Issue Thirteen: Aftershock
After explaining a Cliffnotes version of events, the mood in the Hideaway was very much brought down. By the time Sirius had finished, Gwen's fingers were tapping a march on her leg. "That's… awful. My God, who would do this? Just for some money? All those people…"
On the other side of things, Peter was… sketching in his workbook while muttering. "Could that- no, not possible! Even factoring people with Sirius' baseline of strength, the frame's off. No discernible features. Blends in to seem like a guy in a costume-"
"Uh, Pete?" Sirius asked. "You okay over there-"
" That's it!" Peter looked up from what looked like a string of numbers and letters crammed together in a hellish line dance. "There is no way a person who can pass as human could do any of that with just one punch! It's quite literally impossible!"
'He said to the human-spider mutant,' Sirius thought to himself. At some point during his recap of today's events, the super-powered teen had begun hanging from the ceiling like a boy-shaped yo-yo. Taking advantage of his gravity-defying acts, he swung from the ceiling like a pendulum to lightly boop Peter on the nose for his attention. "Peter, focus. Did you hear the part about people getting hurt? Trapped under rubble?"
"H-huh?" Peter blinked, looking between a sympathetic Sirius and a slightly bewildered Gwen. "Oh! No, that's terrible, really awful! But! I've done the math, and based on the average type of high-security safe that businesses like Goliath use, the odds that a person could literally punch that much steel out of shape like that is in the 99th percentile."
Sirius looked a Gwen, pleading silently for a translation. "He means taking the safe down would be a job for Superman."
"Or the fabled monster of South America, Grande Monstro Verde," Peter said, putting his pencil behind his ear. "But unless he can suddenly teleport or cross continents in a single bound, it's… probably not him."
"And that's why I came here," Swinging from the webline, Sirius leaped to a support pillar and stuck to it with only his feet on its surface, allowing him a perch to sit on the wall. "Do ya think you could snoop through GNB's systems? Get me some footage on what happened in that bank? If we wait for the police, whoever did this is gonna be gone before sundown."
Gwen looked up at Sirius with a slightly judgy look. "Sirius! You're asking Pete to hack into a secure private system? Do you know how many laws that-"
"I'll do it," Peter answered plainly, heading over to his computer desk.
"Wha-! Are you serio – for real!"
As Sirius pouted at the loss of a good opening, Peter sat down and cracked his fingers with a quick interlocking stretch. "I did promise to help Sirius any way I could. Plus… trying to crack into Goliath's surveillance sounds like a fun idea. Way better than wasting time with some… online logic puzzle. Give me ten minutes."
Peter finished his task in five; seemingly unsatisfied, he remarked that GNB's systems used the same OS as Oscorp, so he hardly had to do anything. Naturally, Gwen asked why Peter would know that about Oscorp. His reasoning: "It's not that I've hacked into them personally. Their servers are on a private wireless system, encrypted with an 88-character-long password. You'd need the CEO's information, maybe even some of his DNA."
"You didn't answer my question," Gwen pointed out, "and you raised about three more."
Deciding that a) it might be better not knowing for plausible deniability, and b) the building-smashing bank robber might be a more pressing matter, Sirius stepped in. "How about we table this for now? If we don't figure out some way to track down this guy, he could get away with half a million."
Gwen looked ready to argue, but she stopped, huffed, and nodded. "I won't say you're wrong… but this is not over." She gave both boys the Cop Stare, before reaching over Peter to tap play on the video.
The recording opened to the entryway of GNB. As people were coming and going, a man entered the building, matching Watanabe's description right down to the gas mask and the weirdly puffy jacket. And judging by the bulky device on one arm, the 'wrist-mounted cannon' wasn't too far off either.
The masked criminal walked into the center of the bank and yelled out. " Hey! This is a robbery! Everybody freeze!" Despite the mask, his voice rang out clear… but nobody stopped to acknowledge him. Even the security guards only looked at him to laugh at his outfit.
The disgruntled man threw up his arms in protest. " Hey! Did you all hear me!? I said I'm robbing this joint! Put your hands in the air and get on the ground!" Some people did give him funny looks now, but he didn't seem to notice his verbal slip. "I mean it! I'll make a mess you ain't ever gonna forget!"
