Chapter 2: Great Power
Star Labs…
New York City…
Sunday, April 23, 12:45 pm…
Jay sat on a chair as Curt Conners looked at his skin with a microscope. He had wanted to see if there were any changes with his skin as it was much harder than normal. Needless to say, Curt had indeed found something.
"It seems that your skin is now compromised of both normal human tissue and spider silk." Curt began as he closely inspected Jay's skin.
"Your skin must now produce both. It's incredible." Curt exclaimed.
"So, what does that mean? Is that why I'm all sticky?" Jay asked.
"No, it's not, but spider's silk is said to be stronger than steel," Curt began.
"And seeing as it has perfectly blended to your skin, I believe that you may be bulletproof," Curt finished, shocking Jay.
"Bulletproof?!" Jay gasped.
"Yes. Though that doesn't mean you're like Superman, mind you," Curt stated
"If anything, I'd compare it to you're skin being a full-bodied Kevlar armor. So if you are repeatedly shot or hit with armor-piercing rounds, it will go through." Curt explained.
"So don't go trying to do anything stupid just because you can survive being shot one or two times without being killed," Curt advised.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to anyway," Jay replied as he also figured it would still hurt really bad. His father then walked into the room accompanied by Jett's sister.
"Good to see you, Jay. I have to say I never thought I'd see you in here for something like this." Sara laughed as she placed some equipment down.
"Hey, Sara, how's Jett doing?" Jay asked.
"He's good though he's annoyed that you're not answering your phone," Sara smirked.
"Well, I broke my phone, so it's not like I could do that anyway." Jay sighed.
"I heard. I had to say you accidentally dropped it in the toilet." Sara chuckled.
"Couldn't you have made up a better not embarrassing story?" Jay inquired, knowing Jett would get the wrong idea.
"I could have, but this was more fun," Sara answered.
"Well, as long as he didn't press further, I guess it's alright," Jay deadpanned.
"Okay, so how's his skin looking, Curt?" Kiran inquired.
"It's fine. I'll give you the gist of it later." Curt responded.
"Alright, I had Sara calibrate the chemical analyzer just for us," Kiran replied.
"Honestly, the fact that you didn't know how to do it yourself says a lot." Sara chuckled as Kiran deadpanned in shame.
"I'm a biologist, and I've never seen a chemical like this. Normally I can figure it out without it, but this is new, so I need the best equipment." Kiran sighed as he turned it on.
"Plus, you made this yourself," Kiran added.
"Okay, we'll need another drop of your blood Jay," Kiran stated as Jay held out his arm.
"Is this even going to work?" Jay asked.
"We don't know, but since the spider that bit you is dead, we have no choice but to try to get what this chemical is from your blood," Kiran explained.
"But since you received it second hand, it will be a lot harder to accomplish that." Curt pointed out.
"Well, with this baby, it should find out what it is. After all, I made it." Sara boasted as she patted the machine and ran it.
"Okay, I think I see some of the chemical. It should take a few hours to fully analyze it, and hopefully, we can match it with some steroids and other physical enhancement drugs to see if it is composed of anything similar." Sara stated.
"And if it doesn't match up with anything?" Jay asked.
"Then it's back to square one," Kiran responded.
"If it comes to that, then we're dealing with something unseen before," Kiran stated as he walked over to his son.
"I know that this may be a lot to take in, but just be patient. We'll work things out." Kiran assured.
"I know it's just…annoying that I have to be extra careful when touching well anything," Jay replied as he looked at his hands.
"It's difficult, I know, but these may even come as a blessing in disguise." Kiran pointed out.
"Sure," Jay murmured.
"Look, no matter what happens, you're still my son, and I'm proud to be your father. No matter what happens, I'll be there." Kiran said.
"Maybe you'll even help people with this power," Kiran added.
"Thanks, Dad." Jay thanked.
"Hey, how about when we're done here? I'll show you how to use some of the things I do know how to operate," Kiran suggested.
"Awesome!" Jay exclaimed.
"Okay, so what's next?" Jay questioned.
"Just relax and wait for the results to come. Curt and I need to oversee this." Kiran answered.
"You can take a breather in the break room." Curt pointed out.
"Thanks," Jay replied as he stood up and left, with Sara following soon after once her job was done.
"You've got a good boy there, Kiran." Curt complimented as he put his supplies away.
"Yeah, I'm thankful that he came out so good." Kiran smiled.
"When his mother passed, I thought I wouldn't be able to be the father Jay needed. But it all worked out somehow." Kiran added.
"It's good to see this whole situation isn't putting him in a total panic too. Sometimes I feel like he's heard too much about what happens to metas." Kiran sighed.
"The world has become a scary place," Kiran stated.
"And we at Star Labs are getting more and more active. I feel like we're becoming more important nowadays." Curt replied.
"True, I hear some sites are working on trying to cure the metagene." Kiran pointed out.
"Now, that is a tough task." Curt chuckled.
"If cross-species genetics weren't banned due to the Man-Bat, I would try my hand at curing it," Curt added.
"It is a shame you were onto something when you were studying regrowing lost limbs and brain cells," Kiran replied.
"But at least now you won't have any chance of turning yourself into something like a giant lizard." Kiran joked.
"True with Killer Croc out there. No one needs another one running around." Curt agreed.
Nearby…
Jay began walking towards the break room as he kept his hands in his pockets so that he didn't accidentally stick to anything. Jay eventually made his way to the break room, where he took a seat and looked at a nearby TV that had the news on.
The news at the moment was uninteresting, so Jay did not pay attention to the news. He eventually ended up staring at the ceiling, just wondering what was going on in his life. A few days ago, everything was normal, but now he had powers that technically weren't meta-related.
"I hope everything will go back to normal." Jay hoped as he just didn't want to have any drama occur in his life. It is why he didn't have many friends as he usually kept to himself.
Thankfully, for the time being, he was going to stay at Star Labs and hopefully go back to school like nothing happened at all. Even though he technically was not a metahuman, the option of Taos could still come up.
It still made him nervous the thoughts of going there, but the knowledge that his special situation may have a way out and back to normalcy made it better. He was lucky to have such a caring father to help him out in this situation and wasn't left to his own devices.
