Let's return to this story that I haven't written in a while. It deserves a new update, since this story is on the right track. Let's see what else this chapter prepares for us.
Bubble Guppies Fanfic
The Amazing Spider-Guppy
Chapter 23: Fatherly Love
Sometimes people are not what they seem. We tend to judge people by their appearance and actions. However, we do not usually know all the backgrounds that people have. Many times, the actions of others have their own reasons. We make judgments about what others are capable of doing. But do we really understand their motives? In this story we will see the case of a person who is considered "evil", but in reality it is not exactly true.
In the city of New Bubble York, a special prison for supervillains was created. That is, for those extremely dangerous criminals who use advanced technology or superpowers to break the law. Usually, very evil people are locked up in those facilities far from the city. However, we will focus on a prisoner who is locked in a huge reinforced glass prison, where he could not use his abilities to escape.
"Prisoner 063: Flint Marko, Sandman...Your bail has been paid. You can go out"
Some special police officers came to the supervillain's cell and opened his cell. Flint couldn't use his sand powers because of a necklace that nullified his powers. They decided to escort him out of the jail with the collar on. They explained Sandman's new rights. He would be freed with the necklace that prevented him from using his powers. That would be the condition. Sandman didn't understand who paid his bail and why. When the police released him from the facility, he didn't know what to do until he noticed a black car in front of him waiting for him. Some guys in suits and sunglasses got out of the vehicle and called him.
"You must be Flint Marko. Our boss paid for your bail" One of them said quietly.
"And he wants to talk to you" The other added. Sandman wanted answers. So he agreed to go with them. He got into the car and they took him to an abandoned dock. They escorted him armed and took him to the abandoned building. It seems that this place was the base of a criminal organization, because many of them did not look good, in addition to carrying weapons. Marko's suspicions ended when he saw that it was in charge of a fearsome gangster. He was a hammerhead shark man with a blue elegant suit and a red tie. He had the intimidating look worthy of a crime boss.
"Hello, Mr. Marko. Or do you prefer to be called "Sandman"? I ask for the formality" It was Hammerhead with his polite tone of voice.
"Call me by my name, Flint Marko...Hmmm I guess you were the one who paid my bail, Mr. Hammerhead" Sandman asked him.
"Youre right" The shark answered.ing from you, I imagine you freed me for a reason" The adult guppy deduced it.
"You're not missing anything, huh? You see, Mr. Marko...I have seen your work and your actions. You are an excellent thief and mutant...Something my organization needs. The criminal world has entered a different era. Where now a masked fool is ruining business. Among those, my businesses. And that's why I need you, Marko" Hammerhead started with the explanation.
"What do you need from me? And why me?" He asked confusedly.
"Of all the supervillains there are, you are one of the most powerful. Furthermore, your sentence was less compared to others like you. I need you to do a dirty job for me" The gangster answered.
"Hmmm…what kind of work?" Flint asked curiously. Although he didn't like the idea of working for him, he required more answers.
"Mmmmm...Very good. This masked Spider-Guppy has ruined my business more than once. And this is making me sick. So, I want you to... eliminate Spider-Guppy once and for all" Hammerhead said evilly. This worried the supervillain.
"Do you want me to kill him? I...(sigh) No, I can't do it. I have committed many crimes. I have robbed and hurt many people...But I am not a murderer. I'm not that kind of person. I don't want to get into that trouble anymore" Sandman refused his offer. However, he didn't know who he was dealing with.
"I see. You are a criminal, but you don't have the courage. It is a pity. I thought about paying you well. But if you don't want to take the job the easy way... we'll do it the hard way" At that moment, Hammerhead decided to take out his cell phone to show something horrible to Flint. It was a video call where a small guppy could be seen tied to a chair being guarded by two armed men. She tried to speak, but her mouth was gagged.
"Hmmm-Hmmm!" The poor girl was trying to ask for help.
"P-PENNY!" Sandman shouted seeing his daughter in trouble. He burned with anger against the criminal "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY DAUGHTER?!" He was about to hit him, but the criminals pointed their guns at him. And Hammerhead didn't seem to be scared.
