Okay, guest reviewer Miguel; stop making story requests. Most of the stuff you're asking for I don't know anything about.
If you're not gonna leave an actual review about the story, then please don't review at all.
I own nothing from Spider-Man, or Marvel
Chapter 19: Devil's Breath
Yuri called a few seconds later, "Hey, sorry about that Sable thing... I should have told you earlier, but it all happened so fast."
"It's okay," he told her.
"Sable has the mayor's ear and unchecked authority," she continued. "We've searched that address you gave me, found plenty of evidence of a bomb plot, but nothing that leads back to Martin Li."
"I'm working on that," Peter told her, then hung up, but then he linked MJ, Ned and Betty into a conference call. "Hey guys, I've put a stop to the Demons attack on Osborn's campaign offices."
"Good job," MJ stated.
"Did you find Li?" Ned asked.
"Negative, but I found something we should look into; a place called Pale Horse Ridez."
"Sounds familiar," Betty said. "I'll look into it."
"In the meantime, I looked up some records on Martin Li's other business holdings- he's got places all over the city," Ned said.
"Huh, the locations line up with a map I found at the shipping business," Peter said. "I'll check 'em out."
"Or, you could let some of the other heroes-slash-vigilantes know about them," MJ noted.
"Yeah, true," Peter admitted. "Hey Em, could you check Li's office and see if you can find out why he's doing this, and hopefully find out what he's planning next?"
"Yeah, sure," she answered. "Wait, you don't think May and I are in danger, do you?"
"Fortunately, no," he said. "Li's only target is Norman Osborn."
The conference call ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coincidently, MJ was at F.E.A.S.T. at the moment, and she just thought of something. She went to find May, and eventually found her in the kitchen.
"May?"
"Hello MJ!"
"If you're running this place while Mr. Li's away, who's doing your old job?" MJ asked.
May chuckled, "Me, but I could always use some more help."
"Well, I know someone who could use a place like this, right now," MJ said. "Miles Morales."
"Oh, your brother's friend," May remembered him. "Didn't his father...?"
"Yeah..." MJ trailed off. "I know one thing that helps people who are grieving is staying busy. Here's his mom's number."
"Thanks, I'll give her a call, later," May said.
MJ walked away and went to Li's office, but it was locked. Cringing a bit, she looked around and saw a vent in the ceiling. The coast was clear, so she webbed up to it and slipped in.
"Ugh, air vents," she muttered as she started crawling. As she did, she saw an unfamiliar room below one of the grates, "I've never seen that room..."
She had to get past some suspiciously high-voltage lines, then dropped down into Li's office.
'That room I saw...must be behind that shrine,' she thought, then went over to the shrine to get a closer look. In it were some vases with flowers and a large photo of a Chinese couple. 'Li's parents...I thought they abandoned him...why build a shrine for them?'
She noticed there was a keyhole next to the picture, so she had to find the key. She went over to a desk that had an open book and a picture of a demon that looked similar to the masks worn by the Demon Gang.
'This is the ghost story Li's father read to him. About a demon that could only be mastered through balance...'
She also glanced at all of Li's awards on the wall. He did so much for New York; it was hard to believe he was hiding so much darkness inside him. She checked a drawer in his desk, found a journal, and a key inside it. Not being able to help herself, she skimmed through what was written...
Li's words portrayed conflict, like he didn't want to do what he did. Then, she found a letter, addressed to May...
"Dear May,
Very soon, you'll hear stories about me. Stories claiming I'm a terrorist and a murderer. Those stories will be true.
But the story we wrote together - the story of F.E.A.S.T. - is also true. I want you to know that I always believed in our mission. It wasn't a front, or a show. It was an honest expression of my heart. When you help someone, you truly do help everyone.
Please don't let my failings shake your belief. You are strong, May. Strong enough to tell a new story at F.E.A.S.T., one unburdened by my faults.
Thank you for all you've done,
Martin
P.S.
Please show this to Michelle; I always admired her confidence and her willingness to help others. She truly belongs here; with that big, beautiful heart of hers."
