A/N: Please read and review?
Shoutouts:
Spider-Sonic Prime: That's never gonna happen in my world. There are Marvel Earths where Peter and Gwen are together instead of it being Peter and MJ, even though there's not many, which I see as unfair.
Alix: Out of all them, Looter, Circus of Crime and Cardiac are the only ones I've heard of. I've never heard of the rest before.
Extrox: Given the times of the elections, probably not for a while, due to the time my series takes place.
On the night of Thursday, August 31st, in Upper Manhattan, near NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, Shadow-Spider was web-swinging away down 135 street.
"Spider-Girl, anything on your end?" he asked.
"Negative." Spider-Girl reported, who was patrolling Yorkville and the Upper East side. "Bit strange, but I'm glad there's not another killer on the loose."
"I know what you mean." Shadow-Spider sighed, as he landed on the side of Sylvia's Restaurant. "I also still can't believe who Sin-Eater was."
"Tell me about it." Spider-Girl sighed. "Spidey and Ghostie told me their both heading home as they've seen nothing."
"Well, I am too, so good night." Shadow-Spider said.
"Same." Spider-Girl said.
Shadow-Spider jumped off the wall and began to swing off again, on his way home, while thinking about his crush.
"Man, she's sure something." he thought. "I wish she felt the same way though."
Once he got near his home apartment, he landed on the wall and began to climb up it, before he reached his bedroom window. He opened it up and hopped inside, and took off his mask.
"What a night." he sighed.
"Miles?" came a shocked voice behind him.
Miles turned around and gasped, seeing Ganke standing right in the doorway, who quickly closed it.
"Ganke?" he gasped. "What are you-"
"Miles, you're...you're Shadow-Spider?" Ganke gasped, covering his mouth.
Miles gulped, seeing he'd been busted.
"Oh, Pete's gonna kill me for this." he thought. "Ganke, what are you doing here? It's pretty late at night for a visit."
"My parents had to go away for a few days, so we figured I could spend the time at yours till they return." Ganke replied. "Since you weren't here, I figured I'd wait since your mom said you'd be back. I just didn't expect you to come in the window or...be like that."
"Ganke, can you please give me a minute?" Miles asked, holding his hand up.
"Uh, sure." Ganke said.
He turned around, allowing Miles to strip from his costume and change his clothes.
"Okay, I'm decent." he said, once he'd finished.
Ganke turned around to him, before they both sat down on the bed.
"So, you wanna tell me how this happened?" he asked.
"Ganke, I..." Miles began.
"Miles, come on? I know you must've had a reason for not telling me before." Ganke reasoned. "Besides, I think the cat's out of the bag."
Miles sighed. "Ganke, look, you can't tell anyone about this, okay?" he asked. "It's gotta be a secret?"
"Okay. Are you gonna tell the others though?" Ganke asked. "Your fellow Spiders, I mean?"
"I'm not sure yet." Miles sighed. "I doubt they'll believe me."
"Some of those friends I met that you made at Midtown, they're them, aren't they?" Ganke inquired.
Miles sighed, seeing no point in hiding that. "Yes." he said. "I can't tell you though. It's their secret to tell, not mine."
"So, what happened?" Ganke asked.
Miles sighed, and began to tell his friend how he became Shadow-Spider.
The next morning, Friday the 1st of September, Peter was walking down a hallway at the Daily Bugle, before he saw a closet door open slightly.
"Huh?" he muttered.
He walked over to the door slowly with curious, then peeked inside, and saw Ned and Betty kissing each other, their clothes slightly a mess.
"Oh, Ned, you know this isn't the place." Betty whispered.
"Betty, I know, but I can't help it." Ned whispered.
Peter turned slightly, making the couple pull away and turn around, spotting him.
"Peter?" Betty gasped, straightening up her clothes.
"Uh, that's not what it-" Ned began.
"Oh, I know what I saw." Peter assured.
"Peter, please, you can't...?" Betty began.
"Hey, it's none of my business." Peter assured. "But, look, how long's this been going on?"
"About six months now." Ned replied. "I bet you and that girlfriend of yours haven't done that?"
"Hey, we make out, just not like that, hiding from people." Peter assured. "Is there any reason?"
"Mr. Jameson doesn't like work-house romance much." Betty explained. "Says it distracts people, which is why I've been telling Ned to save it for when we're not working."
"Hey, I can't help it." Ned assured.
"Does anyone else know?" Peter asked.
"No." Betty sighed. "Not even Robbie."
"Look, if you don't say a word, maybe we could double-date or something with that girl of yours." Ned said.
"Sure, I don't see no harm. It wouldn't be the first time we've double-dated." Peter said.
"You and Gwen double-dated with people before?" Betty inquired.
"Well, we used too, but our two friends Harry and MJ recently broke up." Peter explained. "Harry's still upset about it."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Betty said.
"Thanks. Gwen and I've done our best to be there for him, as MJ's the one who ended it." Peter explained. "She'd be with him today if he wasn't busy."
"Doing what?" Betty asked.
"I... I honestly have no idea." Peter admitted. "He just said he's gonna be busy until the school year starts."
"Wait, broke up?" Ned inquired. "When I saw them last April, they seemed okay. What happened?"
"MJ said she's fallen for someone else." Peter explained sadly. "We were all in shock when we found out. The four of us have been friends for so long, it's hard for me to get Harry to talk to her again."
"Where is he now?" Ned asked.