"If you do anything to me, your daughter will die. So these are the things. I was prepared in case you rejected my offer. So listen carefully: Kill Spider-Guppy for me and bring me his corpse if you wish to see your daughter alive again. Now yes, I will ask the question again: Do you accept the job?" The boss said with an evil smirk. Sandman felt helpless in the situation. He never wanted to kill anyone and he never thought about doing it. But this was different. His own daughter was in danger. She is the only thing he had. She was his only reason for living. So, with much pain and conviction, he accepted the offer.
"(sigh) Very well...I will bring you the body of Spider-Guppy...lifeless" The adult guppy answered with a low voice.
"Perfect. Gentlemen, remove his necklace so he can use his powers. Oh and Marko, don't try anything stupid like using your powers against me. If you do, she dies. Don't think about telling the police either...Although I doubt they will believe you..." Hammerhead commented. The criminals were able to remove the necklace and Sandman was able to use his sand powers again. Although he could easily defeat them all, with his daughter threatened the story is different. He knew that the only way to save her was to kill Spider-Guppy. Although he didn't like the masked boy, he never wanted to kill him or anyone. But now the circumstances were different. So he decided to leave the building in search of his target: Spider-Guppy!
While all this is happening, we can see our favorite couple preparing a table for a special lunch. Well, to give you more context, this is autumn time. And as some might think, it's a special Thanksgiving lunch. At the Parker Family residence we can see Gil, Molly and Aunt May preparing the table for lunch. It was a small event just between them since the budget was somewhat limited.
"Thank you very much for accepting our invitation, dear" Aunt May thanked her.
"It's a pleasure to be here, Mrs. Parker" Molly said politely.
"I already wanted my nephew to officially introduce me to his girlfriend" The older guppy giggled.
"Aunt May! You know we're new to this and we wanted to take things slow" Gil admitted nervously and touched his own neck.
"Come on, Gilly. We have started dating for...a few months. It's about time you officially introduced me" Molly commented funnily.
"Well, but May has known you for a long time. I mean, you and I have known each other since childhood" The boy with blue-hair said.
"Still, it is important to introduce her to me as your partner" Aunt May replied.
"Anyway...The important thing is that we are together to enjoy our Thanksgiving lunch" Molly expressed. Everything seemed calm, but a small problem occurred.
"Uh oh! I knew we had forgotten something" May said worriedly.
"What are you talking about? We have the turkey almost ready and the pie is almost ready" Gil asked confusedly.
"I forgot to buy the apple cider to accompany the meal. Gil, could you go to the supermarket quickly to buy the cider before they close?" The older guppy requested him the new task.
"Of course, May! All to save the special Thanksgiving lunch" Gil accepted without any inconvenience.
"If you want I can accompany you, Gilly" Molly offered herself to help.
"Alright. See you soon, auntie. We will be back soon" Gil said before he left the house with his partner. Without knowing what would await both of them for this not at all normal Thanksgiving Day.
The walk through the city started very calmly as if it were a day like any other. That time was perfect to spend time as a couple while they went to fulfill the errand.
"I'm glad we can do something normal like a family dinner. After getting into so much trouble" Molly said quietly.
"We have to enjoy those moments while we can. The life I have decided to have will not always have these spaces of calm. There will always be people who need Spider-Guppy. Well though..." Gil commented something private with his girlfriend.
"Huh?"
"For now, my mission is to cure Doctor Grouper and Nonny...As well as solving the Oscorp conspiracy...And after all that...Spider-Guppy's future is uncertain" The blue-haired guppy shared his plans.
"Gilly…."
"Oh, by the way...I couldn't tell you before but...I have managed to make progress with the gene cleaner. I have created a test dose. With that, I can try to cure Doctor Grouper" Gil reminded his own project.
"That sounds good. I just hope everything goes well. Although, we really should talk about all this at Thanksgiving. It doesn't sound like a typical topic that you have to talk about with your partner" Molly said funnily.
