Chapter 17:
F.E.A.S.T DOWN PART 2
New York…
Thursday, June 22, 10:13 pm…
Construction Site…
"Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit…" Spider-Man cursed, struggling to move with the concrete weighing him down.
"I have to do something fast before I get buried alive!" Spider-Man thought as he clawed at the wall.
Though the concrete fell slowly on him, he hadn't been fast enough to act as his hands were dipped in the substance, causing him to be unable to stick to the walls. Additionally, his web shooters had been covered, meaning he couldn't shoot any webs to pull himself out.
Thinking quickly, Spidey thought through several ideas on how to get himself out of this situation. However, none were good enough that it would guarantee success. In fact, many might make his situation worse. But he had to do something quick.
"Come on, Spidey, think!" Spider-Man muttered as he looked up, only to see Arrowette fall down from above.
"Oh no." Spider-Man gasped as he watched her fall.
Without much thought, he looked down at his belt, which held his spare web cartridges. He had an idea, though he didn't know if it would work. His web fluid was compacted into the cartridges in order to store as much as he could inside them, and when he shot a web, it would move faster, thanks to Jett's advice.
So, if he put one under a lot of pressure, it could explode and create a massive blanket or cushion of webbing. If it worked, he could use it to push the concrete away and to keep more concrete from falling down.
With Arrowette falling toward her demise, Spider-Man didn't have time to think about his other options, so he quickly grabbed one off his belt and squeezed it in his hands with all his might. If anyone else tried this, there wouldn't be any hope of it succeeding, but with his super strength, there was a chance.
It was then that he felt the cartridge break in his hand and begin to expand, so moving quickly, he threw the cartridge above him and it exploded. Webs shot out everywhere, covering up the cement mixer and pushing away any concrete that was about to spill on Spider-Man. With this new reprieve, Spidey wiped off the concrete on his hands and dug his fingers into the wall, allowing him to rip himself out of the concrete around him.
He quickly scaled the pit, grabbing onto the webbing above him and moving it away. But in his way stood Ox, who towered over the arachnid hero. Ox was surprised that Spider-Man managed to get out of the pit so fast, but he didn't let it distract him as he went to attack.
"Sorry, big guy, but I've got more pressing matters to attend to than round two!" Spider-Man shouted as he jumped over Ox before jumping off the back of the man's head to gain more air.
Since he couldn't use his webs at the moment, he used the supports of the construction site to gain more air before jumping toward the falling Arrowette. Spidey quickly grabbed onto her, pushing them back onto one of the floors before turning so that he could take the brunt of the impact of their landing.
"You okay?!" Spidey questioned as he picked himself and Arrowette up.
"Y-Yeah…thanks." Arrowette thanked as Spider-Man set her down.
"Man, was that close. I thought we were goners for a second there." Spider-Man sighed as bullets began raining down on them.
"You really need to stop talking," Arrowette muttered, taking cover behind a pillar.
"Yeah, I have a problem with that." Spider-Man chuckled half-heartedly as he hid behind his own pillar.
"You wouldn't happen to be able to hit them here, would you?" Spider-Man inquired, peeking around his pillar.
"Not with my bow like this," Arrowette answered, holding up her bow with its broken string.
"That's not good," Spidey commented before noticing Ox barreling up the stairs toward them.
"And that's worse," Spider-Man added as he grabbed onto a nearby beam and tossed it at the towering beast, knocking him back down the stairs before grabbing onto Arrowette and jumping up a few levels.
"Gah, at least give me a warning before you do that!" Arrowette insisted, her face turning red as Spider-Man placed her down.
"Didn't have time to do so." Spidey laughed as he plucked one of Arrowette's arrows from her quiver.
"Borrowing this real quick," Spider-Man stated, shocking Arrowette as he used the tip of her arrow to dig out the concrete blocking his webshooters.
"That should do it," Spider-Man smirked as he shot a few webs to test it while Arrowette snatched her arrow back.
"Well, at least you have something working for you, but that still doesn't get us out of this situation," Arrowette noted as she jumped out of the way of gunfire.
"No, but it does help me with this," Spider-Man replied as he snatched Arrowette's bow from her and, with the help of his webs, repaired the string.
"There! My webs only last about an hour or so, but they're pretty strong, so you should be able to use your bow again." Spider-Man smirked as he tossed Arrowette's bow back to her.
"T-Thanks…" Arrowette murmured before glancing back at Spider-Man.
Ever since the two first met earlier that night, Arrowette had only seen one thing, not Spider-Man but Black Spider, the man who once tried to kill her father when she was young. But now, as if a fog had lifted, standing next to her was not the assassin for the League of Shadows but her fellow hero, Spider-Man.
"Alright, so what's the plan?" Arrowette inquired, testing out her repaired bowstring.
"Well, clearly, those three guys are the biggest problem. So focusing on them first should be our priority." Spider-Man noted as Arrowette peaked over the edge.
"That's easier said than done since they like teaming up." Arrowette pointed out while watching Montana.
She watched as he barked orders to everyone while staring at their location. It seemed he had the best instincts and eye out of the group on top of being the leader. Narrowing her eyes, she looked for a vantage point she could use to take him off guard so he couldn't use his whip to deflect her arrow before it got close enough.
"We need to take down Montana first. He's the coordinator, so without him, the others will be in disarray for a time." Arrowette stated as she pulled out an arrow.
"Got a plan?" Spidey inquired as Arrowette shrugged.
"Of sorts," Arrowette replied as she ran over toward Spider-Man, taking over with him behind his pillar.
"But I'm going to need you to swing me across the center." Arrowette requested surprising Spider-Man.
"You sure? I mean, that Montana guy managed to snap one of my webs before the same could happen again." Spider-Man reminded as Arrowette nodded.
"That's what I'm hoping for," Arrowette explained as Spider-Man sighed before putting his left arm around Arrowette.
"So, just to be clear, I'm being bait here," Spider-Man stated as Arrowette tested her bow.
"Yeah, sorry. You don't have to do it if you don't want to." Arrowette apologized, causing Spidey to chuckle.
"Nope, just wanted to check." Spider-Man laughed, annoying Arrowette as she elbowed him in the gut.
"Alright, alright, but try to bear with me a little. I don't have much practice swinging while holding someone in my arms." Spider-Man warned as he looked out from his cover.
"Understood," Arrowette smirked as she prepared herself.
"Then hang on tight," Spider-Man advised before running from behind his cover and leaping over the edge.
When the two were back in sight, they were immediately met with gunfire from above. Thankfully, Spidey managed to avoid it by firing a web and swinging himself and Arrowette out of the way. However, below, Montana watched carefully as the two swung around above him.
Pulling out his revolver, he carefully aimed as Spider-Man spun a new web to keep him and Arrowette out of reach of the gunfire. Just as he prepared to shoot the web in two, he noticed Arrowette aiming an arrow at him.
Quickly pivoting, he aimed at the archer as she fired off her arrow. Taking out his whip, he fired a bullet aimed at Arrowette's head while snapping his whip to break the arrow she fired at him in two. But when the whip made contact, the arrow exploded, knocking Montana back and breaking his whip.
As the explosion rocked the bottom of the construction site, Spider-Man's spider-sense went off, warning him of the bullet heading toward Arrowette. Without hesitation, Spidey let go of his web and pulled Arrowette close to him as he spun his body around, allowing the bullet to hit him in the back instead of hitting her.
"Shit!" Spider-Man cursed as pain radiated from his back while he and Arrowette fell.
Acting fast, he fired off another web to slow their descent and swing them to a lower level, crashing into a pile of metal bars, causing it to fall down behind them. Spidey groaned in pain as Arrowette got up, shocked.
"What did you do?!" Arrowette gasped, trying to flip Spider-Man over.
"There was a bullet…heading toward you," Spider-Man muttered as he slowly picked himself up.
"You idiot, I was going to avoid it myself! Even if I didn't, my costume could take a bullet or two for me!" Arrowette revealed surprising Spider-Man.
"Really? Huh…I guess I'm not used to being around people who could do that." Spider-Man chuckled as he attempted to stand up, only for Arrowette to stop him.
"Are you crazy?! You got shot! You need to put pressure on the wound and…" Arrowette began as he placed her hand where Spidey got shot before feeling something rough.
"What the…" Arrowette murmured as she pulled out the crushed bullet.
"Yeah…my skin now grows with a little spider silk in it. It makes it like I'm wearing permanent Kevlar that regenerates. Still hurts a lot, though." Spider-Man explained as Arrowette kicked his leg.
"That doesn't excuse it!" Arrowette complained as Spidey grabbed onto his leg.
"Okay, sorry, I'll keep that in mind." Spider-Man sighed as he rubbed his leg.
"But thanks…on the off chance I couldn't avoid it, you did save me. Twice now." Arrowette thanked as Spider-Man nodded.
"Of course. Though I have to ask, did we really do all that just to knock Montana around?" Spider-Man inquired as Arrowette nocked another arrow.
"Nope…well, partially. I just wanted to open him up some more to do this!" Arrowette declared as she fired a few arrows at the recovering Montana.
Still disorientated from the explosion that knocked him to the ground, Montana was unprepared as the arrows hit the ground around him. Once they landed, they exploded into a black foam that covered the gunslinger before hardening and trapping him.
"Oh nice," Spider-Man commented, watching as Montana struggled in the foam.
"Now he can't accurately command the others. Though we should avoid his eyesight just in…" Arrowette noted as she turned around and stopped talking.
Before Spider-Man could question what was wrong, his spider-sense warned him of danger coming fast behind him. Turning around, he saw Ox charging right at them, holding the beam Spider-Man hit him with earlier.