MJ's eyes widened in horror, but she was also touched that Li thought so highly of her. She put the letter down, went over to the shrine and used the key. The photo opened like a door, revealing several black and white circles.
'A puzzle lock? Good thing I like puzzles.'
She turned the smaller nobs until it created the Yin-Yang symbol, then the shrine turned to reveal a secret door. MJ went in...it was the secret room she saw from the crawlspace; the floor was all metal grating, and there were a couple tables in the room, plus a wall covered in articles about Norman Osborn.
One table had the same Demon mask she'd shown Li, and a Chinese sword imbued with dark energy. She went over to the other desk, which had a tape recorder on it, and the picture of Li's parents in a negative filter.
"Martin's parents..." she whispered before she picked up the tape recorder.
Martin's voice came from it, "Can feel my power growing...feeding off my anger. Father would say I've lost the path of balance, but he could never understand. The only way to fight a monster...is to become one."
She put it down and glanced at the wall of articles about Norman. One of them caught her interest,
'Oscorp lost a lawsuit about improper clinical trials years ago? ...Of course they covered it up.'
Finally, on the desk with the tape recorder was a folder; MJ knew it was the one that Betty found at the auction house. She took it, but her spider-sense buzzed as she stepped off the floor panel! She jumped to the ceiling as the floor became electrified!
"Shit! Burn room wired to destroy evidence! Good thing I started carrying a taser!"
She crawled over to the junction boxes and used her taser to overload them. Then she dropped to the floor, opened it and exited through a side door that took her back out into a hallway at the center.
"Hello Michelle."
She turned to see Martin LI, giving her a suspicious look.
"Mr. Li?" she placed her hand over heart, pretending to be startled. "You scared me! I...thought you were out of town."
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he questioned her.
She didn't show it, but MJ was getting nervous.
"Martin! You're back!" May cheered as she came over.
Martin turned to May, changing his expression to pleasant, "And heading off again, I'm afraid. I just needed a few things from my office."
"Did you hear about City Hall?" May asked.
"Yes. Tragic." Martin looked at MJ when he said that.
"MJ, Peter and their friends are lucky," May stated. "They were there too."
"At an Osborn rally? I didn't know you were a fan."
"We're not, but his son is a friend of ours," MJ remarked. "We were there to support Jefferson Davis."
"Oh yes, the officer that lost his life," Martin looked genuinely remorseful for a moment. "But, at least you're all okay."
"Amen," May agreed.
"But the bombers are still out there," MJ said. "Who knows what they have planned next."
"Oh, I don't think you, Peter, and May have anything to worry about. As long as you stay away from places you're not supposed to be."
MJ didn't miss the way Martin seemed to stare at her...almost threateningly.
"Well, I should go." He began to walk away.
"When will you be back?" May asked.
"When my work is done," Martin answered, then he left.
MJ gave a silent breath of relief.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When MJ got home, she told Peter about what she found, and gave him the folder about Devil's Breath.
Peter gave her a passionate kiss that left her weak in the knees,
"You're awesome!"
MJ giggled before sitting down, so she didn't fall over,
"I know."
Peter told Yuri to check the F.E.A.S.T. Center in Chinatown; she'd find the evidence connecting Martin Li to the bombing.
"He has another attack planned. Still working out the where and when, but I think he's going to use something called "Devil's Breath"."
"Sounds...destructive," Yuri commented. "What is it?"
"A substance created by Oscorp, probably a bioweapon of some kind," Peter answered. "I have a folder full of info on it- I'm holding onto it for now. I'll send copies as soon as I can."
"Okay, we'll check Li's office," Yuri told him. "If the evidence stands up, we'll put out an APB."
Then she hung up.
MJ just gave Anya some cran-grape juice in a sippy cup.
"Oh, Ned called. He looked into that "Pale Horse Ridez" place with Betty; it's a chop shop run by Tombstone."
"Crap," Peter cursed. "Maybe I'll let Luke Cage know about it. It's in his neighborhood."
"You're learning; that you don't have to cover the whole city," she commented.
"Yeah, I know," he responded, rolling his eyes. She'd once told him that since there were so many other heroes/vigilantes in New York; that he didn't need to cover for the whole city. Especially now that they had a daughter to take care of.