"Hehe…Those are the things that come with being the girlfriend of a masked guy who fights criminals every day" Gil winked at her. Both teenagers laughed as they walked in search of the supermarket. However, they began to notice something strange. To begin with, Gil felt a slight chill in his body. It was the reaction to the spider instinct, that is, there was danger nearby. And it didn't take long to notice several people running out. As if they were fleeing from danger. Almost immediately, strong winds accompanied by sand appeared. It was a sandstorm that appeared in the middle of the city, showing a well-known person causing destruction throughout the city.
"It can't be...It's Sandman...Molly, go to the supermarket taking another route. I'll go for Sandman" Gil said seriously.
"What?! Don't even think that I'm thinking of leaving you alone with him" Molly said defensively.
"Get safe. Fighting him is no game and I don't want you to put yourself in danger. See you" Without letting her speak, Gil managed to slip through the crowd to discreetly go to an abandoned alley so he could transform into his Spider-Guppy alter ego. It was time to be a hero.
"Spider-Guppy! I want to see Spider-Guppy now. It doesn't matter that I have to raze the entire city if necessary" Sandman said loudly while he was using his sand powers to damage the buildings and streets.
"We don't want a desert in the middle of New Bubble York, thank you" The hero appeared, looking at him in a lamppost.
"Spider-Guppy! You're finally where I want. AH!" Marko didn't even give him much time to respond, because he decided to give him a big punch with his big sand arm. Luckily, the hero jumped and managed to evade the blow.
"Wow….So you're getting straight to the point, huh? This is not like you, you know?" Spider-Guppy recognized his rivals strange attitude. Normally, The Sandman is usually less aggressive than other villains, unless he has no other choice or is influenced by the Sinisters like last time. Although at the moment, it seems that he is really attacking on his own.
"Things change, spider. Enough with the games. You will die today!" Sandman said before shooting dagger-like fragments made of sand at him to perform ranged attacks with the intention of fatally wounding him quickly. It was to be expected that the hero was able to dodge those attacks and in the process prevented other people from being injured.
"You know, sandbox? You're not the first person to say that to me. If I had a dollar for every time someone says he wants to kill me, well... UGH!" Spider-Guppy was interrupted while making his sarcastic joke. Sandman's spiked fist caused the hero to be thrown a few meters by the blow. This hurt the hero.
"No more jokes. Time to end this once and for all" The villain said intimidatingly before turning both of his hands into spiked balls to end the fight quickly. He jumped towards the hero who was still on the ground. But Spider-Guppy managed to turn in time and used his web to get up quickly before he was within reach of Sandman.
Although Marko wanted to end the fight quickly, this would only be the beginning. Our masked superhero faces once again with one of the most powerful villains he has ever faced: Sandman. Gil knew how dangerous his opponent was and if they continued fighting in half the city, the material damage would be high. But most importantly, many lives would be in danger. So, to avoid further damage and collateral victims alike, the heroic guppy decided to take the fight elsewhere. Causing his opponent to chase him in an insistently and threatening manner. Sandman used all his abilities to have the hero in his hands to give him his end. But Spider-Guppy was more agile and slippery than his sand-made opponent. To take the fight to another scenario where our protagonist had the advantage, Gil had the brilliant idea of taking a manhole cover, lifting it and throwing it at his opponent as a distraction. And when Sandman blocked that seemingly useless attack, he had a few seconds' head start so he could enter the sewers. Marko saw that and decided to enter the sewers so as not to lose sight of him. When he entered, he noticed that there was enough water to slow him down. So he decided to go through some corridors that were on the banks of the sewer waters. And now, taking advantage of an environment where Spider-Guppy has an advantage over Sandman, and there were no longer civilians at risk, the hero can face him without problems. Marko was still trying to finish him off with his fists, mallets, hammers and sand swords to end his life as soon as possible. To the point that he almost became desperate. But in that scenario, our hero has a notable advantage. Well, the hero managed to open a water tap so that the jet of water hurt him in the chest. Let's remember that if Sandman comes into contact with water, his sand body loses stability and solidity to the point of turning into weaker mud. So Flint decides to flee even though part of his body turns into mud, leaving him vulnerable. The battle was a bit long, but Spider-Guppy was the winner.