"Peter, is there anything you can use to ID him?" Sirius asked.
"Not really," Peter looked at the screen anyway, as if he could figure something out. "I was thinking about making a program to monitor profiles, voices, and mannerisms, but Oscorp hasn't even completed the military contract for it, let alone released the code for commercial use."
"What?" Gwen looked at Peter even more baffled than before. "Military contract? Pete, have you been hacking-!?"
"Oh, look, something's happening on the video," Peter elusively called out, avoiding everyone's eye-line to focus back on the screen.
" Hey, son? You alright?" Back on the recording, an elderly guard came up to try to talk to the masked man. " Are you looking for Times Square? You can't go drawing up and walking into businesses like this-"
"I ain't a damn Elmo!" the man snapped, stomping like a spoiled child. " I'm a real threat! A mover and shaker! In fact-!" Raising his cannon arm, the device began to hum and vibrate as he aimed the gauntlet at the safe door behind the counters. When the humming reached its peak, an invisible blast shot from the weapon, plowing through the counter space and crashing into the steel door.
The result did leave an impression – an impression the size of a minivan in the door, as the tumbler was blown off, the blast twisting it into useless scrap. Tellers and patrons had barely jumped out of the way of the assault as everything before the gauntlet was torn to pieces.
As for the user of said hand cannon, he had stumbled back a few steps, but he was still on his feet. Looking around at all the running people, his body language suggested he was as shocked as them, before clearing his throat and squaring his shoulders. " Yeah… yeah! That's right! I'm in control here! Not you! So, now… you all better listen and stay the hell down!"
With everyone cowering or running for the doors, the masked man walked into the vault and began stuffing his bag full of bills. By the time his duffel was bulging, sirens could be heard in the distance. From there, it turned into a hostage situation; whoever was still in wasn't getting out, and whoever was outside wasn't getting in. The bank robber made sure the police knew that by shooting a shockwave at an empty police cruiser and blasting it across the street.
As he stumbled back into the bank, looking a little dizzy, he lifted his mask and spat out what looked like… bile and blood!? Gross. " Gah… stupid insulation. Needs more work. Whatever-"
Peter paused the video. "There! He took off his mask. Got his face."
As Peter began doing something with the image, Gwen frowned in thought. "Why lift his mask? Kind of defeats the purpose of hiding who you are…"
"Maybe he needed fresh air," Sirius suggested. "Gotta be hot wearing a jacket that puffy in summer."
"Actually," Peter threw out offhandedly as he continued typing, "I think… I recognize that material. Last year's Oscorp Expo revealed… a special type of building insulation. Supposedly, they made it for residential areas… in third-world countries that sit on tectonic plates."
"Tectonic…" Sirius scratched his chin as he recalled what the word meant. "That's about… earthquakes, right?"
"Exactly! P-pretty cool stuff!" Peter paused in typing as his glasses glinted in the light. "Imagine – homes safe enough that they could survive avalanches! Well, er, in theory."
"So," Gwen hummed. "We're looking at a bank robber with pillow armor?"
"Wouldn't exactly call it armor," Peter corrected. "By design, insulation materials aren't healthy… to be in contact with human skin. Also, the material is just average insulation… until a sufficient force was to strike it, something that would register on the Richter Scale…"
Sirius frowned as he thought back to the devastation of the bank. "This guy's using a device that can rip safe doors off hinges, and knock down buildings. He's using super fluff to keep his insides from looking like Goliath."
"Well, if he is… he's not gonna last long," Peter muttered. Noticing his friends' looks, he added. "W-well, I don't believe the insulation could work on such a small scale, and it was made for tougher materials, like wood and cement. On a human body…" Peter shrugged. "That's… pretty risky. Oh! I know who he is now. Do you want to keep watching this because… the next thing would be the… collapse."
Sirius' mind thought back to the destruction and wounded he had come upon. The memory made him feel sick, but… "We… need to see the rest. If there's anything the police missed because of the rubble, we need to be sure."
Peter and Gwen traded looks before Peter nodded. "Okay. W-well… if you're sure." With that, Peter pressed play, and the video continued. From where the feed left off, the bank robber continued his standoff with the NYPD. They didn't dare go closer to the bank, and the anxious man only got more irate as the minutes crept by.
