Volume V: The Scorcher
This will be the sixth chapter of Volume V, this will introduce Steven Hudak, a killer arsonist armed with a hi tech armored suit equipped with powerful flamethrowers called the Scorcher as he commit crimes in Harlem and targeting members of the FDNY. Spider-Man and his team learned about the recent deaths of firefighters at the hands of this Scorcher, Peter took a drastic measure in protecting the FDNY station in Harlem by going undercover as a rookie firefighter under the name Ben Reilly, there he's taken under the wing of Pedro Olivera nickname Ollie. Peter fights beside New York's Bravest in their mission to rescue lives in Harlem while at the same time staying a step ahead to protect firemen from being killed, he eventually crosses paths with the Scorcher and learns of his true identity, eventually learn the true motives to the Scorcher. Meanwhile at the same time, Gwen is worried for her husband pushing himself too hard to provide for him and wife, Gwen confides in her best friend Mary Jane about her husband being the breadwinner as she too want to do something to help take some of the burden off his shoulders, Mary Jane suggested she tries out something unexpected that could change Gwen's life. The story will conclude with the rise of new heroes coming soon.
It's October 3rd, time is 11:03 PM up in Harlem, Manhattan, a fire has occurred in a tenement building, the firemen of Engine 59/Ladder 30 are already at the scene being lead by FDNY Battalion Chief Frank Johnson, the firemen are helping evacuate civilians and using hoses to water down the fire, inside the burning building are a couple of firemen Michael Snow and Ollie Olivera walking inside searching for anyone trapped inside as they're about to come up the stairs and stopped on the second floor.
"Alright Ollie, you take the second floor and see if there's anyone left, I'll take the third floor, be careful." Micheal Snow said.
"You too Snowman." Ollie smile.
"I told you many time I hate being called that. Now shut up and get moving!" Michael Snow said.
Ollie proceeded ahead on the second floor as Michael Snow smile before heading upstairs to the third floor to search for anyone trapped, Ollie is looking around yelling "IS ANYONE IN HERE?!" Ollie kept on moving until he came across one of the tenants coming out of the apartment coughing from all the smoke inside, Ollie came up and help the man out, offering him his mask to help him breathe in some oxygen into his lungs.
"That's it, keep breathing." Ollie then took back his mask and puts it on. "Okay, let's get you out of here."
Ollie helps carefully escort the tenant through the smoky halls of the burning building, eventually they made it outside as Ollie hands him to the FDNY Paramedics to be checked out, he came up to the captain.
"I think that was the last one, Chief." Ollie said.
"Nice work Ollie." Frank Johnson said as he's about to use his radio.
Inside the burning tenement on the third floor is Michael Snow still searching for anyone left, there's a lot of fire around here making it hard for him to see.
"Snow, the last of the tenants is already out, time for you to return!" Frank Johnson said.
Michael Snow taps his radio. "Copy Chief, heading back now!"
Micheal Snow was about to leave until he spotted something through the flames that looked human as it's too hard to tell.
Michael Snow taps his radio. "Chief, hold up, I think there's someone here on the third floor!"
Snow still has his hand on the radio as this unknown individual raises his gauntlet hand and unleashed a powerful burst of flames upon Fireman Snow as the man is screaming in intense pain being burned alive, the firefighters outside can hear the screams happening through the radio especially Captain Johnson and Ollie.
Chief Johnson taps his radio. "Snow, what's happening?! SNOW!"
Chief Johnson told the firemen "GO!", Ollie and the rest rushed back into the burning building to help their fellow firefighter who's in trouble, back up on the third floor the screaming has stopped and the firefighter died from being burned alive as the unknown individuals disappears into the flames after his job is done. Coming back up the stair are Ollie and the rest of the firemen as they made it back only to find a burning body on the third floor dressed in FDNY gear.
"MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!" Ollie yells terrified.
A couple firemen have extinguishers as they're pouring in foam around the burning corpse to stop the fire but it isn't easy as the flames are dying easily, by the time they get rid of the flame it was already too late, Firefighter Michael Snow is already dead, Ollie and the fireman are stunned upon losing one of their own.
It's October 4th around 1:10 AM in Forest Hills, Queens at the Parker-Stacy Residence, inside the master bedroom is Gwen Parker sleeping naked under the blanket as she flips over and lays her arm only to notice something is missing, Gwen is slowly waking up her eyes only to see her husband isn't in bed next to her, she leans up holding the blanket close to her chest.
"Pete?!" Gwen said.
Gwen calls out but still no answer but she heard some talking coming from downstairs, she's slowly getting off the bed. Later she's coming down the stairs all dressed up in a tank top and gray sweatpants to see Peter sleeping on the couch with the TV is still on showing Reed Richards on it about the Marvel-1 mission into space.
"Soon we're about to embark on a journey into space to explore uncharted territory, in the recent years we know there are intelligent life out there in the universe, but also many questions to the mysteries of the universe itself, this journey into space can give us answers that'll improve humanity's evolution, also I've asked my old colleague Victor von Doom to take part in this frontier, also..."
Gwen uses the remote to turn off the TV as Gwen looks upon her husband still sleeping on the couch, Gwen sighs as she got a hold of a blanket and covers it over her husband, she then gently lifts his head and place a pillow underneath for comfort, Gwen smile as she gave Peter a kiss on the forehead. Gwen did her part in help her husband sleep comfortably on the couch as she then turns to the coffee table filled with bills from electricity to internet, some of them are due as Peter has been using the laptop making some payment online, Gwen is worried for Peter working too hard to be the breadwinner for him and his wife.
Time is 7:20 AM at the 13th precinct in Manhattan, Captain Yuri Watanabe just came into the precinct holding a cup of coffee as the desk sergeant says "Morning Captain. She replied "Morning Sergeant." as she enters the elevator heading up to the fourth floor of the precinct, she got off as a number of police officers are here doing the morning shift, she finally arrived in her office and taking a seat behind her desk, she drank up the coffee until the phone buzzed.
"Captain, I have a Lieutenant Knight here and she's brought a guest, she need to speak with you immediately."
"Okay, send them in." Yuri Watanabe said.
Yuri finishes drinking her coffee as the office door is opening up and coming in is Lieutenant Mercedes Knight along with Chief Frank Johnson dressed in a FDNY officer uniform holding his hat.
"Captain Watanabe, it's been awhile." Misty Knight extends her hand.
Yuri Watanabe shakes hands. "Likewise Lieutenant."
"Captain Watanabe, this is Chief Frank Johnson of the FDNY station based out of Harlem." Misty Knight said.
"Nice to meet you Chief Johnson. Honestly this is a surprise, having you both coming all the way down from Harlem, is everything okay?" Yuri Watanabe said.
Frank Johnson sighs uneasy. "No... we need to talk."
It's 8:23 AM in Brooklyn, at the Brooklyn Bridge Park at the basketball court, Peter and Miles are playing basketball together continuously wearing sport tank tops and shorts, Peter scored some points, but Miles is way ahead of him, Peter is dribbling the ball and running toward the net, he was about to dunk it but Miles jumps and intercepted the ball before it got in and ended up doing a reverse dunk and got the ball in, he scored a point.
"HA! THAT'S GAME!" Miles is excited.
Peter is smiling exhausted. "Whatever, baseball is more my sport."
"Hey, baseball is good, but basketball is my thing." Miles said.
"Okay, to each his own. Still... great game." Peter said.
Peter and Miles walks up to the bench where all their backpacks are as they're each grabbing a bottle and drinking up some water, they just finished up as Peter has something to ask Miles.
"Hey Miles, can I ask you something?" Peter said.
"Shoot!" Miles said.
"Your uncle once worked in food delivery when he was working as an Uber, right?" Peter said.
"Yeah, it's a side job to help earn some extra money." Miles said.
"How did he get the job?" Peter said.
"His friend Hobie helped hook him. Why? You know anyone wanting the job?" Miles said.
"Yeah, me." Peter said.
"Doesn't pay much as you make as a photographer." Miles said.
"It's fine, just as long as I can make some extra money when I get the chance." Peter said.
"Okay, I'll see if I can reach Hobie, maybe he can help out hook you up." Miles said.
"Thanks." Peter said.
"Everything okay?" Miles said.
"Yeah, just my photographer gig hasn't been active much, I got some bills to pay and I gotta provide for myself and for Gwen." Peter explain his situation.
"Gotta be the breadwinner, huh?" Miles said.
"Yeah, that's my burden." Peter said.
All of a sudden both Miles and Peter's phone are ringing as they're pulling them out and it's a message from Captain Yuri Watanabe requesting to see them immediately, they look at each other wondering what could be so urgent.
It's 8:53 AM back in Manhattan at the 13th precinct, the Web-Warriors are here in the presence of Captain Yuri Watanabe along with Lieutenant Misty Knight and FDNY Chief Frank Johnson as they got something important to share with them concerning recent events.
"Spider-Man, thank you for coming, glad you and your team could make the time." Yuri Watanabe said.
"Sure thing Captain, what can we do to help?" Spider-Man said.
"This is Chief Frank Johnson of the FDNY." Yuri Watanabe introduce the man in uniform.
"New York's Bravest, what an honor." Spider-Man said.
"The honor is ours too Spider-Man, the FDNY has heard of you and the heroes, every firemen you've helped told your tales on your bravery." Frank Johnson said.
"Appreciate the compliment, but you guys are the real heroes, you all help people for a living. So what brings an FDNY Chief here?" Spider-Man said.
Frank Johnson sighs uneasy. "Very well, I'll get straight to the point... last night in Harlem, one of my men, Firefighter Michael Snow lost his life, he was burned to death."
"Oh my god." Spider-Man is stunned.
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Ghost-Spider said.
"You have our condolences." Kid Arachnid said.
"Thank you, but we don't think it was an accident, we believe he was murdered." Frank Johnson said.
"Murdered?" Spider-Man said.
"Who would kill a fireman?" Spider-Girl said.
"We don't know, but this was the third one we lost." Frank Johnson said.
"Third? You mean there were others who died." Spider-Man said.
"Two other firemen, last week in Harlem, Firefighter Samuel Douglas was killed, and a week before that Firefighter Frank Alvarez, they both died in a same manner as Fireman Snow, burned alive." Frank Johnson said.
"Oh man." Kid Arachnid is shocked.
"Who's doing this?" Spider-Man said.
"We're not sure, we've just started an investigation into this matter, there's so much happening in Harlem, just recently there's a major turf war between Cottonmouth and Big Ben that's been going on for months." Misty Knight said.
"You think the local gangs might be behind this?" Spider-Man said.
"Usually their beefs are with each other and the NYPD, but never with the FDNY, it's not their thing." Misty Knight said.
"Our thoughts exactly, we called in our fire investigation team to look into the previous fires, turns out the two other buildings were all destroyed in a similar manner, fire signatures from both buildings matches the one from last night. We didn't think there was anything unusual until last night, Snow was still on the radio, he told us someone was there that night, that's when we heard the screams. My men rushed back inside to help him, but the time they got there its was too late, they found Snow burned to death" Frank Johnson said.
"My god..." Ghost-Spider is stunned.
"So we're looking at an arsonist." Spider-Man said.
"We're not sure, in our experience, arsonists usually sets fires for money or to satisfy some twisted inner need, but this, this is different. Burning firemen alive, it seems very personal, there's someone out there targeting firemen. Whoever is doing this somehow managed to produce flames powerful enough to scorch through even our toughest layer of fire protection, our investigators didn't have a name on his true identity yet, they just call him the Scorcher." Frank Johnson said.
"The Scorcher?" Spider-Man said.
