SPIDER-MAN: ALL ALONE (CHAPTER 30)
TIME SQUARE…
The release of Gaunt into the Living Brain system proved devastating and drastic. The computer virus spread not just to Oscorp's network but also to New York's electronic screens outside which still were touched by Oscorp themselves.
At Time Square, Norman's portrait soon was plastered on the billboards with images of destruction and horror to accompany him. All of which described the role he had in the world as well as his more insidious dealings as a businessman and scientist.
"It is time to showcase the truth behind this man…" A microphone voiceover from Mendel stated, "A truth to confirm the facts that were hidden."
Even though much of New York City had to be evacuated due to the Green Goblin attack, there were still citizens and other personnel walking about who had witnessed the shocking images on screen.
"Norman Osborn, a 'hero' billionaire. Masking his insidious perversions…" The voiceover continued, "Taking everything that was not his and leaving those around him in ruin."
As the voiceover continued, the gossip amongst people took place as they watched flashes of Norman's image in an evil light. It was finally after a few photos that people were catching onto the revelation that Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin.
"You want to know who the man behind the green monstrous costume flying around is? There he is." Mendel answered, "He scares you. He controls you. And he'll terrorise you for the rest of your lives. Unless you rise and dismantle Oscorp inside and out…"
MANHATTAN POLICE STATION BUNKER MEETING ROOM…
Brian DeWolff, son of Phillip DeWolff who had been left injured by the Goblin was quick to take charge of a fractured NYPD force. As a senior officer, he follows his family's longstanding tradition of serving in the police force. He was athletic and passed his training tests to an exceptional degree.
He was also admired for his good looks by some of his co-workers but he could never settle down once he rose the ranks. The only person close to him now was his younger sister, Jean who was still a rookie in training.
Today, he was hellbent on the tasks that have arisen for him and prompted him to envision the next stage of policing around New York. After months of experiencing superhuman-like beings and such, he wanted to revitalise the impact of the police force.
"I just want to thank everyone for their condolences to my father. It means a lot to me of course." Brian said holding his police cap near his chest, "But I have a more pressing matter to talk about."
The police squad sitting down were murmuring about themselves. There was no doubt that Brian is one of the most proficient police members on board but there were a few doubts regarding his age and experience which some believe is affected by the nepotism in the DeWolff family.
On the board were individual pictures drawn of Spider-Man and Spider-Woman accompanied by pictures of adversaries sketched in individual portraits. The sketches included Green Goblin; Vulture; Shocker and Kingpin. A rough sketch of the newly emerged lizard monster was later added and pinned on.
"We've been dealing with quite a bit of strange people more than any other major city around the world. Granted, Earth has seen um… Strange things before but what's happening with New York lately?" Brian asked.
"I heard Detroit has been dealing with mutants lately." One officer spoke.
"Well, Detroit is not our city." Brian said, "My point is… Why do our jobs against these beings become hard when we're supposed to be on top of things? Why can't we be capable in dealing with them. Why is it that we just have our guns; tasers and handcuffs to deal with these guys?"
"Good question." The same officer answered.
"OK, so think outside the box. If we want to stand a chance against these guys then we gotta upgrade from the traditional policing ways. If they can fly, so should we. If they jump building to building, we can too. If they lift 10 tonnes of bricks, why not make it possible for us?" Brian asked.
"Brian… We don't have the resources; we have a code of conduct on how we do things." Another officer interjected.
"I'm not talking about 'code of conduct'. I'm talking about efficiency in getting the job done." Brian argued, "Look at the chances my father stood against that greenish ghoul. He was batted without a fight. This is a joke."
A moment of silence followed as the police were unsure. It was not until one officer replied back.
"Brian…We tried to have a superhuman officer, look at how-." The officer said before being interrupted.
"I know the story of Sergeant Gargan. I need no reminder. We're going to approach this differently. No possibly corrupt businessmen are going to fund this. No funny chemicals are to be used for enhancements. We're going to make this as New York funded as much as possible." Brian said back, "Sorry for interrupting… By the way, in my father's name, we will be the 'heroes' New York wants."
Brian's face gleamed with a hopeful smile as his idea raised some interesting directions that the NYPD could take.
MANHATTAN STREETS…
The news had simply labelled the lizard creature as 'Lizard' for simplicity purposes until further notice. Leaving a trail of destruction in wake, the Lizard was hungry and humans simply did not sate his appetite and gratefully are not needed in its diet.
Gwen who had just started chasing the Lizard after leaving the subway was shocked at sight of a behemoth reptilian beast prancing about.
