Chapter Eleven:

Octo-Bulls in A China Shop

Silky white web lines shot from his wrists, and shoulder muscles flexed as Makerboy swung through Inkopolis, wearing his Spider-themed superhero outfit and mask, and fresh from his training battle with Rogan that had taken place.

He wasn't flying alone, especially as he was beside Parker, who was easily identified by the red-blue costume, and the strands of red tentacles protruding from the back of his head.

Both web-slinging Inklings, with one of them still learning, wove their way around a building, and swung above the ground from web-to-web. Makerboy made sure to keep up with his friend, and kept alert for the chances that danger was around the corner.

"How are ya doing there?" Parker piped up.

"Doing real good, man." Makerboy nodded, "After web-swinging with Agent 8, I'll admit, web-swinging with you feels like a breeze. And I don't mean it in a pun-y sort of way since there's a breeze about us as we swing through the city."

"Oh, it's fine, Al. If I'm being honest, I didn't think you were going for a joke."

"So, when does superhero work start?" Makerboy studied the streets below for a moment, "I mean, sure, I just got my powers and tackled the freaking Wolverine-Squid as a test run. However, we're just getting started, and we haven't battled anybody super nasty yet."

"Don't worry." Parker chuckled, "Something will come up, and someone will need help before you know it. One important thing to know is to be alert, you may never know when something nasty is around the corner."

Just then, a loud siren wailed through a city block, and Makerboy's special Spider-Sense went off;

A crime was in progress!

"East street!" Parker exclaimed, "And my Spider-Sense is goin' wild. We just got something. This may be it, Alex, your time to shine. And we're going in as a team."

"Let's hope people don't see me as a sidekick." Makerboy remarked.

"You're no sidekick, dude. Not as far as I'm concerned. We're partners."

The web-slinging Inklings turned right, and swooped down the closest eastside avenue, following the sound of sirens until the scene of the crime was in sight;

An Inkopolis China Shop.

Makerboy and Parker swung in for landing, and ran towards a China shop; the source of the alarm, and broken glass lay everywhere, with shattered windows and a smashed-up glass door to boot. Hopefully, neither of the Inklings were too late, and they could see an armored van close by with an Octo symbol etched onto the side.

The two of them ignored the prying eyes, and stepped towards the store, catching sight of several Octolings in black as they started pulling China-made items off the shelves. Now that was a major no-no.

"Not the first time someone broke into a store like that." Parker remarked, "Let's take care of these guys before the cops arrive."

"You got it, Spider-Squid." Makerboy nodded.

Right before one of the burglars could take a piece of China off one of the shelves, Makerboy flicked his wrist, and spun a web around the Octoling before pulling him outside. Parker did the honors in webbing up the thief to a lamp post, then he and the upcoming Spider-Inkling moved forward to confront the other criminals.

"HEY! SPIDER-SQUID!" An Octoling crook shouted.

"GET THOSE GOODS IN THE VAN!" Another criminal ordered.

The criminals brandished several Splattershots, and fired at the two masked superhero squids without a single moment of hesitation.

Makerboy ducked, and rolled under the streams of ink, just as Parker did the same. Right before an Octoling could open fire, the two web-slingers flicked their wrists, and webbed up the would-be thief.

Parker nodded to Makerboy, then he leaped over a counter, and kicked two of the burglars in the face. Their weapons dropped, and the crooks collapsed in an unconscious haze, leaving Makerboy to web them up while he knocked out an Octoling that was sneaking up on him.

Suddenly, banging and crashing sounds shook the shop, and both Parker and Makerboy felt their senses go off.

They looked up, seeing an Octoling approach them in a biomechanical suit that took the unmistakable shape of a bull, a horned creature that had a major dislike for the color red, and had a ring in it's nose for some peculiar reason. Where the burglars had gotten such a weapon like that, on the other hand, it raised a lot of questions.

"Talk about literal bulls in a China shop." Makerboy quipped sarcastically.

"I'll distract him and you web him." Parker whispered, then he turned his focus to the Octo-Bull, "Hey! Bullhead! You want some red, come and get me!"