"Cause of the way he scorches everything, buildings, people, even firemen, all completely scorched. That's why we're here, we need your help, Snow, Douglas, Alvarez, they were all good firemen, they didn't deserve to die like this and no firemen should ever have to suffer like this... on behalf of the FDNY, please help us Spider-Man." Frank Johnson said.
Spider-Man sighs as he nods his head. "You can count on us Captain."
"Thank you..." Frank Johnson hands Spider-Man a flash drive. "Here, this is everything the investigators were able to gather on the Scorcher's crimes."
Spider-Man took the drive. "We'll put it to good use."
"I have to get back to the station, now that we've lost a fireman, we'll need someone to fill in Snow's spot, but there aren't enough firemen or new recruits to spare. Anyway, good luck heroes, the fate of the FDNY is your hands." Frank Johnson said.
Spider-Man and his Web-Warrior accepted this mission to find this Scorcher before he strikes again.
At the same time hiding out somewhere in Harlem, a African-American male showing some burn scars on the left side of his body is tinkering with an orange-yellow armored suit with a dome helmet armed with a couple of gauntlet with palm flamethrowers all hooked up to the gas tank on the back with some thrusters around, he just finished tinkering the suit he used to burn a firefighter last night. Afterwards he comes up to the board where he's got photos of firefighters he's targeting, he's already crossed out three of them, but he's got some more targets to hunt, next to the target list is a picture of himself with a wife and their son.
"Soon, very soon, they will burn, just like they left you to burn." Steven Hudak said.
This man's name is Steven Hudak, he's the supervillain called the Scorcher, he's committing crimes in Harlem against the FDNY and he isn't done yet, he still got targets on his list, this is a revenge mission for him.
Later around 10:55 AM at the Spider-Cave, the whole Web-Warriors are here along with Ganke Lee as Peter plugs in the thumb drive he got from the Fire Captain as they're looking up images of the crime scene from three different building, including photo of fatalities including the deceased firemen as the images aren't looking good for everyone to see, completely scorched, making the heroes uncomfortable.
"Oh my..." Gwen is stunned.
"Dios mío." Anya is stunned in spanish.
Peter is in shock. "What kind of sick bastard would burn firemen alive?"
"I'd say someone with a very serious grudge." Miles said.
"This guy purposely set those fires as bait to lure the firemen into a trap. Every time he does he's there waiting to strike, not to mention some other fatalities that got caught in fire, innocent lives." Peter said.
"Yeah, this Scorcher guy doesn't seem concerned about anyone else dying, he seems very driven to target firemen." Gwen said.
"But why?" Anya said.
"I don't know, but we need to find this guy fast before anymore bodies drop." Peter is serious.
"What makes you think there's gonna a next time?" Anya said.
"The way this guy has been operating tells us two things, one, he's very motive, two, he's getting off on it. The question is isn't if he's gonna strike again, it's who else he's got on his list. We gotta find him and put a stop to this madness." Peter said.
"I respect your desire to save the FDNY, but there's only four of us, not to mention we got an entire city to protect, we'll be stretched pretty thin. We all want to get this guy, but it's gonna take some time." Miles said.
"We can't wait that long, this man is still out waiting to make his next move. By the time we get there, another firefighter might get killed along with anyone else caught in the fire." Peter said.
"Why is this so important to you?" Anya said.
"Cause in my four years as Spider-Man, I got to serve beside New York's Bravest in their mission to fight fires and save lives, even though they don't have powers, they still risk their lives on a daily basis to rescue other lives, they're just as much heroes as we are, we can't turn our backs on them." Peter said.
Miles sighs. "Yeah, you're right, despite being a son of a cop, at the end of the day it's our duty to protect them."
"So what do we do?" Anya said.
"We know he's targeting fireman of the same station based out of Harlem, that's where we start." Peter said.
"How? This Scorcher managed to stay under the radar for weeks, even from us." Gwen said.
"Maybe we can stake out the station and stand by in case Scorcher makes his move." Peter said.
"That's too risky, what are the chance this Scorcher guy is watching the station too?" Gwen said.
"She's right, this guy is watching and if he spots any of us, he might just decide to abort and disappear, we'll never catch him. There won't be any justice for those fallen brave men." Miles said.
"So gotta find a way to do this under the radar while at the same time being very close to the firemen to protect them." Peter said.
"Yeah, but how? I don't think Spider-Man will blend in easily with a group of firefighters." Anya said.
Peter is thinking of a solution as he listened to Anya's word, he then thought of something crazy that might just work.
"That's it, there is a way." Peter said.
"How?" Miles said.
"The only way to protect the FDNY station and their men is from within." Peter said.
"Wait, are you suggesting you..." Anya said.
"Yeah, I'm going undercover in the FDNY as a firefighter." Peter said.
"A firefighter? Is that even possible?" Miles said.
"The Chief just said he's looking for a new fireman to fill in a slot, I'm gonna take it." Peter said.
"Going in undercover, are you sure you're up for it? Do you even know anything about being a firefighter?" Anya said.
"Like I said, I worked with FDNY on occasion, sometimes they teach somethings, plus my spy training from S.H.I.E.L.D. should give me an edge in infiltrating, this'll be a piece of cake. The important thing is we prevent more deaths to firemen, this could be our only chance to do something about it." Peter said.
Gwen sighs. "You're right."
"I sound crazy, but it just might work." Miles agrees.
"Okay, we're with you." Anya agrees too.
"Thanks, Ganke, do you think you can create me a new identity?" Peter said.
"I can do that." Ganke sitting in front of keyboard.
"Okay, I'll have to be a rookie firefighter from out of town, maybe out of state looking to transfer to the FDNY." Peter suggested.
"I can make you a new identity, but you're gonna need to think up a name. Got any suggestion?" Ganke is typing the keyboard.
Miles raised his hand. "I got one, how about... Paul?"
"Paul?" Peter is confused.
"Yeah, I think you look like a Paul to me." Miles said.
"Let me guess, you got the name from a movie actor from a certain movie franchise." Anya said.
"Oh, I think I know who you're talking about." Peter said.
"Yeah... so?" Miles said.
"No." Peter said.
"No?" Miles said.
"I don't like being called Paul." Peter said.
"What's wrong with being called Paul?" Miles said.
"Nothing, just don't like the name for some reason." Peter doesn't want to be called Paul.
"Fine, it's your call, you can call yourself whatever you want." Miles said.
"So what do you want to be called?" Gwen said.
Peter thinking up any potential names for his new identity, eventually he came up with a perfect name that has great meaning to him.
"I got a perfect name, but first." Peter said.
Peter got his right hand on his left hand, he gently pulls off his wedding ring and hands it to his wife.
"Here, can't let anyone think I'm married." Peter said.
Gwen took the ring. "I understand, I'll give it back until your mission is over."
Peter and Gwen kiss each other as they're gonna be separated for a time.
"So... what's the name?" Ganke is curious.
Peter smile as he got the perfect name for himself, he plans to be named after the two most important people in his life.
It's 1:43 PM up in Harlem as a red sportster is riding around the neighborhood, eventually the bike came to a stop where the FDNY station is, the bike is parked outside as it's got New Jersey license plates and getting off is Peter Parker dressed in a navy blue hoodie and blue jeans as he looks at the fire station he's going undercover in. He feels a little nervous as he takes a deep breath and takes his first steps entering the station where a fire engine and a ladder truck are both parked inside with some firemen of Engine 59 and Ladder 30 all doing some clean on the trucks, a few are practicing on their boxing using the punch bag, coming around is Chief Frank Johnson as he spots someone new near the trucks.
"Can I help you?" Frank Johnson said.
"Oh, yeah, I'm the new fireman transferring in from Newark FD." Peter hands the transfer paperwork.
Frank Johnson looks at the paperwork. "Okay, everything is in order, welcome to Engine 59."
"Thank you, it's an honor to be here." Peter said.
Frank Johnson turns to everyone and whistles loudly. "Engine 59! Ladder 30! Front and center!"
Everyone is gathering around together including Ollie Olivera as Chief Johnson has something to say, some of them spotted the new probie for this station.
"Listen up, I know we're all still in mourning over the loss of our fallen brother, just like with Douglas and Alvarez, they will all be missed and remembered, but we gotta stayed focused on our jobs, keep on going, understood?!"
"YES CHIEF"
"Also Keep in mind, the wake is tomorrow night. Alright everyone, back to your posts!" Frank Johnson said as everyone is getting back to their thing. "Olivera, a word!"
Ollie Olivera came up to the Chief next to the new probie.
"Listen, if you're not up to it, I can let someone else take in the probie." Frank Johnson said.
"No Chief, I'm all good, I got this." Ollie said.
"Okay, good luck." Frank Johnson said.
Chief Johnson walks away leaving the probie in Ollie's care, Peter looks upon the guy he's going to train under, he's as Hispanic-American male around 24 years old standing at 6' 0", just a bit taller than Peter.
"So you must be the new probie. Hi, my name is Pedro Olivera, everyone just calls me Ollie." Ollie introduce himself.
"Nice to meet you Ollie, I'm Ben, Ben Reilly." Peter goes by the name Ben Reilly.
"Welcome to the FDNY, Ben Reilly. Come on, let me show you around." Ollie said.
Ollie shows Peter around who is known to this place as Ben Reilly or Probie as he's currently undercover as a probationary firefighter, Peter is given the tour around the station house, including a fitness room where some firemen train to keep themselves in perfect shape, a kitchen where everyone gathers around to eat, eventually they came across a memorial shrine dedicated to the fallen firefighter Michael Snow as this got Peter's attention.
"That's our fallen brother, Michael Snow. Everyone around her calls him the Snowman, though the man hated it." Ollie smile until he sighs with sadness. "He.. passed away last night.
"I'm sorry to hear that, what happened?" Peter said.
"He was... burned in the line of duty, it's a terrible way to die. The man is a great firefighter, he took me under his wing back when I was a probie myself, made me the firefighter I am. Anyway, he'll be missed. Follow me Probie." Ollie is saddened.
Ollie walks away as Peter looks upon the photo of the fallen firefighter, he hopes to get justice for him soon, Peter then follows Ollies until he shows him to the quarters where bunk beds are used for firemen to sleep in in the night.
"Well, here it is, this is where we firemen bunk in for the night shift. You got a place to stay?" Ollie said.
"Not yet, still looking, though... not sure how long I'll be here." Peter said.
"Why? Have some second thoughts being here?" Ollie said.
"Something like that." Peter said.
"Hope you know what you gotten into, Probie. New York ain't like Newark, out here in the city, it's all kind of weird." Ollie said.
"So I've heard." Peter knows too well.
A firemen came by the door. "Yo Ollie, it's chow time, take the probie with you."
"Right, it's my turn to get the food. You like Chinese, Probie?" Ollie said
"Yeah." Peter said.
"Okay, leave your bag here and get changed." Ollie said.
"Changed?" Peter said.
"Yeah, you're in the FDNY, you represent us now. I'll get the car started outside, don't take too long Probie." Ollie said.
"Okay." Peter said.
Ollie is leaving the quarters as Peter is left alone as he unzips his backpack full of clothes, but underneath them is his Spider-Man suit along with his web shooters, he then zips it closed and puts it underneath the bunk bed.
It's 2:22 PM at a local Chinese restaurant in Harlem called Genghis Connie's, Peter is at the restaurant dressed in a navy blue FDNY shirt with the logo letters on the left chest along with navy blue pants and boots, he's with Ollie Olivera who's at the counter chatting with Connie Lin as he's ordering up some chow for his fire brothers, he just finished ordering and paying the owner in cash.
"Keep the change." Ollie said.