While he thought about that, Jay took out an old photo of him and his father staring at the empty space that was left on the side his father wasn't on. His mother died a year after he was born due to an illness, which was why his father decided to focus on biochemical studies.
It was because of that his father got a job at Oscorp when Jay was four. Even with his demanding job, Kiran managed to make time for Jay balancing his life as a scientist and a single father. When his father left Oscorp and went to Star Labs, he started working more long nights.
However, even then, he made time for Jay even if he was supposed to be working just like a few days prior when he picked Jay up from school. Jay was glad that his father was there for him, and hopefully, one day, he could work with him in Star Labs.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Sara inquired as she approached Jay, who put the picture away.
"Oh, nothing," Jay responded as Sara sat next to him.
"What're you doing?" Jay asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm on my break. This is the break room remember?" Sara teased.
"Oh, right, dumb question." Jay chuckled.
"So, how're you holding up? This whole situation must be hard?" Sara asked.
"It's complicated. Every minute I feel like I am waiting to wake up from some dream." Jay began.
"I'm…nervous. After hearing all the stuff that happens to meta kids out there…I'm afraid that I won't be able to live a normal life." Jay expressed.
"I get that, but I wouldn't say that you were living a normal life before." Sara pointed out.
"People would say a normal person would have way more friends and probably have had a couple of girlfriends." Sara teased.
"I'm fine with just having Jett as a friend. A lot of people are like me, you know." Jay argued.
"Does that mean you're not fine with not having a girlfriend?" Sara questioned.
"Well….I mean…." Jay stuttered.
"Doesn't matter," Jay murmured.
"Sure." Sara laughed.
"But those powers you have may just be a blessing," Sara stated.
"Dad said that too," Jay replied.
"It's good advice. You have a good dad, Jay. Never forget that." Sara smiled. When she said that, Jay noticed a glint of sadness in her eyes.
He didn't hear much about Jett ad Sara's parents since they died a long time ago when Jett was young. Jett said he didn't have many memories of them, but he did say the ones he did have were pleasant. Sara managed to get through it all with her education and taking care of Jett even now.
Before Jay could say anything, Sara's phone got a notification which Jay got a quick glance of. He saw that it said something like pay Fis…and nothing else. Sara turned her phone before he could read anymore and directed her attention elsewhere.
"She looks irritated." Jay noticed.
Suddenly they heard strange noises coming from Star Labs' entrance, which was not too far from the break room. Out of curiosity, Jay peaked out of the break area towards the front, where everyone was looking out the doors at something.
Confused, Jay and Sara walked out to see exactly what everyone was looking at. When they got there, Jay looked up and saw something. He couldn't tell exactly what it was as it looked like a drone flying from afar.
"What's going on?" Sara questioned.
"I don't know," Jay responded as both looked at the object.
"This isn't right. I'm going to call the city and see if they authorized some drone testing." Sara stated as she walked off.
Usually, something like drone tests needed to be approved by the city since it can be a huge breach of privacy. At least that applies to drones as big as the one that was coming their way before Jay noticed something.
"That's not a drone." Jay pointed out as he noticed what looked like a person on top of the flying object as more people came out.
"What's going on?" Curt inquired as he came out.
While everyone looked at the scene in odd, Jay remembered something he remembered from the news a few days prior. He remembered J. Jonah Jameson talking about a man flying on some glider, causing terror as the events he caused came to mind.
Jay remembered that the lunatic nicknamed the Hobgoblin due to his monster-like appearance has been seen all over, destroying small businesses to large banks. It was then that Jay felt the tingling sensation once more. His father had joking dubbed his spider-sense as he saw something coming.
"GET AWAY FROM THE DOORS!" Jay shouted as he, without hesitation, grabbed Curt and another scientist and jumped back.
Before any of the others could move, the front exploded in a giant fireball causing part of the roof to collapse. Jay was unprepared as a chunk hit him and knocked him down while another landed on Curt, pinning him down.
It took Jay a couple of minutes to regain his composure as the bright light and loud sound of the explosion. The explosion had rattled him as he had never been such a thing as he struggled to get back on his feet and get the ringing noise out of his ears.
When he managed to do so, he noticed Curt pinned under the rubble, and he, thanks to his increased strength, got the rubble off of him. To his horror, Curt's right arm was badly damaged, and though he wasn't a doctor, even Jay knew he was most likely to lose it.
Before he could help him, he heard movement from behind him and saw Sara picking herself up with an injury on her head. Jay acted quickly and picked up Curt before helping Sara out of the building as the rest of the people that were there had died.
He managed to make it out and placed Curt down, and left Sara to find someone to get help. But as he did that, another explosion hit Star Labs before several others followed. Jay saw several other Star Labs officials who he didn't recognize leave, but one was still absent.
His father had yet to get out, and the roof and the rest of the building slowly began to collapse. Jay wanted to go in there before noticing the influx of people, police, firemen, and paramedics surrounding the area but was blocked off by debris.
It froze him in place as he watched the building burn. If he went in and moved the debris, no doubt people would figure him out, and he didn't want that, but if he didn't, his father might die. His hesitance proved costly as another explosion occurred, and Hobgoblin flew out of the inferno, cackling loudly.
Immediately the police opened fire on the flying psycho as he threw a few explosives down from above. Getting out of his haze, Jay moved back to Curt and Sara and helped the medics move them to an ambulance.
When he was done, he turned to see the building finally collapse as everyone was forced to clear the area. Jay could do nothing but watch as he was escorted away, staying in the same ambulance as Curt and Sara before looking up to see Hobgoblin fly away.
Oscorp…
Norman sat at his desk as he watched the news of the attack on Star Labs. He was unmoved by whatever deaths may occur as he and his company would be spared any consequence from their accident. Not a minute later did he get a call on his phone.
"This is Norman Osborn," Norman answered.
"The jobs done I've got a blood sample they had and destroyed all the data they collected. I haven't found the kid yet, though." Hobgoblin reported.
"Excellent. Though he's not dead, there's no way he'll be able to connect the dots or prove anything. You can take care of him anytime you want." Norman stated.
"Once you give me the sample, I'll wire you the money we agreed on," Norman added as he hung up.
4 Days Later…
Jay stood stock-still, not saying a word as rain poured down hard on him. Before him was a grave, more specifically his father's grave. He hadn't been able to escape Star Labs before it burned down, having stayed behind to help others get out.