"Probably out with some of our friends, but not Gwen." Peter sighed. "Gwen's with my sister and MJ."
"Oh." Ned said.
"Your sister settling in?" Betty asked.
"Yeah, but she's nervous about going to a new school." Peter admitted. "Gwen's trying to reassure her."
"So, you got some stuff for the boss?" Betty asked.
"Yep. So, if you don't mind...?" Peter began.
"No, go on in." Betty said. "I'll be right there."
Peter smiled and turned around, before he walked to the office and entered it, but saw Robbie behind the desk instead of Jameson, who held up a paper.
"Uh, Robbie, where's Mr. Jameson?" Peter asked, surprised.
"Oh, Jonah's had to go away for conference on the other side of the city." Robbie explained.
"What for?" Peter asked.
"For this." Robbie replied.
He handed Peter an article, which he looked it, as it was about a building called Carlyle Industries, and it was dated August 27th, five days ago.
"'Carlyle Industries creating pollution around the city'." he read. "I take it that it's bad?"
"Oh, it is." Robbie assured. "The company owner Luke Carlyle's in big trouble. That's what the meeting's for."
"Well, I hope he gets in trouble." Peter said. "For trying to pollute the planet badly, he deserves it."
"Indeed." Robbie agreed.
Meanwhile, Miles and Ganke were both at St. Nicholas Park, sitting on a bench together, discussing what Ganke had found out last night.
"I still can't believe you got your powers by being bitten by a spider." Ganke said.
"Trust me, I know. So's Spidey and Ghostie." Miles said. "That's how they got their powers."
"And Spider-Girl?" Ganke inquired.
"She got hers from that Spider-Virus last May." Miles explained. "She didn't lose her powers like everyone else."
"Lucky her then." Ganke said.
"Oh, she is in a way. Her webs are organic, while ours isn't." Miles explained.
"Really? How'd you make them?" Ganke asked curiously.
"Something Spider-Man made when he first started out." Miles explained. "When he and Ghost started training me, he made me a pair."
"Oh... I guess they're pretty smart then?" Ganke assumed.
"They are." Miles assured, as he knew Peter and Gwen were the top two in their science class.
"Guess you've learned a lot from them then?" Ganke assumed.
"Yes. Ganke, look, I meant what I said last night; you can't tell anyone about this." Miles said. "The reason for the masks is to protect the people in our lives, our friends and families."
"Well, look, I won't say a word." Ganke swore. "If there's anything I can do to help though, I'd be more than happy."
"I'll think about that." Miles sighed. "I'll have to tell the others, and I don't know how they'll react, especially Spidey."
A little later, at the conference, Jameson was sat with other people around a table in City Hall. Besides the Mayor, was Barney Bushkin of the Daily Globe, a few other reporters, and a few other people who worked at City Hall and other businessmen, including Norman Osborn and the Kingpin.
"Where's Luke Carlyle?" Jameson questioned. "Shouldn't he be here, since this is about his building?"
"Good point." Barney agreed.
"I told him I'd have to shut his company if he keeps this up." Mayor Eric Adams said.
"Guess he doesn't care." Jameson said.
"If it was my company under fire like this, I'd make sure I'd be here, even if I did get delayed by traffic or something." Norman assured.
They waited with boredom for over an hour, before they finally had enough.
"Okay, that's enough." a woman reporter said.
"Yeah. I'm sick of waiting." Barney said.
"Agreed." Jameson said. "The article I printed got him in trouble, and now Carlyle can't be bothered to show up!"
"I agree. I'm gonna have his business shut down." the Mayor decided. "By this time tomorrow, Carlyle Industries will be no more."
"I have a feeling Carlyle won't like the news when he hears it, Mr. Mayor." Kingpin advised.
"He'll probably find out anyway, Fisk." Norman reasoned. "You know how he was last meeting."
Meanwhile, inside a warehouse, was Luke Carlyle himself, who was a man with dark hair, with bits of grey near his ears, and a small guotie beard on his chin. Ahead of him, in the shadows, was a large group of men, wearing three different types of outfits. A third were wearing orange hazmat suits, with black armor on their knees, chest and forearms, with respirator masks, another third were wearing black and silver-colored suits, with turquoise gloves, and a different kind of mask over their faces, while the rest were wearing dark grey armor, with yellow eyelids, a jetpack on their backs.
"I have brought you all here because of what has happened." he began. "My life's work has been destroyed, thanks to that report Jameson made to City Hall, and they and this entire city needs to pay. With my company gone and ruined, it's time for me to take my revenge on this city. I have hired you all because of your experiences in handling explosives, and so I can make everyone pay."
"Yes, Mr. Carlyle!" the men all said.
"Where do we start, sir?" one asked.
"We'll start by destroying my own building, to make sure they can't get any evidence." Carlyle declared. "Tonight, we will make our presence known, and put fear into this town!"
"Yeah!" his followers roared, punching their right arms up.
"The city will soon fear the Mad Bomber and the H-Bombers, and no one will stand in our way, not even those accused Web-Warriors!" Carlyle declared, taking the name Mad Bomber for himself.
"Yeah!" his followers roared.
Meanwhile, at the Coffee Bean, Mary Jane and Gwen were both sitting a table together with Teresa, who was looking around, all of them with a drink of soda with a straw.
"So, this is the main place you guys hang out at?" she asked.
"Well, it's one of the places." Gwen assured. "There's a few, but this is one of the main ones."
"I see." Teresa said, before she saw the locket around Gwen's neck. "Who gave you that, Gwen?"