"Thank you." Connie Lin speaks Mandarin.
"You're welcome." Peter speaks Mandarin.
Connie Lin smile as she walks back to the kitchen after getting their orders as Ollie looked surprise by Ben Reilly's ability to understand and speak Mandarin.
"Didn't know you spoke Chinese?" Ollie said.
"Oh... yeah, I got a gift for practicing languages." Peter said.
"I see, let's take a seat and wait." Ollie said.
Peter and Ollie sits at table for their orders to come, Peter is still new around Harlem as a few female customers are eyeballing the firemen here, especially the new guy, Peter noticed them looking at him.
"Looks like we got some admirers." Peter said.
Ollie smile. "Yeah, we get that a lot. Gotta say, for a probie, you sure got the magic."
Peter smile. "Yeah, seems to be my curse. So how often does this happen to you?"
"Too often, since the calendar." Ollie said.
"Calendar?" Peter said.
"That's right, you're looking at this year's Mr. February on the FDNY calendar." Ollie said.
Ollie pulls out his phone and scrolls down the photos, he then shows Peter a photo of himself all shirtless wearing only his turnout pants.
Peter giggles. "No way! This is you!"
"That's me, Mr. February." Ollie smile.
"Bet the ladies love this!" Peter smile
"They sure did, you should've seen the fan mail I get, ladies coming by the station asking for my autograph, and on occasion they would slip me their phone numbers." Ollie smile.
"Wow!" Peter is impressed.
"Stick around Probie and who knows, with your looks you might end up on a calendar one day." Ollie said.
Peter smile. "Thanks, but I'm not looking to attract any more ladies than I already have."
"Suit yourself. So how are you liking New York so far?" Ollie said.
"It's nothing like Newark, but it's great." Peter said.
"Hope you got the stomach to make it here, out here in New York it's pretty much the Wild West, anything can happen. New York is pretty much a battlefield, ever since the invasion occurred in New York years ago, there's been a lot of world ending events happening here, people end up dying." Ollie said.
"So it's that bad, huh?" Peter said.
"Could be worse, but luckily this city has heroes looking out for everyone." Ollie said.
"You mean the Avengers?" Peter said.
"And Spider-Man, sure you've heard of him?" Ollie said.
"A bit, tell me about him?" Peter said.
"I only heard the tales from other firemen he helps out on occasion, they say he would often make time to help out us firemen whenever he's around the neighborhood, no matter how dangerous the situation is, he would go in with us and help protect us from whatever we face." Ollie said.
Peter smile. "Sounds like he's a great guy."
"He is, New York is lucky to have a hero like him." Ollie said.
Peter smile upon listening to Ollie talk about how much the firemen appreciates Spider-Man for all the help he's given them, little does Ollie know that Spider-Man is here ready to protect them from a dangerous arsonist. Connie Lin calls out to the firemen as Peter and Ollie are getting up to pick up a box full of Chinese takeouts as Ollie take them and hands them to Peter.
"Here you go Probie." Ollie said.
Peter sighs as he just follows Ollie out of Genghis Connie's restaurant as they're coming up to the trunk of Ollie's car and Peter puts the takeout box in the back before Ollie closed the trunk, Peter is coming up to the passenger side only to look up across the street to see a billboard of Van Dyne Fashion with a picture of Mary Jane Watson, Ollie notice the probie looking straight at the billboard of the beautiful redhead model.
"Oh yeah, we've seen her face everywhere, the new model, Mary Jane Watson. Isn't she a beauty?" Ollie said.
"Yes she is." Peter smile.
"Any guy would be lucky to go out with her, even me." Ollie said.
"I wouldn't know what it's like to be with a supermodel." Peter said.
"Me neither, but hey, just be glad you're not married to one, can't imagine how that'd go? Having every guy drooling over you supermodel wife." Ollie said.
"Yeah, lucky me." Peter said.
Peter is relieved his wife isn't a supermodel, can't imagine how that'd go.
Later around 2:55 PM in Tribeca, at the Coffee Bean, Gwen is sitting at the table with her coffee drink in her hand still thinking about her husband, she's in the company of her best friend Mary Jane Watson who noticed Gwen hardly drank anything.
"Gwen?" Mary Jane calling out.
Gwen snaps out of her thoughts. "Huh? I'm sorry, what?"
"Gwen, you hardly drank your latte." Mary Jane said.
"Oh, sorry." Gwen said.
"Are you alright?" Mary Jane said.
"Yeah, I'm just... thinking about Peter." Gwen said.
"Hey, I'm sure Peter is fine, he can take care of himself going undercover." Mary Jane said.
"It's not about the mission, it's... something else." Gwen has her worries.
"Girl, I'm your best friend, talk to me." Mary Jane is curious.
Gwen sighs. "I'm worried about him, I think Peter is pushing himself too hard, struggling, we got these bills to pay and Peter is working very hard to provide for us. He's exhausting himself too much."
"I see." Mary Jane said.
"I know since last year I had to live off on my college fund my dad left for me, Peter basically had to work since high school to provide for himself and his Aunt, I haven't even done anything to earn some money, I feel like I'm living off my husband without any care." Gwen felt bad.
"Hey, don't you dare say that Gwen, you do care! I'm sure Peter didn't tell you because he doesn't want you to be worried, probably though he could handle it himself." Mary Jane said.
"I know, but I want to do something to help take off some of the burden he's carrying." Gwen said.
"Like getting a job?" Mary Jane said.
"Exactly, but I don't have any special skills like he does, he's got a gift in photography and I'm just a science major who's on scholarship. What can I do?" Gwen said.
Gwen sighs as she doesn't have any talent or special skills, Mary Jane can see Gwen looking down on herself, MJ then take a good look at Gwen to see that she's got a great look just like her and thought up of something that could work for Gwen.
"Let me ask you something, have you ever thought about modeling?" Mary Jane said.
"Modeling? Me, a model?" Gwen said.
"Yeah, seriously, you've got all the looks, you'd be perfect." Mary Jane said.
"Funny, Janet once told me the same thing... look, I appreciate it, but I don't anything about modeling." Gwen said.
"Neither did I, but I gave it a try and now look at me, I'm now the girl on the billboards and magazines, traveling the world, living in an expensive apartment in Upper West Side, earning some real money by my good looks alone." Mary Jane explain the benefits.
"It's impressive, still... don't know if it's for me." Gwen said.
"Why not?" Mary Jane said.
"Cause I'm a hero who's also a science major, between studying and doing my duties, I probably won't make time modeling." Gwen said.
"Gwen, you said you wanted to help Peter." Mary Jane said.
"I do." Gwen said.
"Look, just give it a try, if you do make it, then you'll earn some decent money, you'll be helping Peter." Mary Jane said.
Gwen sighs with smile. "Well... guess it wouldn't hurt to try out modeling."
"Trust me, I'm sure Peter would love the idea of being married to a supermodel." Mary Jane smile.
Time is 3:15 PM back at the station in Harlem, a number of firemen are gathered in the kitchen having Chinese takeout from Genghis Connie's, including Peter and Ollie sitting at the table with the firemen eating, most are eating with forks while Peter is using chopsticks to eat garlic shrimp.
"Wow, Probie can eat with chopsticks."
"Yeah, Probie can even speak Chinese." Ollie is eating Peking duck.
"Really."
"Yeah." Ollie speaks in Spanish.
"He even speaks Spanish." Peter speaking Spanish.
"Dang! Probie can speak more tongues than any of us. Bet that'll come in handy when you're dating a pretty asian or Latina girl."
Peter and the firemen are laughing and enjoy their moment as he's getting along with them very well, but all of a sudden the alarms are ringing out loud getting everyone's attention speaking
"ENGINE 59! LADDER 30!" as every firemen is mobilizing.
"Well Probie, looks like this is your first time! Come on, time to suit up!" Ollie is rushing away.
Peter sighs. "That's what I usually say."
Peter rushes over to Ollie's side, he first puts on the turnout pants along with with the turnout coat and helmet, afterwards he straps on the gear with the oxygen tank on his back, Peter is fully dressed up as a firefighter.
"Come on Probie! Hop on!" Ollie calling out.
Peter rushed over to the Fire Engine and hops in along with the rest of the firemen, the other firemen hopped onto the Ladder Truck, both trucks are loaded with firemen and ready to go, the drivers are turning on the sirens before driving out of the station and roaming around the streets of Harlem heading towards danger, Peter is keeping his cool as this is his first time going out there not as Spider-Man, Ollie is sitting and noticed the Probie looking a bit nervous.
"Probie..." Ollie calling out to Peter and got his attention. "You nervous?"
"A little bit." Peter said.
"It's natural to feel this way, just stick with us and listen to what we say, you'll do fine. Okay?" Ollie giving some advice.
Peter nodded with a smile as he looks out the window at Harlem as some people are watching the trucks passing by, this is what it feels like when firemen are off to fight fires.
Later around 3:32 PM in Harlem, another tenement is on fire with Engine 59 and Ladder 30 are already at the scene hosing down the fire from the outside and some firemen are escorting injured people out to safety, a few men are setting up some inflatable cushions close to the tenement for emergency escape, meanwhile inside the building are a four firemen including Peter Parker wearing turnout gear coming up to the fourth floor of the burning building as there are some people still trapped inside.
"Alright, we're gonna split up, Ollie, Reilly, you go down that way and we'll go this way!"
"Got it, let's go Probie." Ollie said.
"Right behind you." Peter said.
Ollie and Peter are heading down the hallway in pair splitting up from the other pair going the other way, there's so much heat and smoke all around making it hard to navigate this very dangerous environment.
"Stay close Probie and watch your step, all this fire burning through the structures can make the floors and ceilings unstable, so watch yourself, anything can happen.
Peter is following Ollie until his spider-sense is tingling as there's danger, the floor in front of Ollie is about to collapse as he quickly got a hold of Ollie and pulled him back before he could step onto the soon-to-be collapsed floor, the floor in front of Ollie finally collapsed as Ollie is shocked and relieved he was pulled away in time.
"Holy shit, that was close... How did you know?" Ollie said.
"Ah... call it a feeling." Peter said.
Ollie calming himself. "Thanks Probie."
"Anytime, looks like we can't go this way." Peter pointed out.
"Then we make another way around, come on." Ollie said.
Ollie then opens up a door to one of the apartments as he and Peter are going in to get around, only for them to come up to a wall blocking their way, they both have their axes ready and uses them to cut down the wall repeatedly until it's finally taken down and the way around is finally opened, they gone through until they came out of the other apartment and reached the hall, they then hear a voice pleading for help.
"Did you hear that?" Ollie said.
"Yeah, someone is here." Peter said.
"Follow me." Ollie said.
Ollie follow the voice until they found the apartment door it's coming from, Ollie tries to open it up but it's jammed, he then resorted to using his foot to stomp down the door hard, but it's impossible to budge, he tried again but nothing has changed.
"Dammit, there must be some debris behind this door, we'll have to find another way inside." Ollie said.
Ollie is walking away as Peter look at Ollie trying to find an alternate way into the apartment, while Ollie is still looking Peter took the opportunity to use his push kick on the door and stomped upon it with ever ounce of his spider strength, it finally opened up and clearing away some debris.
"Ollie! It's open!" Peter calling out.
Ollie turns around to see Ben Reilly at the opened door, he came back as he looked surprised it's opened despite the obstacles.
"How?" Ollie said.
"Just needed another kick." Peter made an excuse.
Ollie enters the apartment along with Peter as they're looking around to see the mess in here, but no sign of anyone.
"Hello! Is anyone in here?!" Ollie calling out.
"Help!"