With no other living relative, Jay was left in the care of Curtis Conners, who was now his guardian. Like Jay had thought, he had lost his right arm due to the rubble that had landed on it. The funeral soon wrapped up as most left save Jay, Curt, Jett, and Sara.
"How're you doing?" Jett inquired as he stood next to his friend.
"Not great," Jay replied, not making eye contact with his friend.
"I'm always here to talk whenever you need it," Jett replied as Jay gave him a smile.
"Come on, Jett, we need to go," Sara stated.
"Thanks again for helping me out back then." Sara thanked as she and Jett left.
"Don't blame yourself, son. There's nothing you could have done." Curt consoled as he placed his remaining hand on Jay's shoulder.
"But with my new powers, I might have been able to do something. I might have been able to get him out of there. But I stood there and did nothing." Jay stuttered.
"No, that manic left nothing. You would have most likely died too." Curt stated.
"Come on. We need to get out of the rain." Curt added as he and Jay left.
They returned to Curt's home, where Jay would now be staying at as the boy sat on his bed in his new room. As he sat alone, his thoughts came to Hobgoblin, the perpetrator that had killed his father.
It angered him that he did nothing and just watched as Star Labs collapsed and Hobgoblin flew off. Jay decided to try and get some sleep hoping that sleep will get his mind off of the topic. Sadly it did not.
For hours as the rain came down harder and thunder roared above, Jay was haunted by nightmares of Star Labs's destruction. Eventually, at 1:45 in the morning, he woke up in a cold sweat. Wiping the sweat off his brow, Jay decided he couldn't just do nothing again.
He got up and booted up his father's laptop, which had been left to him as his PC wasn't set up yet. Jay proceeded to scan the internet for any and all information about Hobgoblin, but all he found was something already known to the public, which was little to nothing.
Realizing that a simple google search would get him nowhere, he sighed in defeat as he couldn't just go out and find him. At least not without a lot of work and most likely use of his powers, which he did not like.
"How would I even find him?" Jay questioned as he turned to see a photo of his father and him at a science fair.
Jay had won third place with his instant freeze liquid. He had got the idea from seeing all of the villains with ice powers. Of course, it wasn't for evil. He had only made a liquid that, when exposed to air, froze instantly. It actually was useful for putting out fire very easily.
After the fair, his father had taken him to his favorite pizza place to celebrate him getting third place. It made Jay tear up, knowing that he would never get to share another moment like that with his father again.
"I can't give up. The police can't get him, but maybe I can. I just need to use the powers that I have to get that bastard!" Jay determined.
He made sure that Curt was asleep, and once he made sure he was, he took out a red bandana and wrapped it around his mouth. Jay then grabbed a pair of blacked-out aviator goggles that belonged to his dad and opened his window.
Thankfully there wasn't anyone around to see him jump out of the window and crawl up Curt's townhouse. When he got to the roof, Jay pulled up his hood as he ran across the roofs of the houses heading towards the main city.
Slowly he made his way to the bigger buildings and alleys, forcing him to start jumping to other roofs. At first, the gaps were small, but eventually, they were as wide as roads. This caused Jay to hesitate to jump because it still scared him to fall.
Not only that, he was pushing it for not being seen. Sure he hid his face, but he didn't want people to notice him. As he watched cars drive below him, Jay contemplated going through with this.
Sure he wanted to get revenge and stop Hobgoblin, but how would he do that? He couldn't control his strength, he didn't know how to fight, and he didn't know if he could survive a fight with the villain.
But he couldn't give in to fear, not again. He had to find Hobgoblin and get his revenge to make New York a safer place. He wanted to stop him to make sure that his father's killer couldn't walk free or, in this case, fly free.
Jay looked across the street at the buildings that laid there. Taking a deep breath, he backed up a few steps for a running start. He broke into a full-on sprint and jumped off the building he was on top of.
For a few seconds, it looked like he was going to make it until he began to drop and fall down, eventually hitting the side of the building. Before he fell off, he held on and crawled up to the roof lying on his back.
"Okay…so I can't jump that far. Good to know." Jay groaned as he got back up and continued his way to the skyscrapers of New York City. Little did he know he was being watched.
"Oh god, what am I getting myself into?" Jay questioned as he looked up at the sheer size of the skyscrapers above him.
"Start small. Start small." Jay murmured.
Once he finally got there, he began to climb a small but still tall building to see if he can spot Hobgoblin flying anywhere. Eventually, he made it to the roof and took a minute to catch his breath and psych himself up, and reminded himself not to look down.
"I'm beginning to wonder why I thought this was a good idea." Jay wondered as he looked around.
There was a hundred to one shot he would even find Hobgoblin, and no doubt this wasn't an effective way of finding him. However, before he could even try to think of a better way to do so, his spider-sense went off, telling him to jump up.
Jay jumped high in the air as where he was standing exploded. He landed a few feet away, looking at the burning hole that was in front of him. Before he could even question what happened, he got his answer as he heard the sound of a thruster come above him.
"Thanks for making it easy, kid. I was just going to blow up that house you were in, but you came all the way out here. Must be my lucky day." Hobgoblin smirked as he stood on his glider.
"What's with that disguise too? Anyone can just tear it off?" Hobgoblin laughed as Jay looked at himself and sighed.
"It's not like I have a mask," Jay murmured as Hobgoblin dived down, activating two blades that came out the front of his glider.
Jay jumped over Hobgoblin as he flew towards him and landed on all fours before Hobgoblin did a 180 and threw several bombs at Jay. The boy jumped and avoided them all, but the shockwave of one sent him flying off the roof.
Just before he would fall to the ground, Jay caught the roof's edge and stuck to it, hanging just over the edge. As he began to climb back up, he felt a wire wrap around his upper body and pull him off as Hobgoblin flew off with Jay in tow.
"Let's go on a little trip!" Hobgoblin laughed.
Hobgoblin flew through the skyscrapers as Jay struggled to free himself from the wire, only to realize that he would fall to his death if he broke it. But it soon didn't matter as Hobgoblin detached the wire, throwing Jay into a nearby building.
Jay crashed through a window into an office building, collapsing over a desk as Hobgoblin circled around to throw another bomb at Jay. Turning over onto his stomach, Jay picked himself up to prepare himself for Hobgoblin's next attack when a thought came to mind.