MJ walked up and hugged him, causing him to smile,
"It's okay to take a break, you know."
He laid his head against her shoulder, just taking in the comfort that he had her in his life.
As they cooked dinner together, MJ asked, "So, how'd Octavius like the new lab?"
"Oh, he loves it!" Peter exclaimed. "Especially all the better equipment we have now!"
MJ chuckled, "I'll bet. Did you...find out how he knows Norman?"
"Yeah," Peter sighed. "They met in college, became lab partners, then friends. They even talked about starting a business together."
"Hold up, was he at Oscorp when it started?" she questioned.
"He's half the reason it's called "Oscorp"," Peter confirmed. "Everyone called them "The O's". Add "corp" to that, and..."
"So, why'd he leave?"
"Norman became more and more obsessed with genetics. He started a project that Otto considered unethical, and I'm guessing something bad happened. Lawyers got involved, and he chose to leave in exchange for a settlement. He's relied on grants ever since that money ran out."
"Well, that's strange," MJ said as she put some curry and rice on a plate.
Peter went to the fridge to get some fruit for Anya. They'd started giving her solid food over the past few months. After recent check-ups, the doctors said that her teeth had started growing in, too. Which meant that the young couple had to wear teething rings. Still, it was just one of the many trials and tribulations of parenthood.
As they ate...
"Mmm, this curry is legit," MJ commented, and she also fed Anya.
"Yeah, not bad, isn't it?" Peter asked as he took a bite.
Anya cooed happily at her parents, making MJ sigh happily.
"I fall in love with her more, every day."
"Yeah, me too," Peter smiled while gently stroking Anya's head.
His phone buzzed, so he checked it, hoping it was just a text. But, it was a crime alert; residential break-in of one Charles Standish, Oscorp's CFO.
Peter hated to run off during dinner, but MJ understood.
The Demons had taken Standish up to his penthouse, most likely to get more data on Devil's Breath. It was tough getting in and stealthily taking out the Demons, but Peter managed.
Even though Standish was safe, Peter wasn't able to ask him anything before some Sable Agents stepped in, wanting Standish to keep quiet. Thankfully, Peter did hear the Demons mention another name; Dr. Isaac Delaney.
That led him Empire State University campus, where there was party going on. Unfortunately, Li and the Demons got to Delaney before Peter! Li corrupted the man, got the name Dr. Morgan Michaels, then made him kill himself! Peter was also unable to chase Li due to him corrupting a bunch of the students into fighting each other, so the young hero had to play crowd control! Once that was done, Peter told Yuri about Dr. Michaels.
"And, who is he?"
"I think he's the head scientist of this Devil's Breath project," he said.
A minute later, Yuri told him that Sable said that they have Dr. Michaels at a safehouse somewhere in the city, but they refused to say where.
So, Peter called MJ and told her what happened...
"Dammit! We have to stop him!"
"We will. Before he died, Delaney gave Li a name; Dr. Morgan Michaels."
"And he is?" she asked.
"Not sure, but I think he works on the Devil's Breath project. Have you learned anything from that Devil's Breath file?"
"Yeah, get this," MJ said. "Apparently, a few years ago, Osborne came to Silvermane and asked him to build him a lab, but to keep it hidden from regulators."
"Secret lab? For Devil's Breath?"
"If it's as dangerous as we think it is, I can see why."
"Where's the lab?"
MJ sighed, "That's not in the file- Osborn made Silvermane destroy all records of it. All I have are invoices from Osborn's personal account to the construction company that Silvermane owns. Knowing him, he kept the invoices around for blackmail material on the mayor."
"Okay, time to pay Norman a visit," Peter decided.
"I doubt he's gonna tell you anything," she said.
"I wasn't planning to ask. Call Ned, see if he's still up; we're about to pull a B&E on Oscorp!"
Just as he made it to the Oscorp building, Ned came on...
"Peter, are you serious?!"
"Desperate times, desperate measures," Peter said.
"Well, if you wanna get in; you gotta hack into the security modules outside the building," Ned told him.
"But they're gonna know someone's hacking in," MJ pointed out.