A second later, another Octoling burglar in a mechanical bull suit joined the first Octo-Bull.

"Now we're in for some deep carp..." Makerboy laughed nervously.

"No carp, squiddo." Parker said in a snarky tone.

The two Octolings shouted something in Octarian-speak, then the Octo-Bulls charged at the two squids. Makerboy morphed into his squid form, and swam around the rushing enemy. The Octarian crashed through a wall, causing dust to fly for a time, and Parker ducked as an Octo-Bull attempted to smash him against a shelf.

Makerboy morphed back into his humanoid form, and waited for his Octo-Bull to turn back around. He flicked his wrist, and a wad of web slammed into the suit pilot's face, blinding the Octoling burglar in the pilot suit.

Unable to see a thing, the blinded Octo shrieked, and attempted to claw the webbing off of himself, just before Makerboy thwipped another web. He grabbed the Octo-Bull with the strongest web-line yet, and swung him around, released his grip, and sent the piloted suit crashing into the van outside.

The Octo-Bull's impact was so hard, the vehicle toppled onto it's side while chunks of it broke off, clattering into the streets in a violent manner. Makerboy noticed some of the China pots were about to fall off a shelf, and he thought fast.

Fwip!

Fwip!

Fwip!

FWIP!

As quickly as the Spider-Inkling could, the green-haired super squid spun several webs around the China items, preventing them from falling off their spots on the shelf. He heard a thump, and saw Parker locked in a rough clash with his Octo-Bull near a stack of China boxes.

Parker ducked, and dove around the imposing enemy, and spun a rope-like web around the Octoling-driven bull mech, restraining it for a moment before the burglar broke free and swung a fist at the Inkling. Parker counterpunched, and thwipped the Octarian thief in the face, knocking him off balance.

"You picked the wrong place for a bull fight tonight, buddy." The Spider-Squid proclaimed.

In that moment, Makerboy dove in, grabbed the Octo-bull, and lifted him up despite the weight of the mech and the Octoling combined. The super-strong Spider-Inkling grunted, and threw him out of the store, right into the other Octo-Bull in the wreck of the burglar's van just before another van pulled up, with black-clad Inklings making themselves known.

"SPIDER-SQUID!" An Inkling yelled.

"AND SPIDER-SQUID!" Another exclaimed.

"Actually, I'm Spider-Inkling!" Makerboy corrected.

"SPIDER-INKLING! AND SPIDER-SQUID!" A rogue Inkling shouted.

Shots rang out as the squids drew their guns upon the web-slingers. Makerboy and Parker jumped out of the way, and thwipped the newcomers' weapons out of their hands, then they got to work with webbing up every last criminal in the area.

"Looks like they're not done yet!" Parker exclaimed, his eyes widening for a moment.

Makerboy's spider sense went off, and he figured what his comrade was talking about. They wheeled around and leaped high to avoid the charge of the two recovered Octo-Bulls, both of whom were steaming mad. The Octarians wheeled around, ready for another attack, and their pilots snarled at the two Inklings with hatred in their eyes.

Police sirens filled the street corner, and the super squids grinned, knowing the police were here to clean up the mess. However, there were two raging octopi in bull mechs to worry about, which wasn't a major problem.

Makerboy and Parker ran towards their two foes, slid between their legs when the Octolings attempted to punch them, and flicked their wrists in a rapid fashion, spinning webs all over the robotic bull suits while tying up the two outlaws with minimal resistance from them.

Up, down, left, and right. Makerboy leaped up, and kicked over one of the mech suits while Parker pulled down the other onto it's back. They began ripping apart the metal surrounding the Octoling pilots, and pulled them out, disabling the mechs in moments, and, together, the two squids incapacitated their defeated opponents.

Now was the time to let the police take care of the matter. Parker leaped, and started web-swinging away from the China shop's vicinity, with Makerboy following him as they breathed the air of victory.

As they swung through Inkopolis, the two superhuman Inkling males shared a laugh, and a quick high-five. Parker had to admit, Makerboy didn't do so bad for his first time battling criminals as Spider-Inkling, and both he and Parker made quite the Spider team. But the green-haired squid boy's superhero battles had only begun...