"This guy just won't stay down!" Spider-Man complained as Ox swung the beam at him.
Catching the beam in his hands, Spider-Man ripped the beam out of Ox's grip as Arrowette fired two concussive arrows into the man's chest. This only momentarily staggered Ox, but it was enough for Spidey to swing the beam like a bat to knock the man into a nearby pillar.
Spider-Man then fired off several webs to pin the man to the pillar, but Ox managed to avoid them before grabbing onto several of the metal bars Spidey knocked down earlier and hurled them at the two heroes. Both quickly moved out of the way as Arrowette dove down while Spider-Man hopped onto the ceiling.
Hopping off the ceiling, Spider-Man went to tackle Ox to the ground, but the larger man took the brunt of Spider-Man's attack and pushed him off the edge of the floor, causing both to drop down toward ground level. Thankfully, they weren't that high up, so the fall didn't hurt Spider-Man much, but it did put him down long enough for Ox to run off toward Montana.
"Hang in there, boss!" Ox cried as he ran at full speed.
"Not so fast!" Spider-Man shouted as he fired two webs at Ox's feet, causing the man to trip and fall.
"Grrr! Damn, bug!" Ox cursed as he grabbed onto the webs and pulled them in an attempt to bring Spidey close only for the arachnid hero to stand in place.
"Sorry, but when my feet are on the ground, it'll take a lot more to pull me around!" Spider-Man laughed until his spider-sense went off.
"Oh shit!" Spidey cried as he leaped back to avoid the gunfire that rained down on him.
Above him were several of the remaining goons firing down in an attempt to kill him or get him far away from Ox. The second objective was more successful as Ox was no longer being held back by Spidey's webs, which allowed him to continue his advance toward Montana.
Annoyed, Spider-Man went to stop him only to be met with more gunfire. Sure, he could take a few more bullets, but he didn't want to push his luck. Thankfully, Arrowette took care of that problem by firing off an explosive arrow at the floor the goons stood on, causing it to collapse beneath them.
"Thanks for the assist!" Spider-Man thanked as Arrowette gave him a nod before he fired two webs and catapulted himself toward Ox.
When he reached Ox, he kicked him in the back of the head, using his momentum to flip over Ox's head as he fired two webs at Ox's feet. After landing in front of Ox, Spidey spun around and punched the man in the head, causing him to fall on his back, unable to catch himself with his stuck feet.
"Grrr," Ox growled as he clutched his face.
"You're a tough guy to keep down. Wait, don't tell me. I have to tell you, whoa." Spider-Man snipped as Ox roared in frustration before getting up and ripping his feet out of Spider-Man's webbing.
"So you need more webs to keep you down. That's noted…" Spider-Man murmured before looking behind him.
"Or…" Spider-Man smirked as he turned to face Ox as he barreled toward him.
Meanwhile, above them, Arrowette was aiming an arrow at Ox's back, waiting for her best opportunity to fire and encase him in foam like Montana. However, her attention was soon drawn elsewhere as she was forced to dodge an incoming knife.
"Now, little lady, you're becoming far more trouble than you're worth. The Spider, I can understand, but who do you think you are, Green Arrow?" Dan questioned as he tossed a knife between his hands.
"Okay, first off, that little lady crap stops there, and secondly…" Arrowette began as she put her bow away.
"I was trained by Green Arrow and several other of the best fighters on the planet! Oh, and I have at this far longer than Spider-Man. So I hope you're ready for round two." Arrowette stated as she rushed toward Dan.
Dan prepared himself as he rested his knife in one hand before swinging it at Arrowette, who easily dodged it before grabbing onto the man's arm and kicking out his legs, allowing her to roll him over her shoulder.
Hitting the floor with a thud, Dan flipped over on his hands and knees as Arrowette ran up and kicked him in the head. This sent the man sprawling across the floor as blood dripped down from his nose. Wiping off the blood, Dan picked himself up before putting his knife away.
"Well lit…miss. I suppose I wasn't ready for round two. But I am now." Dan muttered as he dropped down into a starting judo pose.
"Good," Arrowette replied before charging toward Dan.
As she approached Dan, she shot her leg into the air before dropping it on the man, only for him to bend his body out of the way and slam his palm into her chin. Flipping backward, Arrowette returned the favor to Dan as she kicked him in the chin.
Once back on her feet, Arrowette elbowed Dan in the gut, causing him to bend forward in pain. But Dan retaliated by joining his hands together and slamming them into Arrowette's back. Though the blow was strong, Arrowette's armor took the brunt of the impact as she dropped to the floor.
Using this to her advantage, Arrowette spun around and swept at Dan's legs, hoping to knock him down, but Dan jumped over her attack. As he landed behind Arrowette, he spun around and kicked at Arrowette, who rolled out of the way and got herself back on her feet.
Moving fast, Dan threw both of his palms at Arrowette's chest, but she countered by pushing both of Dan's arms away, allowing her to slam her fists into his chest before hitting his face, delivering a swift roundhouse to his face.
As Dan reeled from her attacks, Arrowette grabbed onto his head and pulled it straight into her knee, knocking him back until he hit a pillar. With his back against a pillar, Dan watched as Arrowette ran toward him.
However, when she went to throw another punch, Dan caught her arm before it could connect, allowing Dan to kick Arrowette in her calf, causing her to buckle and fall. Utilizing this opportunity, Dan grabbed onto her head and slammed it into the pillar.
Gritting her teeth, Arrowette ignored the pain as she used the momentum of her fall to push herself into a cartwheel, allowing her to wrap her legs around Dan's neck. Then, continuing her momentum, she pulled Dan down and slammed his head into the floor, causing him to collapse to the ground and fall unconscious as Arrowette got back to her feet.
"You sure you were ready?" Arrowette chuckled before nearly falling down as she caught herself.
"I really hope that didn't give me a concussion. I probably shouldn't have just used hand to hand." Arrowette noted as she rubbed her head.
Back below, Spider-Man was jumping around, staying just out of reach of Ox as the man swiped at him in an attempt to grab him. Each time Ox missed getting Spider-Man in his grasp, it made him more and more furious, which was exactly what Spider-Man wanted.
"Get over here, Spider, and fight!" Ox demanded as Spidey laughed.
"Why? Isn't this fun?" Spider-Man snickered before jumping away as Ox slammed his hands where Spidey once stood.
"Wait! Don't tell me you're getting tired of me already?!" Spider-Man gasped, veining hurt feelings.
"I'm going to kill you, web-head!" Ox declared as Spider-Man landed in front of him.
"Yeah, like I haven't heard that shouted at me a million times before," Spider-Man commented, beckoning Ox toward him.
"Ox, don't do it!" Montana warned, only for his words to fall on deaf ears.
Without thinking, Ox ran toward Spider-Man in a rage, and this time, Spider-Man didn't jump out of the way, instead opting to stand there and wait for Ox. Grinning like a madman, Ox continued his charge as he towered over Spider-Man, hoping to crush him.
But when Ox reached Spider-Man, the arachnid hero dropped onto his hands and used both of his feet to kick Ox in the stomach, knocking the air out of Ox's lungs before lifting him off the ground and tossing him into the pit Ox had thrown him into earlier.
The once wet concrete was now a hard surface that Ox landed on as he struggled to regain his bearings as Spider-Man stared down at him from above. He then began pouring more concrete down on Ox as he struggled in vain, even pulling over other nearby mixers to speed up the process, only stopping when it reached Ox's neck.
"This turned out to be a fun turn of events, didn't it?" Spider-Man goaded as he watched Ox struggle in the wet cement as it hardened around him.
"Not so much fun when the shoe is on the other foot, is it?" Spider-Man questioned as Ox growled in annoyance.
"Alright, well, I'm going to leave you down there for now and have the police come pick you up later, so behave." Spider-Man insisted as he left Ox in the pit screaming.
"This isn't the end BUG! If you think it'll end with putting us behind bars, you're sorely mistaken." Montana stated as Spider-Man approached him.
"You have no idea who you're messing with," Montana muttered as Spider-Man fired a web covering Montana's mouth.
"I think I've got a pretty good idea, so I'd save anything else you've got to say for your lawyer," Spider-Man replied before pushing past Montana.
"Looks like you've got things covered on your end," Arrowette noted as he grappled down with a tied-up Dan in tow.
"Same with you." Spidey nodded as he glanced up to where the goons once stood.
"We should probably go check on those guys, though." Spider-Man pointed out as sirens filled the air.
"Better make it quick," Arrowette advised as Spider-Man nodded before swinging up to where the goons fell.
After confirming they were both alright and unconscious, Spidey webbed them up before jumping back down to the ground. As he saw the police begin to arrive, he slapped one of his template friendly neighbor notes on Montana before picking up Arrowette and swinging off.
New York…
Lower Manhattan…
Washington Street…
"Are we sure this is the place?" Wonder Girl inquired, crossing her arms.
"This is where his tracker led us," Robin responded, showing Spider-Man's tracer.
"Plus, it's not the weirdest place the bad guys set up shop." Kid Flash commented as the three stared at the New York Holland Tunnel Ventilation Building.
After following the truck from the construction site, Robin met up with Wonder Girl and Kid Flash before arriving in front of the ventilation building. Though judging by its cover, one would find it hard to believe it, but it was fairly likely that the missing residents were inside.
"Still, don't you think we should scope out first?" Wonder Girl suggested as Kid Flash disappeared with a gust of wind before returning a few seconds later.
"And scoping done!" Kid Flash exclaimed with a triumphant look on his face.
"Everything inside looks legit, and nothing one would find illegal. But the odd thing is that I couldn't find the truck." Kid Flash reported as Robin rubbed his chin.