"Peter did, for last Christmas." Gwen explained. "Haven't taken it off much since."
"Oh... Um, if you don't mind me asking, but how long have you two known Peter?" Teresa asked. "I know you two and Harry were his only friends for years, but I'm curious as to how long?"
"I first met Peter when I was six, about a year after he moved in with your Aunt and Uncle." Mary Jane explained. "Me and Aunt Anna just moved in next door, and May offered herself and Peter to help us move our things in."
"And me and Harry first met Peter not long after." Gwen explained. "Peter and I got paired up for this homework assignment, and things just clicked. The four of us have since been almost inseparable."
"Childhood friend romance for you and my brother then?" Teresa assumed.
"Yep. I think I started crushing on him during 7th grade, as he did for about two years before we got together." Gwen explained.
"Harry and I could see it plainly, and even tried setting them up, before they came clean when your Aunt May wound up in the hospital." Mary Jane recalled.
"What happened to her?" Teresa asked.
"She had a heart attack when she was attacked." Mary Jane replied, leaving Teresa worried. "She recovered through."
"Your Aunt's always been a tough one." Gwen assured.
"Well, I wish Uncle Ben had been the same." Teresa sighed. "Peter and Aunt May have told me so much about him, I wish I'd gotten to know him myself."
"Hey, you're not the only one." Mary Jane assured. "Miles, Anya and some of our other friends feel the same, since they didn't meet us until after he died."
Teresa smiled as they all drank from their straws, before the older girls turned to each other.
"You still got that date with Peter later?" Mary Jane asked.
"Oh, you know it." Gwen said. "He'll be so busy at the Bugle today though, so he's taking me to a place nearby. I have to meet him in a few hours."
"Well, if we're still out, tell him I've taken Teresa home." Mary Jane asked.
"You got it, MJ." Gwen promised.
Teresa smiled, for she was starting to see them both as the big sister's she'd always wanted, due to how close they were to Peter. Once they finished their drinks, they all left the coffee bean, and began to walk down the street together.
"Hey, Gwen! MJ!" a voice called.
Gwen, Mary Jane and Teresa all stopped and turned around, seeing Flash and his sister Jessie coming towards them.
"Oh, hey, Flash, Jessie." Mary Jane said.
"So, this is Parker's sister?" Flash asked.
"Yep. Flash, Jessie, this is Teresa." Gwen explained, motioning to her.
"Hi." Teresa said.
"Hi." Flash said. "Man, Liz was right, you do look like Jessie's age."
"Yeah. Are you going to Mamie Fay Public School in the fall?" Jessie asked.
"Well, that's where Aunt May had Peter go when he was my age." Teresa explained. "It will take some time to adjust, but I think I'll manage."
"Hey, I'm sure you'll fit in." Jessie assured. "I'll even help you get around since you'll be new."
"Thanks." Teresa said.
Teresa and Jessie began to walk off ahead of the others, talking and getting along quickly.
"I think those two are gonna be great friends." Mary Jane said.
"Much better than you and Pete were at that age, Flash." Gwen said.
"Yeah. I admit, I used to be a big jerk, but I've changed, unlike O'Reilly." Flash assured.
"And we know, we've all seen how you've changed." Mary Jane assured.
Flash smiled as they all kept on walking together.
That night, Peter and Gwen were having dinner together in the Village Delicatessen, in the Garment District. They both sat by the window with a drink of soda each, while also having a Deli each made up of fries and a few wings.
"I'm glad you found this place." Gwen said. "It's not like most places I've eaten, but it's decent."
"I'm lucky it's close to the Bugle." Peter said, eating some fries. "This is one quite a few people who work there come too when it's late."
"Well, if you have too, I won't blame you, Peter." Gwen smiled.
"Thanks, Gwen." Peter said.
Gwen smiled, before they leaned in and kissed each other, before pulling apart, then kept on eating, even feeding each other some food, making a few people around look at them. Once they'd finished, Peter paid for their food, then after Gwen came back from the bathroom, they left and began walking down a street together, hand-in-hand.
"It sure has been quiet tonight." Gwen said.
"For you maybe, but not me." Peter sighed. "Nothing Spidey related, but Jameson apparently came in mad about someone not showing up for a board meeting he had to attend."
"Oh, was it bad?" Gwen asked.
"Yes, for Luke Carlyle that is." Peter replied. "He's the head of a company called Carlyle Industries, and he's gotten into big trouble for creating pollution."
"Horrible. Hope he gets found and arrested." Gwen said.
"Me too." Peter said.
"Carlyle, eh? Wonder if he's related to Ms. Carlyle from Midtown, or even Rogue, as that's her surname?" Gwen wondered.
"As Rogue's from the South, I doubt it, but Ms. Carlyle perhaps." Peter said, thinking about whether their Geography teacher was related to Carlyle.
Gwen leaned her head on Peter's shoulder, as they turned right, and saw Anya standing outside a TV store, with the TV's on all showing different things.
"Hey, Anya." Gwen said.
Anya turned to them both and smiled.
"Oh, hey guys." she said. "Just got back from your date?"
"Yeah." Peter said. "What about you?"
"Ah, felt like practicing my gymnastics since the city's quiet." Anya said. "Did them on a rooftop in costume for a while, before coming down here. Just got here after having a bite."
"Glad to know you're keeping in shape." Gwen said, patting her arm.
Anya smiled, as Peter looked at the TV's, which all turned, showing a News bulletin.