"Why is he trying to kill me? I was looking for him, but he was following me! But why?" Jay questioned.
He couldn't question it any further as his spider-sense warned him of an incoming attack. Thinking quickly, Jay broke off a desk leg and used it like a baseball bat to hit the bomb away as Hobgoblin threw it.
"Batter's up!" Jay shouted as he watched the bomb fly off.
The bomb went up high before going off in a fiery glory as Hobgoblin flew in to attack Jay. Not wasting the chance, Jay hurled the leg at Hobgoblin, who easily flew away from it as Jay jumped at him. At the moment, Jay saw red and didn't notice how high up he was.
Instead, he focused on his target and taking him out at all cost as he grabbed onto Hobgoblin and wrestled him on his glider. The glider flew out of control as Jay grabbed onto Hobgoblin's arms and attempted to throw the man off, but it seemed like Hobgoblin was equal in strength.
"Your strong kid guess the Oz Formula worked!" Hobgoblin laughed.
"Oz Formula?!" Jay thought.
"Why are you trying to kill me?" Jay questioned.
"I've been employed to do a job, and that job includes putting you down. My employer wants all loose ends taken care of, and I am happy to oblige." Hobgoblin explained.
Without saying anything, further Hogoblin broke free of Jay's grip and headbutted him, breaking one of his goggles' lenses and pushing him off the front of the glider. Hobgoblin smirked as he turned to watch Jay fall, but when he did, he saw nothing.
"You know a friend of mine would love to take this glider apart," Jay shouted, causing Hobgoblin to go wide-eyed and look at the underside of his glider.
"But I'm going to have to do it first, and I won't be gentle!" Jay declared as he plunged his fist into the bottom and ripped out several wires.
Hobgoblin and Jay were sent into freefall as the glider died out, and they landed on a nearby rooftop with a thud. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of Jay as he gasped for air taking off the bandana to get air.
"Clever bastard, but I'm not done yet!" Hobgoblin yelled as he picked up his broken glider and brought out the blades.
The orange-covered monster brought it down at Jay, who rolled out of the way, avoiding being pierced through. Getting back onto his feet, Jay punched at Hobgoblin, only for the orange-clad maniac to grab his fist and twisted his arm.
"You have no idea how to fight, kid," Hobgoblin stated as he punched Jay in the gut knocking the air out of him, causing the boy to drop to his knees.
"You may be strong, but you have no idea how to use your strength, unlike me," Hobgoblin added as he grabbed Jay's head and punched into across the face sending him to the ground.
"But I have to say, seeing that you were a success, my boss will be very happy." Hobgoblin laughed as he stomped on Jay's face repeatedly before picking him up.
"Too bad it was wasted on you," Hobgoblin said as he walked to the edge of the roof and threw Jay off.
Hobgoblin watched as Jay fell into the dark alley far below before tossing down a bomb for extra measure. Once it exploded, he called a spare glider as he destroyed his old one. When his new one arrived, he flew off and called Norman.
"All the loose ends are cleared. You have nothing to worry about." Hobgoblin reported.
"The boy is dead?" Norman asked.
"Yes, I tossed him off a roof and gave him a bomb for extra measure. Nothing will be left of him." Hobgoblin answered.
"Excellent, did he put up a fight?" Norman inquired.
"A little the serum worked. He had increased strength and stuck to surfaces," Hoblin responded.
"Stuck to surfaces, you say? Interesting." Norman murmured.
"Good work. Our business is done here. I'll see you for your next dose." Norman stated.
"See you then, Osborn," Hobgoblin replied as he hung up and flew off.
Unknown to Hobgoblin, however, back in the alley he had tossed Jay in, the boy survived if barely by grabbing onto a clothesline. Though that caused him to hit a wall and fall down several flights of fire escape levels.
Jay was nowhere near the ground when the bomb went off but was still out of sight of Hobgoblin, allowing the oversight that saved his life. Coughing up blood, Jay slowly picked himself up before falling onto his butt as lights turned on all around him.
No doubt people were waking up due to the explosion, and it wouldn't be long before they look out the windows. Not wanting to stick around, Jay got onto the wall, shuffled around, and made it around a corner before slowly making his way to the ground.
When he made it to the ground, Jay looked at his reflection in a puddle seeing his bruised face as sirens came from the distance. Jay hobbled away, ignoring the pain in his left leg, and instead of going to the filled streets of people, he ducked into a manhole he opened up.
"Ah, Jesus!" Jay cried as he crawled on the ceiling to avoid the water.
"It smells even worse than I thought it would," Jay complained as he moved forward.
"Focus on sticking. Focus on sticking." Jay chanted as he crawled.
"God, I bet this water is worse than the damn Hudson," Jay muttered.
"I wasn't ready. I should have known I wasn't." Jay thought as he peeked out a manhole in another alley.
Once he saw it was safe to leave, he got out and proceeded to hobble his way back home. It took him nearly two hours to get home and crawl back into bed. While he would like to go to a hospital, there would be no way he could explain how he got injured.
Plus, no doubt if he went, he would be announcing to whoever hired Hobgoblin that he was still alive. As he struggled to sleep, Jay thought about who wanted him dead, and he eventually came to the conclusion that it had to be Oscorp.
Hobgoblin said his employer wanted all loose ends taken care of, and who else could that apply to than Oscorp. It was suspected that the spider that bit him there was drugged up and tested on by them, so no doubt they wouldn't want it traced back to them if Jay were exposed.
"Dad said they weren't trustworthy but to this extreme?! I need to get better and…do something instead of getting my ass kicked!" Jay thought as he eventually went unconscious.
The Next Day…
Jay woke up as the sun shone through his curtains. It was half-past noon, and Jay could only assume that Curt was unable to wake him. Hopefully, he didn't notice his injuries, though that being said, it didn't hurt half as bad as it did last night.
Taking a quick look in the mirror, Jay was shocked to see that most of his bruises have faded greatly. They were still there and hurt a lot, but now it at least looked like something he would get from falling off a bike down a hill.
"It would be a little easier to explain this." Jay thought as he looked at the broken goggles and his torn clothes.
He changed into clean clothes, a black shirt, and jeans then took his father's old aviator goggles and placed them down on his desk, hoping that he could later fix them. Jay slowly went downstairs and saw Curt struggling to pick up a box and place it on a table.
