SPIDER-MAN: ALL ALONE (CHAPTER 33)
MIDTOWN HIGH CONSTRUCTION SITE, QUEENS…
Spider-Man swung around the neighbourhood in desperate attempt to save the Stacy family who were being held hostage by Vulture. There were police already at the site playing a mediating role as Vulture circled and swooped at them repeatedly in the air.
"Release the hostages; don't make this hard on yourself." One officer said over a megaphone.
"They will be safe when the Spider comes." Vulture proclaimed back.
The construction site where Helen and Simon are held was at Midtown High School for a new sports centre. The project was only half constructed and a battle could lead to more collateral damage.
"Of all the familiar places, that soccer field used to be the place where Flash would knock me out at the start of a game." Spider-Man said to himself as he swung about.
Seeing the layout of the site, he saw beams and concrete layers stuck together but one attention drawing detail was the crane. There were at least two cranes on the site, where each one hooked a different victim. One was for Helen and the other being Simon who were not only tied by hands but also gagged by mouth and restrained by leg.
"Hang on." Spider-Man said as he tried to reach the nearest crane before being ambushed by Vulture in a swift manner.
Spider-Man's Spider sense picked up on the fast-flying Vulture and moved only to be intercepted by a talon and scratched.
"Kept me waiting like a hawk." Vulture said as he watched Spider-Man fall and shoot a string of web to keep himself from falling.
"That's not your bird name, Adrian." Spider-Man said as his web hung onto a standing beam.
Vulture's hi-tech visor surveyed the situation with Spider-Man struggling to keep up with his speed. Meanwhile the hostages gifted to him by the Goblin were staring wide-eyed and struggling as they watched Spider-Man hanging.
"You had all the time to prepare." Vulture said to Spider-Man, "And yet, you're still wearing the same old suit."
"Eh… It's called fixing what's not broken." Spider-Man replied before the web snapped prompting him to reshoot another web.
Vulture then decided to showcase a new capability of his suit; which allowed him to fling magnetic knife-life projectiles. Catching Spider-Man by surprise; Spider-Man began to worry for the Staceys.
"The deal is this, Spider. We fight; simple. But their lives are in your hands." Vulture said as he glided around whilst the projecticles reattached onto his wings.
Spider-Man then began to brainstorm the scenario. Vulture is a threat but his objective has to be saving those around him no matter what. The Goblin's choice to use Vulture in this scenario was only an obstacle meant to deter him.
"That's a crazy move you got there. Can't believe you didn't show this to me earlier." Spider-Man said as he watched Vulture's move.
"And I'm merely testing their effectiveness." Vulture said as he considered using them again.
Meanwhile, the police were having a hard time keep up with the two individuals fighting in the air that they initiated a plan to rescue the Staceys. As this happened, Yuri arrived on scene causing a bit of a stir.
"Captain Watanabe here." Yuri said showing off her badge.
"Mam. We're in the midst of a rescue operation here." An officer called.
"And I'm here to stop the flying man. So get going." Yuri said jogging past to reach Spider-Man.
As Spider-Man struggled in the air with Vulture. He took note on the flight pack and was eager to tear open the back. In addition to his newly acquired speed; Vulture was also more flexible than ever and even had enough strength to throw Spider-Man.
Using his own web wing gliders for balance, Spider-Man thought about the speed he was faced with. He watched as the Staceys started to panic a little less as a few police units moved in through the construction site.
Even though the police were there to help, this makes the fight a little tough with Vulture noticing them. Spider-Man's Spider sense started going haywire with him quickly responding to a projectile move by shooting a web to stop one from hitting a random officer.
The rest of the projectiles that came close to the other officers prompted them a few to duck and take one cut. As the projectiles began to magnetically return to Vulture, the one Spider-Man hung onto became an opportunity to do damage. The knife's direction was tilted prompting a malfunction to the wings as soon as it missed its slot.
"Argh. You little…" Vulture yelled angrily as his wing was clipped a little.
After a brief faze, Vulture turned his attention back to the Staceys and prepared to aim for them. Unleashing another wave of projectiles, he aimed at Simon which caused Helen to look on with a horrified expression. The projectiles managed to hit the binds on Simon's hands prompting him to fall from the crane hook.
In quick succession, Spider-Man leapt into action to save him. Vulture followed Spider-Man with speed as Spider-Man held onto the falling Simon whilst the talons behind him were about to grab him. The sharpness of the claws pierced onto Spider-Man's back as he was dragged back into air again.