"It's over, Sandman...You're going to prison again" Spider-Guppy said.
"No…No…I can't be…I cant be defeated…I can't fail" Sandman tried to recover his physical form.
"You know, usually the bad guys are defeated. This shouldn't be new to you" The hero joked a bit.
"Grrrr….You don't understand...Uhhhh...I can't lose to you...If I do, she will die" Marko said weakly.
"She? She who?" Our hero began to hesitate a little before he received a big punch of sand. Sandman was beginning to regain his shape, but he was wobbly and unable to stand firmly due to the instability of his sand body due to the humidity.
"Grrrrr….I won't let her die...If I fail, they will kill her..." The mutant man said desperately as he began to use what he could of his powers to strike and try to finish off Spider-Guppy with desperate and thoughtless movements. Spider-Guppy could dodge him, but he tried to talk to him.
"Calm down! Calm down! Who is she? And who are going to kill her?" He asked as he tried to calm him down, while dodging the frantic attacks of his desperate opponent. Sandman couldn't continue attacking like this expecting results. And without his power at one hundred percent, he could only fall to his knees, tired and desperate.
"Uggh…Ugh….Ugh…No….No….Ugh…" Flint punched the ground.
"Tell me, what's happening? I know you, you are not one of those villains who just attack for no reason" Spider-Guppy started to show him empathy.
"Ughhh..Hmmmm…Do you care? I'm not exactly a good person...Do you care about my problems?" Flint asked him. Spider-Guppy gave it some thought.
"My job is to help those in need...even my enemies. Besides, if you say that someone innocent is in danger, then it concerns me. Tell me, what's happening?" As incredible as it may seem, Gil began to worry about someone who was considered a villain. You'd think Sandman would take advantage of his moment of weakness to attack him off guard. But this was not the case.
"This is my daughter... Her name is Penny... Hammerhead got me out of prison in exchange for working for him... And if I don't bring him your lifeless body... he's going to kill her. As you can see, my hands are tied...Spider-Guppy, I really didn't want any of this. I have done bad things, but I have never taken anyone's life...I don't even wish death on my enemy...But...Penny's life is at stake...I ..." Sandman explained his true reasons for the attack. Our hero was seeing the most human side of one of his greatest enemies. It was impossible not to sympathize with his motives.
"I know...You would do anything to save a loved one...Believe me, I understand..." Spider-Guppy could understand it. He thought that if a loved one was in danger, he would do anything to save them.
"But it's late...They're going to arrest me...And then Penny..." He clenched his fists helplessly. He knew that in his state he could not fulfill his mission. And if he was arrested again, Hammerhead would consider the mission a failure and he would not hesitate to end the girl's life.
"Penny won't die today. I promise you. Tell me, where is Hammerhead?" Spider-Guppy asked him.
"I'm supposed to meet him tonight at the dock...I must bring him your body…" Marko answered. Thanks to that information, Spider-Guppy began to plan his next moves. That lasted a few minutes until he decided to talk to Sandman.
"Listen, I have a plan to rescue your daughter and take out Hammerhead in one move. We will kill two birds with one stone. I only ask that you trust me. Do you think you can do it?" Our hero asked him. He hesitated to trust his greatest adversary. However, his daughter's life was at risk and it was the only viable opportunity to save her. With some hesitation, he accepted.
"Very well….What is your plan?"
That same day, after a few hours, we see how Sandman was carrying a huge suitcase and heading to the dock where the Hammerhead criminal organization would be the base of operations. Flint Marko managed to meet with his boss the infamous Hammerhead who was being escorted by several heavily armed thug bodyguards.
"Very good. I saw your fight against Spider-Guppy and it seems that the result was favorable from what I see" Hammerhead smiled while he was looking at the suitcase. The battle that was seen on television did not cover the entire encounter, so it was assumed that the hero's body was in the suitcase.