"We interrupt this program to bring you an urgent News flash." a Newswoman reported, sitting behind a desk. "A massive fire has broke out at Tower 57 at Lexington Avenue and 57th Street."
"Okay, I take back what I said about it being quiet." Gwen said.
"Me too." Anya said.
"It's unknown how the fires started, but... Wait a minute, explosions are reported going off all over the building!" the Newswoman reported.
An image of the building popped up, before an explosion went off somewhere near the top.
"Whatever's happening is clearly not an accident. We will continue to keep your all posted as more news comes." the Newswoman assured.
The three friends all looked amongst each other.
"Okay, that's not good." Gwen said. "People could be trapped in there with no escape."
"I know. It'll like 9/11 all over again, when the Twin Towers collapsed." Peter gulped.
"At those heights, I doubt the Fire Bridge will be able to get up there in time." Anya deduced.
"Agreed. We've gotta get over there and help." Peter said, taking his phone out. "I'll call Miles and let him know."
"Right. Come on, Anya?" Gwen said, before they ran off.
(Morales Apartment)
Miles and Ganke were sitting on the couch in the sitting room, when Miles' phone rang, making him take it out and put it to his ear.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Miles, get suited up. There's a massive tower on fire." Peter explained.
"Right. On my way." Miles said.
"Trouble?" Ganke assumed.
"Yeah. I better go." Miles said.
He got up and ran towards his bedroom to change, while Ganke looked at him.
"I've gotta do something to help?" he thought.
A little later, at the burning building, a Chinook helicopter flew away from a burning building, which was in fact Carlyle Industries.
Inside the Chinook, was Luke Carlyle, who now wore an armored suit like his followers, only without a respirator. Standing with him, was one of his followers in dark grey armor, who he looked up at.
"Everything's ready, Mr. Carlyle." the henchman said.
The Mad-Bomber turned to him.
"Light it up." he ordered.
His henchman saluted, before he turned and walked off slightly
"Jameson will pay for what he did to me." the Mad Bomber thought.
(Flashback)
Four days ago, Mr. Carlyle was in a board meeting with Jameson, Barney Bushkin, members of City Hall, the Mayor, Norman, other businessmen, and a few other reporters.
"'Carlyle Industries creating pollution around the city'?" a man read. "Disgraceful!"
"Even I would never do something like that." Norman frowned. "I'd always take every precaution to make everything safe, especially since the murder of my friend Dr. Stromm."
"But it's all Jameson's fault!" Carlyle snapped, pointing at him. "If he hadn't printed that story in the Daily Bugle-"
"I have an obligation to inform the city and the public!" Jameson snapped. "I'm a journalist first and stockholder second, Carlyle!"
Carlyle clutched his fists in anger.
"Carlyle, I agree with Jameson on this one, which is rare for me to say!" Barney snapped, getting up. "In fact, I would've done something myself if I found out before Jameson had!"
"Thank you, Bushkin." Jameson nodded.
"Mr. Carlyle, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to put your company under investigation." the Mayor said. "When we meet again in four days time, we'll see what to do with your company."
Carlyle glared angrily as everyone left the room, until he was all alone, now with a developing deep hatred for everyone of them, especially Jameson for ruining him.
"You will all pay for this." he thought bitterly. "I swear I will have revenge on you all, especially you Jameson!"
(Flashback ends)
The Chinook flew away from the building, just as the neon sign blew up.
The four Web-Warriors all web-swung towards the building, before they kicked a window open together on one of the upper floors, before they all landed in a three-point stance. They all got up and looked around, seeing no sign of anyone, before Spider-Man turned to his team.
"We gotta see if anyone's trapped in here, then we can find out who's responsible for this mess." Spider-Man said.
"Well, I say we split up." Ghost-Spider suggested. "We can get it done quickly due to how big this place is."
"Right. Everyone take a different floor while I start here." Spider-Man said.
His team nodded, before they all turned and jumped out of the window, then dived into a different floor each - Shadow-Spider going upwards, the girls downwards. As for him, he turned around ran through the room and looked around, before two men in orange hazmat suits came towards him from behind a pillar each.
"Okay, just what are you guys supposed to be?" Spider-Man asked. "You're surely not the Fire Department or the bomb disposal unit around here?"
"We're the H-Bombers, Spidey." one of the thugs said, wielding a staff. "We were hoping you and your little friends would show up, so you could go down with this building!"
"H-Bombers?" Spider-Man smirked. "Don't see the meaning of the name?"
"Get him!" the first thug snarled.
Both H-Bombers came at him, before he punched one in the chest, knocking him down and out, then he turned and kicked the other's belly, knocking him away before he hit a pillar.
"Guys, be careful. There's still goons around here." Spider-Man reported, touching the side of his mask.
Shadow-Spider kicked a window open and landed in an office room, seeing four men in orange hazmat suits standing by the desk.
"Shadow-Spider?" one said, as they turned to him. "Don't let him ruin the boss' plan."
All four H-Bombers charged at him, before he dived towards them, powering up his Venom Blast as he did. He shocked two of them, while the other two rolled away, who then turned to him, as the first two fell unconscious. He turned to the other two as he backed away, before he shot a web at them both, hitting their chests, then he pulled his webs towards them, causing both thugs to hit and knock each other out.
"Ouch. Spidey, I can see you mean." Shadow-Spider said, touching the side of his mask. "They must be behind all this."