"Stay calm." Spider-Man said to Simon.
As the Vulture lifted his two victims into air, the weight of the two prompted him to drop them causing him to feel strained. Spider-Man quickly webbed to closest platform and gave Simon a safe landing as he landed on his back. He slowly loosened the bounds on Simon's feet and gave his orders to find safety.
"I'll save your mum too. Stay with the officers." Spider-Man said as he turned his attention back to Vulture.
"Thanks Spider-Man." Simon said in appreciation before looking around for help.
Vulture in air was taking his time to examine the small projectile jam in his wings thanks to Spider-Man's web shot that messed up the magnetic flow. This jam frustrated him as he started to regret ever taking a gift from Norman.
"You coming down here, Adrian?" Spider-Man asked whilst keeping an eye on Helen.
"You ruin everything you touch, mongrel." Vulture said angrily as he removed the jammed projectile off the wing.
"You know what? I get that a lot… On the J. Jonah podcast especially. Oh man, you've been listening to that man whilst in prison; haven't you?" Spider-Man asked his arms crossed.
"I am going to snuff you out. This is not a promise; it's a guarantee." Vulture said with rage.
"Well, it's just another trip to jail then." Spider-Man said.
"Die!" Vulture screamed as the lungs tried to get some more air.
Spider-Man shook his head at Vulture's self-absorbed anger that he took his time to realise Vulture was charging towards him from the sky with his newly fashioned claws and talons out.
The fast speed prompted less time for Spider-Man to respond as Vulture swooped down and clinched onto him like a bird struggling with its prey. As Vulture wrestled to pin Spider-Man down, Spider-Man had trouble landing a proper web shot which stuck him down.
From afar, Yuri aimed her gun at Vulture's jetpack engine powering his wings. With one bullet, she tried to break a part of the engine but the bullet could not penetrate through the metal hide. An annoyed Vulture twisted his neck eyeing Yuri.
With Vulture distracted, Spider-Man tried to use this opportunity to fight back. With Vulture's talons pinning his wrists; he used his feet to kick him away. Vulture shifted back and wobbled as Spider-Man got back to his footing.
"Game's over." Spider-Man said as he quickly webbed onto his wings and pulled.
The force prompted Vulture to fly higher as he tried to free himself before Spider-Man webbed onto the claws and talons next. Vulture was even more stuck as gravity was pulling back at him.
Quickly, Spider-Man jumped behind Vulture and leapt onto his back as he grunted whilst being held by the webs. Pulling the helmet off to reveal Adrian's wrinkled and hateful face; Spider-Man made sure that his foe would not be encouraged to soar whilst he worked to damage the jetpack powering him.
"Keep your sticky hands to yourself." Vulture growled as Spider-Man's strength pressured him down.
The jetpack shell was peeled back with excessive force and the circuity insides were exposed. With the other hand, Spider-Man simply tore through the wires and other metal components.
"Argh." Spider-Man yelled as sparks flew following by a green blinding light.
Normally, this was dangerous for anyone to do but with the suit being insulated thanks to his experience with villains like Shocker and Electro, Spider-Man was able to pull the deed and deactivate Vulture.
"Not again!" Vulture yelled as he felt the power in him leave.
Without the power of the suit; he was a mere old man stuck in a heavy suit of armour. Falling face first; he was once again humiliated by defeat.
"Not everything is a packaged deal, Adrian." Spider-Man said as he watched Vulture groan in the powerless suit.
With Vulture defeated; Spider-Man turned to see Yuri coming to him and nodded to assure he was dealt with. He then turned his attention to Helen who was still held by the crane.
After assisting the officers in saving time from moving the crane with his swinging. He had Helen and Simon reunited together. As the two had their bounds fully untied, Helen quickly hugged onto Simon in desperation.
While Spider-Man watched the two; he then had his heart stop when he noticed Helen staring down at him with an angry look. A look of disapproval and fear loomed over her face as if it was a message to tell him that she is not happy about her daughter's involvement.
"Wonder what exactly the Goblin wanted with these two." Yuri said walking up to Spider-Man, "Glad bird man has been neutralised again."
"Uh-, no problem. I guess I'll let you guys deal with this." Spider-Man said as he decided to swing away leaving the Stacy family alone in the police's safety and Vulture ready for custody once again.
Whilst this happened, Yuri watched in confusion as Spider-Man swung away.