"True, but they won't know who or where," Ned added.
So, Peter crawled along the building, hacking the modules. Every time he did, some extra security measure was added; first sniper-sights, then drones, and finally a helicopter with a searchlight. It was tough, but Peter managed to get in the vent to Norman's office.
"Jackpot," he said before he went over to a nearby computer and looked at its screen. "Project GR-27... hmm..."
He clicked to view the next slide, showing a man in his 40s.
"Dr. Morgan Michaels was the chief scientist," Peter noted. "But the location of the lab was redacted."
The next slide showed a picture of a DNA strand, and stating the objective of GR-27; Pair CRISPR genome editing with AI-controlled gRNA to identify and replace genetic mutations and errors.
"AI controlled CRISPR? If that actually worked, it could cure any genetic disease... Cystic fibrosis, Huntington's...this is crazy."
Next slide; The Good, High efficacy, consistent results. Next slide; The Bad, viral delivery mechanism incorrectly targets immune system. Infected subjects highly contagious. It said that one, literal lab rat was exposed to GR-27, and seven days later, forty other rats were dead.
The next slide actually showed a picture of the dead rats, which made Peter shiver.
Next slide; The Ugly, one infected subject could trigger global pandemic. Lab techs nicknamed it-
"Whoa," Peter muttered. "GR-27 is Devil's Breath. It's designed to cure diseases, but in its current form it's like a bioweapon."
The next slide said that Mr. Osborn believed the reward was worth the risk, and Dr. Michaels keeps the only sample with him at all times. That's why Li was looking for him.
Peter left Osborn's office after that.
"Whoa, that's heavy," Ned commented.
"I don't trust Sable to contain something this deadly," Peter said. "We need to find Dr. Michaels."
"Yeah...about that..." Ned trailed off. "Betty knows where Charles Standish is and is trying to reach him."
Peter got a bad feeling, "Where is he?"
"At the Sable Compound in Central Park," Ned answered sheepishly.
"What?! That place is crawling with trigger-happy Storm Troopers!"
"I know, that's what I said!" Ned exclaimed.
Peter sighed before heading towards Central Park.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Betty managed to sneak into the tent where Standish was.
"Sable won't listen to me," he said. "She has Michaels in the Bowery, they're moving him to a new safehouse tomorrow at noon, but she's totally ignoring Grand Central."
"Grand Central?" Betty asked.
"Demons were talking about it when they held me. They're going there to get-"
That's when Peter landed on top of the tent, tore it open and landed in front of Standish, making him fall over!
"Oh...that wasn't a Sable guy..." he muttered.
"What the hell?!" Betty questioned.
Peter's HUD had shown Betty with Standish in the tent, but he was pointing a gun at her, so Peter read the situation wrong. But there was no time to dwell on it as he heard Sable guys coming. He grabbed Betty and swung away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They landed on the roof of her apartment, and she huffed away.
"Look, we can discuss what happened back there, tomorrow," Peter said. "For now, did you learn anything about Dr. Michaels?"
Betty sighed, "He's in the Bowery somewhere. Sable's moving him tomorrow at noon."
"Okay. Get some sleep, I'll do the same."
Betty sighed before going inside, then Peter headed home. When he got there, he found an adorable sight; MJ sleeping in their bed with their daughter.
Peter smiled, gently took Anya to her room, kissed her head, then got ready for bed. Once he climbed into bed, MJ snuggled closer to him.
"Mm, is my little spider tired?" she whispered.
"Don't call me little," Peter smirked.
She chuckled softly, "You certainly aren't little."
She rubbed his crotch as she said that.
"Aren't you worried about Anya?" asked Peter.
"If I wanted us to fuck, I'd be wearing just my underwear or nothing at all," she responded. "You know my habits, dork."
Peter only rolled his eyes.
"So, how'd it go in Norman's office?" she asked. "I fell asleep as you were hacking the modules."
"Devil's Breath is actually an Oscorp funded medical treatment called GR-27," Peter explained. "It's designed to cure genetic diseases, but it's current form is a bioweapon. If it got out; global pandemic."
"Oh, great..." MJ muttered in exasperation.