"Oh, what gave you the first clue, Shadow?" Spider-Man asked sarcastically.
"Uh, good point." Shadow-Spider blushed, embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Ghost-Spider had landed in a hallway, before she turned left and saw two H-Bombers in orange approaching her.
"Ghost-Spider?!" one gasped.
"Hey, no autographs?" Ghost-Spider joked, holding her hands up.
Both H-Bombers came at her to punch her, but missed as she jumped up and landed on her feet on the ceiling, before she dived down and split kicked the pair of them, knocking them down and out cold.
"Ha, ha. That was shocking." she joked.
She looked up at a door on her right, which got kicked open, then two more H-Bombers came out, followed by a third on her left, but this one wore the dark grey armor.
"Get her!" he ordered, aiming a high-tech blaster.
He fired it, but missed as Ghost-Spider jumped up and stuck to the ceiling.
"Ha, is that the best you've got, blaster boy?" she teased.
He aimed at her, before she shot a web at him, which hit his chest, then she pulled him towards herself.
"Let's see how you like this?" she said, punching his chest.
He went flying towards the ground, hitting the other two, knocking them all out cold.
"You're right about these goons, Spidey." Ghost-Spider said, touching the side of her mask. "Some of them even have high-tech equipment."
"Thanks for the news, Ghost." Spider-Man said.
Further below, Spider-Girl had landed in a room filled with cubicles, before she saw a H-Bomber in orange coming towards her.
"You won't get past us, web-head!" he roared.
Spider-Girl scoffed, before she lazily fired a web at his legs, which wrapped around him, trapping him in a cocoon, before he fell over.
"If that's the best you nooks have got, we'll defiantly stop you." she joked, before touching the side of her mask. "Just took one out, Spidey, and they seem serious."
(Elsewhere)
Spider-Man jumped up a large pile of rubble to the next floor, before he stood outside an open door, which had a meeting room on the other side, as it was full of desks.
"If they're all over this building - practically the burning areas - it's not gonna be easy getting anyone trapped out of here." he said.
"Well, maybe I can help." came a familiar voice via radio.
Spider-Man touched the side of his mask.
"Uh, did you guys get that?" he asked.
"I did." Ghost-Spider replied. "The voice sounded familiar, but I can't tell from where?"
"Me neither." Spider-Girl replied.
(Elsewhere)
Shadow-Spider gasped as he stood outside a room with , for he recognized the voice as Ganke.
"Ganke? How'd you-" he began.
"Ganke? As in your friend?" Ghost-Spider exclaimed.
"Oh, boy..." Shadow-Spider muttered.
"Shadow, how does he know?" Spider-Man demanded.
"Long story." Shadow-Spider answered nervously.
(Morales Apartment)
Ganke was sitting at a computer in Miles' bedroom, while the screen showed several of the burning rooms of the building via security cameras.
"It's true. I know who he is." Ganke assured. "I can see how bad the fires are by the cameras."
(Carlyle Industries)
"Wait; you hacked the security system?" Spider-Man asked, impressed as he crawled along a ceiling of the meeting room.
"Yes." Ganke replied. "I figured you might need some help."
"Uh... Shadow, we'll talk about this later, as we haven't got time." Spider-Man said.
"Understood." Shadow-Spider said.
"In the meantime, if you wanna help, let us know where there's innocent people here?" Spider-Man asked Ganke.
"Right." Ganke said.
(Elsewhere)
Ghost-Spider ran into a room, only for four H-Bombers in orange to come out with staffs, the ends of with flowed with electricity.
"Well, what do we have here?" she smirked. "Looks like four goons with shocker staffs."
"Get her!" one H-Bomber roared.
They all charged at her, before she jumped up to the ceiling, making them all look up, before she shot webs from both hands, trapping them in a web cocoon, causing their staffs to shock themselves.
"Shocking turn of events." she joked, as she dived and landed on the floor.
She turned and ran into the next room, seeing a woman trapped near some rubble, before she ran towards her.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" she asked.
"No, my leg's stuck!" the woman moaned.
"Right, hang on?" Ghost-Spider asked.
She lifted the rubble off her, then grabbed the woman and jumped out through the nearest window.
"AHH!" the woman screamed.
Ghost-Spider turned and shot a web from her right hand, which hit the building, lowering their descent, before she landed herself and the woman on her feet.
"There you go, ma'am." she said.
"Oh. God bless you, Ghost-Spider." the woman said, as a Paramedic came over. "I thought I was dead for sure back there."
"Don't mention it. Happy to help." Ghost-Spider said, before she jumped up and swung back into the building.
(Elsewhere)
Spider-Girl entered a room that had fires all around, and a few cubicle desks, before a hole in a wall blew open.
"Whoa! Parts of the building are starting to fall open!" she reported.
"We need to find all the civilians and get them outta here fast!" Spider-Man said.
"I understand." Spider-Girl said.
She ran towards the hole and jumped over the fire, before she landed on the other side of the hole, seeing a larger one in the floor with fires all around.
"Hmm? Better crawl along the wall." she thought.
She ran towards the left wall and began to wall crawl along it, till she got to the other side of the hole.
(Elsewhere)
Shadow-Spider ran into a room with a desk at the end, but saw no sign of anyone.
"Okay, room clear. Now to-" he began, before he heard an explosion.
He looked up as a hole got blasted through the ceiling, then two H-Bombers in orange began to descend down on cables.
"Okay, take that back." he thought, before touching the side of his mask. "Guys, I'm gonna be occupied for a while."