Taking out Spider-Man's tracker, Robin saw that the signal had been lost, which made little sense as the truck couldn't have gone far enough inside the building to get out of signal range. So either the truck is in a signal-blocking area, Kid Flash forgot to check, or...
"The facility we're looking for is probably underground." Robin theorized as he pulled up the building's schematics on the league computer.
"There's nothing on the schematics that shows a basement, but…that doesn't mean it's not there," Robin murmured before turning toward Kid Flash.
"KF check the loading bays and the parking lot. Look for anything that resembles a secret passage or elevator." Robin insisted as Kid Flash saluted.
"On it!" Kid Flash exclaimed before running off.
"Shouldn't we inform the others about this first?" Wonder Girl asked as Robin watched Kid Flash work with a pair of binoculars.
"I already pinged Arrowette, so she'll be able to tell Spider-Man. I did ping Nightwing but he's yet to respond." Robin explained as Kid Flash weaved through the workers and the guards.
"So it's just us for now, then." Wonder Girl sighed as Kid Flash entered the loading bay.
"Hey, I found something!" Kid Flash reported as Robin brought up the feed from the speedster's contact lenses.
Through them, Robin saw one section of the loading bay with a slight indentation, something many would overlook if they weren't looking for it. Upon a scan with the Justice League computer, Robin confirmed that it was not as it appeared.
"That's an elevator, which means our truck and missing residents must be wherever it goes," Robin stated as he stood up.
"We need to go down." Robin declared before turning to Wonder Girl.
"We're going to need a truck. Would you mind…" Robin began before being interrupted by Wonder Girl.
"Get you one! It would be my pleasure!" Wonder Girl exclaimed before flying toward the parking lot.
While Wonder Girl went to retrieve a truck for them, Robin worked on hacking the camera system in the building before grappling across the street. After landing on the building, he dropped down to the loading bay, keeping to the shadows as he watched Wonder Girl land behind a nearby truck.
Once she did, Robin pinged Kid Flash, who opened the loading bay door, allowing Wonder Girl to lift up the truck slowly and fly it inside the building quickly. When the truck was inside, Robin quickly followed as Kid Flash shut the door with no one the wiser.
"Good job, you two." Robin complimented as he inspected the elevator.
"So why do we need the truck?" Kid Flash inquired while tapping on the vehicle.
"It'll help us hide as we ride down the elevator," Robin explained before opening the back.
"Hop in. I'll get us moving." Robin ordered as he uncovered a nearby panel and began to hack into the building's hidden systems.
After gaining access, Robin started up the elevator before joining the others in the back of the truck. As they began to descend, Robin closed the back of the truck before looking through the new system he had access to.
"Hmm, this system is pretty well guarded. I'd have to get to the main computer to get full access, but for now, I can control basic systems." Robin stated as he typed on.
"Like the cameras," Robin smirked while he pulled up the camera feed.
Sending the feed to their contact lens, the three observed this subterranean facility. Scattered about were guards, all wearing exoskeletons. They stood on a balcony guarding a large room filled with capsules about the size of the average human.
"That must be our missing residents." Wonder Girl determined as Robin nodded.
"Looks like they're torturing them to activate their metagene," Robin noted as Kid Flash tilted his head.
"So they're not using the tar, huh? Guess they're not connected with the wider meta-human trafficking." Kid Flash pointed out as Robin nodded.
"Well, we figured they weren't anyway since there are nearly zero amounts of meta-trafficking in the city," Robin replied as he examined the exoskeleton.
"These suits are pretty advanced. I remember seeing them on the news with Spider-Man." Robin commented as Kid Flash put his hands behind his head.
"Kinda wish he came along so we know what we're up against." Kid Flash sighed as Robin rubbed his chin.
"We should be fine. I just need to get my hands on one, and I should be able to determine their weakness." Robin explained before something on the feed caught his attention.
"Could this be…" Robin whispered as he zoomed in on a figure.
On the feed was a woman in black clothing wearing a far more advanced version of the exoskeleton compared to the ones worn by the guards. Unlike the others that just attached loosely to the limbs, this one seemed more like armor as it covered the arms, legs, and chest.
She even wore a mask that covered her face, leaving her long blonde hair out in a ponytail. The only thing that her mask displayed was some digital white eyes that seemed to be used to show her expression.
"Who's this?" Wonder Girl questioned as Robin continued to observe the woman.
"The person in charge, it seems, and based on how advanced her suit is…I'd say this might be the Tinkerer." Robin theorized as their descent ceased.
Pressing his finger against his lips, the three went silent as they listened to what was going on outside the truck. They couldn't hear much, but there were several footsteps outside and confused voices surrounding the truck.
"Was there supposed to be another truck?"
"Maybe it's the others finally getting their asses over here."
"Not a chance Montana would have radioed that in."
As the goons conversed outside, Robin hacked the camera to the room to get an eye on them. He saw a total of six guards surrounding the truck with odd-looking guns at the ready. Turning around, Robin motioned for the Kid Flash and Wonder Girl to get ready as he put the camera on loop.
"Alright, open it up then. Tinkerer needs the others here anyway." A Voice ordered before banging on the truck.
"We're letting you out!" The Voice shouted as the truck's door began to open.
The second the door cracked open, Robin threw several smoke pellets out of the truck, blinding the men outside and causing them to drop the door. Moving fast, Wonder Girl grabbed the door and threw it open as Robin and Kid Flash jumped out.
Robin kicked two guards in the front to the ground as Kid Flash knocked over the rest. This allowed him and Wonder Girl to quickly rip apart the exoskeletons before leaving one for Robin to examine.
"Good work. Let's get these guys tied up and hidden before anyone suspects something." Robin ordered as he detached the exoskeleton from one of the remaining goons before knocking him out.
"Even if they do, it sounds like they're understaffed anyway, and if Arrowette and Spidey took care of those other guys, then Tinkerer and her goons are going to feel the mode!" Kid Flash exclaimed as he tossed the unconscious forms of each guard into the truck.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, KF. We're not done yet." Wonder Girl insisted before shutting the truck's trunk.
"Got anything on that thing?" Wonder Girl asked as she turned toward Robin.
"This suit is pretty well made, but it seems Tinkerer cut a few corners here and there. Overall, this exoskeleton appears to increase the wearer's strength and moveability." Robin explained before holding up the wrist area.
"But it seems like there are areas where modifications should be placed, almost like these are unfinished." Robin pointed out as his thoughts drifted toward Tinkerer's exoskeleton.
"We need to move quickly. We have no idea what state the residents are in now, but we can't let it continue." Robin insisted as he dropped the exoskeleton.
"There's also the possibility that the other exoskeletons will have different kinds of modifications on them, so be careful," Robin reported as he displayed the schematics of the exoskeleton.
"From what I have, the power core is on the back here. It's made of very tough metal, but without it, the suit can't work." Robin added, showing where the power cell was located.
"Let's get moving then!" Wonder Girl smirked as she flew off, with Kid Flash and Robin quickly following.
Nearby…
Tinkerer observed the development of the F.E.A.S.T residents from above, trying her best to ignore the scream of terror and pain that filled the room. It pained her with each and every scream that hit her ears.
What was she doing? What had she become? Those thoughts ran through her head to the point where she even began imagining Jett in one of her machines. She needed to put an end to this, but…she couldn't. She had no choice.
As long as her debt to Kinpin existed, she would never be free from this life. There was nothing she could do. Kingpin was too powerful, and no one could stop him unless they were as powerful as he was.
"There's no one like that I know…wait…" Tinkerer thought before an idea came to mind.
But before she could contemplate her thoughts further, she got an alert from her computer about the elevator having descended. With a sigh, she walked over to see if Montana had finally returned to help out with the work.
However, when she checked the cameras, she found the guards walking around their posts with no vehicle in sight. Confused, she double-checked the elevator's status, which still stated that it had come down with a vehicle in tow.
Scowling, Tinkerer turned back to the feed and attempted to refresh it, only for the same scene to play out. She attempted to do it again, only for the same thing to happen, causing her to go wide-eyed as she forced the camera to reset.
When the camera came back on, she found a room empty of guards with only a truck on the elevator. Her heart began to race as she attempted to call the stationed guards to no avail, causing her to slam her fist down in frustration, breaking the computer.
"Red alert to all stations. We have an intruder." Tinkerer reported through their secured radio as several guards ran out of the room.
"Jay. Please don't let this be you." Tinkerer begged as her exoskeleton glowed red.
With The Team…
Several guards ran through a hall looking for the intruder, only to be hit one by one by a speeding blur, knocking them against the wall. Before they could recover, several birdarangs flew in and cut several cables of their exoskeletons, disabling them.
"What the hell?!" One gasped, looking at the cut wires.
"Eyes front, buddy!" Wonder Girl laughed as she knocked the guy out.
When he hit the ground, Wonder Girl threw her lasso around the next, using it to throw him into another guard. Meanwhile, Robin dropped down from above, kicking one guard to the ground before spinning around and knocking the last one out.
"These guys seem to be in a hurry." Kid Flash commented as Robin tied the guards up.
"Yeah…they are," Robin murmured before checking the security cameras.
"It seems like they know we're here," Robin stated, confusing Wonder Girl.
"Didn't you take care of the cameras?" Wonder Girl questioned as Robin typed away.
"I did, but as I said earlier, I can't get access to all the systems in the building without direct access. There must have been something that tipped them off." Robin theorized before shutting off the feed.
"In the meantime, split up and keep to the shadows. Take down as many guards as you can. I'll see if I can cut the power to those capsules." Robin ordered as he grappled to the rafters.