"Dr. Michaels is the head scientist on the project," Peter continued. "He keeps the only sample of Devil's Breath with him at all times, and Sable is gonna move him to a new safehouse tomorrow."
"You're not gonna believe she can handle Li, do you?" MJ asked, though she knew the answer.
"Of course not."
MJ smiled, "Oh, I told May that it might help Miles if he helps out at F.E.A.S.T., and he starts tomorrow. Could you be there so we can show him the ropes?"
"Sure."
MJ tapped his nose, "That's my guy."
Peter chuckled before he kissed MJ on the lips. She returned it, then they went to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~
Before going to the F.E.A.S.T. Center, Peter got in some work with Octavius. Otto had a revolutionary idea; why restore people to what they were when you could make them better? The new prosthetics were stronger, and a neural network would help people truly unleash the power of their minds! It sounded incredible to Peter.
So, Otto made a headset that would allow him to control the prosthetics with his mind, then Peter configured the response time to 2.8 milliseconds. Otto put the headset on, and had the new arms juggle a bunch of tennis balls, faster than humanly possible! The big grin on Otto's face showed just how proud he was! He eventually let the balls fall into a bucket.
"I'd call that a mild success," he said.
"I'd call that incredible!" Peter refuted, but then he noticed Otto had trouble unhooking the headset...his right hand was trembling. "Do you need some help?"
"Yes," Otto admitted, reluctantly.
With a bit of tugging, Peter began to disconnect the device, and took the headset off his head.
"Doctor, what's going on?" Peter asked.
Otto took the headset, "It's become that obvious? My doctors call it "a degenerative neurological disorder," probably caused by overexposure to toxic chemicals in my...reckless youth."
"I-I'm sorry," Peter apologized. "Is there anything I can do?"
"You already are, Peter," Otto pointed out. "You know the worst part; it only affects the muscles. The mind continues to work, but...it can no longer do. You're only one who knows, Peter, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"Of course," Peter assured. "And I'm not going anywhere."
Otto gave him a hug, then told him to take a look at this magazine article in his office that outlined possible next steps for the neural interface. Peter checked it: "ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC REPORTS" "Risks and Rewards of Basal Ganglion Simulation"
"Hmm, exciting...but risky," Peter muttered, then called out to Otto. "I don't know, Doc. You'd need a gallium silk-array to make it work. Even then, odds of injury are pretty high."
"Gallium! Genius!" Otto exclaimed. "Never mind the risks, we'll work them out in time!"
Peter then looked at some X-Rays of Otto's condition. Peter wasn't very knowledgeable about medical science, but best he could tell; at the rate it was going, Otto could lose control of his motor functions within a year. And if they weren't careful, the neural interface could potentially make things worse.
He then got a text from MJ, saying Miles would arrive soon.
"Sorry Doc, I have to go."
"No worries, Peter," Otto assured him. "I was thinking of taking a break, myself."
Peter texted back that he was on his way, then put his suit on when he got outside. As he made his way toward F.E.A.S.T., he saw Miles getting attacked by some thugs! Miles actually tried to fight back, but it wasn't enough.
Once Spidey dealt with the thugs, he offered Miles a hand, and the kid looked star-struck.
"Y-You...you're Spider-Man! You're the amazing Spider-Man! You're the spectacular Spider-Man!"
"And a few other adjectives that social media uses," Spidey chuckled. "Listen, that was really brave, but next time leave the fighting to the pros, okay?"
He turned to leave, but Miles asked, "Okay, but what if there aren't any around?"
"Well...you can't just go swinging at someone twice your size," Spidey responded. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I fight guys stronger than me all the time. But when I do-"
"Like the first time you fought Rhino?" Miles brought up, like a fanboy.
"Perfect example; if the other guy's bigger, you gotta be quicker. Kay?"
As he turned to leave, Miles called out again,
"Yeah, that's- that's easy for you to say! Sorry, I just can't do what you do."
Spidey stopped, then turned back, "Alright, put 'em up."
"What? Seriously?"
"Yeah, come on."
Both of them put their fists up.