"Want me to help you with that, Uncle Curt?" Jay asked, getting Curt's attention.
"Yes, thank you. I'm still adjusting to this change." Curt thanked as he rubbed where his right arm once was. No doubt his life would be a struggle without his dominant arm.
Jay picked up the box, which he noted contained what remained of Curt's lab that was salvaged. Looking around, there were two other boxes that held the same along with what remained of Jay's father's things.
"What happened to you?" Curt asked, noticing Jay's bruises.
"I…practiced with my powers last night." Jay half lied. Technically going out to find Hobgoblin gave him some practice, so he wasn't entirely lying in a sense.
"You don't need to do that so soon. Take some time and process what happened. You still have a week off school due to the attack." Curt stated.
"Take the time to grieve and focus on what you will do in the future," Curt advised.
"Thanks, I will," Jay replied as he turned to leave.
"Jay. I know with the power you now have, you may be tempted to use it for revenge. But don't allow yourself to fall into the pit that you can't come back from." Curt consoled.
"I'm fine, thanks," Jay said as he grabbed an apple and returned to his room.
Once in his room, he sat on his desk, turning on his father's laptop to see if there were news reports of his fight last night. While he tried to avoid being seen when he was moving around, a fight with Hobgoblin no doubt would have been noticed.
Sadly it seemed he missed the Daily Bugle's report, and the only live one was Gorden Godfrey's show. As much as Jay disliked the show, he wanted to know what was being reported, so he tuned in on the stream.
"Today, we are still reeling from the recent attack on Star Labs New York from the man who has been dubbed the Hobgoblin." Godfrey began.
"How could such a monster get away with this? He's flying around, for god's sake, how is it that he's so hard to find!?" Godfrey questioned.
"Because of him, over thirty people died, and several more were injured with this attack alone!" Godfrey continued.
"This man has been terrorizing New York for months, and nothing has been done about it! No hero can come to stop him, and certainly, the police can't handle him at all!" Godfrey vented.
"Then last night he stuck again! And this time, it seems he was fighting someone!" Godfrey stated.
"Sadly, due to it occurring late at night, no good video has been taken on the battle, but eye witness reports state that the Hobgoblin was engaged in a short fight with a man." Godfrey continued.
"Thankfully, no severe property damage occurred, but it seems that the second fighter was killed by Hobgoblin. Whether his opponent was a meta or not is still up in the air. But I ask you this." Godfrey added.
"When will the Hobgoblin go for more innocent people? When will he start picking innocent pedestrians of the street and kill them?" Godfrey questioned.
"Here today to give his point of view is New York Mayor Martin Li." Godfrey introduced as Martin waved at the crowd.
"So Martin, what are you going to do about this menace?" Godfrey inquired.
"Well, sadly, there's not much I as a mayor can do against him. I don't have the power to request any heroes to come to our aid, and I cannot condone bringing the national guard to come in and start a firefight." Martin stated.
"There is no easy answer for this situation, sadly, and I can't say that there will be a fast solution to it," Martin added.
"So you're saying that you will be doing nothing to stop him?" Godfrey questioned.
"No, not at all. But this is a situation that can't just be solved by picking up a bigger gun and taking him out. The last thing I want is people to die in the crossfire." Martin began.
"We must be patient until a plausible way to deal with him that will cause little damage and put the least amount of harm to citizens." Martin continued.
"That is why I am talking with people from both Oscorp and LexCorp to see if either can help us put a stop to this madman," Martin revealed.
"Really? What solutions do you see coming from them?" Godfrey asked.
"Something that could capture him safely, and before you ask, I am not looking for any kinds of weaponry," Martin answered.
"You see, I want to make sure that the people of this city are safe. If that means putting my career or even life on the line, I will do it. That is why I established F.E.A.S.T." Martian added.
"I believe that we must take care of one another to stop evil. But most of all, we cannot let fear dictate our actions. We must do what needs to be done to protect the people of this city." Martin finished.
Jay didn't pay much attention to what Gorden had to say, but when New York's Mayor talked, he listened very intently. What Martin Li had to say resonated with Jay as the boy looked out the window staring at the rain.
Grabbing a raincoat, Jay decided to go on a little walk after helping Curt one more time. As he left, Jay lifted his hood and hid his face best he could. Though in reality, the effort was probably pointless if he was right in thinking Oscorp was the one who hired Hobgoblin to kill him.
He walked for nearly an hour before he ended up in front of the ruins of Star Labs, staring at the rubble. It was then Jay finally understood. It was all his fault. His father's death and the deaths of the others at Star Labs, even Curt's lost arm, were all because he was there.
Oscorp wanted to cover up their mistake so that whatever this Oz Formula was that gave Jay his powers wasn't revealed to the public. Jay fell to his knees and stared at the ground as he grabbed onto the blockade to keep out the public hard enough to break it.
As the rain beat down on his head, Jay began to tear up. Why? Why did he have to get these powers, he thought. He slammed his fist on the ground cracking it as he looked up into the sky, allowing the rain to hit his face.
"I won't give up. If it was me that they were after that caused this, then I will finish this." Jay determined as he stood back up.
When he looked back at the rubble, he saw someone was going through it. Jay couldn't tell who it was as they wore a black hood and cape. He was going to tell him he wasn't supposed to be there, but the mystery man noticed his presence at that point, turning to look at him.
Jay noticed that he wore a mask around his eyes, and once their eyes met, the mystery man ran off, disappearing just as fast as he appeared. He ran around to see if he could spot them but to no avail. Before Jay could question what that was, he felt his new phone go off.
Taking it out, he saw that he had a text from Jett asking how he was doing. He was glad that his friend was checking up on him. Jay needed that, and as he thought about it, Jett could help him with his mission.
He asked if they could meet up to talk before leaving the site. Jay was determined to do this because he had to. As Jay left, the man he had seen before came out of nowhere and watched Jay walk off.
"Is something wrong? Who was that?" Someone inquired via a commlink.
"Don't know." The Boy answered as he walked over to where Jay was standing.
"But it seems he may be a meta." The Boy stated as he bent down and looked at the cracked ground.
"Should I follow him?" The Boy asked.
"No, stay on mission." The Voice responded.