"On it!" Kid Flash smirked before running off as Wonder Girl watched Robin grapple up.
"What about Tinkerer?" Wonder Girl inquired as Robin reached the rafters.
"We'll deal with her once I'm done cutting off the power. Once I'm done, converge on me, and we'll capture her." Robin explained as he retracted his grapple.
"Alright. But be careful." Wonder Girl insisted before flying off.
Robin nodded before pressing on through the rafters, keeping out of sight of the guards as they ran below them. As he traveled through the halls, he inspected the facility's schematic to see where the power was being pulled from.
If he could find that, then he could stop the flow to the capsules while also keeping the power on to the facility itself. That way, he could still use the elevator and take the files from the computer to learn more about Kingpin's inner workings.
Though it seemed that there wasn't a single power source for the facility but that would make things easier for Robin to shut off the power just for the capsules. He just needed to find the right cable. But with his limited access to the system, that only left following the trail from the capsules themselves.
So he set off to the center of the facility, keeping to the rafters and pipes that lay above the halls to avoid being seen by the guards. Though many of them were of no issue as Kid Flash or Wonder Girl took care of the small groups through surprise attacks.
But as he drew closer to his target, the screams of the F.E.A.S.T residents began to reach his ears, causing him to pause momentarily. Once he recomposed himself, he picked up the pace to complete his task faster.
He couldn't leave those poor people in there for any longer, or else risk them having a permanent injury or their metagene activated. When he reached the room itself, he took a moment to get a look at his surroundings.
With the help of the cameras, he counted ten guards in total still in the room, split between the balcony above and the floor below with the capsules. Yet there was no sign of Tinkerer not before his eyes nor on the cameras.
Hesitantly, he entered the room, keeping himself out of sight to avoid detection so he could determine how he should proceed. Robin could attempt to take down each guard silently, one by one, until he could move completely.
But that wouldn't work, as no doubt they'd notice the decrease in their numbers alerting them of his presence. So he decided it was best to sneak by them to shut down the power. With his decision made, he studied the guards' patterns as they patrolled by him before taking the best moment to drop down to the balcony before jumping down to the lower floor.
Hiding behind one of the capsules, he waited for the guards to pass by before following the wiring toward the far end of the room. Looking at the electrical current running through the wires with his contacts, Robin spotted the exact one he needed to cut.
When he spotted it, he took out a birdarang and reared his arm back, ready to disable the power. However, before he could make the throw, he was hit from behind with such force that he was thrown into the wall, creating a large crack.
"I was wondering who had the guts to break in here. I never thought I'd see the Boy Wonder so far from Gotham." Tinkerer commented as she cracked her knuckles.
"I don't like killing kids, but my boss wouldn't want me leaving witnesses. So…sorry in advance, kid." Tinkerer stated with the slightest bit of hesitation in her voice.
Robin remained silent as he picked himself off the ground with a wince, nearly falling over. If it hadn't been for his suit's armor, that attack would have broken his back. Which meant he couldn't let her get too many hits in.
"And I'm sorry about the trouble I'm about to cause," Robin replied sarcastically before taking out a smoke pellet and slamming it into the ground, creating a cloud of smoke.
Running off, Robin threw several birdarangs at the blinded Tinkerer before making his way toward the power cables. Just as he was going to reach them, Robin was forced to jump back as his birdarangs were sent back to him.
Then, a sudden shockwave blew the smoke away while knocking Robin back into the wall. Tinkerer ran up, bathed in the red glow of her exoskeleton, before extending a blade to cut into Robin. But the Boy Wonder was quick on the uptake as he took out his staff and knocked Tinkerer's arm out of the way.
The blade was forced into the wall, cutting through it like butter as Robin rolled out of the way, noting not to touch that blade. Now out of the way, he threw several more birdarangs at Tinkerer, hoping to put a little more distance between them.
To his shock, though, Tinkerer simply raised her arm and stopped the birdarangs midair before sending them right back at him. Quickly dodging his own birdarangs, Robin looked at Tinkerer's arm and saw that her exoskeleton was releasing a small magnetic field.
That same magnetic field then released from her legs, causing her to float slightly above the ground before she suddenly began to slide at a great speed toward Robin. The Boy Wonder used his staff to vault over Tinkerer, allowing her to slide below him as he landed behind her.
Putting his staff away, Robin thought over his options as he attempted to analyze Tinkerer's far more advanced exoskeleton. He could attempt to use his birdarangs again but explode them before she sent them back, but that would risk breaking one of the capsules and hurting the residents.
Which meant he'd need to get up close and personal with Tinkerer. That was easier said than done as Tinkerer fired another shockwave at Robin, who used his grapple to pull himself out of the way only to put him in the line of fire of the guards above him.
"Open fire!" Tinkerer ordered as Robin detached his grapple to avoid the gunfire.
But that gunfire never came as Kid Flash rushed in, knocking all the guards off the balcony, allowing Wonder Girl to fly in and catch them in her lasso. Spinning around, Wonder Girl hurled those guards toward Tinkerer, who slid out of the way.
"Grrr, there's three intruders!" Tinkerer hissed as her feet glowed, and she slid up and along the wall.
As she did, the remaining guards in the room began to open fire on the three heroes. To their mild shock, though, bullets weren't fired; instead, what was fired was high-powered lasers. Kid Flash ran out of the line of fire as Wonder Girl deflected them with her bracelets, causing one to ricochet and hit a capsule.
"No!" Wonder Girl cried as a bolt of lightning shot out from the capsule.
"Everyone back!" Tinkerer ordered, narrowly avoiding the bolt as a loud scream filled the air.
"I'm not! I'M NOT!" A Distorted Voice screamed as the capsule thrashed around, releasing smoke into the air.
"Masks on!" Tinkerer shouted as more bolts came out.
"We have to help him!" Wonder Girl insisted as she flew toward the capsule.
"Wonder Girl, wait!" Robin begged as his contacts gave him a reading on the smoke, but it was too late.
When she entered the smoke, Wonder Girl immediately collapsed as nightmarish visions filled her eyes. Robin quickly fired his grapple and pulled Wonder Girl out of the smoke before injecting her with a serum.
"Steer clear of the smoke! It's fear toxin!" Robin revealed as he picked up a sluggish Wonder Girl while the lightning increased in ferocity.
"Somone…someone please…" The Voice begged before one of the bolts struck the power cables, causing the lights to go out as the energy siphoned out of the capsule and into the cables.
Outside…
"Really? The Holland Tunnel Ventilation building?" Spider-Man questioned as he and Arrowette landed on top of the building.
"That's where Robin's message came from. So it has to be." Arrowette replied as she inspected the workers below.
"Why? Don't believe it?" Arrowette inquired as Spider-Man shook his head.
"It's not that it's just…why the here of all places?" Spider-Man wondered as the building suddenly shook beneath them.
"What the?!" Spidey gasped as the lights around the block began to flicker on and off.
Then, out of nowhere, several bolts of lightning crashed through the building, breaking through windows and walls as it made contact with the power lines. As it did, several transformers exploded with the overload of energy, causing small fires to break out.
"Something must have happened inside!" Arrowette noted as she nocked several arrows and fired them at the growing fires, dousing them in foam to put them out.
"Yeah, but what?" Spider-Man questioned as a howling voice rang through the air.
"HELP ME!" The Voice cried as Spider-Man and Arrowette covered their eyes.
"That voice…" Arrowette murmured, looking around, confused at the suddenly loud howl.
"M…Max?" Spider-Man muttered, half recognizing the voice.
"Robin, come in! We arrived at the location you pinged, but something strange happened. What's going on there?" Arrowette questioned, pressing on her earpiece.
"I don't know. I believe one of the residents had their metagene activated and hit the power cables." Robin reported via the comlink.
"It gave us some reprieve, but we need some assistance down here! Wonder Girl is down for the moment, and KF is busy getting her to safety." Robin added as the sound of laserfire could be heard over the comms.
"Well, it hit the building really hard! We can't come down without helping up here!" Spider-Man pointed out as he stepped onto the roof's edge.
"Hey, no worries. I'll get Wonder Girl out and run back in to help Robin in no time!" Kid Flash boasted until a loud bang came through his comm.
"Okay, uh…there might have been a giant metal door that closed in front of me. It might take me a minute." Kid Flash explained as the sound of his vibrations could be heard.
"This isn't good," Arrowette commented as Spider-Man shook his head.
"Then there's no time to lose! We have to get inside!" Spider-Man insisted before leaping off the roof.
As he dove down, he could hear the screams from inside the building. So, moving quickly, he fired two webs and launched himself inside to see several fires burning and the sprinkler system not working. Firing a few webs, he tore off the sprinkler heads, releasing water into the building to extinguish the fire before running through and helping anyone he could find.
Meanwhile, Arrowette grappled down, dousing any flame she could find before blowing open the bay doors to release the smoke outside and allow people to run outside. Spider-Man swung down with several people in his arms having brought them down to safety before running in with Arrowette to open the sprinklers to put out the fire.
"There are still a lot of people inside." Arrowette pointed out as Spidey nodded.
"Yeah, and we can't go anywhere until we help," Spider-Man replied as a whoosh blew past the two.
"Whew! I had to phase through a lot of walls to make up for the lost time! How's everything going on up here?" Kid Flash asked before looking up at the burning building.
"Ah, not very crash, I see." Kid Flash noted as he placed Wonder Girl down.
"What do you mean by crash?" Spider-Man inquired, uncertain of what Kid Flash was saying.
"Don't worry about it," Arrowette replied before turning toward Kid Flash.
"Hurry and head back to Robin. He needs backup." Arrowette insisted as Kid Flash nodded.
