon King "You don't know the first thing about what I've had to go through! What we've had to go through! All the people I've let down! Everyone I've strived so hard to protect! I swore I'd never let anyone hurt my friends, my family! EVER!" he moved to finish it with one final strike, until…

"That's enough!" a hand caught Spider-Man by the wrist and stopped him before he could land the blow, courtesy of Ghost Spider as she lifted up her mask slightly, revealing the face of Gwen Stacy so that only Spider-Man could see, her expression soft and gentle, with tears streaming down her face "It's over… You beat him…"

"I… I'm sorry…" Spider-Man lowered his arms and looked down at the Goblin King, then back at Ghost Spider "I just…"

"It's okay. I know Let's just get Mr Foswell and get out of here."

"Right…" Spider-Man rose to his feet, with Ghost Spider doing the same as she pulled her mask back down, and the two of them prepared to walk away, until…

"You think it's over dear Arachne?" the voice of the Goblin King stopped them in their tracks and prompted them to slowly turn around as he pulled himself back to his feet, his face being covered in blood and bruises from the beating Spider-Man gave him "On the contrary. It hasn't even begun. You haven't even begun to see the fruits of my ambition, and I'm never going to stop until they come to fruition."

"No chance in hell of that happening." Spider-Man loaded a new cartridge into each of his web shooters and moved to fire a webline at him, only for the Goblin King to catch it instantly and disintegrate it with a surge of electricity.

"I will say it hasn't been easy though, having to make deals and alliances with so many unsavory individuals, such as Mysterio. Though I will say he was very useful in getting Dr Connors out of the public eye unnoticed."

"What?"

"Now even the likes of his own wife and son believe that he was turned into the Lizard once again, a bit of sensory manipulation and illusions on the part of Mysterio and it was quite the convincing display that put any chance of rescue to bed. Other alliances Included the likes of the Kraang. Honestly with the incompetence they've shown time and again, it's a wonder how they've lasted as long as they have." the Goblin King hung his head mockingly "But I will say, if it wasn't for them then I might not be standing before the two of you now."

"You've got plenty of other people working with you, like the Jackal." Ghost Spider hardened her gaze as she loaded her own web shooters "You wouldn't have had Scarlet Spider if it wasn't for him."

"He's been an invaluable contribution to my ambitions. I have to say, out of all of the attempts at the cloning process, Scarlet was the one who looked the most like what I wanted. He certainly did turn out to be more of a success than the rest of the failures too, and he's lasted a great deal longer than the others."

"You're not gonna get your hands on him again." Spider-Man gripped his fists to the point where blood trickled down his palms "You're never gonna get your way, we're going make sure about that. All of us."

"Yes, your female companion and those four reptile friends of yours. So much for you only being able to trust yourself. A lesson I thought you had come to understand a long time ago."

"Don't even think about trying to compare me to you. I'm not a bloodthirsty psychopath acting like he's a freaking messiah.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge if I were you Spider-Man. Let's not forget that you're as gullible as the rest of the sheep frolicking around this city. After all, I wouldn't be in the position that I am now if it wasn't for you." the Goblin King pulled down his hood to reveal a green and purple mask, which he then removed to reveal his true face, much to the horror of those present.

"No…" Spider-Man was immediately left recoiling in a mix of horror and disbelief, with Ghost Spider not doing much better "No no no… You can't be… There's no way… Norman…"

"I can and I am, and I have you to thank for it." sure enough, before the two of them stood none other than the unmasked figure of Norman Osborn, complete with the red head of hair… and a set of horrific burn marks and scars covering his face "It's been far too long for my liking though my old adversary, I was so looking forward to this little reunion of ours.

"Though I will say it feels good to hear that name pass through another set of lips, aside from Dr Warren of course. I had to abandon that identity when I was forced to flee the city after our last encounter. Of course that wouldn't have been possible if the Kraang hadn't found me when they did, which only happened because our little scuffle left me on the brink of death… so to make a long story short… Not only am I alive, not only am I the king of my new forces, but I'm far more powerful than I ever was before. And I have you to thank for that." he took a few steps toward where Spider-Man stood in a stunned horrified silence and threw a single razor bat aimed at him, until…

"It doesn't matter." a single shot of impact webbing ripped the razor bat in two, leaving both halves to clatter to the ground, courtesy of Ghost Spider from where she stood by Spider-Man's side, gently slipping her hand into his and gripping it tightly "Spider-Man defeated you once, and he'll do it again. And this time he's not alone. He has a whole team backing him up."

"Hm. We'll see about that. Just remember what I told you. This isn't the end. This is nothing more than the calm before the storm." and with that, the Goblin King pushed a button on one of his gauntlets, summoning a glider that he leapt onto, and then summoned a purple doorway that he flew through before closed.

'Maybe it is… But when you make your move, we'll be ready. Come on Peter, we'd better get going." Ghost Spider watched the purple doorway disappear, and then she turned her gaze to where Spider-Man stood in a frozen stupor "Peter!"

"R-Right." Spider-Man snapped out of his stupor at the sound of police sirens ringing through the air a short distance away "You think… You think that's your dad?"