"Well, whatever. I kept my part of the agreement. I want my part now" Marko said seriously. There was a lot of tension in the atmosphere. The famous gangster simply snapped his fingers for one of his thugs to bring the girl bound and gagged.
"Hmmm Hmmm!" The little girl wanted to scream.
"Now…Let her go" Flint said seriously. Some thugs took the suitcase and were going to open it. There was a lot of tension in the air. Things could get complicated.
"(sigh) You see, Sandman….I see that you fulfilled the order with ease. Something no one had accomplished: Killing Spider-Guppy. I must thank you for that. However, I feel like I can't let you go that easily. You are too useful to me to waste a great tool" The mob boss said evilly.
"W-What?! That wasn't part of the deal!" Sandman was bothered.
"Sorry, Marko. That's how this business works" He smirked evilly.
"Grrrrrr I will kill you!" The mutant man wanted to use his powers to attack.
"Hmmm You are not in a position to threaten me... Unless you don't care about the life of your little daughter" Hammerhead remembered his position. The thugs still had her tied up and threatened with weapons. Sandman could only give a defeated sigh and gave up "I thought so"
"Hey Hammerhead, is this how you treat your employees? I will have to report it to Human Resources"
"WH-WHAT?!" Hammerhead identified the voice easily. Above them was the masked hero with the girl in his arms "Spider-Guppy!? But how?!" The mafia leader noticed that some thugs opened the suitcase and only saw a mannequin dressed as Spider-Guppy. And an important detail: He noticed that the bullies who were taking care of the girl had been trapped in cocoons of spider webs.
"I think the deal is over" Spider-Guppy said confidently after getting Penny to safety and quickly jumped to where Sandman was.
"Don't think you'll get out of this alive, damn" Sandman turned his hands into sand hammers to take down the mafia boss. At this moment, more armed thugs appeared to fight them.
"If I learned anything from these businesses, it is to always have a plan B" Hammerhead snapped his fingers to call for one of his most important reinforcements.
"Wow, we finally meet again, Spider-Guppy. I knew this day would come"
"Shocker!" Spider-Guppy discovered the hitman. The villain known as Shocker had been implicated in dangerous crimes such as becoming a member of the infamous Sinister Six.
"The only way for you two to get out of this alive is for you to surrender" Hammerhead prepared his assault rifle. All the criminals took out their weapons and wanted to corner them.
"I have a plan. Take care of Hammerhead and the thugs. Bullets can't hurt you, but Shocker's wave cannons can damage you. That's why I'll go for Shocker. Does it sound like a plan?" Spider-Guppy proposed his idea.
"Hmmm….I agree. Let's go get them" Sandman prepared his powers.
"Fire!"
And thus, the battle begins. Spider-Guppy with an unusual alliance with Sandman faces Hammerhead, Shocker and a wave of armed criminals. An unprecedented combat broke out on that dock. Spider-Guppy fought the gunmen using his strength, agility, reflexes, and his web-shooter while Sandman took down the mercenaries with his brute strength and sand powers. Thanks to his body structure made of sand, bullets were useless against him, giving him a far greater advantage in combat. That's why Shocker hurt him with his sonic wave cannon to weaken him. And for that, Spider-Guppy decides to kick him and force him to do a one-on-one duel.
"Ugh...You're quite annoying, spider" Shocker admitted.
"I know, all the bad guys and Jameson tell me the same thing. But well...since when did you become Hammerhead's new pet?" Spider-Guppy asked funnily.
"Business is complicated lately. I always work for the highest bidder. And Hammerhead pays well. Oh! And there's an extra bonus: I have to kill Spider-Guppy" The mercenary said, preparing his shock cannons to begin combat against his target.