"No, they need you upside to help evacuate the building," Robin stated, shocking Arrowette.
"But you can't do this alone!" Arrowette argued as the fire began to grow above.
With Robin…
"We have no choice. The lives of those workers come first." Robin pointed out as he disarmed one of the guards before knocking him into a capsule.
"I'll fall back for now and…" Robin began before Tinkerer slammed into him.
"Sorry. But I can't let you go anywhere." Tinkerer stated as she grabbed Robin by the throat.
"Robin! Robin, come in!" Arrowette insisted as Tinkerer extended a blade from her open arm.
"I'm sorry." Tinkerer apologized as her arm shook before plunging it toward Robin.
But before it could reach him, a grappling hook wrapped around her arm, pulling it away before it could reach Robin. Shocked, Tinkerer had no time to think before a foot was planted in her face, knocking her backward.
"Sorry, I'm late. Guess I was a little late for the filtration party." Nightwing smirked as he stood between Tinkerer and Robin.
"Did that sound better in your head?" Robin inquired, causing Nightwing to sigh.
"Yeah, yeah, it did," Nightwing answered as Tinkerer recomposed herself.
"Grrr, how many people broke in here?!" Tinkerer questioned as she used her magnetic field to pull a nearby laser rifle toward her.
"That depends on how much longer you pull this on for," Nightwing responded as he and Robin stood side by side.
"When did Nightwing get here?" Arrowette questioned over the comm, only to be ignored.
"Careful, she has a magnetic field to deflect metal objects and move around fast," Robin warned as Nightwing raised a brow.
"Good to know. So want to split them half and half?" Nightwing suggested as Robin pulled out his grapple gun.
"I was thinking sixty-forty," Robin replied, making Nightwing smirk.
"Kill them!" Tinkerer ordered as she and the others opened fire.
The two quickly split up, avoiding the lasers as they weaved through the capsules, knocking down any guard that got near them. Both used their expert skills to keep themselves hidden from view and to take the guards by surprise as they made their way toward Tinkerer, who stood on the other side of the room.
"This isn't good…" Tinkerer thought, contemplating her next move.
"I might have had a chance with the Boy Wonder, but with Nightwing here…it complicates things. There's no way I could take them on. They're far more knowledgeable in fights than I am." Tinkerer noted as she watched another guard fall.
"Then there's no other choice. Kingpin will raise hell if I don't bring him back something." Tinkerer sighed before pressing a button on her arm.
Suddenly, the same magnetic field that she utilized in her exoskeleton was projected on the bottom of each capsule, propelling them upward as the cables disconnected from each one. The now-revealed Nightwing and Robin stood shocked as the capsules flew into the air and toward several corridors.
"Change of plans! Take a capsule and get out of here!" Tinkerer ordered as she fired off a shockwave at Nightwing and Robin, knocking them down before sliding up the wall and grabbing onto a capsule.
"Now!" Tinkerer screamed, making the guards jump into action as they took a capsule and ran off.
"They're trying to run away with the residents!" Robin gasped as he picked himself up.
"Not on our watch!" Nightwing declared as he pulled out his grapple.
He and Robin grappled up and landed behind the running guards. Pulling his grapple back, Nightwing used it to trip one of the guards, stopping him in his tracks as Robin hooked his grapple onto another and disabled her skeleton.
"We can't get them all!" Robin pointed out before pressing on his earpiece.
"Come in, team." Robin as he and Nightwing ran after the other guards.
Topside…
"Tinker and her remaining men are attempting to run off with the residents! If we don't stop them now, they'll be gone. Possibly for good." Robin reported as Spidey and Kid Flash placed several more rescued workers down.
"They're what?!" Spider-Man gasped as Arrowette grappled down with another rescue.
"We're about done here anyway. We'll be heading down to help!" Arrowette replied as she retracted her grapple.
"This is the last of them!" Wonder Girl shouted as he landed with the final two workers.
"Are you sure you're okay? After that fear toxin, you didn't get much fresh air before going into the smoke." Arrowette inquired, worried for her teammate.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Saving these guys comes first." Wonder Girl assured as Spider-Man swung over them.
"Then there's no time to lose!" Spider-Man stated as he darted into the building as fast as he could.
"Hang in there, everyone!" He thought as he dove down into the elevator.
"He's sure in a hurry." Wonder Girl commented, crossing her arms.
"Can't really blame him when people's lives are on the line!" Kid Flash pointed out as he ran after Spider-Man.
"We'd better follow before things get worse. But are you sure you're okay?" Arrowete asked as Wonder Girl nodded.
"Nothing cracking a few skulls won't fix." Wonder Girl boasted before flying toward the building.
"Whatever works for you," Arrowette replied as she followed.
While Arrowette, Wonder Girl, and Spider-Man descended, Kid Flash ran ahead and zoomed through the halls of the underground facility to find the capsules. Any he found, he would secure by taking out the guard or guards moving them.
"Man, just how many halls are in this place?" Kid Flash questioned as a large door closed in front of him.
"Not this again!" Kid Flash complained as he phased through the door.
Meanwhile, as Spider-Man, Wonder Girl, and Arrowette reached the bottom of the elevator before splitting up to intercept any capsule they could find. Unfortunately, metal doors impeded their path, much like with Kid Flash.
But unlike him, they were forced to take alternative paths to find capsules. When they encountered a guard and a capsule, they would stop them in any way they could. The six heroes scoured through the facility, catching and securing all the capsules they could.
"These metal doors are pissing me off!" Spider-Man cursed as he ripped the power module off a guard's exoskeleton before webbing him up.
"There's got to be another way," Spider-Man murmured as he approached the door and knocked his hand against it a few times.
"Hmm…couldn't be heavier than that Ferris Wheel, right?" Spider-Man as he dug his hand below the metal door.
With a slight grunt and a little effort, Spider-Man began to pull the door from the ground and push it back toward the ceiling. Once he had enough room to pass, he ran through, allowing the door to slam back down behind him.
"Okay…that might work," Spider-Man smirked as he ran off.
Nearby…
Nightwing swung his eskrima stick, knocking a blade lunged at him by a guard out of the way before using his second one to strike against the guard's head, knocking him down and allowing Nightwing to disable their exoskeleton.
"How many does that make?" Nightwing inquired as he disabled the magnetic field on the capsule.
That's number five…
"And in total?" Nightwing asked as he tied up the guard.
Twenty-seven between the six of you…
"That's nearly all, but I can't say if the many got taken away already. Then there's that one capsule." Nightwing murmured as he ran off.
The broken one?
"Yeah, I heard from Robin that it shot out a bolt of lightning along with a loud scream. Yet there was no one inside," Nightwing replied as he rolled under a dropping door.
So you're thinking what I'm thinking?
"Yeah. One of the residents escaped with his metagene activated." Nightwing agreed as he jumped against the wall to use it to propel himself into another guard, knocking him down.
"Let's just try to stop this from getting any worse," Nightwing stated as he knocked the guard out.
"The most important part of that is finding Tinkerer," Nightwing noted as he disabled the capsule he recovered.
"So, how far are you in her system?" Nightwing inquired as he moved on.
Nearly there…
Just need a few more minutes…
With Tinkerer…
"Damn!" Tinkerer cursed as she watched the movements of several capsules suddenly halt.
This whole operation was going up in flames fast. But as long as she could secure at least one metahuman for Kingpin, the crimelord should be satisfied. At least, she hoped. The last thing she needed was to fail him again.
So she continued to slide across the floor with two capsules in tow while setting up a clear path for an exit tunnel for herself. All the while, she shuffled the metal doors throughout the facility to slow down the intruders and keep them away from her.
"Just a little more…" Tinkerer murmured, only to stop short when the sound of grinding metal reverberated in her ears.
Looking around, she scanned the area around her to find the source of the noise before looking in front of her. There, behind one of the metal doors she had closed to clear a path for herself, the sound could be clearly heard.
That is until that very door was suddenly forced open shocking Tinkerer as the door weighed eight thousand pounds. Tinkerer quickly prepared for the worst, noting that the only one capable of doing that would have to be the girl dressed as Wonder Woman she had seen earlier.
If she is anything like the real Wonder Woman, then she'd be in for one hell of a fight. When she thought back on it, the girl did go down when she was hit with the fear toxin. So if worse came to worse, she could try using that.
"Whew, I'm getting used to doing that fast!" Spider-Man exclaimed as he dove through the door while it shut behind him shocking Tinkerer.
"No…" Tinkerer gasped, denying what she was seeing.
"And I find another one of you suckers to boot! Though the others didn't have the weird mask." Spider-Man smirked as he stared down Tinkerer, who began to sweat.
"Nononononononono!" Tinkerer cried as she took a step back.
Beyond her expectations, the last person she wanted to see besides her own brother had come through the door. She could manage to fight the other intruders, but she didn't know if she could bring herself to fight Spider-Man or even…kill him.
"What are you doing here?!" Tinkerer gasped, unable to hide her own thoughts.
"Is that a real question? Because it should be pretty damn obvious what I'm doing here." Spider-Man replied as he pointed at the capsules behind Tinkerer.
"You and Kingpin's little lackey's kidnapped and hurt some innocent people, and quite frankly." Spider-Man began as he cracked his fists.
"I don't appreciate that!" Spider-Man spat as Tinkerer twitched, unable to respond, and her heart began to beat out of her chest.
"So don't blame me if you end up with a concussion!" Spider-Man shouted before firing a web behind Tinkerer.
Using that web, Spider-Man zipped over and punched at Tinkerer, who slid out of the way. Surprised, Spider-Man took a second before firing two webs to grab onto the capsules, allowing him to throw them down the hall.