"It is, he just texted me. We'd better get going. And we need to meet up with the guys and tell them what we found out here."

"Yeah… Yeah okay." and so on that note, the two of them webbed simultaneous weblines and swung away from the mansion, Spider-Man's mind racing all the while'First the Lizard, then Mr Foswell… Now the Green Goblin is back… This whole thing is turning into a giant hot freaking mess…'

"Hm. Quite the episode this turned into." it was only after they were gone that Miles Warren appeared on the scene through a purple doorway, watching as the police raced onto the scene and quickly discovered Foswell's body, and then glancing back at a pumpkin soldier "New orders from the Goblin King, send units out to track the Lizard. And the rest of us have to prepare for the big operation to come."

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

"So sign of her." Turtle Titan climbed up on top of a billboard and cast a look out into the skyline of the city "I… I think she's gone."

"She is. I can't detect her presence anywhere near here." Daredevil gently sat Leo on the ground and poured some water onto his face "Does this help?"

"Yeah, I… I can see fine now. Thanks." Leo slowly pulled himself back onto his feet and made his way over to the edge of the rooftop, where he found Splinter watching the firefighters douse the flames coming from the warehouse "This all my fault… I should've stopped her when I had the chance… I'm sorry sensei…" he was met with silence "Sensei?"

"...Come my sons. I believe that the time has come for us to go home." Splinter turned and began walking back to the Shellraiser without another word.

"Right…" Leo began following Splinter away from the scene, glancing over at Donnie as they did so "I don't suppose there's any chance you can make a retro-mutagen for Karai?"

"Honstly, I don't know…" Donnie muttered quietly "I hope so."

"Dammit… Let's just go home."

"You should all rest. I have a feeling you'll be needing it soon enough." Daredevil leapt onto the billboard and turned his gaze out toward the city, pausing as he took notice of something on a rooftop a fair distance away… in the form of Karai shapeshifting back into a (mostly) human form, leaving him silent as he took it in 'She could turn back… I wonder…'

"Daredevil?" it was then that Turtle Titan drew his attention as he held up his T-phone "Change of plans. Peter and Gwen texted, they wanna meet us at the Lair."

"I was told they had personal matters to attend to."

"That went south fast, they went to track down the Goblin Nation. Gwen didn't say much, but I don't think it went well."

"Then we shouldn't waste any time."

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A little while later, in the Lair…

"Wait wait wait, just hold on a second." Leo cast a glance over to where Peter and Gwen were seated across from Daredevil and the Turtles in the common area of the Lair "This is… a lot to take in all at once."

"I doubt we have time to take anything in." Peter buried his face in his hands "The fact of the matter is that the Green Goblin is still alive and more powerful than ever, he's got a freaking army backing him up, and he's allied with the Kraang so he's got another army. And on top of all of that, Mr Foswell is dead… and it's my fault."

"In any case, it looks like the coming invasion is a lot bigger than any of us thought it was going to be." Donnie spoke up "We'd better start work on actually building my Turtle Mech and that new Goblin Buster design of yours right away."

"Yeah… Good call."

"So then… what do we do now?" Mikey glanced over at the others "We gotta stop these guys for sure, but… How are we gonna do it? And what's gonna happen?"

"To be honest, I don't really know. But right now I think there's only one thing that we can really do." Gwen turned to face the others as she gripped one of Peter's hands "We'll have to take things one day at a time."

A/N:

The title should say it all, the pursuit of vengeance leads to grave consequences for all parties involved. Not only has that pursuit resulted in Karai's mutation, but it led to the death of a good man in Frederick Foswell. And on top of that, the Spiders have had their first in person encounter with the Goblin King, or re-encounter in the case of Spider-Man, as they learn that his true identity is none other than the very much still alive Norman Osborn. I know I basically confirmed it awhile ago, but now our heroes know and that's the important part. The war against the Goblin Nation just got more personal than ever.

Yep, like Murakami, Foswell is a good man who got caught in the crossfire of an evil monster and his ambitions for revenge. If the conflict with the Goblin King wasn't personal for Spider-Man before, it sure as hell is now. And on a related note, the identity of the Goblin King has been revealed: Norman Osborn himself. I mean yeah I have revealed it pretty early on in the second season, but now our heroes know it for a fact.

In addition to that, we also see the official return of the Lizard for the first time in this story, and the first appearance (in this universe) since the very third episode of Spectacular Spider-Man, out on the loose. Truth be told it only occurred to me a short while ago that while I said Curt Connors disappeared during the Mutagen spill, I never actually said he was turned back into the Lizard, so this is how I chose to progress forward with his character. Trust me, he's gonna have a part to play later on.

Oh and to close out this chapter, I'm sure that many of you, if not all, know by now about the passing of James Earl Jones. A great man and a legendary actor that made our childhoods. He will never be forgotten. A true Lion King that never gave in to the Dark Side, and will continue to inspire us for years to come. And the same applies to Peter Renaday, the original voice of Splinter from the 1987 series. Two masters of their craft that will nver be forgotten.