"First thing; don't let the adrenaline get to you," Spidey instructed. "Breathe slow, breathe deep. Relax. Hips square to your opponent, let them make the first move. Now use your feet, and they go off balance, look for an opening."
Miles did as instructed as Spidey threw a slow punch and let the kid hit his right palm.
"Like that?"
"Yeah, that's it. Now, this time, I want you to let me have it. Right on the jaw, and don't worry. I can take-"
Miles threw a punch and hit him in the face, "Oh sh-! Sorry!"
Spidey rubbed his jaw, "No, no, it's all good. You keep that up, and you'll be fine. Alright, lesson's over. Gotta go!"
"Hey, uh, thanks," Miles said. "You know, for-"
"Anytime," Spidey told him, then swung away.
Miles smiled, chuckling, "I just punched Spider-Man...!"
He eventually got to F.E.A.S.T., after sneaking past a Sable Checkpoint. MJ saw him as soon as he walked in.
"Miles!"
"MJ!" They hugged each other. "Sorry I'm late."
"No, you're just in time," she assured him.
"So, uh, what can I do to help?" he asked.
"Do what I did; start by getting comfortable with the place. Meet a few people," She then pointed to the coffee pot. "You know what, everybody loves coffee."
"Coffee, all right," said Miles as he grabbed a pot and went to serve some of the residents.
"And I'll check on you later, cool?" MJ asked.
Miles glanced at one of the homeless people with caution, "Yeah..."
"Oh, don't worry about Mr. Hodges," she told him. "He doesn't bite. Much."
Soon, Miles went around, carrying the coffee pot with him, and he stopped by a man doing a crossword puzzle.
"Coffee?" he offered.
"Thanks," the man said, barely looking away from the puzzle.
"Need some help?" Miles asked after he poured.
"Not unless you know what the hell a quark is."
"It's a subatomic particle," Miles answered. "You know, the building block of protons, neutrons, hadrons..."
"Subatomic...that fits!" The man glanced at him. "Good one kid."
Miles then heard this older man, Ernie smacking the TV, which only had static on the screen. Miles offered to check if the COAX cable was disconnected, and it was. Once it was reconnected, the screen showed the news...about Miles' dad...
Ernie asked Miles to fill his cup, but then made an insensitive comment when the news anchor called Jeff a hero.
"Hero? He didn't do nothing heroic except get himself blown up."
MJ appeared, "Hey Ernie, have you met Miles? He's gonna be helping out around here. You probably heard of his father- Jefferson Davis." She paused. "It's cool that even with everything he has going on right now, he decided to come and volunteer. Right?"
Ernie looked like he'd put his boot in his mouth, "Uh, yeah. Yeah. ...Thanks. ...Uh, listen kid, I'm...I'm sorry about your dad."
MJ smiled a bit, "C'mon, let's go help May in the kitchen."
"Yeah," Miles agreed while she led him away.
Meanwhile, May was busy putting down plates of food for everyone, and by the looks of it, she certainly had her hands full.
"May, let me take that," Peter come over and took the plate.
"Thank you!"
"Hey May, brought extra help," MJ gestured to Miles, who chuckled.
"Hi Miles, nice to see you," May greeted him. "Grab an apron, wash your hands, and we'll show you around."
"Sorry, but I've gotta take off," Peter said.
"It's alright," May said.
"I'll see you at home?" MJ asked.
"Yeah," he gave her a quick kiss. "Love you."
"Love you too."
After Peter left, Miles said, "Hey MJ, thanks for that back there."
"No problem," MJ replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter saw a group of Sable agents had set up a perimeter around one building, then Dr. Michaels exited, a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Just as he got in one of the Sable Security cars; everyone heard something big coming!
A large, black armored truck came toward them! The truck was definitely large to plow through cars! And what's worse, one of the Demons came out, armed with an RPG!
"HOSTILES!" shouted one of the Sable agents as they began to fire!
"Secure the package!" One of the agents ordered before a rocket hit one of their cars, blowing them all away! The truck pulled up near the agents left, then the back door opened to reveal more Demons! They opened fire on the agents, then a larger Demon came out and slammed the ground with his fists, creating a shockwave that blew the Agents away!