"If I were you, I wouldn't count on winning that bonus" Spider-Guppy evaded the attack and their fight would begin. Spider-Guppy decides to attack Shocker, but he responds by firing his wave cannon. Thanks to previous experiences, our hero already knows how he behaves and knows how to avoid being hit by gunfire. And yet, fighting the mercenary would not be an easy task. The pulse wave cannons combined with his close combat skills and strategist mentality make him a difficult opponent. We all know that chaos was unleashed on that dock. Hammerhead and his armed thugs continued trying to fight Sandman, who defended himself with his sand powers while Spider-Guppy faced Shocker. During the fight, Gil began to remember something. He remembered the day Nonny tried to help him against Shocker and Shocker ended up causing the accident that turned his best friend into the infamous Doctor Octopus. Based on what Molly told him a long time ago: Nonny's accident turned out to be a failed homicide attempt. So, was Shocker hired to finish him off on the day of the ceremony?
"Shocker, we still have unfinished business! Do you remember the day you shot that boy Nonny...Tell me, why did you do it?!" Spider-Guppy asked him seriously.
"Do you really care? And why are you bringing up that topic now?" Shocker asked incredulously.
"Do not mess with me. I know the truth. What happened that day was not an accident. Shocker, you were planning to kill Nonny, weren't you? Who hired you?" The masked hero asked bothered.
"Hahaha! What's up, spider? Now you put the bad jokes aside. Please don't tell me you took it personally...It's just business" The masked villain confessed.
"Grrrr so its true! Who hired you? Tell me now?!" Spider-Guppy asked him bothered. They both talked without stopping the fight.
"It's not professional at all to tell you the names of my clients. But I dare you to find out" Shocker said that arrogantly. Our hero was getting carried away with anger and was thinking about getting the truth out of him by force. In fact, he began to fight more forcefully and aggressively.
"Let me guess...This is all about the Big Man, right?" Spider-Guppy said angrily.
"Hmmmm…I see that you are not that far from reality. But I'm warning you, Spider-Guppy. You are entering very dangerous territory. Big Man leaves you a message: Don't interfere if you want to stay alive. Just stay out of it" The mercenary explained.
"Grrrr….You know who the Big Man is, don't you?!" The boy asked again.
"If I open my mouth, I'd be a dead man. But you know, the guy pays well and his plans for this city are very ambitious. I recommend that you stay out of it, unless you want to work for the future regime...Hmmmm I think I already said too much. Oh well, I guess I'm going out of here" Shocker explained before he planned his escape.
"Oh no! I'm not done with you!" He tried to capture him with multiple shots from his web shooter. Shocker managed to evade them and used a smoke bomb to escape. Spider-Guppy swung at him to capture him. But when he arrived, a bomb was waiting for him. The first thing he did was run to escape the impending explosion.
BOOM!
The explosion caused notable devastation to the dock. The chaos was taken advantage of by Hammerhead who decided to flee the scene in a car being escorted by armed criminals. Sandman couldn't catch them in time. At that moment, Spider-Guppy decided to make sure Flint's daughter was safe and quickly gathered them together.
"Daddy! I can't believe you worked together with Spider-Guppy to save me" Penny said happily.
"I would do anything for you, my little one" Sandman decided to hug his daughter. It was strange for her to assimilate that her father was a mutant made of sand, and yet, she accepts him as he is. He decided to take his daughter's hand and turned to look at Spider-Guppy "I...I...Thank you very much, Spider-Guppy. Thanks to you, Penny is safe. I wouldn't have done it without you. And...(sigh) I'm so sorry. She didn't want to kill you... Hammerhead made me do it or else he would kill her"
"Don't worry. Your daughter is safe. That's what matters" Spider-Guppy said nicely.
"(sigh) I guess...I should turn myself in, right?" Flint asked sadly. Our hero made a very unusual decision.
"It wouldn't be fair. She needs you. For this once, I'll let you go" The wall-climber took this risky decision. Literally, he would leave one of his most powerful rivals. However, he knew that Sandman was a slightly different character than his other villains.