The two H-Bombers landed and charged at him.
"Just don't take too long!" Spider-Man advised.
"He's right. There's people trapped on the floor above." Ganke explained.
"Right." Shadow-Spider said.
He ducked as one of the H-Bombers tried to punch him, before he got behind him and kicked his back, knocking him onto his chest, then he grabbed the other's forearm and threw him over himself, landing on the first.
"Time to get up there." he said.
"Shadow, not quite. There's at least four more coming down, in pairs." Ganke reported.
Shadow-Spider looked up as two more H-Bombers came down on the cables, followed by two more, one of which wore grey armor and had a high-tech blaster.
"Get him!" that one roared.
He aimed and fired his blaster, but missed as Shadow-Spider jumped up and landed on the ceiling, who then dived down and kicked him with both feet, knocking him across the room.
"AHH!" he yelled, before he hit a wall and fell unconscious.
Shadow-Spider landed crouched down, then tuned as the other three H-Bombers came towards him, before he put his right hand on the ground and spun around, kicking one with both feet, knocking him away, before he hit the floor out cold. The other two then came at him from either side, before he jumped and split kicked them both, knocking them down and out, one against a wall, the other against the floor.
"Well, Gwen wasn't lying about the high-tech weapons." he thought. "Better see who's trapped upstairs."
He jumped up through the hole, and saw a man and a woman trapped behind fire on different ends of the room.
"Help!" the woman cried.
Shadow-Spider landed near the hole, and saw an open door with an intact staircase.
"Shadow-Spider?" the man gasped. "Does that mean-"
"We're all here, just on different floors." Shadow-Spider explained. "Can you both make it down if I get you to the stairs?"
"Yeah, it's okay." the man assured.
"Alright, hang on?" Shadow-Spider said.
He jumped over a fire and landed near the man, who he then picked him, then he jumped over the fire and landed near the door, before putting the man down.
"I owe you in a big way, Shadow-Spider." the man said, as he turned and ran down the stairs.
Shadow-Spider turned and ran towards the fire the woman was behind, which he jumped over, before he landed near her. He picked her up and jumped back over the fire, before he landed near the door and put her down.
"Thank you, Shadow-Spider." she said, as she turned and ran down the stairs.
Shadow-Spider turned around and touched the side of his mask.
"This room's clear." he reported.
(Elsewhere)
Spider-Man entered a hallway covered in rubble, before he turned right, and jumped onto the left wall, then jumped and landed on the right. He dived down and landed on the floor in a four-point stance as part of the wall collapsed, before he jumped up and landed on the ceiling, then dived down and rolled along the hallway. He jumped through a doorway, landing in a three-point stance, then he turned right, seeing a woman chained to a bomb in an office room.
"Spider-Man, help?" she cried. "This thing could go off at any moment!"
"Hang on, Ms?" Spider-Man said.
He dived down towards her, shooting two webs as he did, before he shot towards her and grabbed her.
"Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride?" Spider-Man warned, as he dived them both out of the window.
The woman screamed as he shot two webs from his hands at the building, which hit the top of it, slowing their decent down, before they reached the ground.
"Thanks for flying Air-Spidey." Spider-Man joked, putting the woman down.
"Oh, thanks, Spider-Man." she said.
"You're welcome." Spider-Man said.
He turned and jumped up, then web-swinged up and dived back into the building, as people on the ground watched.
"Guys, we need to quick!" he explained, diving into a room on the top floor. "Some of the people might be strapped to bombs."
"Understood, Spidey." Ghost-Spider said.
"Right." Shadow-Spider said.
"Got it." Spider-Girl said.
(Elsewhere)
Spider-Girl ran down a hallway, before she kicked open a door and entered a room. She looked around, and saw a man chained to a bomb, as three H-Bombers came at her, two in orange, while the third was wearing black and silver.
"Spidey wasn't kidding." she thought, horrified.
"Well, well, if it isn't Spider-Girl?" the third H-Bomber said. "Pound her, boys!"
He and the other two all charged at her, as she gritted her teeth, then she jumped and somersaulted over them all as they got near her.
"What the?" one gasped.
They all turned around as Spider-Girl landed in a three-point stance near the man, before she shot a web at one, hitting his chest.
"Time for lights out!" she joked, pulling him towards her.
She punched his chest hard, sending him flying away, hitting the second, while the third managed to roll away.
"That all you got? For a girl, you sure hit like one, as I bet you can't hurt me like that?" he dared, as his gloves began to flow with electric.
Spider-Girl frowned. "No one insults me like that!" she roared.
She shot a web at him, but he punched it with his left glove, destroying the end, shocking her.
"Okay, have to get in close." she realized.
The H-Bomber came at her, before she bent down onto her back, then kicked him with both feet as she leaned backwards, sending him flying across the room.
"What the?" he exclaimed, before he hit a wall. "OH!"
He fell onto his chest as Spider-Girl flipped onto her feet and turned him, as his gloves powered down.
"Shocking, isn't it." she joked.
She turned to the man strapped to the bomb, then ran over towards him and broke the chains from him.
"Ah, thanks." the man said, getting up.
"You okay?" Spider-Girl asked.
"Yeah, but I'm not the only one chained to a bomb by these crazies." the man explained. "Quite a few of us are."
"We know. Spidey just rescued a red-haired woman in an office room." Spider-Girl explained.
"These crazy psychos." the man said. "I don't think they care who dies as long this building's demolished."