"What the hell?" Gwen said in a half-shocked tone whilst going after it.
The Lizard's snout picked up its food trail as it dashed like a mad dog. Salivating, it did not even notice Gwen right behind her.
"It's not sensing me?" Gwen asked herself again, "Wonder what it's excited about?"
Finally webbing onto the back of the Lizard, Gwen got the creature's attention. The Lizard moved back and forth to shake her off like an agitated horse. It then took an opportunity to bite Gwen which prompted her to get off.
The chase then stopped at a nearby fresh food market stall. The sellers panicked after seeing the Lizard up close and ran. Lizard's body knocked over stands whilst its tail swiped off products such as fruits and vegetables. It was then that it found its food source.
Gwen watched as the Lizard took one chomp at a fresh stash of seafood. The likes of
salmon; mackerel and tuna all went down the Lizard's throat. After enough watching; Gwen swooped into action and webbed the Lizard.
It was then that the Lizard began to show its aggressive nature. It swiped with one claw and then another as Gwen dodged around it. The Lizard took a more defensive stance around its food acting as if it was its own by right.
"I'm not a huge seafood fan so you can have it. But you should ask before taking." Gwen said before landing a punch onto the Lizard's eye.
The Lizard hissed at the impact before Gwen started to shoot webs into its mouth. The webs started to spoil Lizard's eating before the Lizard charged and knocked Gwen aside.
"Ow." Gwen said as she held onto her ribcage.
As the Lizard charged towards her, Gwen dodged the creature's jaws. It was then Spider-Man joined the scene still looking fairly damaged even after a little bit of repairs on the suit.
"Just in time." Spider-Man said with a huff of breath, "I always wanted to see a real dinosaur. Just at the right time."
"Your suit looks pretty wrecked." Gwen said as she concentrated on dodging.
"Yeah. Listen-." Spider-Man said before catching the Lizard's tail.
The Lizard tried to go for a bite on Spider-Man and missed. Even at a rough state, Spider-Man could move around the beast and its animal instincts. After managing to tangle the Lizard for a moment, Spider-Man finally talked to Gwen again.
"Listen… I just a run-in with the Vulture. Your family could be in danger." Spider-Man warned.
"In danger? Why didn't you go save them?" Gwen asked.
"I-I didn't know you'd be here first. Sorry, it's all in haste. But I don't know where to reach them." Spider-Man said as he prepared for Lizard getting out of the web entanglement.
"Look at you. Do you want to handle that creature by yourself?" Gwen asked examining Peter's suit damage.
Spider-Man turned to face the Lizard who chomped through the last thread of web before growling. It then dashed towards him.
"Thanks for your help." Spider-Man said, "Just hurry."
Gwen took one look at Spider-Man before leaving at his request to resume her original objective. Spider-Man focused on his singular battle on the person that unbeknownst to him was Dr. Curt Connors himself. He ducked and weaved again at every claw swipe and he used every web and punch to wear the beast down.
Recognising the odds against him, the Lizard used a surprising amount of intelligence to pull off a retreat. It used its remaining strength to dash off catching Spider-Man by surprise. In haste, Spider-Man threw an old-fashioned Spider tracer onto its scaly skin. The device's legs latched onto the skin tightly with a flashing red light.
As the Lizard ran off, Spider-Man took one sit on the ground to catch his breath. Everything was continuously wearing him down but it was all he had to take.
"There's something funky about that lizard I realised just now." Spider-Man said.
OSCORP BUILDING…
Oscorp had now been ruined thanks to Gaunt. Norman in his insanity began acting aggressive to his employees. Scaring them away and also hurting them in desperation at the moment his insidious deeds were exposed to the public.
The Living Brain was undoubtedly an extraordinary creation of the company or so he thought. Running out of the IT department, he ran as fast as he could to where he would go next. It was time for the Goblin to handle everything from now on.
Running and jumping about was a bizarre sight to see but Norman did not care as he made his way to the armoury. He wanted nothing more than to put on the armour and mount his glider. Tearing off his business clothes, he was about to go all in with the Goblin.
With insanity encroaching its mind, the Goblin howled with laughter as it geared up. The employees were all scared out of their wits with the glider zipping about. The Goblin could care less about civilian causalities as it flew upwards to the top of the building.
Finally, the Goblin got to the top of the building's helipad cackling as its glider roared with power. His mind with one simple goal which was to burn anything that opposes him and personally deliver his wrath.
TO BE CONTINUED…