The car that had Dr. Michaels inside flew up into the air before it came crashing down, its windows shattered while the scientist lied in a confused dazed, but alive nonetheless. He tried to crawl out of the car, but the large Demon grabbed him by his ankle and pulled him out. The Demon carried him over to the truck, where Mister Negative was waiting in the passenger door.
The Demon threw Dr. Michaels into the truck, and Li said, "Welcome aboard, Doctor."
With that, he shut the door and the truck drove off, taking Dr. Michaels with it! Peter swung in and helped a Sable Agent to his feet.
"Get off! We can handle this!"
"Sure, you can," Peter remarked with sarcasm before picking up a manhole cover and throwing it at a nearby hydrant, making water spray to put out the car fires. Peter then swung after the truck, with a few Sable cars chasing it as well.
Peter also called Commissioner Stacy, "Commissioner, I'm in pursuit of Martin Li. He's got Dr. Michaels, and the Devil's Breath."
"Copy that," Stacy replied. "More units coming your way."
"He took Dr. Michaels alive, so that's good!" Peter added as he kept swinging after the truck.
"Probably so he can force him to make more Devil's Breath!" Stacy surmised.
"I've gotta stop that truck, tank, whatever...!" Peter hung up before web-zipping onto the truck, knocking the Demon with the rocket launcher! More Demons climbed onto the roof, so Peter fought them off!
"This is Sable International," Sable's voice spoke out from one of the Sable vehicles. "We have authorization for deadly force. There will be no further warning."
"HEY DUMBASSES?!" Peter shouted to the Agents as he kept fighting the Demons. "THERE'S A BIOLOGICAL WEAPON IN THERE!"
"All units, open fire!" Sable's voice ordered, and the cars launched rockets!
"Why does everyone have rockets?!" Peter questioned out load.
Sable's voice spoke through his communications, "Spider-Man, get clear! You are interfering with the operation!"
"Sorry!" Peter yelled as he kept throwing Demons off the truck. "I'm not part of operation 'Missiles in Manhattan'!"
Once the last Demon was taken care of, more Demons in SUVs made the Sable vehicles crash, so Peter webbed over to them to take them out. Another Demon, armed with whips got on the roof of the truck, so Peter had to deal with him! The truck drove towards some scaffolding, so Peter jumped through it, and landed on the hood of the truck, facing Mister Negative!
"Li! Hand it over!"
Li only sneered before he shot out bullets of negative energy from his pistol, forcing Peter to jump out of the way before he swung around to Li's side of the door and punched open the window! After he broke the glass, Li kicked the door open, making it almost fall off its hinges! Peter hung onto it!
"Oh, crap! Not good!" he cursed as he hung on for dear life.
The door eventually came loose and he fell with it! He slid under the truck and grabbed onto the undercarriage, accidently pulling the brake-line loose...and getting a face full of brake-fluid! He slid some more, but he grabbed onto the back with a webline, then grabbed onto the undercarriage! As he crawled under it, he heard Li tell the driver to ram everything! Finally, he got up to where Li was and grabbed the briefcase with Devil's Breath, only for Li to grab his wrist!
"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Peter started screaming in pain as Li continued to hold his wrist, negative flames blazing and wrapping around his arm. "W...what are you doing to me?!"
"Giving you a new perspective," Li grinned before everything went black.
Peter found himself in some kind of other dimension, all gray and lifeless.
"What the hell?"
"I must be honest, I was hoping to bring you here," Mister Negative's voice echoed around him, even though he was...standing just behind him? "My abilities lend me a certain...persuasiveness."
Peter now recognized the scenery; the City Hall bombing! That's when Mister Negative disappeared, and then reappeared in the distance.
"I've been watching you," he said. "I was waiting for you at City Hall...but you never came. Where were you, Spider-Man?"
"Is this real or in my mind?" Peter wondered, out loud.
Mister Negative stood in the middle of a crowd of people, that were frozen in place.
"It was a shame so many had to die with no heroes to save them," Li continued. "That officer saved your life, didn't he? He was here because of you."