Ollie and Peter heard someone as they're approaching a large bookshelf, Ollie lowers down to see a young woman trapped underneath.
"Hold on, we're gonna get you out!" Ollie said.
Ollie got a hold of the bookshelf to try to lift it, but it's very heavy for him, he tries again but it won't lift up by his strength.
"Shit, this thing is heavy!" Ollie said.
"Let's try together!" Peter steps in.
Peter got a hold of the bookshelf along with Ollie as they're counting down together. "One, two, three!" They both lift the very heavy bookshelf with the help of Peter's spider strength, it's lifting up as the woman looks injured lying on the floor.
"Ollie, pull her out!" Peter holding up the shelf.
"You sure?" Ollie said.
"GO!" Peter still holding up.
Peter holds up the shelf as Ollie quickly went under and reached out to pull out the woman from underneath, he got a hold of her hand and pulls her away to safety, she's finally out and Peter lowers the shelf carefully as Ollie is helping the woman who's coughing due to all the smoke in the air, Ollie offer her his breathing mask and hold its over her face.
"It's okay, just breathe in and out." Ollie telling her.
The woman is breathing in oxygen from the mask until she's got enough to survive.
"Okay, let's get you up." Ollie said.
Ollie is gently lifting her up on her feet only for her to feel some pain in her leg, making her flinch upon standing.
"Are you hurt?" Ollie said.
"I think my right leg is broken."
"Probie, help her." Ollie said.
Peter came up to the woman's right side as she got her right arm over his shoulder for support, both he and Ollie are helping escort the woman out of the apartment until he celling above their heads is about to collapse as Ollie pushed Peter and the woman away before the burning ceiling fell down, Peter and the woman are safe but Ollie is still trapped inside the apartment with some debris blocking his way out as Peter see Ollie is alive and trapped inside the apartment.
"Ollie!" Peter said.
"Probie, just take her and go!" Ollie said.
"What about you?" Peter said.
"I'll find another way out, just get her out of here! GO!" Ollie yells.
Peter doesn't want to leave Ollie behind to die, but he's got a duty to help escort the woman to safety, so Peter help get her out of here, meanwhile Ollie is looking around the apartment as he came across a wall to the other apartment, he starts using his ax to tear it down. Peter is coming down the stairs heading down to the first floor with the woman with an injured leg. Back on the fourth floor, Ollie came out of the other apartment as he's heading down the other stairs down to the third floor only to find the way down is gone and collapsed, he's on the third floor. Peter made it to the first floor along with other firemen as Ollie is calling out on the radio.
"This is Olivera, I'm on the third floor heading towards the stairs." Ollie on the radio.
"Copy!" Peter taps the radio before handing the woman to the firemen. "Take her outside!"
Peter then goes back upstairs after leaving the woman in the hands of other firemen as he's going back to help Ollie still roaming around the third floor as he's passing by an opened door still on fire until he spotted someone in the flames as it got his attention, he sees someone in some kind of suit.
"What the..." Ollie said.
The Scorcher raised his palm and unleashed flames as Ollie quickly jumps away from the powerful flames but only his right sleeve of the turncoat caught fire and starting to burn as Ollie is rolling down to put out the scorching fire, Peter is rushing onto the third floor looking for Ollie until he heard some screams down the hall. Ollie managed to put out the fire on his right sleeve but he got a bit burned in the process as Scorcher is coming out of the flaming room walking up to Ollie still on the floor a bit hurt.
"What the hell are you?" Ollie said.
"Someone who wants you to know what it feels like to get burned!" Scorcher said.
Peter came down the hall to see Ollie up ahead on the floor and someone in a armored suit about to make his move, Peter has the fire axe in his hand as Scorcher is about to burn Ollie to death, but Peter tossed the ax hard as it flew across the hall and hit Scorcher's armor, causing some serious damage as Peter is coming in for a tackle and knocked Scorcher off his feet, making the villain fall onto the floor. Peter quickly rushed over to Ollie who looked hurt in his right arm and helps him up on his feet.
"Ollie, are you alright?" Peter helping out.
"I'm a little burned, but I'm okay." Ollie said.
"Come on, we have to go!" Peter said.
Peter helps escort Ollie down the hallway to get away from Scorcher, meanwhile the villain is getting up as Peter quickly looks back to see the dome around the armored suit is broken and got a clear view of the Scorcher's face to see some burn scars on his left side. Scorcher is ticked off as he's about to unleash more flames from palms.
"RUN!" Peter yells.
Peter and Ollie are running down the hall as the flames are coming at them hard, they spotted a window up ahead.
"JUMP!" Peter yells.
Peter and Ollie quickly jumped through the window and falls off the from the third floor as the powerful flames bursted out of the building, the two are falling down and landed onto the cushion safe and sound. The firemen are coming up to help out Peter and Ollie who are relieved they've escaped in time, but Peter looks up at the burning building as he finally saw who was responsible, the Scorcher is very real and he's a serious threat to the FDNY.
Later around 4:44 PM back at the station, Ollie is being checked by a doctor and treated for his burns on his right arm, meanwhile in the shower room a number of firefighters are cleaning themselves washing off all the smog and ashes, including Peter Parker as he lets the water rain down upon him as he's still thinking about what he seen earlier inside the fire, it still sticks to his mind the details on the supervillain responsible for the deaths of three firefighter along with a few fatalities. Sometime later Peter is all cleaned and dried up dressed in a regular FDNY attires as he came by the quarters to see Ollie getting his arm bandaged by the doctor.
"You're lucky it's only first degree burns, it could've been a lot worse, but otherwise you're fine."
"Thanks doc." Ollie said.
The doctor leaves the quarters and went past Peter who came by to check up on Ollie.
"Hey Probie." Ollie smile.
"How's your arm?" Peter said.
"It's only first degree burns, the turnout provide as much protection as it could, thought for sure I'd be dead... thanks Probie, you really saved my ass." Ollie said.
"Don't mention it, just doing my job." Peter said.
"I mean it Probie. What you did is very brave, thank you." Ollie is grateful.
"You're welcome." Peter said.
Ollie is thinking of something. "What the hell was that back there, in the fire?"
"Don't know, whatever it is, someone has to stop it." Peter said.
"Well... Chief's giving me the day off, I'm gonna head on home to relax." Ollie said.
"That's good, you definitely need it. See ya tomorrow." Peter said.
"Sure thing, bye Probie." Ollie said as he's leaving.
Ollie was about to leave the quarter to go on home for the day until he stops and thinks about Ben Reilly's living situation, he thought of something to help the Probie out.
"Probie!" Ollie said as he got Peter's attention, he pulls out a spare key and toss it towards him.
Peter caught it in his hand. "What's this?"
"It's a spare key to my place, got a room to spare if you're interested." Ollie offering.
"That's very nice, you didn't have to." Peter appreciates it.
"You kidding, you helped me out today, the least I can do is help you out. Just please don't say no." Ollie said.
Peter sighs with a smile. "Okay, thanks Ollie."
"We firemen always look after our own, even for a probie like you. I'm heading home, you coming?" Ollie said.
"Later, think I'm gonna take a ride around town, try to unwind from today." Peter said.
"Okay, I'll text you the address, see you later Probie." Ollie said.
"Sure, take care." Peter said.
Ollie waved goodbye before heading on home, Peter holds the key to Ollie's apartment as he's got a place to say for a time, but Peter isn't heading home, he still got some unfinished business.
It's 6:01 PM at the Spider-Cave as Peter is here still wearing FDNY clothing in the presence of Gwen, Miles, and Anya as Ganke is at the supercomputer scrolling down the screen on past FDNY cases in this year to find possible suspects for Peter to ID to get a lead on the Scorcher.
"Anything?" Miles said.
"Not yet, still can't believe there's been a lot of fires in Harlem within a single year." Peter said.
"Yeah, Lieutenant Knight once said Harlem needs its own hero looking out for the little guy." Miles then looks at Peter's new attire. "Nice look!"
"You look pretty hot." Gwen smile.
Peter smile. "It's just temporary."
"Well, those firemen are lucky you were there. You did great work." Anya said.
Peter appreciates it until he looks at the screen at the photos of possible suspects until he got a glimpse of one of them.
"Wait! Go back!" Peter said.
Ganke scrolls back the photos until he came across a photo of an African-American male for Peter to get a better look.
"That's him." Peter finally ID'ed the Scorcher.
"You sure?" Miles said.
"He has some burn scars on his left face, but it's definitely him." Peter said.
Ganke taps the photo and access personal information on the suspect.
"His real name is Steven Hudak, has degrees in engineering and chemistry, he was former engineer at the Life Foundation until it go shut down months ago, he's been living on unemployment, hasn't got a job since." Ganke said.
"No surprise, a lot of ex-employees had a hard time getting a job since the Life Foundation's reputation was tainted, nobody is looking to hire them" Miles said.
"It explains how he created a power suit, plus his expertise in chemistry, he must've improve a formula to make the flames more powerful to burn through the turnouts." Peter said.
"But what's his beef with the FDNY?" Anya said.
Ganke reads the files. "According to this, looks like he was a victim of the Dillard Projects Fire"
"Oh man." Miles said.
"What? You've heard of it?" Peter said.
Miles sighs. "Yeah, it happened when you two were on your honeymoon, months ago there was a turf war between the gangs of Cottonmouth and Big Ben, both fighting for control of Harlem, the Dillard Projects was a huge housing project, a number of tenements lived there, but in reality Cottonmouth uses it as a stash house to store weapons, guns, bombs, you name it. Big Ben's gang raided the projects, both gangs started firing, one of the rounds hit some explosives and things got very ugly, a big explosion occurred, windows were shattered, gas lines were ruptured, there was a big fire."
"We heard it over the news, we tried to get there in time, but we were too late. Some people were saved, but the most who were trapped inside, not so much, eventually the whole building collapsed." Anya said.
"Let me guess, Engine 59 and Ladder 30 were there at the scene?" Peter said.
"According to this, Mr. Hudak was saved but he suffered some serious burns, FDNY was able to save him along with some others, but..." Ganke said.
"But what?" Peter said.
"He had a wife and a son, they were among the fires fatalities, they were left inside burned alive." Ganke said.
"My god..." Gwen said.
"Losing a family like that, must've pushed him over the edge, he blames the FDNY for leaving them behind to burn, so now he wants payback by making them burn, the same way his family was left to burn." Peter said.
"He already burned three firefighters to death, it would've been four if you weren't there, you stopped him before he could claim another victim." Miles said.
"Still I don't think this guy is gonna give up, he's very driven to have his revenge for his family and he's never gonna stop until he decides to, he's gonna keep on starting fires and he won't care who else gets hurt or burn, we have to find him." Peter said.
"Now that we know who the Scorcher is, what's the next move?" Ganke said.
"I was able to damage his suit, so it's very likely he won't make any moves anytime soon. Most likely he'll go underground for now." Peter said.
"I wish I had something better, this guy's been off the grid for months, the only thing I got is a van registered under his name, it's all we got to go on." Ganke said.
"It's something, get this to Captain Watanabe, we'll need the help of the NYPD, if this guy is driving around in the van, they'll find him." Peter said.
"On it." Ganke said.
" Okay, well I gotta get back to Harlem, continue my undercover work. I'll see you guys another time." Peter said.
"Take care Pete." Miles said.
Peter walks away as Gwen came up to her husband, she wants a moment before Peter could leave.
"Are you alright, Pete?" Gwen said.
"Yeah, can't wait for this to be over." Peter said.
"Me too, I want you back home with me, but hang in there a little longer, those firemen need you looking out for them." Gwen said.
"I know... thanks for being so understanding." Peter smile.