After about thirty minutes of the cornered criminal's angered muttering and pacing, and several of his hostages whimpering or crying softly, the man snapped. " Damn it! All I wanted was a slice of my own! After everything I did for that old buzzard! And this is what I get for taking charge!? Bullshit!"
Slamming his fist on a countertop, the sound echoed across the lobby, causing the civilians to flinch. After more angry grumbling, the robber seemed to settle on an idea. " I am not gonna rot in some cell! Not when I'm finally taking charge of my life!"
Aiming at the floor in the center of the lobby, he began launching powerful blasts at the floor. The attacks shook the building, causing panic in the crowd of paralyzed people. The video itself got blurry as the shaking intensified, making it difficult to watch the scene. Unaware or uncaring of the destruction, the fluffy madman kept striking the one spot, until the floor began to crack.
Parts of the ceiling and walls began to fall around him, the powdered masonry coming down jogging enough people to make a run for the exit. At the same time, the floor gave out, leaving a large hole gaping down into what could only be the sewers, as Watanabe mentioned. Grabbing his bag, even as larger parts of the building fell, the bank robber jumped into the hole-
And then the screen grew dark, the words Feed Cut Off now on it.
The sudden stop startled Sirius, blinking in shock as he registered the end of the video. Looking on either side of him, he saw Gwen looking at the dark screen in abject horror, covering her mouth as her eyes grew wet, and Peter looking incredibly pale and green at the same time. Leaping down from his pillar perch, Sirius wrapped them both in one-armed hugs on either side. "Ah… sorry. I… probably should have thought about that before…"
"No, it's-it's fine," Gwen gasped out, her face saying the opposite. "I… Dad doesn't know it, but I read a lot of his case files when he falls asleep. It's… just different, seeing it happen in real-time."
"Yeah…" Peter said faintly, looking over to Sirius. "…any chance after you catch this guy, you could bring me that gauntlet?" Both teens looked at Peter, who stuttered out quickly, "F-for research! That weapon is – it could be helpful! Sirius-"
"Doesn't need bombs strapped to his wrists!" Gwen pointed out. "I can't believe I need to say that-"
"I-if I could p-point out," Peter cut in, his stammer cutting in, "we need t-to be sure Sirius isn't f-facing a wave of these things! I-if this is one of a kind… then we need to know how it works so he can take it apart… if it shows up again."
Sirius looked back and forth from one friend to the other, sighing as Gwen looked at him as if to say 'say something.' "Well-"
Peter's computer beeped, taking the skinny teen's attention away from the reply. "Found him. Looks like our bank robber is… Herman Schultz."
"You found him on the police database?" Sirius blinked. Wasn't that private info, like Oscorp's stuff? Just how smart was Pete?
"What? No," Peter looked at the two of them in confusion. "Police don't put private records online. I just plugged his face in a search, and it turned up something." Pulling up the results, the trio was now looking at the front page of a business website: Bestman Salvage.
"Bestman?" Sirius frowned in thought. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"Bestman Salvage," Peter read off the page. "Founded and Owned by Adrian Toomes, several contracts throughout the city. Looks like Schultz worked here." Scrolling down the page, he pulled up a group picture. 50 people, and on the far right end was their bank robber.
"Hold on. 'Worked?'" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, while his picture is on the front page," Peter brought up the employees' page, "they keep a public list of active workers. I can tell someone removed his name. A quick backstep command…" Peter pulled up some coding window that Sirius couldn't understand, before highlighting whatever he was looking for and showing it to them. "There!" He looked at Gwen and Sirius and only saw blank stares. "Um… this means he was removed about a week ago."
"So," Gwen muttered. "A guy who worked in salvage, was fired, and then goes and robs a bank with an earthquake glove?" She facepalmed. "First zombies, now this? When did New York get so weird?"
"I know, right!?" Sirius smiled, face bright with excitement. "It's like all those old war stories with Captain America and Bucky! Fighting Nazis and punching Hitler in the face!"