Spinning around Spidey kicked at a frozen Tinkerer who relexively caught his foot with her hand. In a panic, she threw Spider-Man into the wall behind her, causing it to crack as he fell to the ground hard.
"No, wait, I didn't…" Tinkerer panicked once she realized what she had done.
"Okay, your suit is way stronger than the others. That's noted." Spider-Man muttered quickly picking himself up like it was nothing.
"Y-You're tougher than you look," Tinkerer commented, glad she didn't hurt him.
"You have no idea," Spider-Man replied as he looked at Tinkerer's suit.
"Judging by how more advanced your suit looks…let me guess, you're the Tinkerer I've heard so much about?" Spider-Man inquired as Tinkerer's suit glowed red.
"That's right, and my suit far exceeds the mass-produced model I designed for those idiots," Tinkerer answered as she extended blades from both her arms in hopes of intimidating Spidey.
"Well, I'm very excited to see what it can do!" Spider-Man snickered as he fired a web at Tinkerer, who raised her arms to block it.
But all that served to do was have her arms locked together by Spider-Man's webs, which he used to pull Tinkerer in close and punch her against her mask. The screen shattered as Tinkerer was sent flying back.
"Maybe you should work on putting more armor on that suit of yours!" Spider-Man laughed as Tinkerer used her magnetic field to push herself back up, revealing the metal plate behind her mask.
"I did," Tinkerer stated, causing Spider-Man to pause.
"Oh."
"Okay then." Spidey sighed as Tinkerer fired a shockwave at him.
"Whoa! Haven't seen that since Shocker!" Spider-Man commented as he jumped onto the nearby wall.
"Just what didn't you make for Kingpin?" Spider-Man wondered as he fired two webs toward Tinkerer, who used her blades to cut them in two, having learned her lesson from before.
But that only allowed Spider-Man to leap off the wall and flip into a kick directly on Tinkerer's head. Stumbling back, Tinkerer was unprepared as Spider-Man shoved her into the wall before webbing her up.
"Geez, it's like you're barely trying," Spider-Man noted as he crossed his arms.
"Honestly, I'm kinda underwhelmed. Well, I don't really know what I was going to expect, so I guess I'm just…whelmed?" Spider-Man murmured as he tilted his head.
"Oh! That's what Nightwing meant!" Spider-Man exclaimed finally understanding what Nightwing had said to him on Kraven's island.
"Hey, uh, I don't know if there are codes or anything you guys use, but I managed to catch Tinkerer and two more capsules. I'd leave her be, but…I don't think it'd be a good idea." Spider-Man informed while pressing his hand against his ear.
"You caught Tinkerer?! How?" Robin questioned, surprised at the sudden news.
"Uh…I just webbed her to the wall. Not going to lie, she didn't put up much of a fight." Spider-Man explained as he flicked Tinkerer on the forehead.
Tinkerer glared but did not resist. Just as Spider-Man had said, she didn't put up much of a fight, mostly because she didn't want to hurt him. But she can't let herself be captured and arrested. Her reputation would be ruined, and Jett would be left all alone with no one to protect him.
Additionally, she didn't know what Kingpin would do to her if she were arrested. If she wanted to get out of this or even hope of escaping Kingpin's control, she couldn't let herself be captured. However, that would mean she would have to fight Spider-Man and, even worse, hurt him.
"I…I'm sorry, Jay." Tinkerer thought as she charged up her shockwave gauntlets.
"Just stay with her for now. We can't risk her escaping or doing something else." Nightwing insisted over the comms.
"Alright, I figured as…" Spider-Man began before his spider-sense went off.
"Shit!" Spider-Man cursed as he jumped away from Tinkerer, who let out a small shockwave, freeing her from his webbing.
"Scratch that looks like she decided to fight!" Spider-Man reported as Tinkerer extended one of her blades before the blade separated into strands, turning into a whip.
"Wait, it can do that?!" Spider-Man gasped as Tinkerer swung the whip at him.
Leaping onto the wall, Spider-Man avoided the whip as it dug deeply into the ground before retracting, allowing Tinkerer to swing at him again. This forced Spider-Man to jump away again, vaulting over the whip as he landed behind Tinkerer.
But before he could attack Tinkerer, two spike-like appendages shot out from her back, aiming to pierce Spidey in the chest. He was forced to bend backward to avoid the spikes as they embedded themselves into the floor.
Grabbing onto the appendages, Spider-Man tore them off from Tinkerer's back before kicking her into the air. Firing a web into Tinkerer's back, Spider-Man pulled her down, hoping to slam her into the ground.
However, she stopped her descent by cutting through Spider-Man's web and using her magnetic field to catch herself. Raising her arm, a small barrel extended from her suit before firing a laser at Spider-Man.
"Shit!" Spider-Man cursed as he barely dodged the beam as it grazed his chest burning off part of his costume and leaving a small burn.
"Seriously, how much did you horde for yourself?!" Spider-Man questioned as he glared at Tinkerer.
"Plenty," Tinkerer answered before pressing a button on her arm.
This caused another steel door to drop down between herself and Spider-Man, who rushed over and caught it before it could close fully. While he recovered from the sudden drop of a heavy object on him, Tinkerer threw two cables and brought the capsules back up to her.
"While I have you here, I just wanted to say…these doors are pissing me off," Spider-Man muttered as he threw the door up before stepping through as the door crashed down.
"I wasn't looking for your opinion," Tinkerer replied as she pressed her hand against one of the capsules, causing a hatch to open a vial to pop out.
"But for what it's worth. I'm sorry for this." Tinkerer apologized, confusing Spider-Man before he fired a web at her.
Tinkerer grabbed onto one of the capsules and swung it in front of the web, preventing Spidey from getting hold of her before tossing the vial into the air. Once it was over, Spider-Man Tinkerer fired a laser, breaking the vial and causing the gas inside to fall down on the arachnid hero.
"What the…" Spider-Man muttered as his spider-sense went off, warning him of the gas.
He attempted to get away from the gas, but it was too widespread for that to happen, eventually surrounding him. The gas sent a shockwave through Spider-Man's body as he fell to his knees, coughing. Spidey struggled to breathe beneath his mask as his spider-sense went haywire.
It was telling him that danger was all around him, causing great pain that rang through his head. Struggling to get to his feet, Spider-Man waved his hand in hopes of pushing the gas away from him. As he attempted to regain his composure, he saw Tinkerer's figure before him.
"A little…tear gas…or whatever that was…won't beat me!" Spider-Man stated as he took a weak step toward her only to stop when a voice spoke up.
"Hehehehehe." A Voice cackled, though it was not Tinkerer's.
"Perhaps not. But it'll make you weak enough so I can finish the job!" Hobgoblin laughed as the deceased maniac stepped through the smoke with sparks coming from his hands.
"H-How…" Spider-Man sputtered before falling back down.
"Fear goes a long way," Hobgoblin replied, raising his left hand above his head.
"I'm…I'm not…" Spider-Man muttered before shutting his eyes.
His spider-sense was still running rampant as his heartbeat raced, but after gritting his teeth and balling his fists, he looked at Hobgoblin in anger. Though his spider-sense was still going haywire, he managed to focus enough to calm it down.
"Y-You…aren't real…" Spider-Man hissed as Hobgoblin's form twisted and distorted in various forms.
"Whatever you say," Tinkerer murmured before swinging down her left arm toward Spider-Man's head.
Moving as fast as he could, Spider-Man fired a web at Tinkerer, missing her completely and hitting the wall behind her. Though it didn't hit his intended target, Spider-Man used this to pull himself up at full force, knocking himself into Tinkerer.
This slammed both of them into the wall, disorientating Tinkerer as she and Spidey fell to the ground. Tinkerer was first to recover before charging up her right glove with static once more and reaching out towards Spider-Man.
"Just go to sleep!" Tinkerer cried only for Spider-Man to grab onto her arm, holding her back.
"Not this time!" Spider-Man shouted as he squeezed Tinkerer's arm with his full strength.
This caused Tinkerer's exoskeleton to crack, much to her shock, before seconds later, the armor around her arm broke. The very moment it did, Spider-Man's grasp reached her bare arm, still squeezing at full strength, easily shattering her bone in two.
"AHHHHH!" Tinkerer howled as she fell back, clutching her broken arm.
"He…he broke my arm! He broke through my armor to do so!" Tinkerer gasped, shocked at Spider-Man's strength.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man was in shock as he hadn't intended to break Tinkerer's arm like that and was horrified at his own actions. He always knew that his full strength was terrifying, and now he had accidentally used it to critically injure someone.
Sure, she was a criminal, and he wouldn't feel bad for minorly injuring her, but not like this. This caused him to panic, beginning to breathe more heavily and losing his focus, causing his spider-sense to go out of control once more, forcing him back to the ground.
"Look what you've done!"
"Monster!"
"Can't even control your own strength!"
Many voices like those began running through Spider-Man's mind as he clutched onto his head in pain. Meanwhile Tinkerer picked herself up and took a few steps back from Spider-Man, trying to catch her breath as she tried to ignore the pain. Tearing off part of her coat, Tinkerer made a rudimentary sling for her arm as she went to grab at least one of the capsules.
But before she could, the metal door behind her shot open. Stunned, Tinkerer froze as she heard more and more of the metal doors in the facility open up, much to her shock. Looking down at the screen on her left arm, she saw that the system had been fully compromised.
"No!" Tinkerer cried out as she, after a great deal of struggle, began the system delete protocol to no avail.
Gritting her teeth, she shook her head and calmed herself down. It was a total loss, but there was nothing that could damage her personally in that system. There was no recovering this operation in any capacity. She couldn't even take a capsule with her since her system could track it.