"I agree. Look, you better get outta here." Spider-Girl said. "We'll make sure everyone else is alright."
"Right, but hurry." the man advised. "The building might collapsed at any minute."
She ran through a door, before Shadow-Spider came on her left, making them both stop and turn to each other.
"Your area clear?" Shadow-Spider asked.
"Yeah. What about yours?" Spider-Girl said.
"Same." Shadow-Spider said, before touching the side of his masks. "Is there anyone else left?"
"There's nothing left on my end." Ghost-Spider reported. "Just a few thugs which I knocked out."
"Nor mine, and according to your friend, Shadow, there's a woman ahead of you two. That woman's probably the last civilian." Spider-Man explained.
"It's true, and she's chained to a bomb herself." Ganke explained.
"Well, we've got her." Shadow-Spider assured, lowering his hand. "Let's go."
Spider-Girl nodded before they both ran down the hallway, before they entered a room with a desk at the end, while stood at the top of some stairs. They jumped down towards the woman, who was chained to a bomb, before two H-Bombers in grey armor with high-tech blasters came up from behind the desk.
"Geez, just how many of you guys are there?" Shadow-Spider asked.
"Take a look, Shadowboy." a H-Bomber joked.
Both Spiders turned and saw more H-Bombers in orange began descending on cables from the ceiling, then a few in silver came running down the stairs behind them, until over two dozen were in the room.
"Uh, guys, we might need your help." Shadow-Spider gulped. "There's at least over a dozen of these guys in here."
"They haven't got time!" Ganke argued. "The whole building might collapse as it's getting unstable!"
"He's right! Just get the woman and get out!" Spider-Man ordered. "Save civilians first, catch crooks second, remember?"
"Right." Shadow-Spider sighed.
"Come and get us, web-heads?" one of the H-Bombers said.
"I'll get the woman, you keep them busy." Spider-Girl whispered.
"Got it." Shadow-Spider muttered.
He looked at the thugs, before he shot webs from his hands, creating a large between him, Spider-Girl, the woman and the desk.
"What the?" one of them gasped.
The two H-Bombers behind the desk growled and prepared to fire, when Shadow-Spider back flipped and landed between them, then shocked them both with his Venom Blast, right into their jetpacks.
"AHHH!" they moaned, before they fell unconscious.
Spider-Girl approached the woman and pulled the chains off her, allowing her to get up.
"Thank you." she said.
"You better hang on, as we need to get outta here." Spider-Girl said.
"So, buckle up, ma'am?" Shadow-Spider asked, grabbing her.
He jumped out of the window with the woman, as Spider-Girl followed them, just as the H-Bombers broke through the web.
"Ah! We need to get outta here before the rest of the bombs go off!" one in silver said.
"What about our friends out cold?" one in orange asked.
"Forget them! Boss said anyone unable to leave, stays behind!" the silver one said. "Now let's go!"
They all turned and ran up the stairs to escape, leaving their two unconscious friends behind.
A little later, the four Spiders all stared at the building, as the Fire Bridge took care of putting out the fires.
"Well, the Cops have booked the H-Bombers we caught." Spider-Girl said.
"Yeah. Weird name though." Ghost-Spider noted. "I wonder who came up with it?"
"Probably their leader, wherever there is." Spider-Man deduced.
"Pity we didn't have time to question those goons about who was behind all this." Shadow-Spider said.
"I know." Spider-Man said. "Let's hope the Cops can get some information out of those we captured."
They looked down and saw Lt. Watanabe - who was now Capt. Stacy's second-in-command - supervising the other Cops arresting the H-Bombers they'd caught, while others had managed to escape. Out of all the members in the building, only 15 had been captured, all of whom had been among those knocked out, as a few of those ones had managed to escape with the others.
"Was anyone killed, Chief?" she asked, approaching the Fire Chief.
"Apart from a few of the gang members who didn't escape, no one." the Chief reported.
"Well, that's good." the Lt. sighed. "I hope the tower doesn't come down and make a mess of the city like back during 9/11."
"None of us do." the Chief assured. "I lost a good friend that day."
"I'm sorry. I know what it's like; I had to bury my best friend just last week." Lt. Watanabe sighed.
"I'm sorry about that." the Chief said, touching her shoulder.
"It's okay, we're all coping. I just didn't want my promotion this way." the Lt. sighed. "I'd rather my friend was transferred or forced to retire than dead."
The Chief sighed. "Well, we'll see ya. If we find any evidence, we'll let you know." he promised.
"Thanks." the Lt. said, before she turned and walked over to the Cops loading the captured H-Bombers into four Police vans, as there was over 20 of them.
The four Spiders turned to each other.
"Well, looks like we got more than 20 of those goons." Ghost-Spider said.
"The rest we encountered must've escaped." Spider-Girl said.
"Or we didn't encounter them." Shadow-Spider reasoned.
"Good point. Either way, now all that's left is for you to tell us what happened, Shadow?" Spider-Man said.
Shadow-Spider gulped as his teammates all glared at him, Ghost-Spider with her arms folded.
"Look, I didn't tell Ganke. He was in my room when I got home earlier." he explained. "He saw me take my mask off, I swear."
"Yeah, right?" Ghost-Spider scoffed. "And I bet he assumed it was a Halloween costume?"
"Uh, no." Shadow-Spider sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I know how important it is not to tell anyone."
"Spidey, how do you wanna play this?" Spider-Girl asked.