"Understood." The Boy replied as he turned to leave, moving his cape aside revealing an R labeled on the left side of his chest.
Oscorp…
Norman couldn't believe it. His Oz Formula worked better than he expected. In front of him was a holo image of Jay Shepard's DNA which showed the Oz Formula took full effect. From what he could see, the Oz Formula fully transferred to the boy via the spider's venom.
It seemed, though, that because the Oz Formula was transferred to him via a spider, his DNA took a few of the spider's traits. But that didn't make it any less successful in fact, it could be better because of this.
Though he doubted people wanted to gain powers via a spider bite, Norman could just harvest the spider's venom. Then again, it may be more useful to just take the Oz Formula straight up as intended, but his client should still be pleased. Just as he thought that his phone went off.
"Speak of the devil," Norman smirked as he saw who was calling.
"This is Norman," Norman answered.
"Good Morning Norman. I was wondering if you could explain to me why you borrowed Hobgoblin from me to attack Star Labs." The Voice on the other side requested.
"I had a little problem with a student who was touring my facilities being bitten by a spider dosed with Oz Formula. I needed the evidence taken care of and a blood sample." Norman began.
"You'll be happy to know it was a success. From what Hobgoblin told me, the boy was strong and had additional abilities." Norman continued.
"You'll be able to use the formula to enhance your empire." Norman finished.
"Excellent, Norman. I expect shipments of the formula by next month." The Voice replied before hanging up.
"Now then, I should set up a way to harvest the venom," Norman murmured as he pulled up their current status on his computer.
"What! This can't be!" Norman gasped as he ran out of his office to check on the spider containers.
When he entered the room, he found several of his scientists taking notes on the dead arachnids. Norman was not happy in the slightest as he walked over at grabbed a notepad from one of the scientists, and looking it over.
"What happened?" Norman questioned as nothing on the pad explained how the spiders died.
"We don't know, sir. They just dropped dead this morning." One of the scientists answered.
"I want every test run to figure out what happened. NOW!" Norman demanded as he left the room.
"If this was caused by the Oz Formula, then I may be in deep water." Norman thought as he stormed back to his room and ran another scan on Jay's blood.
From what he could see, nothing had changed, but Norman was uneasy. If Type Three Oz Formula was the cause of the deaths of those spiders, then it could very well kill Jay too. But then again, the spiders showed no sign of being ill or unwell, so how did this happen.
"With him being dead, there's no way to know," Norman muttered.
"I have no choice. I have to test it with some changes." Norman determined.
Oscorp Otto Octavius Lab…
"Think my work hasn't shown any fruit, do you, Norman?" Otto questioned aloud as he worked on his metal arms.
"Well, neither has yours. And I'll make sure it doesn't, Norman! Those damn spiders are just the beginning!" Otto seethed as he attached the arms to a harness.
"And there's no way those buffoons can figure out how I did it either. No one can compare to my genius." Otto thought.
Once each one was attached, he placed himself in the harness and locked it into place. When he was ready, he turned it on, and much to his pleasure, the arms sprung to life. Otto commanded them to move slowly at first, then faster.
He picked up several items around the room until one of the upper arms went limp, falling to the ground with a loud thud. Irritated, Otto attempted to pick it up normally, but he inadvertently commanded the other arms and smashed several pieces of equipment.
"Damnit!" Otto cursed as he turned off the arms.
"Still has some errors," Otto muttered as he began cleaning.
"I'll get it right, and then I'll never let it happen again." Otto determined as he looked at a photo of his deceased family.
Brooklyn…
Jay stood outside Jett's house, waiting for his friend to answer the door. Eventually, Jett opened the door, and the two gave one another a quick hug. Once inside, Jay wanted to get straight to business though that meant revealing his secret.
"So, how're you holding up besides the bruises?" Jett inquired, surprised to see Jay like that.
"I'm okay. But I actually could use your help with something." Jay answered.
"What is it?" Jett asked as Jay looked around.
"Is your sister here?" Jay questioned.
"No, she's out getting some of the things they recovered from her lab. Thankfully most of her research survived." Jett responded.
"That's good to hear," Jay replied.
"So, what did you want to ask?" Jett asked.
"I want to catch Hobgoblin," Jay stated.
"Catch Hobgoblin?" Jett repeated.
"That's right." Jay clarified.
"As in, you want to capture the guy who flies around and blows shit up?" Jett inquired.
"Yes," Jay answered.
"You do realize that's suicide, right?" Jett questioned, confused at how his friend could even consider the idea.
"I know I barely managed our encounter last night," Jay replied, causing Jett to go wide-eyed.
"Hold up! What did you just say?!" Jett asked.
"I went out last night to find Hobgoblin, but it turns out he was looking for me and attacked me. I barely got away, and I could use some help." Jay explained.
"But why…how…?" Jett began to question before he was silenced when Jay closed the curtains to the windows, then jumped onto the ceiling and clung to it.
"Oh," Jett murmured.
"You…you're a meta!" Jett gasped.
"That's so cool!" Jett exclaimed.
"So that means you were able to fight against Hobgoblin, right, so what are you're powers?" Jett asked.
"First, please keep it down, and secondly, I'm not really a meta." Jay began as he hopped down from the ceiling.
"Remember when I got bit by that spider at Oscorp? Well, it transferred some sort of drug called Oz Formula into my system that gave me these powers." Jay finished as he listed his powers.
"You know, I know you hate the whole superpower thing, but this is pretty cool," Jett replied.
"I'm still not entirely happy about it." Jay sighed as he sat down on Jett's couch.
"Especially because I think they hired Hobgoblin to kill me to cover their tracks," Jay added.
"Shit," Jett murmured as he sat next to his friend.
"So you want my help to beat Hobgoblin? What happened last night?" Jett inquired.
"I got my ass handed to me. I nearly died, but I got lucky, and at the moment, he thinks I'm dead." Jay began.
"But one thing that I just can't stop thinking about is that he was hired to kill me. So it was my fault Star Labs was destroyed. My fault my Dad's dead." Jay explained.
"Don't say that, man it's not like you wanted it to happen." Jett consoled.
"I know. But I still want to do something about it." Jay stated.
"So I'm going to ask a question, so don't take it the wrong way. What makes you think you can take him on another time?" Jett questioned.