"That's me, the understanding wife." Gwen smile as she's got something else. "And also..."
"Also what?" Peter is curious.
"It's nothing, we can talk after it's done." Gwen hesitant to say.
"Can't wait... I love you." Peter flirts.
"I love you too." Gwen flirts.
Peter and Gwen kiss each other before parting ways, Peter is leaving to head back to Harlem for his undercover work, Gwen want to talk to him about something MJ told her, but she decided it can wait after this whole Scorcher thing is done with.
It's 7:44 PM in Harlem as Steven Hudak is hiding out after his recent mission has been a total failure and his Scorcher suit suffered some serious damage, the cut the fire ax made on the torso is bad, the suit won't be ready for combat anytime soon, he think about that fireman who dared challenge him and prevent him from carrying out his revenge.
Steven Hudak is angry. "Curse that fireman! He ruined my vengeance! If they think this will stop me, they're very mistaken, I won't rest until they all burn, just like they left my family to burn!"
Steven Hudak won't give up on his quest for vengeance, his angry and desire for revenge drives him to do these terrible things. First things first, he exams the Scorcher suit and see the how bad the damage is, he'll need some parts for repairs, this'll take some time until it's ready again.
Later around 10:01 PM nighttime in Harlem, Peter Parker came by with a backpack and found the apartment number, he uses the key Ollie gave him and slide it into the keyhole, he turns and it unlocks, Peter opens up to find the apartment where Ollie lives at, Ollie is at the living room watching a movie until he heard the door opened up and closed, he turns to see Ben Reilly is here.
"Oh, hey Probie, you're home. How's the ride?" Ollie said.
"It went well, help me clear my mind off of today." Peter said.
"Yeah, didn't expect we'd be coming up against some kind of supervillain." Ollie then thought of something.
"What is it, Ollie?" Peter said.
"I was thinking about last night, about Snow. Just before he died, he told us that someone was there that night, that was until we heard his scream over the radio, we rushed back to help him, but we were too late, he got burned." Ollie thinking about Snow's death.
Peter sighs. "I'm sorry."
"This guy we saw, who tried to burn me, I think he was the one who killed him. Why would he do this? Snow was a good man, he didn't deserve to die like that." Ollie is getting worked up until he calms himself. "I'm sorry if it was too much, I just..."
"It's okay Ollie, it's natural to feel this way, especially if he was a friend. I'm sure this guy will be stopped and will face justice for Snow's death, that's a promise." Peter said.
Ollie smile. "Thanks... Come on, I'll show you to your room."
Ollie leads Peter to the spare bedroom, he opens up and shows him the room with only a bed and a few furniture, Peter came in to check it out.
"I hope this is enough." Ollie said.
"It's perfect, thank Ollie." Peter said.
"Sure thing, I'll let you settle in for the night. So... goodnight Ben." Ollie said.
"Goodnight Ollie." Peter said.
Ollie left to let Peter sleep for the night, Peter laid his backpack down onto the bed as he's planning to call it for a night, he pulls out his smartphone and scrolls down the photos until he came across a photo of his wife Gwen, he smile looking at it, he then puts it away as he's going to bed.
It's October 5th, time is 6:55 AM in the morning in Harlem, Ollie Olivera is sleeping comfortably in his bed until he wakes up and smells something in the air, something is being cooked here. In the kitchen Peter Parker is already awake and cooking up an egg-in-the-basket in the pan, coming out of the bedroom is Ollie awake and rubbing his eyes.
"Morning Ollie." Peter said.
"Morning, what's that you're making?" Ollie said.
"Egg-in-the-basket, it's really good. You should try it." Peter said.
"You made this for me?" Ollie said.
"Of course, it's the least I can do for letting me crash here." Peter said.
"Normally I'd just go out and have a bagel, but thanks." Ollie said.
Ollie came up to the table as Peter hands him a plate, Ollie sat down and picks up a fork, he took a piece of the breakfast and puts it in his mouth for a taste, Ollie's eyes widen upon tasting and chewing the food.
Ollie is still chewing. "Hmm, this is good."
"Told you so, so when's the wake I heard about?" Peter said.
"It's tonight, brothers from our station along with others from different stations are attending, Snow use to work at different stations back then, everyone he served with wants to come by and say goodbye." Ollie said.
"I see... Ollie, can I ask you something?" Peter is itching with curiosity.
"Shoot." Ollie said.
"I heard about something that happened sometime ago in Harlem, the Dillard Projects Fire" Peter said.
"How do you know about that?" Ollie said.
"Just... something I've heard. You know it, don't you?" Peter said.
Ollie sighs. "Yeah, I know it, I was there along with my brothers, it a huge housing project full of people, there was a huge fire part of the building was already collapsed, there was fire everywhere, me along with Snow, Douglas, and Alvarez, we arrived at the scene, it was terrible. We went into that fire and went by room by room, finding a lot of people in need, so we got them out one at a time, but there was still too many people trapped on every floor and the building was losing much it's structural support, we were moving too fast but we weren't fast enough. The chief had a feeling the building was about to collapse, so he ordered us to leave the building, and we did, but... there were still people trapped inside the fire, they were all left behind to die... it was the hardest thing to do."
"Your chief was protecting you, his gut was telling him that the building was about go down, his call saved the lives of his men." Peter said.
"Still, I can still hear screams inside, people pleading to be saved, until the building finally went down and the screams stopped... it still haunts me." Ollie said.
"Hey, you did all you could Ollie, you saved as much lives as you can, doesn't mean all lives could be saved, it's a hard burden to bear." Peter understands it too well.
"You seem to know what that's like." Ollie said.
"More than I care to admit." Peter lost people in the line of duty.
"But I'm luck you're here, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead in the fire yesterday. You're a good man, Ben Reilly." Ollie said.
"So are you, Ollie." Peter smile.
Ollie smile as he got back to eating egg-in-the-basket and enjoying it in peace, Peter is grateful a fireman complemented him for saving his life yesterday.
It's 11:02 AM as a white van is crossing over the bridge from the Bronx and heading into Manhattan to Harlem, driving the van is Steven Hudak wearing a sunglasses and a cap trying to stay under the radar getting everything he needs to repair the Scorcher suit, he's driving back to Harlem as unknown to him he's passing by an NYPD squad car as the officer inside spotted a white van with matching license plate registered to the suspect, he's driving behind the van and making a call on the radio.
"Dispatch, got eyes on the suspect's van, make and license plate matches."
"Copy, proceed with caution."
The cop turns on the siren as it got the attention of Steven Hudak driving the van, he look at the driver side mirror to see a police cruiser is coming up behind him, he knows he can't outrun a cop in this van, so he has no choice but to pull over to the side of the street, the cruiser came up behind the van and made a stop, the officer is getting out and turning on the body cam before approaching the driver door. Steven Hudak keeps himself under control as the cop came up to the window and taps, he rolls down the window and the officer sees a man wearing sunglasses and a cap, hard to make a positive ID.
"Can I help you officer?" Steven Hudak said.
"Are you Steven Hudak?"
"Ah no, my name is Jamal. Is there something wrong?" Steven Hudak gave a fake name.
"License and registration please."
"I don't understand, what's the problem officer?" Steven Hudak said.
"I'm not gonna ask again, license and registration."
"Okay, okay, take it easy, I'll get it, hold on." Steven Hudak said.
He's slowly fetching his driver's license along with his van's registration, he hands it to the officer who took to have checked out, the officer is looking over the license to see it's Steven Hudak, the officer was about to make his move but he was caught off guard as Hudak drew out his gun and shot the officer three times in the chest, everyone nearby heard the gunshots as an officer fell down on the streets as Hudak then drives the van away as fast as he can, the van is getting away as people are coming onto the streets to help out the cop who is critically injured. Steven Hudak isn't showing any mercy, especially now that everyone is aware who he is and what he's done, he's becoming more dangerous than ever.
Later around 11:33 AM just outside the station in Harlem, Peter Parker is on the phone alone speaking with his teammate who informed him about what happened earlier in Harlem by the Scorcher.
"He did what?!" Peter is shocked.
"He shot a cop, he's been taken to the hospital in critical condition, it's not looking too good." Miles said.
"My god, this guy has gone from burning firemen to shooting cops now, he's going all in." Peter said.
"We shouldn't be surprise what this son-of-a-bitch is capable of, especially what we found out about him." Miles said.
"What do you mean?" Peter is curious.
"We looked into his past, before the fire it seems like he's been suffering from serious anger issues ever since he lost his job at the Life Foundation, he tried applying to many firms but got rejected multiple times, and in each of those case, he snaps, getting verbally upset, saying very ugly stuff. Apparently there were complaints about his behavior back at the projects before it got leveled." Miles said.
"Until losing his family in the fire, that was the final catalyst, all that mourning and depression started feeding on his anger up to the point he became completely unhinged." Peter said.
"There's more, we've looked into the gangs that were involved in causing the Dillard Projects Fire, seems like a few of them were ID and were cut loose. About a month later, they were all found dead, unsolved homicides, completely scorched, just like the firemen." Miles said.
"So he kills the gang members responsible for causing that fire, taking his revenge, but that wasn't enough, he still wants more and now he's proven he's willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants." Peter said.
"Even shoot cops, which pretty stupid, now he's the entire NYPD hunting for him. If this guy's got half a brain, he'll probably leave town while he gets the chance." Miles said.
"I don't think so, he's not gonna run away until he finishes what he started." Peter said.
"How do you know?" Miles said.
"Cause I know his type and how they think, his anger and need for revenge overrides his self-preservation, he won't leave New York until he's done it. He knows everyone's on to him, so there's no more laying low anymore, he's gonna make his move soon, he'll be more dangerous than ever." Peter said.
Miles sighs. "Which means those firemen are still in great danger."
Anya sighs. "He's not gonna stop, is he?"
"Not until we stop him... Okay, I'll stay at the station on alert just in case he makes his move." Peter said.
"Alright, we're on our way to Harlem to pick up the trail, hopefully we'll catch him before he strikes again." Miles said.
"I hope so, cause at this point, he's capable of killing anyone, firemen, cops, even innocent people. Harlem won't be safe until he's taken down." Peter said.
Peter then hangs up the phone and heads back to the station continuing his undercover work, unknown to him Ollie was watching from a distance, he's getting suspicious of this new probie, he can tell there's something odd about him as he plans to find out.
At the same time at a local NYPD precinct in Harlem, a number of police officers and detectives are gathered around feeling on edge after hearing one of their own getting shot by the arsonist Scorcher, TV is showing breaking news of the shootout, coming up is Lieutenant Misty Knight about to debrief everyone.
"Listen up! I know we're all on edge, there's no telling the officer fighting for his life is gonna make it, I pray he does, but right now we got work to do." Misty Knight said.
Misty Knight opens up a folder and pulls out a photo of the arsonist, Steven Hudak, showing it to all the officers to get a good look.
"This is arsonist called the Scorcher, his real name is Steven Hudak, he's responsible for a series of fires that occurred here in Harlem, which resulted in the death of three firemen along with a few fatalities, now he's just added attempted murder on a police officer to his rap sheet. Enough is enough, he's no longer just the FDNY's problem, he's now made it the NYPD's problem, this has become very personal for us cops. Now I'm gonna disturb this photo to all the media, warning the public how dangerous this man is, we cannot let him claim anymore victims, so scour the streets and find this sick son-of-a-bitch! Understood!" Misty Knight said.
"YES LIEUTENANT!"
"Let's get to work." Misty Knight said.
Time is 1:03 PM at the apartment in Upper West Side, Ms. Lion is having some chow in the kitchen while Mary Jane is in the living room chatting with her best friend Gwen about having a modeling career.