"I've got no choice," Tinkerer murmured as she activated her magnetic field on her feet just as Spider-Man began to get up.
"I-I won't…let you…" Spider-Man muttered, attempting to aim his webshooter at Tinkerer.
Tinkerer looked back only for a moment before lowering her head and sliding off at full speed out of Spider-Man's view, which continued to distort before him. He attempted to go after her, but he was unable to go far in his current condition.
"D-Damn…" Spider-Man cursed, struggling to move before a hand latched onto his shoulder.
"Don't move." A Voice insisted as a needle was stuck into his neck.
When the needle was removed, Spider-Man clasped his hand on his neck in shock. But soon after, his vision began to clear, and his spider-sense finally calmed down. Looking up, Spider-Man saw Nightwing standing above him.
"N-Nightwing…? What did you do?" Spider-Man inquired, his head now clearer.
"Injected you with our antitoxin for the fear gas. Just don't move too fast. It needs time to get the toxin out of your system." Nightwing explained as Spidey rubbed his neck.
"Really? Did you just have a strong needle on hand because my skin is too tough for normal ones?" Spider-Man asked as Nightwing helped him up.
"Well, when you're friends with superpowered beings with tough skin, you need a tougher needle." Nightwing laughed as he held Spider-Man up.
"Whatever the case…we need to catch Tinkerer…before she…gets…" Spider-Man began slugishly as his eyes began to droop.
"Don't worry about her. For now, let's get you out of here. Our work is done." Nightwing insisted as Spider-Man fell unconscious.
"I'm surprised he didn't fall under faster," Nightwing commented as he carried Spider-Man.
"Oracle, send me the fastest path out of here." Nightwing requested as his contacts glowed.
Later…
Topside…
"DAH!" Spider-Man gasped as he awoke on a roof.
"What the…? Where…?" Spider-Man muttered, confused at what had happened after he fell unconscious.
"Nice of you to wake up," Arrowette commented from above him with her arms crossed.
"H-How long was I out?" Spider-Man questioned, shocked at the sudden change in scenery.
"Not too long. Only about thirty minutes." Nightwing reported shocking Spidey as he went to get up.
"What! What about the missing residents? And what about Tinkerer? Did she get away with any of them?!" Spider-Man gasped as Wonder Girl stopped him from getting up.
"Don't move too fast. You're still recovering. Trust me, I know how it feels moving too fast after coming down from fear toxin myself." Wonder Girl advised as Spider-Man reluctantly nodded and slowly got up.
"So what happened?" Spider-Man inquired, looking around at his fellow heroes.
"Take a look for yourself," Arrowette smirked, gesturing over the edge of the roof.
Looking over the edge, he watched as the police escorted the rescued residents from the burnt building. Each had already been set free from their pods, all looking quite terrified as the police wrapped them in blankets, safe and sound. Meanwhile, every guard they had captured was now in cuffs, being placed in the back of several cars.
"So we got all of them out?" Spider-Man asked, looking back at the other heroes.
"All but one," Nightwing answered as he looked over at Robin and Kid Flash, who were inspecting a broken capsule.
"A bolt of lightning came out of that one, but when we opened it up, it was empty." Wonder Girl explained as Spider-Man remembered the same bolt from earlier and the voice that came with it.
"Max…" Spider-Man murmured, clenching his fists.
"From what we gathered, we believe his metagene must have been activated, and whatever his power was allowed him to escape. Though it may have been involuntarily." Nightwing informed as Spider-Man turned toward him.
"What about Tinkerer?" Spider-Man questioned as Nightwing shook his head.
"She got away. Oracle's been trying to find anything about her in the facility's computer, but so far, there's nothing." Nightwing answered as Spider-Man scowled, turning his gaze back toward the other residents.
"You okay?" Arrowette inquired, placing a hand on Spider-Man's shoulder.
"I failed to secure Tinkerer, so not so great. I dropped the ball." Spider-Man murmured as Arrowette shook her head.
"No one is blaming you. We all had times like this when we started out." Arrowette assured as Spider-Man gave a small nod, appreciating the sentiment.
"Still, I'll be better once I get Tinkerer and find the missing resident," Spider-Man noted as Nightwing walked up to Spider-Man, clearing his throat.
"That's great and all, but might I remind you of your…legal troubles." Nightwing reminded, causing Spider-Man to go wide-eyed.
"Oh…right…" Spider-Man murmured, scratching the back of his head.
Though he wanted to go look for Tinkerer and Max immediately, he didn't have the liberty of doing that when he was supposed to be in prison. He couldn't ask Miss Martian to take his place forever while he looked, so it was best to go back for now, even if he didn't want to leave it as it was.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Wonder Girl questioned, confused as Nightwing smirked.
"Don't worry about it," Nightwing replied before turning to face everyone.
"For now, our job is done here. Head back to the New York Zeta and regroup with Miss Martian on the Watchtower," Nightwing ordered, confusing Kid Flash.
"Shouldn't we investigate more?" Kid Flash inquired as Robin shook his head.
"There wouldn't be any point. We've already found as much as we can currently. All there's left to do is let Oracle search through the computer." Robin explained as he moved away from the broken capsule.
"Plus, the police and fire department are swarming the place, so not much we can do anyway." Wonder Girl pointed out as Robin nodded in agreement before he turned to Nightwing.
"But aren't we going to…" Robin began as he pointed toward Spider-Man.
"Some other time. I think it'd be best if M'gann was present for that." Nightwing replied as Kid Flash did some stretches.
"Alright, fair enough." Kid Flash relented before running across to the other side of the roof.
"I could use a bite to eat anyway!" Kid Flash exclaimed before turning to Spider-Man.
"Nice meeting you, Spider-Man. Hope we can work together again sometime!" Kid Flash smirked before running off.
"Always quickest to leave." Wonder Girl chuckled as she and Robin walked toward Spider-Man.
"Unlike Kid Flash, I want to say it was nice meeting you, not from a distance," Robin stated, holding out his hand.
"Yeah. It was nice meeting you guys as well. Even with the odd circumstances." Spider-Man replied, shaking Robin's hand.
"We're used to that. But let's hope we meet on a better day next time." Wonder Girl noted as she and Robin lept off the roof.
"You did good tonight." Arrowette complimented as Spider-Man nodded.
"Thanks." Spider-Man thanked as Arrowette smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"That was thanks for saving my life earlier," Arrowette smirked before firing off an arrow and leaving the rooftop, leaving Spidey dumbfounded.
"I-I…wow…" Spider-Man murmured, rubbing his cheek.
"Really wish I wasn't wearing spandex," Spider-Man whispered as Nightwing patted him on the shoulder.
"We should get you back to prison too. Can't leave Miss Martian taking your place forever." Nightwing insisted, snapping Spider-Man out of his thoughts.
"Oh right…please tell me you're a really good lawyer…you are a lawyer, right?" Spider-Man inquired, turning to face Nightwing as he laughed.
"How hard can it be?" Nightwing replied as Spider-Man frowned.
"That doesn't instill confidence in me," Spider-Man stated as Nightwing shrugged.
"Well, let's just say…" Nightwing began as he and Spider-Man walked to the edge of the roof.
"I found plenty of evidence of the planted drugs before I arrived," Nightwing smirked as the two swung off.
"You did?" Spider-Man gasped as Nightwing nodded.
"Yep, I ran by it when I was following the trail left behind at F.E.A.S.T. I was looking for this place, but I figured I'd take care of it while I was on the way." Nightwing boasted surprising Spider-Man.
"Ah, man, I'm going to owe you a lot," Spider-Man commented, making Nightwing laugh.
"Don't worry about it too much," Nightwing replied as they made their way to the police station where Spidey had been locked up.
NYPD Lockup…
M'gann sat alone in a cell, staring at the empty wall before her as she listened in on the surface thoughts of the nearby police. From what she could gather, it seemed that the Team, along with Spider-Man, had succeeded in their mission.
Additionally, through what she had to guess was Nightwing's actions, it seemed they had found the source of the drugs. This was a big leap in clearing up the charges but it wasn't going to be the end for all of Jay's legal troubles.
"Well, it's never that simple when you were caught holding some of the drugs," M'gann noted before a familiar mind came into her range.
"It's about time you got back," M'gann commented, linking herself up mentally with Nightwing.
"Sorry, we had to make you wait. How's prison?" Nightwing asked as M'gann chuckled.
"Not too bad. Though the police here are pretty rude." M'gann answered as she looked toward the ceiling.
"Is Mr. Shephard with you?" M'gann inquired, unable to feel Spider-Man's mind at the moment.
"Yeah, he's getting changed into his clothes. Don't tell me you can't sense him." Nightwing replied as M'gann shook her head.
"Not without effort. His mind is…different. Even when we first interacted, I had to put a lot more effort into linking him." M'gann stated as she placed her hands on her head.
"Really? That's surprising for you." Nightwing commented as M'gann sighed.
"Well, there seems to be something in his mind that reacts to my entry. I want to be careful, just in case." M'gann explained before creating a link with Jay.
"Oh god, I'm never going to get used to that!" Jay cried, making M'gann chuckle.
"Sorry about that." M'gann apologized as she heard the sound of someone crawling through the vents.
"It's fine. You didn't do it on purpose. Man, talking with thoughts is still a pretty weird feeling." Jay replied as Nightwing cleared his throat.
"We can still hear you, remember?" Nightwing reminded, causing Spider-Man to pause.
"I'm never going to get used to this." Jay sighed before dropping down before M'gann's cell in his street clothes.
Looking back and forth, Jay walked over to the front of the cell to see himself or, more accurately, M'gann, sitting inside. When the two locked eyes, M'gann smiled and stood up before transforming back into her Martian form.