"Statistically, Captain America never punched Hitler," Peter pointed out. "He was reported dead or missing 5 months before the Allies pushed into Berlin-"
"I think you're both missing the point," Gwen flatly stated. "Anyway, our bank-robbing super-criminal loses his job, which seems he was a part of for a long time, and a week later he's tearing down buildings. Sirius, can you find this guy before he hits another bank? Or somewhere even more public?"
Sobering up from his fanboyish excitement, Sirius nodded. "Pete, where can I-"
"Last known home address," Peter pressed Enter on his keyboard, and a second later, Sirius' phone hummed. "Also, found the recorded reason why he was fired. Stealing from the company, i-if you're interested."
"Nice," Sirius checked his phone, then frowned when he remembered something. "Crap, I didn't get her number or anything!"
"Number?" Peter repeated.
"Her?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, there's this policewoman, Watanabe," Sirius said offhandedly. "Helped her at the Baxter, and she was there at the bank. I kind of promised we'd keep in contact with each other if either of us found anything."
"Well, that's… smart," Gwen said with an undertone Sirius couldn't place. "Don't remember you mentioning that before, but a lot was happening that night."
"Um, Sirius?" Peter spoke up. "I… think that's a bad idea. I mean… what's stopping her from turning you in? Or taking all the credit for herself?"
"I don't think she'd do that," Sirius shrugged. "I've met her two times, and she only tried to shoot me the first time."
"Right," Gwen muttered, before clearing her throat. "Still, that's a pretty good idea. Working with the police could go a long way to getting them on your side sooner rather than later-"
"We don't need anyone's approval," Peter snapped, eyes hard but softening quickly when Sirius and Gwen flinched at the sudden edge. "We're doing fine without other people, and we definitely don't need the police." More to himself, Peter added, "'S not like they're any help when you do need them."
Sirius and Gwen traded worried looks. "Peter-"
"I can look up her number," Peter turned away from them, eyes fixed back on the screen. "Can't be those many policewomen named Watanabe. Have it in five minutes. If you want, I mean."
As Sirius swung through the New York skyline, he thought back to the Hideaway and Peter's demeanor. Admittedly, he had agreed with Peter on being able to handle this without help for a second… But, he had promised to keep the officer in the loop, and Sirius Moore wasn't one to step back on promises.
Gwen had agreed (and that weird expression she'd been wearing when he'd mentioned Watanabe had thankfully waned) and tried to help explain why this was a good thing. Peter wasn't having it; he gave them the number and called it a day, heading back home. Gwen and Sirius had traded worried looks, but let their genius friend go without any further word.
Mid-flip, Sirius made the call; the phone was answered by the second ring. " This is Yuri. What's up?"
Sirius perched on a rooftop, smirking under the mask. 'Well, I can't pass up a funny opportunity like this, can I?' "Why Yuri!" he fake gasped. "How informal a greeting! I didn't know we were on a first-name basis!"
"W-what?" Yuri stumbled before grumbling incoherently for a moment. " Wait… this is you, right? Spider-Kid?"
"Spider-Man, but yeah."
" How'd you even call me? I didn't give you my number-"
"Yeah, I forgot," Spidey shrugged even though it went unseen. "But I found it anyway."
" You found my personal number," Yuri ground out. " Which I never give out to anyone."
'Whoops,' Sirius blinked at the new information. 'Pete, you're too good sometimes…' "I'm… just that good?"
" Of course you are," Yuri muttered. " Why are you calling?"
" I said I'd call when I had a lead, and I found one. I'm a guy of my word."
" Oh," the officer uttered in clear surprise. " You mean you found something? And you're actually calling me about it?"
"Yeah..." Spidey scratched at his chest, uncomfortable as he recalled the recorded scenes of horror he saw not even 30 minutes ago. "This guy's packing heat. Like, heavy heat."
" You found the footage," the policewoman confirmed. " How bad was it?"
"Bad." The teen mutant stood up and paced on the edge of the building, unconcerned with the height. "My… sources tell me what he's using is some super, high-tech gauntlet. Generates earthquakes."
" Wearable earthquake generators?" Yuri asked in disbelief. " I wish I had the energy to be half-skeptical…"
"Don't get me wrong," Spidey spoke up. "Pretty sure I can take him. But… since I'm not really a cop, I don't know how legal it'd be if I go in swinging…"
" And even if I asked Capt Stacy for the National Guard," Yuri added, " and by a miracle, he didn't laugh in my face, there aren't a lot of soldiers trained to fight living earthquakes."