"You haven't told him." Mary Jane said.
"I wanted to, but it wasn't the right time with everything going on. I told him I wanted to speak with him when it's over." Gwen said.
"Are you having some second thoughts?" Mary Jane said.
Gwen sighs. "Maybe a bit, don't know how Peter might take with me modeling, showing off on magazines or the internet."
Mary Jane sighs. "Come on, get up."
"Why?" Gwen is curious.
"Just trust me." Mary Jane said.
Mary Jane is getting up from the couch as Gwen did the same, both are standing on their own two feet.
"So what now?" Gwen is curious.
"Just do as I do, watch." Mary Jane said.
Mary Jane puts her right hand on her hip and her left hand behind her head doing a pose, Gwen followed and did the same pose as MJ, even MJ is impressed how easily Gwen does it.
"Okay, that's not bad, now let's try this." Mary Jane said.
Mary Jane then puts her right hand behind her head with her left hand, Gwen did the same pose.
"How's this?" Gwen doing the pose.
"Impressive. Next we do this." Mary Jane said.
Mary Jane bend down putting both hands on her thighs for a pose, Gwen does the same pose as MJ as it's very impressive how well Gwen is adapting at posing.
Mary Jane smile feeling impressed. "Wow Gwen, you're actually a natural in this."
"Thanks, this takes me back to last year in the Savage Land, I was dressed in this bikini posing for Peter under the waterfall while he took some pictures." Gwen said.
"Yeah, he mentioned that once. Though I think you're a natural when you're posing." Mary Jane said.
"How so?" Gwen said.
"Oh come on..." Mary Jane said.
Mary Jane does the three point stance with her left hand forward on the floor and her right hand extend back, she's imitating the poses Gwen and her spider friends do every time they're in action.
Mary Jane still doing the pose. "Cause of the way you always do this when you're out there landing and fighting. Come on Gwen, it's a fighting pose, you're a total poser."
"I'm not a poser." Gwen said.
Mary Jane smirk as she stopped the pose and standing back up. "The point is, you have a natural talent for modeling, your good looks combine with your posing, you can be great at this. Trust me when I say, you've got great potential, you'll make an amazing model Gwen Stacy."
Gwen smile warmly. "Thank you... okay, I'll have a talk with Peter about this."
"Good, while you're at it, ask him to take some photos for your portfolio when you apply for modeling, trust me you're gonna need it." Mary Jane said.
"Had no idea." Gwen said.
"Neither did I the first time, but thanks to his photography skills, I got the necessary photos needed for the portfolio, cause of it I got the job. I won't have become the model I am today without his help." Mary Jane said.
Gwen smile. "Peter's good people."
"He is, you're lucky being married to him. He'll be even more luckier being married to the newest supermodel." Mary Jane said.
Gwen smile upon hearing she could become a great model like her friend MJ, she can only hope Peter will support her decision for the best, cause it's something she wants to do herself.
Time is 7:55 PM at a wake in a funeral home in Harlem, a number of fire trucks are parked outside from different stations, inside the building itself are guys wearing kilts playing the bagpipes, a number of firefighters and their families are attending the wake, men, women, and children are here to pay their respects to the fallen fireman and his family, caterer walking around with trays in their hand, Ollie is here dressed in his FDNY uniform while Peter is just wearing a regular suit as they're looking at a portrait of the late firefighter Michael Snow with a closed casket, the death of this brave firemen hit Ollie pretty hard.
Ollie sighs uneasy. "Still can't believe it, this guy is a real good fireman, served at seven different station in five boroughs within 15 years, went into a lot of fires and saved a number of lives, only for him to end up being burned alive in a small tenement in Harlem. What kind of monster would do this to a great fireman? Can't even have an opened casket wake."
Ollie then turns to look at the widow of Michael Snow mourning for her loss along with her son, this got Peter's attention.
"His family?" Peter said.
"Yeah, his wife and son, this is hitting them pretty hard. Should've seen their reaction when they saw his body, completely scorched, it was enough to give them nightmares." Ollie said.
"I know, it's horrible, but he will pay for what he had done. The NYPD is already out looking him, everyone got his photo, he can't get away forever, they'll get him Ollie." Peter said.
"I hope so." Ollie said.
Ollie came up to give his condolences to the wife and son on their loss, Peter can see how much they're mourning as he looks at the portrait of Michael Snow, from everything Ollie told him about Fireman Snow, he was a great man who made a great living saving lives at the risk of his own, like being a hero, something Peter knows too well being a hero himself. Peter's phone is getting a text, it's from his friends as they got a lead on Scorcher's hideout, he leaves the group as Ollie could see Ben Reilly walking away suspiciously, being all secretive.
"Excuse me." Ollie said.
"Of course, thank you Fireman Olivera."
Ollie smile being friendly as he walks away in a separate direction on his suspicions of Ben Reilly, there's something unusual about his Probie, he left the crowd to be alone as plans to investigate this new guy, he pulls out his phone and about to make a call to Newark FD to get his answers. Passing by Ollie is a caterer wearing sunglasses and an afro wig as he's looking very inconspicuous rolling around a cart hiding something, this caterer is actually Steven Hudak in disguise, the Scorcher is here under everyone's noses. Just outside of the church, Peter is alone as he's making a call to his friends.
"It's me, what do you have?" Peter on the phone.
(Hideout)
Kid Arachnid and Spider-Girl are already inside the hideout of the Scorcher north of Harlem as they're still looking around but no sign of the supervillain anywhere, Kid Arachnid is on the phone with Peter.
"It's me Pete, we've managed to find the van, lead us to this place." Kid Arachnid said.
"Any sign of Scorcher?" Peter said.
"No, but he was definitely here, this place has got all the equipment needed, including a broken dome helmet. Guessing that was your work. I'm here with Spider-Girl, putting her on speaker." Kid Arachnid then switches to speaker on the phone.
"I'm here Pete, guess what? I found a computer." Spider-Girl then opens up a laptop and it powers up.
"Find anything?" Peter said.
"Yeah, looks like he made an order for a caterer outfit, picked it up yesterday in the Bronx." Spider-Girl said.
"Could be using it for a disguise." Kid Arachnid said.
"Hold on, caterer outfit?" Peter sounded surprise.
"Yeah, there's more, there's a page for a wake happening tonight in Harlem." Spider-Girl said.
(Funeral Home)
Peter turns around looking at the funeral home, still has the phone to his ear. "The wake... Is it at a funeral home?"
"Yeah, why?" Spider-Girl said.
Peter is shocked. "Oh god... he's here. Get to the funeral home immediately, I think Scorcher is about to make his move."
"Okay Pete, we're on our way. Ghost-Spider is already heading for Harlem, we'll let her know." Kid Arachnid said.
"Alright, get here fast." Peter then hangs up.
Peter walks up to the fire engine and opens up to find a backpack he left inside, coming out of the building is Ollie who's itching to have a serious talk with Ben Reilly.
"Reilly!" Ollie calling out.
Peter looks back. "Ollie, listen now is not a good time."
"Better make time, I called Newark FD about you, apparently no one there has even heard of you, Ben Reilly." Ollie not looking too happy.
Peter is stunned that his secret has been discovered as he turns back to look at Ollie being very serious. Meanwhile inside the funeral home, the caterer suit along with an afro wig and sunglasses is on the floor as Steven Hudak ditch his disguise and fully suited up as the Scorcher, all around the entrances and exits of the building are accelerants Scorcher put in place. Back outside Ollie is demanding an explanation as to why Ben Reilly lied about his background, Peter is finally exposed.
"So I'll ask again, who are you really?" Ollie being serious.
Peter sighs is he's gonna have to come clean with Ollie about his reason being in the department, but before he could say anything a fire erupted around the doors, even inside the wake room fire came around the doors leading in and out, people inside including firemen are trapped inside without a way out, Scorcher got everyone trapped as he's about to come out of hiding and show himself to the crowd. Meanwhile outside of the building, Peter and Ollie are looking at the flames blocking the entrance back inside and people still trapped inside the fire.
"Oh no..." Ollie is shocked.
"We're too late... we gotta get back Ollie!" Peter said.
"We?!" Ollie said.
"Ollie, I know you don't trust me and you have ever right not to, but right now I'm asking you to trust me, those people inside need our help and we're the only ones who can do something about it... please Ollie." Peter said.
Ollie still doesn't trust Ben Reilly, but right now he's got other things to prioritize, those people inside including firefighter are in serious danger.
Ollie sighs. "Alright, suit up!"
Ollie rushed over to the other side of the fire engine to fetch his turnout gear, Peter is still at the right side about to get the turnout gear along with a backpack he brought in case of a situation like this, he came prepared. Ollie finished dressed up his turnout gear and came to the back of the fire engine to fetch a hose, Peter all dressed up in turnout gear came back to help Ollie unload a fire hose, Peter hooked up one end to the engine while Ollie rushed over and hook it up the other end to a nearby fire hydrant, it got locked in and uses the wrench to twist open the value. Water is being poured in as Peter finished hooking up another hose to the fire engine, water is flowing into the hose with Peter holding up the nozzle as Ollie came up to him to help.
"All set!" Ollie said.
"Let's go!" Peter said.
Peter opens up the nozzle and unleashed water onto the entrance on the powerful fire to extinguish the flames as he and Ollie are working fast to try to get inside to rescue people trapped inside with the Scorcher. Meanwhile inside the wake room, a lot of firemen and their families are trapped, scared for their lives as Scorcher is all alone with them, this is very man responsible for the recent deaths of three firemen.
"How nice, all of you coming here with your families." Scorcher said.
"You're him aren't you? You're the one called the Scorcher, the man who killed three of my men!" Frank Johnson said.
"Guilty." Scorcher said.
"Why are you here? Isn't it enough you've already killed a good fireman, he had a wife and a kid." Frank Johnson said.
"So did I, but I'll never see them again, cause you all left them to burn in that fire!" Scorcher is ticked.
"What?" Frank Johnson is confused.
"The Dillard Projects Fire, you remember that? I was there, a few firemen found me in the hallway, my left side being burned, I was begging you to save my family trapped inside before I passed out from the pain. I was saved, but my wife and son were trapped inside, and you, you didn't go back, none of you did, they were left to burn until the building finally collapsed, I saw the whole thing, you all left them to die." Scorcher explained his family's death.
Frank Johnson heard it all as he sighs. "I'm sorry."
"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT! The only that's driving me is to make the people who's responsible for their deaths pay, by making them burn, the same way my family was burned!" Scorcher is angry as he's about to use his flamethrowers.
"WAIT!" Frank Johnson steps in with his hands up. "I was the one who made the call to pull my men out."
"You?" Scorcher said.
"We arrived at the scene too late, half the building was already gone, the rest of the building was still on fire, we moved in fast trying to save as much lives as possible, but the building was way too big and losing much its structural support, it was about to go down any minute, so I followed my gut and order my men to leave... it was the hardest call to make." Frank Johnson said.
"You left my family to die just to save the lives of your own men!" Scorcher said.
"If there was a way to save your family, we would've done it. We firemen have a duty to save lives, yes it's true, but it's also my responsibility as chief to look after the lives of my men, men who have lives of their own, families they want to get back to. We make hard choices everyday, we fight to save as much lives as we can, but doesn't mean we can save everyone as much as we want to. What happened that night, all those lives we've failed, we still carry that burden, it was hard on all of us... for what it's worth, I am truly sorry for the loss of your family." Frank Johnson said.
Scorcher is getting more angry. "NO! I DON'T WANT YOUR APOLOGY! I WANT YOU ALL TO BURN!"