"Don't worry about me, Spider-Guppy...I think I'll take this opportunity this time...(sigh) I...Everything I did before was to save my daughter. Her mother died and I took care of her alone. Since I couldn't get a job, I decided to start stealing because... I need money... Penny was born with a strange and deadly disease, and she requires expensive medicines and treatments if I want her to have a better life. That's why I did everything I did...Believe me, if I had a choice at that time, I wouldn't have done any of the things I did...Maybe I wouldn't have become this" Flint explained his true reasons. Penny hugged him. Spider-Guppy simply remained silent upon hearing that sad story. At that moment he understood everything. He was just a desperate father who did anything to take care of his daughter. That attitude reminded him of his Uncle Ben. Gil couldn't help but feel empathy and compassion for the man he thought was just a greedy villain.
"I'm sorry to hear all that...I'm really sorry...I didn't think you had been through so much...You just did everything for your daughter...Just like someone did everything for me" Spider-Guppy said sadly.
"Well, don't worry so much...Penny and I are leaving town. As long as Hammerhead is free, the city is no longer safe for us...I...I'm going to start from scratch. I'll try to do everything right this time" Sandman said quietly. He decided to carry his daughter in his arms to prepare for his retirement from the city.
"Hey, it's never too late to do things right...Please do it for her" Spider-Guppy advised quietly.
"Ill…..Thank you very much for everything, Spider-Guppy"
"Farewell, Sandman"
"Hehe….My name is Flint Marko...I hope to see you again one day...on a better occasion" Saying this, he decided to leave immediately before the police arrived at the scene. Spider-Guppy noticed that Sandman used his powers to carefully take his daughter and they vanished together into the darkness of the night. Their fate was uncertain for him. Our hero decided to return to the dock to help the police investigate the scene. Without anyone realizing it, someone secretly watched the entire Chief Captain Stacey arrived on the scene. He, along with a large squad of police, made a major arrest of several of the thugs from Hammerhead's criminal gang who had been taken down by Spider-Guppy (and Sandman, although they were unaware of his involvement). Obviously, Spider-Guppy collaborated and answered the different questions.
"This was one of the operating bases of Hammerhead Base. It's a shame he escaped. At the very least, we have several of his men under arrest and we will investigate everything on this dock. This was a good blow to Hammerhead" Captain Stacey admitted.
"Unfortunately, he managed to escape this time. Next time I won't let him go, captain" Spider-Guppy promised.
"I know you'll do it. I trust your word" The captain said confidently. He would trust his life to the hero even though some think otherwise. Officers were investigating the area and found something surprising.
"Captain, we found a Hammerhead safe. It is open and empty" A researcher reported the discovery.
"I guess he managed to take the money before escaping" The police captain deduced.
"I don't think so, boss. It seems that the thief left her mark at the scene..."
"H-Her?!" Spider-Guppy asked surprisedly. At that point, the investigator revealed the evidence. It was a piece of paper with a cat's paw print printed in ink. Evidently, "she" had left a message "Oh no...She went back to her old ways" Spider-Guppy said upon discovering who it was. But before he could make his next move, the communication device he had in his ear activated.
"Gil! Gilly! Where are you?! You took too long! Where are you?! May is worried about you and I don't know what more excuses to make. Tell me are you okay?" It was Molly at the other side of the line.
"Oh…Molly….I had a problem...But I'm on my way...At least I want to make it to Thanksgiving dinner...Oh and Molly...there are a lot of things we need to talk about…"
Spider-Guppy decided to go quickly towards his house using his webs to swing through the night city. It was hard to come up with a valid excuse for missing most of Thanksgiving. However, throughout that journey he thought about Sandman's situation. He was just a man who sought to care for and save his only daughter who was probably his only loved one. He could see that this attitude was similar to that of his late Uncle Ben. Only he did take a nobler path. But despite everything, he trusted that Flint Marko would take a different path for his daughter. At that moment, he was able to get to his house and decided to secretly take off his suit so he could enter his house in his civilian clothes. When he opened the door he was greeted by his girlfriend and his aunt.
"Gil Parker, you took a long time! Molly told me that you were late with something important...Why did you come so late?" Aunt May asked worriedly. Gil thought about it a little and smiled lightly.