"Also also," Spidey leaned over the edge so now one foot was on the wall of the building as he looked up to the sky. "While my sources found a name and former place of work, we… didn't actually get around to finding him." Actually, Peter had shut down so thoroughly, Sirius didn't have it in him to ask him for it again.
" We need to work together. Find him and bring him down before he escapes."
"That's what I was hoping…"
The line grew silent for a minute or two, Sirius waiting with bated breath. Finally, Yuri sighed. " Well, you brought me some info. Let me hear it."
"His name's Herman Schultz. Worked for Bestman Salvage but was canned a week ago, I think?"
" Schultz…" Yuri muttered as the sound of typing rang out over the phone. " Ah, found him. Herman Schultz has quite the rap sheet. Plenty of misdemeanors – bar brawls, drinking underage… and former gang member."
"Gang? Like the Italian Mob?" Searching his brain, the teen recalled something in history class they'd glanced over. "The mafia? The Maggies?"
" You mean the Maggia?" Yuri scoffed. " Those guys are history. Some… very good officers saw to that." The usually stoic policewomen's voice took on a tone of warmth and pride for a minute before she went on. " No, Schultz was a part of a gang known as the Stingers. Just some teenage idiots trying to imitate the old gangs of New York. Protection rackets, muggings, robberies – and a hell of a terrible time hiding their trail.
" But, it looks like Schultz only disabled electronic locks for them," Yuri continued. " Helped break into various stores and small-time businesses, but stayed away from the rougher stuff. Guess he has a weak stomach." Sirius thought back to the recording as Schultz had to take off his mask to puke. Was that those gauntlets hurting him, or did he really have a weak stomach for crime, he wondered. " They've long been disbanded before I even joined the force. Nearly every member was arrested and thrown into Ryker's."
"Like Herman?"
" Like Herman," Yuri answered. " He got out after 2 years of a five-year sentence for good behavior. Besides drunken disorder, he's kept his nose clean – except ten days ago?"
"Ten days? What happened?" Spidey made a web ball, tossing it into the air and catching it with one hand.
" No clue. It's marked as under review, so I can't see what happened," Yuri hummed, which Spider-Man was learning quickly was her frustrated hum. " But, if it's at all connected to what happened this afternoon-"
"They happen to write an address for our career criminal, or is that under review, too?"
" No, I… got caught up in reading his files. Sorry," Yuri cleared her throat, before giving Spidey the address. " Look, if this guy's really as dangerous as you said, try not to engage him before we get there. We'll need to form a perimeter, evacuate civilians – hell, contact first responders…"
"Or," Spider-Man began, chucking the web ball at a wall, sticking it there indefinitely. "I can go get him, wrap him up for you, and you can apologize to Capt. Stacy for me?"
"What?" Yuri gaped on her end of the call. " You said it'd be dangerous to face the guy-!"
"I said dangerous for you," Spidey began stretching, as he prepared to swing. "I know I can take him. Plus, I thought we were in a rush before he ran off with $500,000 to South America or someplace else?"
" Yes, but-" The officer sighed, growing quiet for a minute. " Ergh, fine! Keep him pinned if you can, but if I see a single building knocked over-"
"I won't let him fire off a single quake," the teen said as jumped off the roof. "Spider's honor!" Hanging up before she could protest, he made a beeline (Spider-line? Webline?) to Schultz's last known address. 'Hopefully with him in it,' the webhead thought. 'Sorry, officer. The last time I hesitated, two people died and it changed my friend's life. This guy dropped a building on innocent people – I am so done with the wait-and-see approach!'
A/N: Lots of hints and foreshadowing abound! Also, announcement time: I've decided to expand on more of Marvel canon. Originally, I was going to focus on only Spider-Man's neck of the woods, but I've found a way to include some of the larger world. While I'm not basing this on the MCU, its popularity is unquestionable, so just think of the present setting as pre-Phase 1, just before a certain billionaire-playboy-philanthropist takes his life-changing trip.