Scorcher refuses to back down despite hearing the Chief's apology, he's about to use his flamethrowers to burn everyone to death, everyone here is frighten for their lives as Scorcher isn't going to show any mercy to anyone, but before he could burn them, a powerful blast of water was hosed upon the supervillain, pushing him back hard and pinning him down, everyone got to see two firemen here hosing onto Scorcher to keep him from burning anyone.
"The way is open! GO!" Peter holding the nozzle.
"HURRY, GET TO SAFETY!" Ollie behind Peter.
Everyone sees the opening Peter and Ollie left behind and they took it, everyone is rushing away to the outside while Peter keeps on hosing down Scorcher giving the people the opportunity to escape to safety. People are coming out of the funeral home and made it to the outside, firemen and their families were saved, but the widow of the deceased fireman noticed her son is missing. Back inside the building a boy is hiding behind the casket watching as two firemen are pinning down Scorcher with water, the supervillain noticed everyone has escaped as this has him ticked, he fights back by tossing a fire grenade. It came up in front of the two, a burst of flames erupted and the shockwave knocked both of them off their feet. Scorcher is getting back up on his feet, Peter is recovering and getting up, he's helping Ollie get back up on his feet as Scorcher looks at the two firemen, one of them is very familiar.
"You! You're the fireman who stopped me! I was wondering when I see you again, and with the fireman I wanted to burn. Perfect, now I can burn both you at the same time! Time to burn!" Scorcher said.
"OLLIE, LOOK OUT!" Peter makes his move.
Peter pushed Ollie away as Scorcher unleashed his powerful flames upon the brave fireman as his turnout gear got caught in the flames and is on fire right before Ollie who was tossed away in time.
"BEN!" Ollie yells out.
Ben Reilly collapsed down on the floor in flames as Ollie is stunned he gave up his life to save his, but he's not out of trouble yet as Scorcher still has one more fireman to finish off.
"One down, one to go. Now it's your turn." Scorcher raise his palm about to unleash flames.
Ollie felt powerless as Scorcher is about to kill him, but getting back up on his feet in flames.
"HEY!"
Scorcher stopped as he looks upon the fireman standing on his own two feet as he ditched the burning turnout gear to unveil none other than Spider-Man, caught everyone by surprise.
"SPIDER-MAN!" Scorcher is shocked.
Ollie Olivera is stunned upon seeing it with his own two eyes, Ben Reilly acting as a firefighter is in fact the hero of New York, Spider-Man.
"We're not done yet." Spider-Man said.
"I was wondering when I meet you, I have to admit I didn't see this coming." Scorcher said.
"Did you really think I was going let you go on killing firemen?" Spider-Man said.
"So you're more concerned about the lives of these firemen who left my family to die! Where were you when my family was left to burn?! Maybe I should burn you instead for never being there!" Scorcher said.
"You kill me, you kill them, then what? You'll just find someone else to blame for all your problems! This isn't really about your family, is it? I know about your hard unemployment, about those gangster you burnt. Everything you're doing, you're just looking an excuse to let out all that angry for all the crap life dealt you, cause no matter who you kill, it will never be enough!" Spider-Man said.
"You're right, it's never enough, I have no job, no home, no family, I have nothing. This is who I am now, I won't stop until everyone burns, starting with you! You got in my way twice, you've gone too far hero." Scorcher said.
"No, you're the one who's gone too far, Scorcher. Your days of burning people are over, this all ends tonight." Spider-Man said.
Spider-Man charges in as Scorcher then unleash flames from his palms, Spider-Man slides down beneath the flames unharmed and managed to get close enough for a punch and knocked him back hard. Spider-Man then turns his attention to Ollie looking all stunned upon finding out who he is.
"Ollie..." Spider-Man said.
"You're..." Ollie still stunned.
"Yeah... listen, you need to get out of here to safety, it's not safe being here." Spider-Man said.
"Okay." Ollie said.
Ollie is about to make his leave while Spider-Man went back to fight off Scorcher, until he heard a kid calling out "HELP!" making Ollie stop and looks at the casket, a kid is hiding behind it, it's Snow's son looking scared being trapped inside a burning building.
"Oh no!" Ollie said.
"What's is it?" Spider-Man said.
"There's a kid still here, I can't leave him behind!" Ollie said.
"Go! I'll hold him off!" Spider-Man said.
Spider-Man summoned a web shield to protect himself from Scorcher unleashing flames from his palms, Ollie took the opportunity to go save the kid while Spider-Man keeps Scorcher busy, Ollie came up to the kid behind the casket.
"Hey, it's me, Ollie. You remember?" Ollie said.
Spider-Man charged in with his shield protecting him from the flames and tackled Scorcher back hard, but the villain tossed in a fire grenade at the hero, it exploded mid air, sending a blasting shockwave knocking Spider-Man off his feet and sent him crashing against a wall, Spidey is still shaken up by the shockwave as Scorcher is coming in closer towards the hero.
"You're right hero, this all ends tonight. After I'm done burning you, I'll go hunt down those friends and make them all burn, starting with that girlfriend of yours! You're in hell now, Spider-Man!" Scorcher said.
Scorcher is about to power up his palms to unleash even more powerful to burn Spider-Man alive, but the hero quickly reacted by unleashing spider legs from the back of his Advanced suit and they all jammed up in the palms, trapping the flames inside as his made Scorcher very nervous, with no way out for the flames, the gauntlets both ended up being blasted up, blowing away Scorcher's arms as the man is screaming in intense pain. Meanwhile Ollie is trying to help the boy who is still scared to move by all the fire and violence happening her.
"Listen, we have to go, it's not safe here." Ollie said.
"I'm scared."
"I know you're scared, it's okay to feel this way, but right now I need you to be brave, just like your dad." Ollie said.
Ollie reach his hand to help the kid, even though the kid is very scary by everything happening here, he took Ollie's hand as he's about to lead the kid away to safety while Spider-Man looks down onto the Scorcher with both of his arms already gone and all powerless.
"It's over Scorcher, you've lost." Spider-Man said.
Scorcher chuckles weakly. "If I gotta go, then I gotta go... and you're coming with me to hell."
Spider-Man's sense are going off as it sense immediately danger, the Scorcher suit is beeping as it's got like some kind of self destruct mechanism built into it, Spidey turns to Ollie escorting the kid away from the wake room, Spider-Man quickly rushed over to him just as the Scorcher suit finally blew up. Coming up swinging just outside of the funeral home are Ghost-Spider, Kid Arachnid, and Spider-Girl as they've arrived where a number of firefighters and people are outside, but all of a sudden, the windows all blasted up as there was an fiery explosion from the building, the entire place bursted into flames, the Web-Warriors all heard the blast as Ghost-Spider is shocked upon seeing it.
"NO!" Ghost-Spider yells.
Ghost-Spider tries to rush in but Spider-Girl and Kid Arachnid got a hold of her from going into the fire very recklessly, but the bigger surprise is the woman whom firemen stopped from going back in after the building bursted into flames with her son still inside along with two firemen. Everyone is still in shocked by the strong fire consuming everything in its path, there's no way anyone could've survive such an inferno. Ghost-Spider dropped down on her knee as her husband was in that fire, every firemen here are about to mourn for their loss, but something unexpected happened on one of the radios giving off some static.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me?! Please respond!" Ollie's voice.
Chief Johnson immediately recognized that voice coming from one of the radios inside the Fire Engine, he rushed over there and picked it up.
Frank Johnson respond. "Olivera, is that you?!"
Inside the burning funeral home, at the wake room where there's so much fire all around the area, Spider-Man is using the shield emitter on his left web shooter to generate a web dome all around himself with Ollie and the boy together, while they're protected inside the dome from the flames, they can't go anywhere and they're trapped in the blazing inferno.
"Yeah Chief, I'm alive thanks to Spider-Man, he's keeping us safe inside some kind of dome. I'm with the boy too, scared but he's alright." Ollie radioing in.
"That's great to hear, I'm relieved you're okay too!" Frank Johnson said.
Spider-Man still maintaining the dome. "We won't be for long, my dome can only protect us for so long until it runs out of power and we can't go anywhere in all this fire, we need help now!"
Ollie taps the radio. "Chief, we're still trapped inside, flames are still keeping us trapped, don't know how long we can last, we need help now!"
"Hang in there Olivera, we're coming!" Frank Johnson said.
Spider-Man still maintains the web dome as long as he could and doing everything he can to buy some time until the FDNY comes to their rescue. Outside of the burning building, Frank Johnson approaches the heroes with some good news.
"Listen, there's good news, your friend is alive inside, he with a firemen and a kid, we're gonna get them out." Frank Johnson said.
Ghost-Spider, Kid Arachnid, and Spider-Girl are relieved to hear their friend is alive inside the fire, Chief Johnson turns to his men and whistles loudly.
"Engine 59! Ladder 30! We got people still trapped inside and they need our help now! Get the hoses and water down the fire! Move it!" Frank Johnson said.
All the available firefighters here are mobilizing, dressing up in turnout gear and getting hoses, afterwards they're spraying water onto the fire to create an opening back inside. Meanwhile inside the flames, Spider-Man still using the web dome to keep himself along with Ollie and the kid safe from the fire as this stress is finally getting to him, getting Ollie's attention.
"Are you alright? You look a little tired." Ollie said.
"I'll be fine, just need to keep this up a while longer." Spider-Man said.
"Help is coming, just hang in there." Ollie said.
Spider-Man is maintaining the web dome surrounded in the blazing inferno, buying some time until help is coming, back outside the building firefighters are working very hard to put out the intense fire blocking the way back inside, they kept on watering as much water to extinguish the flames until the opening is finally clear, a small group of firemen are slowly moving in while holding the hoses, the Web-Warriors are following them inside, they're making their way back to the wake room but there's some debris blocking their way, the firemen are pouring out water to kill off the fire surrounding it until it finally disappeared, but the heavy debris are still blocking their way, keeping them from moving forward.
"We're gonna need the axes."
"Stand back, we got this." Ghost-Spider said.
The firemen stepped aside to let the heroes do the heavy lifting on this, they're using their super strengths to carefully remove the heavy debris blocking their way to the wake room, Spider-Man is still inside the dome as he can see movement ahead, debris being taken down by his friends in the company of the FDNY. Eventually all the debris are cleared away as firemen with hoses are stepping in and washes away all the fire surrounding the web dome, creating an opening for the three as it's became safety to come across.
"It's open, come on!"
"Let's go!" Spider-Man said.
Spider-Man dispersed the web dome as the way is clear, Spider-Man and Ollie Olivera are escorting the kid through the wake room safely as some areas are still on fire, eventually they came out and joined up with the Web-Warriors and the FDNY as they're being escorted away to the outside where Chief Johnson is with Snow's widow who's worried for the life of her son, but coming out of the building are the heroes and firemen with the boy. The mother looks stunned upon seeing her son coming out, everyone made it out to safety as the kid sees his mom and rushed over to her, she did the same and hugs him tight, feeling relieved he's okay.
Eventually the NYPD made it to the scene as some firemen are still hosing down the fire, Spider-Girl is high fiving one of the firemen, Kid Arachnid fist bump with one, Ghost-Spider is hugging Spider-Man feeling relived her husband is safe and sound, coming out of the squad car is Misty Knight as she came up to the Chief.
"Lieutenant, what a surprise." Frank Johnson said.
"Came as soon as I heard about Scorcher, where is he?" Misty Knight said.
"You'd have to ask him." Frank Johnson points out to Spider-Man.
Misty Knight came up to the hero. "Spider-Man, glad to see you here. What about Scorcher?"