Spider-Man looked at Shadow-Spider, before he looked at the sky, as it was still dark.
"Look, I say we talk about this in the morning, due to how late it is." he decided. "For now, let's just go home."
"Okay Spidey." Spider-Girl said. "But this isn't the end, Shadow."
"No, it's not." Ghost-Spider agreed. "And we'll do it at your place, Shadow."
Shadow-Spider sighed as the other three all jumped off the rooftop and began to swing away.
"Man, I'm in big trouble." he thought.
The next morning, the four Spiders all met up inside the Morales apartment, sitting in the living room together, the girls on the couch, Miles and Peter in a chair each.
"So, we talking about last night?" Miles inquired.
"Yes. How did your friend Ganke find out?" Peter asked.
"I told you last night, he was in my room when I came home and saw me with my mask off." Miles explained.
Anya scoffed and folded her arms, while Peter and Gwen looked more understanding.
"You really didn't know he was there?" Gwen asked.
"Not until it was too late." Miles assured.
"Just bad luck then, like when Aunt May found my spare mask while we were helping clear your father's name." Peter said.
"Guess us girls are better at hiding ourselves than you boys." Anya joked.
"Not quite." Gwen sighed.
"What do you mean, Gwen? You've been caught out?" Miles asked.
"I was, but luckily for me, it was close to Halloween. Dad just thought I was trying on my costume." Gwen assured.
"Wait, is that why you and Peter went as... Oh, I don't believe it; you went to that Halloween festival as your alter egos?" Anya asked.
"Yeah. Good thing too, due to the Hobgoblin attacking." Peter assured.
"Well, I didn't expect that." Anya admitted.
They all turned as they heard the door slowly opening, and saw Ganke coming in, who spotted them all.
"Oh, uh, bad timing?" he assumed.
"No." Gwen replied coldly. "We were actually just talking about you."
"Yeah, about what you did last night for us." Anya added, folding her arms.
"For you? But..." Ganke began, before he realized what they meant. "Wait, you guys are the other Spiders?"
"Yes." Peter confirmed, getting up. "We've been talking to Miles about how you found out about him, and why you decided to help us."
Ganke sighed as he walked over to another chair and sat down at it.
"I... To be honest, I just felt I had too." Ganke explained. "Finding out who Miles is, I figured I should. You guys must've felt the same before you got your powers?"
While Miles and Anya looked blankly at him, Gwen lowered her head.
"I do." she said. "Remember Pete, when I told you after I first revealed myself to you?"
"Yeah, you did." Peter recalled, remembering that stint after getting the Venom Symbiote off him. "When you first found out, you said you wanted to be like me to help, due to how worried you were for me."
Gwen smiled, happy Peter remembered, not that he couldn't, as it was after she told him her true reason, due to her love for him, that got them together.
"Oh, yeah. You told me that." Miles recalled.
"Yeah, me too." Anya said, who'd found out from Gwen during one of their training exercises.
"So, Ganke, as you're Miles' best friend and finding out what he does, I can see where you're coming from." Gwen assured.
"Thanks." Ganke said. "So, what about me helping you in the future?"
The four Spiders looked at each other.
"Well, we do appreciate the help you gave us. Last night, you helped us find all those trapped civilians. Miles has told us you're a good computer whiz." Peter assured.
"I am. You heard me last night, I was able to hack the cameras and everything to help you guys get around." Ganke assured.
"How come Miles' parents didn't catch you?" Gwen inquired.
"His dad was among the officers at the building, while his mom was at the hospital to help with the injured." Ganke explained. "I even phoned them both after Miles left."
"I didn't see my dad down there?" Miles recalled.
"Well, he might've been checking another area of the building." Anya suggested.
"It's possible." Gwen reasoned. "My dad told me that's what happened during 9/11."
"Your dad was involved in that, Gwen?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, so was my mom. That's actually when they first met." Gwen sighed. "Dad told me what they both saw and heard was terrible. Nearly 3000 deaths in just one day, all because of some terrorists."
"Pretty there was no superheroes around at that time." Anya sighed. "Might've helped save people if there had been."
"I think we can agree there." Peter sighed. "Iron Man didn't first show up till the late-2000s after all, which was around the time we all were born."
"Uh, can we get back to the main subject here?" Ganke asked.
The four Spiders all turned to him, Miles looking disappointed as he turned to his friends.
"You mind if we discuss this for a few minutes?" Peter asked.
"Sure." Ganke said, getting up.
He walked over to Miles' bedroom and closed the door behind him. He waited for about five minutes, before he heard a knock on the door.
"You can come out." Miles said.
Ganke opened the door and left the bedroom, seeing all four Spiders standing and looking at him.
"So, what's your decision?" Ganke asked.
"Well, we admit that you really helped us out last night." Gwen began.
"And without your help, we might not have found all those people." Anya added.
"So, does that mean...?" Ganke began, hopefully.
"If you wanna help, you can be our man in the chair." Peter assured.
"Thanks." Ganke said.
"But, look, if you're gonna do this, you need a codename. So until you come up with one, try and stay out of this?" Peter asked. "If we call you by your real name, people might get suspicious."
"Uh, right." Ganke understood. "I'll let Miles know when I have one."
The four Spiders smiled, happy to have a new friend, and someone who could help them when it came to hacking stuff.
A/N: The H-Bombers are a criminal gang from the Spider-Man 3 video game. This isn't the last you've seen of them, as they'll be appearing semi-regularly throughout this season.