"Leaving the scene already?" Yuri said as she wanted to share something with him.
SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN…
Gwen looked at May who was sitting in contemplation with a blanket wrapped around her. The two were sitting on bench together as they discussed what had transpired.
"You're not surprised?" Gwen asked.
"Did you expect me to be?" May asked back, "Peter was always the odd character. It's not realistic to assume I was oblivious to who he is the whole time."
"Then…Why didn't you ever say a word before?" Gwen asked again.
May eyeballed Gwen before giving her answer.
"Would I be willing to sacrifice Peter out to the world just like that? He may not be my biological child; but I care about him the same way when he was still born." May said, "He's not any different from being the web-swinging hero New York knows."
"I see… Makes me wonder what my family would do if they knew about me." Gwen thought.
"And I'm proud of your support for him." May said in assurance.
"Thanks, May. It's hard but I'm happy to be with him all the time. I don't care how dangerous it could get; it's worth it to share the experience with him." Gwen admitted.
"Then, I believe you need to hurry and find him." May advised, "I'm worried for Mr. Osborn as well. I don't know what's going on with him but if you can stop whatever has gotten in that man then blessed be. My life isn't as dull as I thought after all."
As Gwen stepped on the bench, she asked May if she needed help back to home or wherever safe.
"I'll be fine." May said, "My nephew is the one who needs help now."
Gwen then swung off as she entrusted May to stay safe and find her way back.
OSCORP ENERGY SECTOR…
Mendel plodded to the Energy Sector where the reservoir of Greenwave was kept. His robotic lens gleamed at the green glow from the energy and even though he was an emotionless robot; his feelings were of glee.
"Time to spill the next bit of disaster." Mendel said as he walked over to a control panel.
While Mendel began operating; his sensors picked up a whistling kind of sound prompting him to recognise the Goblin's presence as he entered on his glider.
"Stromm…" Goblin growled behind his mask, "Your pathetic drivel crashes today."
"'Pathetic' is a word that suits you beautifully, Norman." Mendel said as he moved a tiny inch closer to the mainframe, "You're finally the monster the world needs to see."
"You think a bit of love is what I need?" Goblin said with a scowl as he got off the glider, "There's only one ultimate factor that matters and that's my authority over yours."
"Then why hide the face, Norman?" Mendel asked, "Why do you hide your true self with another monstrous layer?"
Without answering the question, Goblin flung a few razor boomerangs forward which deflected off Mendel's metallic body and fell on the ground. Mendel calmly stood his ground as Goblin came forward with all his fury.
Goblin thrashed Mendel all about whilst the robot barely did much to fight back. In his own mind; he was already invincible and nothing about Norman's superiority complex could do anything more. The plan for Oscorp to fall is coming to fruition for him.
Eventually, Goblin resorted to his bombs which even with their fiery explosions; there was little impact being done to Mendel. The Goblin's usual gloating against others changed to a bitter expression which was reserved to those he had trouble against.
"Think about it." Mendel taunted through his robotic voice; "I built you to the monster you are now. I provided the facility; the equipment; the ingredients. I knew your family weaknesses even before I was intertwined with the Living Brain itself."
Goblin gave up on the bombs and decided that he will crush the robot with his bare hands.
"You were the perfect catalyst. I knew you were capable of hurting others but I wanted to let people know that you absolutely would hurt them." Mendel continued.
With all his might, Goblin charged forward tackling Mendel onto the ground. In a berserk state; he started to use all his strength to beat Mendel down. Eventually, Mendel's physical body began to break as Goblin furiously slammed him down.
As the pummelling continued; Mendel was made to lie on the ground as his metallic shelling was broken apart. Eventually, a hole exposing the power core was revealed. Standing up and using his foot, the Goblin began crushing down on the power core controlling Mendel's robotic body.
"And I didn't even have to lift a finger for the next step to work. I always had control of the situation." Mendel gloated as his physical body began to lose power.
Goblin hissed as he desperately tried to silence Mendel. There was only so much taunting he could bare from anyone else.
"Welcome to your new world." Mendel said with his last words as the optics blinked off.
After a few seconds; there was utter silence once Mendel shut down. The Goblin knew it was not easy and waited to see what happens next. The screens operating the energy generators soon began to flash 'WARNING' signs. They were beginning to lose control and eventually, the entire storage of Greenwave in the generators near him began to shake uncontrollably.
TO BE CONTINUED…