Jay was a little surprised, especially seeing as this was his first time seeing an alien face to face, especially a martian. She was white instead of green, and her feminine form seemed far more human when compared to the likes of Martian Manhunter.
"Guess it's nice to finally meet you face to face. Even if it's just for a moment." Miss Martian smirked as she opened the cell.
"Yeah, it's a pleasure." Jay nodded before his spider-sense went off.
"Someone's coming," Jay informed as Miss Martian nodded and turned invisible as Jay entered the cell, closing it behind him.
No sooner did a guard round the corner and walk down the hall, stopping at Jay's cell and looking inside to see Jay sitting alone. Jay just gave a small wave as the guard went on his way to continue his patrol.
"That was close." Jay sighed as Miss Martian uncloaked herself in front of the boy.
"I wouldn't have let anything happen from that anyway." Miss Martian assured as she watched the guard walk off.
"Uh…thanks again for all of this…not many people would do this for a complete stranger." Jay thanked as Miss Martian shook her head.
"Well, Nightwing did put in a good word. But either way helping people is what we do. Though I do hope that you'll listen to what I have to say when we meet again." Miss Martian smiled as she flew through the ceiling.
"Definitely." Jay nodded as he watched Miss Martian disappear through the ceiling.
"See you soon," Nightwing stated before the psychic link was cut off.
"What a night…" Jay sighed as he hung his head.
He didn't get the exact outcome he wanted, but it did end better than it could have had nothing been done. One thing was for sure, though. When he got out of there, he was going to find and help Max. After that, he'd find Tinkerer, and through her, he'd get Kingpin.
"But first, I have to do my best to help clear everyone's name," Jay noted, thinking of his fellow members of F.E.A.S.T.
Lower Manhattan…
New York Presbyterian…
"Your arm suffered some pretty nasty damage, Ms. Riley, but thankfully, it was a clean break, so it'll take about twelve to thirteen weeks to heal." A Doctor explained while she finished putting a cast on Sara.
"Though I'd advise against you doing any tinkering with more machinery for the time being." She advised as Sara nodded.
"Thank you, doctor." Sara thanked as the doctor left the room before letting out a sigh.
After she had escaped from the facility under the Holland Tunnel Ventilation building, she went straight to a hospital so she could get her arm fixed up. Sure, it was dangerous, but there were plenty of hospitals in the area, so she doubted anyone was going to look that far into finding her.
Then again, she had dealt with the proteges of Batman tonight, so it wouldn't be impossible, even with her alibi of having her arm caught in a machine. She needed to get out and far away from Kingpin so he couldn't hurt her or Jett.
Thinking back on her thoughts from earlier, before the whole fiasco began, she remembered the option that had come to her mind. It was viable, but she didn't even know if that person would even help her, let alone talk to her.
They hadn't talked since they separated after college when he had moved back to his home country. But Sara knew that he could be her only chance to get out of this situation. She couldn't trust the heroes she fought tonight, and Jay was too young to be involved in any of this. This was her only viable option.
So she took out her phone and began dialing an old number, hoping with each press that he'd pick up or even have that number still. When she was finished, she pressed her phone against her ear, only hearing two rings before the line was picked up.
"Hello?" A Dull Masculine Voice called from the other side.
"Um…hello. I know this is sudden, and you might not remember me much, but I'm…" Sara began before she was swiftly cut off.
"Sara Riley. I haven't heard your voice in over five years. It's nice to hear it again." The Man hummed, his voice sounding more lifeful than before.
"Wow, I didn't think you'd remember me." Sara laughed, feeling a little relieved.
"I'd never forget a brilliant mind like yourself. Especially with how closely we worked in college." The Man replied as Sara smiled.
"Y-Yeah." Sara nodded, a little nervous.
"A shame we never kept up after I returned home." The Man noted, causing Sara to pause.
"It was. I just felt that you were disappointed I didn't join you." Sara expressed, looking down.
"Only a little. But moving across the world is a big decision, so I don't blame you." The Man assured, lifting Sara's spirits a little.
"So what brought you to call me?" The Man inquired as Sara took a deep breath.
"You see…I'm in a lot of trouble, and you're the only person I know who can help me." Sara answered as her heart began to beat faster.
"I'm afraid for my safety and my brother's. If nothing is done, something awful will…" Sara continued as she began to choke up.
"Say nothing more. I will do everything in my power to help." The Man insisted, surprising Sara.
"Y-You will?" Sara questioned, shocked at how fast he had agreed.
"Of course. To protect you and your brother, I'll do anything. All I ask is some of your time." The Man explained, making Sara smile as she teared up.
"You have no idea how good it is to hear that!" Sara exclaimed as she wiped away her tears.
"Thank you, Victor."
Author's Note:
I am…
So…
Sorry for how long it took to get this chapter out, lol. It took me way too long to get through the updates of my other stories to the point where I'm going to start changing how I update my stories. From now on, I'm going to just write whichever chapter I have the energy/inspiration to get them through.
So, if I'm still on a roll after writing a chapter, I'll just go right into writing the next chapter now. Which means that, hopefully, I can get more chapters out in the year. But who can really say?
Either way, I'm pretty happy with how this chapter came out. It took me a while to get each section to feel smooth and natural, as I had to rewrite a lot of parts several times until I was satisfied. There are even several ideas I had to drop, too, as I couldn't really make them work.
I almost even dropped the part where Jay got hit with fear toxin cause I came up with the lightning bolt that destroyed the ventilation building, causing a fire. Couldn't have him go straight down and avoid helping those inside. But then I thought of the part where the capsules get flown away.
Really glad I got to put that little scene in there, especially with how I think it would affect his spider-sense in comparison to other illusions as his fear goes out of control, making his spider-sense run rampant as he is perceiving danger all around him.
Then there's the fact that I was actually planning on showing Jay's trail (or at least the tail end) here, but that would have made the chapter too long. Plus, I had an idea for next chapter to use it there instead :).
What I really liked was finally showing more of Tinkerer's gadgets, which are obviously more powerful than the standard exoskeletons Kingpin's goons. I wanted to make them feel a bit more unique and nothing like the stuff we see in both the Miles Morales game and in the comics (or at least the ones I've read).
I wanted to also make them based around how they can be used with her exoskeleton and nothing separate from it. Or at least not yet. I also liked showing how she is reacting to all her actions here and how much she really doesn't want to do this. Plus, there's the future that comes with that last little bit ;).
It was also fun writing some of the other members of The Team, though I didn't use some of them too much, I.E., Wonder Girl and Kid Flash, as I didn't want to water down the chapter with half-baked fights that felt pretty forced. Especially since the only real threat to them was Tinkerer, as each had plenty of experience to easily go toe-to-toe with the guards.
My favorite to write for was obviously Arrowette, even though I don't know much about her character beyond the show. This is mostly because of her past with Black Spider, which causes some small tension with Jay or, more specifically, Spider-Man, who shares many similarities with the assassin.
So, showing how she slowly came around to him was pretty fun. Excited to show more of their interactions in the future and even Jay's interactions with the rest of the team. Either way, I'm happy with how this chapter came out, and I hope you guys did as well.
Now, on to the reviews:
DemajhaeS2003 – Nope, it just took me a while to get the update out, lol. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Guest 1 – Thanks I hope the chapter met your expectations.
Juanreyex2x2 – Well, you got a little glimpse XD.
Guest 2 – Thanks hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Guest 3 – Here's part 2! Also, no, Jay will not be getting camouflage or bio-electricity, as I don't feel it fits him as a character. Though, let's just say there is one other power Jay has that he's yet to discover. It's nothing too big but I've laid hints out in the chapter about what it will be!
Zetsunaflames – Timeline and multiverse kinda go hand in hand, I think, as another timeline can be said to just be another universe. When I eventually do my Spider-Verse story (Unfortunately going to be a while), I hope to make it very interesting!
Crossovernaru – Thanks I'm glad you enjoy my character. Yeah, I felt it appropriate to not have him meet The Team right away because one they'd probably be a little hesitant in approaching him without knowing more about him (or if they really had to), and if I did have him meet them right away, it would have took away more of his character building as you said.
He definitely showed what he could do, especially with Arrowette, and how he prioritized saving the workers in the building before going down to help. Though, I do hope to show the result of that when they meet again (When M'gann gets to talk to him about joining). I also like the idea of a spider person with a hood on their costume. I just wish I could describe the design better lol.
Hope you enjoyed.
Joabear – Not quite, but I hope it was still entertaining. While it would have been cool seeing Jay dig himself out like that, showing a more ingenuitive approach to avoid being buried alive and crawling out to save Arrowette intrigued me more.
Thunrady – Oh, some of the famous ones will appear, just not the ones you've seen in the Spider-verse movies. Though they will be similar to them.
Fictionreader23 – Yeah, but after this whole fiasco, he'll probably be more willing to hear her out more. I would have written that bit in this chapter, but I didn't want to overfill it, lol. Also, I haven't had much thoughts, but I think I'll definitely try writing a story of Jay going to another city to help out, whether if it's for the Team or personal reasons.
Vfc15650 – Well, sorry XD hope the wait wasn't too long that it made you panic like Spectacular, lol. I don't plan on dropping my stories it just takes me some time to get through the rotation of updates. Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter out sooner.
Shadow-Proclamatoin8 – True. Can't wait to see how they explain things in the next movie. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Silver's C. Jay – Glad you liked it. I hope your story is coming along well!
649 – Don't worry, he made it out alright, lol.
That's all I have for today, so I'll see you next time! Which, hopefully, won't take another year, lol.