"He's dead, completely scorched. Rather than surrender, he chose to blow himself up and take anyone with him." Spider-Man said.
"That didn't happen cause you were here, prevented anymore deaths, you did great. There's some more good news, that officer Scorcher shot, got word he made through surgery, he's gonna be okay." Misty Knight said.
"That's wonderful, Lieutenant." Spider-Man said.
"Thanks to you, Harlem is safe for now. Still, Harlem needs a hero to help out every now and then." Misty Knight said.
"Noted." Spider-Man said.
"Anyway, good work." Misty Knight said.
Misty Knight shakes hands with Spider-Man before leaving as Chief Johnson came up to the hero.
"Spider-Man, did you see another fireman in there? His name is Ben Reilly, is he..." Frank Johnson said.
"Oh... he..." Spider-Man is thinking of something to say.
"He got out in time, I think he's still around here somewhere." Ollie made up a lie.
Spider-Man looked surprise since Ollie knows his secret and yet he chose to protect it rather than outing him, Ollie smile with a nod as he's very grateful to him for saving his and everyone else's lives.
(Later)
The funeral home is all burned up as the fire is finally gone, Peter Parker came by to the scene wearing another turncoat maintaining his Ben Reilly cover along with Ollie, they're standing over a scorched corpse of Steven Hudak, the Scorcher is finally dead.
"What a terrible way to die, you play with fire a lot, you're bound to get burned yourself." Ollie said.
"I know, not quite the outcome I was hoping for, but at least he can't hurt anyone anymore." Peter said.
"Thanks to you, you saved a whole lot of lives tonight. Come on, let's go." Ollie said.
Ollie is the first to leave the burned wake room as Peter looks upon the scorched body of the now deceased Scorcher, but coming up all dressed in turnout gear is the ghost of the late Michael Snow as Peter is stunned upon seeing him, but he isn't alone, along with Snow is are the ghosts of firefighters Sam Douglas and Frank Alvarez all dressed in their turnout gears.
"You're..." Peter said.
"We just wanted to thank you, Spider-Man." Michael Snow smile warmly.
Michael Snow is grateful to Spider-Man for all he had done, Sam Douglas and Frank Alvarez both nodded with a smile giving their thanks as well.
"Ben, you coming?" Ollie's voice.
Peter looks back. "Give me a second!"
Peter then look forward only for the three ghosts to have disappear after giving their thanks to the heroes for avenging them by stopping Scorcher and saving lives, Peter leaves as he knew in his heart those firemen who died can finally Rest In Peace.
It's October 6th, time is 11:33 AM in Harlem at the fire station, Peter just finished speaking with Chief Johnson and shake hands before leaving the office as his time here in the FDNY is now officially over, Peter got his backpack full of his stuff as he's about to leave the station. A number of firemen are busy washing the trucks as Ollie sees Peter leaving the station. Peter is outside walking towards his motorcycle about to head on home until Ollie came out of the station to have a chat with him.
"Wait!" Ollie calling out.
Peter stopped as Ollie is coming up to him.
"So... you're leaving?" Ollie said.
"Yeah, as much as I like being part of the FDNY while it lasted, my job here is done, you're all safe. Listen Ollie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you who I really am, I was..." Peter explained.
"I get it, you did it to protect us, saved us from the Scorcher." Ollie understands his motives.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more for your fallen brothers." Peter said.
"Don't be, they knew the risk the moment they put on the uniform, they still died as heroes, the bravest of the brave. All we can do is honor them by fighting the good fight, save as much lives as we can." Ollie said.
"You're a good man Ollie, a great firefighter, the department is lucky to have you, you did great last night saving that kid." Peter said.
"You did great too Ben, the only reason we're still alive cause you were there, looking out for us. If it wasn't for you being there, more firemen would've lost their lives at the hands of that madman, you saved us all and we're all grateful for it." Ollie said.
"Appreciate being the Spider-Fireman while it lasted, and by the way, my name isn't Ben." Peter then extends his hand. "Peter Parker."
Ollie shakes hands. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Peter Parker. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you Ollie... guess this is it." Peter said.
"Hold on." Ollie said.
Ollie pulls out a cap, an FDNY cap and hands it to Peter as a gift.
"On behalf of the FDNY, I want you to have this... and you have our thanks." Ollie said.
Peter took the cap and looks upon it with a smile, he then puts it on his head.
"It's a great gift, thanks Ollie." Peter said.
"As one fellow hero to another, good luck fighting the good fight." Ollie smile.
"Thanks, it's been an honor." Peter said.
Peter and Ollie shake hands before parting ways, Ollie has been entrusted with Peter's secret as Spider-Man, a true friendship has been formed on this day.
It's 4:01 PM back in Forest Hills, Queens at the Parker-Stacy Residence, Gwen Parker finally returned home from class only to find her husband Peter Parker standing here, Gwen is feeling pretty happy see her husband home as she dropped her backpack and rushed over to embrace him tightly, both of them are kissing each other passionately.
"Oh Pete." Gwen kissing her husband. "So glad you're home."
Peter finished kissing his wife. "It's so good being home, I believe you have something of mine."
Gwen pulled back as she reached her pocket and pulls out her husband's wedding ring, she hands it to Peter as he puts it on his left middle finger.
Peter looking at his ring on his finger. "Felt pretty light without it."
"Thought I'd almost lost you last night." Gwen said.
"I know, it was intense, but that's over now. I did my job, prevented more deaths, everyone can rest easy." Peter said.
"Speaking of rest..." Gwen flirts.
Peter smile as he likes where this is going, Gwen got a hold of Peter's hand and leads him upstairs to their bedroom, once there they got back to kissing each very passionately while beginning to undress, Gwen got her hands underneath Peter's shirt and lifts it off him, leaving him topless showing off his chest and abs, Peter then helps Gwen lift off her sleeveless turtleneck top off to reveal her white bra underneath, they got back to kissing as Gwen got a hold of Peter's belt to unbuckle it.
(Later)
About an hour later a number of clothing are laying on the bedroom floor while on the bed is Peter laid back with his wife resting her head on his left chest, he's strolling his fingers up and down his wife's smooth skin, both are feeling pretty sweaty and happy about everything.
Peter sighs with a smile. "Wow... great rest."
"You always did know how to make me feel happy." Gwen smile.
"Wanna go another round?" Peter said.
Gwen leans herself upward holding the blanket to her chest.
"Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about." Gwen said.
Peter leans upwards. "Sure... what is it?"
Gwen sighs. "I've decided to get into modeling."
Peter scoff with a smile upon hearing these words, but Gwen isn't showing any humor.
Peter looked surprised. "Oh, you're serious?"
"Yes, I'm very serious Pete. Does this disappoint you?" Gwen said.
"No, honestly I'm just surprised, never thought you'd ever want to get into modeling." Peter said.
"I didn't either, but MJ told me that I've got great potential for this job, and besides I don't have to keep living off of you, I can tell you're struggling to provide for the both of us. I want to prove that I can do more than just kick ass and studying, I want to make something for myself." Gwen said.
Peter sighs uneasy. "I don't know Gwen, if you do this, it'll mean a lot of people will get to see you in pictures, mostly guys, and besides this could attract a lot of attention, everyone will be asking questions about what Gwen Stacy does in her spare time."
"MJ managed to do this without revealing too much about her life, especially the details about you, so why can't I? Please Pete... this is something I really want to do, to have a career, to earn, not just for me, for us." Gwen pleading with her husband.
Peter sighs. "I'm not gonna able to talk you out of it, am I?"
Gwen smile. "You know me too well, Pete."
Peter rolls his eyes with smile. "Well... guess it wouldn't so bad being married to a model."
"Yes." Gwen hugs Peter who's still smiling. "I knew you'd support me. But I still might need your help taking photos of me for my portfolio."
"Let me guess, MJ recommended me." Peter said.
"Thanks for helping her when she needed it, she made the right choice choosing you as her photographer." Gwen said.
"Of course, it was a pleasure helping a friend out, and it'll be a pleasure taking photos for my wife." Peter said.
Peter and Gwen kiss each other on the bed.
"So... wanna go again?" Gwen said.
Peter smile until he realized something. "Oh man..."
"What?" Gwen said.
"I forgot, today is the day the Marvel-1 is about to launch into space." Peter said.
Gwen sighs with smile. "Of course... to be continued."
"To be continued." Peter smile.
Peter reach out and got a hold of the remote, he turns on the bedroom tv hanging on the wall as live news is showing of the Marvel-1 mission taking place in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
(Cape Canaveral)
At the launch site where the Marvel-1 space shuttle attached to the boosters, a number of people are gather from a distance to witness the launch of the Marvel-1, at the launch platform are four individuals getting off the elevators all dressed up in space suits, they are astronaut Ben Grimm along with scientists Reed Richards, Victor von Doom, and Susan Storm as they're about to board the shuttle on a journey into space.
"Any of you been into space?" Ben Grimm said.
"No, but there's a first time for everything." Reed Richards said.
"My brother wanted to partake in this mission, but... I told him not to." Susan Storm said.
"Being overprotective." Ben Grimm said.
"That, and Johnny has always been a hothead, don't think he can handle outer space." Susan Storm said.
"Like my friend John say, a few days in space, it'll be great, what's the worse that can happen?" Ben Grimm quotes.
"Funny, you remember what happened on your last mission?" Reed Richards said.
"Don't remind me." Ben Grimm said.
All four finally entered through the airlock to board the shuttle, unknown to anyone down below on a separate platform boarding through the cargo hold is fifth individual dressed in a space suit, this person is Johnny Storm, the younger brother of Susan Storm as he's going to sneak onboard the shuttle behind everyone's back as he closes the cargo door closed. In the cockpit of the Marvel-1, Ben Grimm is at the pilot seat taking the controls with his best friend Reed Richards riding shotgun, both are strapping down, while Susan Storm and Victor von Doom are taking the passenger seats.
"Feeling nervous, Ms. Storm?" Victor von Doom being a gentleman.
"A bit, but that won't make me back down, I can handle myself." Susan Storm said.
"I'd admire your character Ms. Storm, you're a very brave woman." Victor von Doom said.
"Flattered, and please call me Sue." Susan Storm said.
Ben Grimm sighs. "Please remind me why we brought Doom on this trip?"
"Got something to say, Grimm?" Victor von Doom said.
"Didn't think you'd partake in this mission, thought you'd be too busy trying to annex a neighboring country." Ben Grimm said.
"Ben..." Reed Richards said.
"For your information, I'm a scientist first, always have been, being a ruler of a country just helps my people, I just want what's best for Latveria, having Skymkaria joined would put an end to all the hostility they've faced." Victor von Doom said.
"How's that working out? Last I heard Symkaria rejected your request, prefer to remain independent." Ben Grimm said.
"Enough politics, let's stayed focus on the launch, shall we?" Reed Richards said.
"FINE!" Ben and Victor said at the same time.
Everyone stayed quiet as the shuttle is all prepped and ready for launch, inside the cargo hold is Johnny Storm strapping himself down to a seat. Back outside far from the launch pad are a number of press recording the event for everyone to watch, including Peter and Gwen watching from the TV of their house. Ben, Reed, Sue, and Victor are strapped down as mission control is counting down to launch.
"T-minus 3... 2... 1... Marvel-1, you're clear for ignition!"
The rocket booster is all fired up and launches from the site, it lifts off and heading up, taking the Marvel-1 up into space, everyone in the cockpit can feel the vibration and acceleration, including Johnny Storm inside the cargo hold. The Marvel-1 is heading up into space on a journey that'll change all their lives forever.
Too be continued in... The Fantastic Four.
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