"I….I just helped a family on this special day" Gil said with a smile. And the truth wasn't a lie after all. Before her aunt responded, he decided to hug her. That surprised her a little "May….Thanks…..Thank you for everything you and Uncle Ben did for me...Happy Thanksgiving" Gil said before starting to sob. He really appreciated what his uncle and aunt did for him. Raising him from an early age has been enough for him.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Gil" May reciprocated the hug and they both had their special moment. Molly just smiled. She knew what Gil did since he told her. It seems that experience helped him value more what his family did for him. And thanks to May and Ben, Gil is the hero with great values that he is. And I think that is enough reason for gratitude.
Oh! Was anyone expecting an update to this story after...MONTHS?! What happened to me? Well, surely my other stories and other personal responsibilities made me neglect this story a little. However, this story deserves to continue and I hope you still enjoy this story. And especially when we are close to the great revelations. For now I will leave this chapter here and go on to respond to the reviews of the last chapter.
RainbowFoxy1987: Hi again! The previous chapter was definitely very exciting. Mysterio's entire plot was similar to that of "Spider-Man Far From Home" but I think it added some better details hehe. It was a great chapter where Gil had to remember his true reason for being a hero. And yes, very soon we will see Nonny's new plan.
PrimroseRaspberry: Hello Hello! I think it's cool that not all villains have the same origin story. There can always be variables and Mysterio was perfect to give those changes since he is not well known. Fighting hallucinations was excellent, taking advantage of Gil's fears and Quentin Beck's deceptive tricks. And we'll surely see more of that when Mysterio returns with "some help." I hope you enjoy this recent chapter.
Zakirmatron: Hi there! Hahaha! Nice quote. You definitely hit the mark. And well, as a beloved Marvel character said: "I understood that reference"
And without much to say, I think we can conclude this chapter. I'm ReaderandWriter9000 and see you in another chapter.
Post-Chapter
It seems that a change of scenery was necessary for a small family that went through many tragic things. Well, we can see a small house in the countryside a few kilometers away from the New Bubble York that we know. It was a country place far from the nearest city. Flint Marko seems to have found an ideal place to be away from the city, even though he had to start paying for the new house little by little. Despite that inconvenience, things seem to be going well.
"Very good...I know it's not the most comfortable house but we will be safe here. I assure you that we will get everything we need, but this time I will do things right" Flint said.
"Thanks, daddy. This time, please don't steal... Not even for me" Penny begged.
"I learned my lesson the hard way. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but I'll look for a job" The adult guppy said confidently. Everything indicates that it would be a difficult start. However, luck seems to be smiling on this family that day. Somebody knocked on the door "Huh?" Flint was confused. Who could look for him at the door in such a remote area? Sandman went to open the door with great caution. He was prepared to use his powers in case someone wanted to harm him or his daughter. However, when he opened the door he noticed that no one was there. There was only a large briefcase with a note. Marko took the paper and read it.
"Courtesy of a friend"
Sandman didn't understand that. And even he got a little worried. Who sent the briefcase? And because? What was inside? Despite the risk, the ex-villain decided to open the briefcase and got the best luck in life. It was a briefcase full of money. There were many high denomination bills. Marko decided to take the briefcase.
"Penny! Penny!" The father said excitedly before closing the door to tell him the good news. Finally, with the money they could pay for the house, buy the necessary things like the food and medicine Penny needs, and surely they could even enroll her in a school. And surely everyone is wondering: Who left the suitcase? Well, it turns out that someone saw the happy family from a far distance. This person noticed that they did something nice to benefit someone other than themselves.
"Wow, I didn't think that doing something nice for someone could feel so...good...Hmmmmm...Maybe Spider-Guppy managed to start influencing me...But for now, I think it's time to continue with my wanderings. After all, I'm the best at what I do" It was Black Cat who was behind the whole theft of Hammerhead's money. It was no surprise that she was the one who noticed SPider-Guppy and Sandman's conversation. Everything indicated that she began to reconsider her actions little by little. However, our kitten still wanted to fulfill her personal goals of being the best thief in New Bubble York.