"I can't go back to living my life unless I do. He'll just try to kill me again." Jay pointed out.
"Good point," Jett replied.
"So, what do you want me to make you?" Jett asked as he pat Jay on his shoulder.
"Wait, why are you so eager now?" Jay questioned.
"It's like you said you can't go back to your life until you capture Hobgoblin so let's get to work!" Jett answered.
"Plus, he hurt my sister and killed your Dad. How could I not help?" Jett added.
"Thanks, bud." Jay thanked.
"So, what're you thinking about?" Jett inquired.
"Well, I could use a mask to hide my face. To be honest, Hobgoblin made a good point about my bad disguise." Jay began.
"Done. Anything else?" Jett asked.
"Remember when you told me about that instant zipline you were making?" Jay reminded.
"Yeah," Jett answered.
"Think you can make something like that but with say…webs?" Jay asked.
"You really want to stick with the spider stuff huh?" Jett chuckled.
"I thought I might as well commit, plus I've seen footage of this guy." Jay began as he took out his phone and opened a video.
"They call this guy the Black Spider, an assassin who uses spider-like webs. While I can't condone what he does, the use of his webs is intriguing." Jay explained.
"Yeah, it's actually pretty intriguing. If you had this, it would make maneuvering around the city far easier." Jett agreed.
"I think I'll be able to make a fluid that can simulate the textile and strength of a spider's web just like this guy's. I just need a way to use it." Jay said.
"Not bad I love a challenge. Let's do it!" Jett exclaimed.
"But wait, won't people confuse you for this Black Spider guy?" Jett asked.
"I don't really care. It's not like I'm becoming a hero." Jay responded.
"Why not?" Jett questioned.
"I just want justice for my Dad and the others who died. After that, I'll just live my life." Jay explained.
"The world has enough heroes anyway," Jay added, referring to the Justice League and other heroes not associated with them.
"Doesn't feel like it recently. They can't do anything without U.N. approval." Jett pointed out.
"Even so, I rather not get involved," Jay replied.
"Suit yourself. But before we start, you have to promise me one thing." Jett stated.
"What's that?" Jay asked.
"Don't tell Sara I'm helping you with this. She'd freak if she found out." Jett requested.
"No problem, man. I just hope Uncle Curt doesn't find out." Jay agreed.
"Though that being said, they both know about my powers." Jay pointed out.
"Wait, so that means they'll be able to find out?" Jett questioned.
"Not necessarily if we play our cards right. Besides, this is only going to be a one-time thing." Jay answered.
"So if they do find out, hopefully, the fact that it'll only be once will ease whatever punishment they may give us," Jay added as Jett rubbed his chin.
"Well then, my friend. Let's get started!" Jett smirked.
Hours Later…
"Jett." Jay sighed as he stood next to his friend in the basement of Jett's house.
"Yeah Jay?" Jett asked.
"Don't you think it's too big?" Jay inquired as both looked at the large prototype Jett had produced.
It was as large as Jay's arm and would be hooked onto the shoulder. Plus, it was button activated where he would have to hold onto the button, which was attached via a wire. But overall, it hindered his arm's movement way too much.
"Well yeah, but this is just a prototype to see if I can actually do this. I mean, it's not like we'll be able to do this in a day." Jett stated.
"Speaking off, do you have the fluid?" Jett asked.
"Yeah, I managed to produce some at home with some leftover stuff left to me by my Dad. Just don't touch it directly, or else you won't be able to get it off until an hour." Jay warned.
"Alright. Pour it in here." Jett instructed as Jay followed, pouring in as much as was allowed.
"Perfect now, stand back and let's see how this works," Jett said as he picked up the activation button.
"3." Jett began.
"2." Jett continued.
"1." Jett went on.
"Flame On!" Jett smirked as he clicked the button and got a weird stare from Jay.
When he clicked the button, there was no reaction whatsoever from the device. The two looked at one another before Jett slowly moved over and inspected the device. Soon he adjusted a few wires and stood back again.
"Sorry about that. The trigger wasn't attached correctly." Jett chuckled.
"That's fine but do you want to talk about that Flame On thing?" Jay questioned.
"It's just a catchphrase I came up with. What? Is it not good?" Jett inquired.
"Just didn't fit the situation. If you were setting something on fire, then it would have been more appropriate." Jay stated.
"I guess." Jett sighed.
"Alright, let's try this again," Jett said as both prepared for the worse.
"3." Jett began.
"2." Jett continued.
"1." Jett went on.
"Trigger!" Jett finished as he pressed the button.
This time it had an immediate reaction, but instead of doing what both wanted, it exploded, sending white web everywhere, sticking against everything. Unfortunately, that included both Jay and Jett, who were stuck to a wall.
"Well, that was a reaction," Jay murmured.
"At least it did something. I think I know the problem, though." Jett replied.
"How long did you say it takes for this stuff to wear off?" Jett asked.
"An hour but don't worry about it," Jay responded as he easily broke out of the webbing and helped Jett get out.
"Man, super strength must have its perks." Jett joked.
"When it doesn't cause me to break my stuff, yeah," Jay replied.
"Well, until this stuff dissolves, I think we should focus on something else," Jett suggested.
"What do you think we should do in the meantime?" Jay asked.
"Isn't it obvious you still need practice using your powers? I doubt you know how to actually fight with them." Jett pointed out.
"Good point." Jay agreed as he remembered Hobgoblin saying something similar.
"By the way, where do you get all these supplies?" Jay inquired as they walked up the stairs.
"Sara's starting her own startup since Star Labs is gone for the moment she's going to be doing some contract jobs. I'm just using some scrap she doesn't use." Jett explained.
"That's some serious stuff she has, though you probably could build a bomb. What's she building?" Jay asked.
"I don't know. She says she's under NDA. Though I can say, she's not building a bomb." Jett answered.
"I see," Jay murmured before he stopped.
"Wait, where am I supposed to practice?" Jay questioned.
"I have…well, I guess borrow an abandoned warehouse by the pier we can use," Jett answered.
"You mean trespass?" Jay asked.
"Basically yeah." Jett sighed.
"Are you sure this is safe, and there's no chance that the cops will arrest us, right?" Jay inquired.
"Mostly," Jett responded.
"That does not inspire confidence," Jay murmured as the two left the house.
Pier…
Jay and Jett hopped down as they landed on the other side of a fence where the warehouse Jett had told about lay. It was far bigger than what Jay was expecting, and from the outside, it seemed very reasonably sturdy.
"So what do you do here anyway?" Jay asked as he and Jett walked inside.
"Mainly test some stuff that has a high risk of blowing up. Better it do it here than at home, right?" Jett answered.
"Good point," Jay replied as he looked around the dirty old warehouse.
"It's pretty cluttered, don't you think?" Jay asked as he moved a large chunk of debris.
"Yeah, but that's not entirely important at the moment. This could be good for testing out your powers." Jett responded.
"Don't tell me you're going to make me clean this place up like some sort of training montage?" Jay sighed.
"Of course not. We don't have time for something dumb like that. We're just here to get you used to your powers." Jett replied.
"Fair enough, but what am I supposed to do exactly? I basically got the sticking to surfaces under control and my strength, though I've never used all of it." Jay questioned.
"You are so full of questions." Jett laughed.
"Jay, you may have that down, but you don't know how to use them together, my friend. Look at superheroes and villains, for instance." Jett began.
"They can move super fast and are very maneuverable, unlike you, which can cost you in the rematch against Hobgoblin." Jett finished.
"Guess you have a point," Jay murmured as he jumped on a pillar.
"So, what should I do?" Jay questioned as he climbed up higher.
"Just maneuver around this place. I haven't explored all of this place cause it's messy as hell, and I can't find too many openings." Jett answered.
"Try timing yourself and see how fast you can make it through this place," Jett added.
"Is that really it?" Jay questioned.
"Just think of it as running laps," Jett replied as Jay sighed.
"I hate running laps," Jay murmured as he looked around and saw a second floor through a hole in the ceiling.
He leaped from the pillar he was on and landed on the railing on the second floor. Jay nearly fell down as his foot slipped, but he managed to grab onto the railing. After pulling himself up, Jay looked to see where he could go next.
Looking around for a minute, Jay looked higher up the pillars to the several supports for the roof. Jay crawled further upward to the ceiling as he was no longer prevented by the second floor. Once he was high enough, he looked around at all the debris that blocked off the warehouse.
It was just as messy as Jett had said as Jay couldn't see much room to go anywhere else. Jumping down back to the floor, Jay moved to a large pile and inspected it. He looked over the pile like a game of Jenga and then took out a piece that wouldn't compromise the structure.
Jay easily managed to pull it out, and thankfully it gave him room to the other side. After crawling through the hole, Jay was met with a large room filled with several shipping containers pilled everywhere.
After seeing them, Jay turned around and looked at the debris and then back to the containers then back at the debris again. If he was going to get around this place, he might as well clean up a little bit.
He pulled open some containers finding some building material but eventually found what he needed being an empty one he can dump the debris in. The debris was heavy, but with his super strength, they weren't a problem.
Jay managed to clear most of it so that he wouldn't have to crawl past it again before moving on. He hopped between several containers until one which he landed on shuddered. Suddenly the floor beneath him collapsed, and the area he and the container he stood on fell.
Luckily Jay jumped off and got onto a pillar, avoiding being buried. Thankfully only a small portion of the floor collapsed. It seems the place isn't as structurally sound as it had initially thought, so he'll need to be a lot more careful.
"Man, this is going to be annoying." Jay sighed.
Later…
Jay managed to return to where Jett waited for him, and when he did, he noticed that Jett had set up several chains to hang around the room. Confused, Jay hopped down to the ground to see what Jett was doing that for.
"What's with the chains?" Jay inquired.
"You wanted me to make something to allow you to swing from webs, remember. I just thought it would be best to get some sort of practice." Jett explained.
"I see that is a good point." Jay agreed as he looked at the chains.
"Still, I wonder if this will all matter in the end," Jay murmured.
"You have a week to prepare. It'll have to." Jett pointed out.
"A week? Why a week?" Jay questioned.
"Come on, dude, that's when school goes back into session. You can't just skip out, and if you do go, then Hobgoblin will know that you're still alive." Jett revealed.
"Oh, right. So I have to take him down within a week." Jay replied as he jumped up and grabbed a chain.
"Best make do with what I've got," Jay said.
Author's Note:
That's another chapter hope you guys enjoyed! So yeah, it's going to take Jay a little while longer before he can even think of going against Hobgoblin again. I didn't want him to get it on the first try because, well, he can't just fight another superhuman right off the bat.
Honestly, I felt it made the story more interesting than him just beating some random thug. I wanted to take this a little slower before Jay inevitably becomes Spider-Man and develop his and Jett's characters a little.
Now about Jay's bulletproof skin, I had wanted to give him something unique to Jay to set him apart from other Spider-Men, just like how Miles has his camouflage and Venom Strike. Plus, I also gave him a small healing factor.
While it's not on the level of Wolverine, Jay does heal faster than most people, which is why most of his injuries faded the next morning. Basically, say if he had a broken bone, instead of it taking weeks to heal, it'd take like three or four days depending on how severe it is.
Also, before anyone asks, yes, that was Robin (Tim Drake) who Jay saw investigating the ruins of Star Labs. I just wanted to make it a little bit of a reveal there, so yeah. The rest of the team will show up eventually, but for now, they will just make cameos or short appearances.
Now before I go to the reviews, I want to say I won't constantly be updating this story as fast as how fast this chapter came out. I've had this and chapter one as well as three written out for a while now because I wanted to write it and see if I can make it work.
I think I did a pretty good job, so yeah, after next week, when chapter three comes out, there probably won't be weekly updates unless I just get really into writing this and can pop them out fast.
That's all I have to say today, so I'll finish off with reviews:
Kival737101 – Yeah, I don't plan on Jay having any kind of romantic relationship with any current members of the team.
Flame Wolfe – Glad to hear it and hope you enjoyed this chapter.
HyenaMan – Yes, there will be some DC villains who will be in his rogue gallery. I will not say who they will be as I want to keep it a surprise, but I digress.
Necros The Saiyan Knight – Yes, this is happening in the time skip between seasons two and three. More specifically, this takes place a few months before Batman Inc leaves the league.
I felt it appropriate to place the story here as metas are way more rampant than in season two, which I think will make this story more interesting.
That's all I have for today. See you guys next time!