Peter ran around, trying to find Mister Negative, who suddenly appeared in front of him, causing him to scream in surprise before he attempted to punch him, but the man disappeared and then reappeared a fair distance away.
"And Norman wanted to use him," he said almost bitterly. "A futile gesture in the end, really."
He then appeared on top of a car, showing Norman with his bodyguards.
"And where was Norman during all this? Slinking away, like a rat. He knew what was going to happen, and he fled. Norman is a hidden cancer on this city. He must be excised with no trace of his corruption to return. Norman hides behind his mask of lies. I will break it apart and drag him into the light!"
The scenery flashed, now having Peter standing before a Demon mask, and Mister Negative was standing on the steps.
"Put on the mask, become one of us!"
"Thanks...BUT NO THANKS!" Peter yelled as he grabbed the mask with his webs and threw it at Mister Negative, hitting him dead-center!
"One way or another, you WILL join me!" Mister Negative declared as he floated into air, and disappeared!
Dark fire spread on the steps and shadow-silhouettes with glowing white eyes came out of the ground! They all charged at Peter, who began to fight them off, but more kept coming!
"All the souls you've lost," Li's voice taunted. "The "innocent victims" you couldn't save."
"Martin," Peter grunted as he kept fighting. "Their blood is on YOUR hands!"
"You can stop Osborn," Li stated. "You have so much strength, but I can give you the will."
Mister Negative appeared on the street, creating more shadows!
"Their bodies filled the gutters and you did nothing!"
"I can't save everyone!" Peter argued. That was a hard lesson he learned; not just from Aaron, but from Captain Stacy.
"So you admit that you're a failure, then?" Mister Negative asked.
Peter didn't answer, he just kept fighting! Some of the shadows now had swords!
"You defend Osborn while he sits in his ivory tower?" Li questioned.
"I'm not gonna destroy the city or sacrifice anyone just to get at Osborn!" Peter yelled.
He finally got some hits in on Li as he appeared behind him! Li stumbled, rubbing his jaw, but Peter wouldn't let up on him! But then he gathered dark energy in his hand and reached out to grab the hero, who held it back!
"I will pull your mask off and expose you!"
Peter kicked him away, so he teleported to the top of city hall!
"The shadows are sworn to me, and I will give them strength."
That's when he conjured a gigantic Demon mask! Several projectiles flew out of the ground, so Peter grabbed them with his webs and threw them at the mask! The mask cracked until it fell apart!
"NOOO!" Mister Negative screamed as the illusion was broken!
Now back in the real world, Peter punched Li in the face, making him let go of his wrist! Peter fell back a bit, but his feet stayed stuck to the truck, then he fired two web-lines at a nearby building and pulled, making the truck tilt and the wheels on the left side came off the ground!
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Peter yelled out to the pedestrians, who scrambled to get out of the way of the veering truck! Unfortunately, the truck crashed into a building, and everything went black...!
Peter eventually woke up, under a pile of rubble. He got up, groaning, then checked the truck. Li and the Demons were gone, then he saw the briefcase...and the Devil's Breath was gone, too!
"Dammit!" Peter muttered. That's when he spotted Michaels nearby, lying in the rubble. He didn't seem injured, but Peter went over to check on him, anyway.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he helped him to his feet.
But Michaels was more concerned about the Devil's Breath, "Did they take it?"
"...Yes," Peter admitted, causing Michaels to groan in dismay. "How worried should I be?"
"Very," Michaels replied, and that's when a helicopter appeared overhead: no doubt belonging to Sable. A couple agents, and Silver herself lowered to the ground on ropes, and the woman's face, like always, had an unpleasant expression.
"Where is the serum?" she demanded as Peter blocked her path to Dr. Michaels.
The man shook his head, "Gone."
"Didiskoya," Silver growled, then glared at Peter. "So-called "superhero"; you think you save people but you just make it worse." Then she shoved him! "This is your fault!"
Peter scoffed, "My fault? Who was hired to protect him? Who's men did the Demons take out like they were nothing? And who tried to stop them by blowing up the truck, running the risk of releasing a bioweapon? YOU!"
In response, Silver pointed her pistols at him!
"Can't take the truth?" Peter grabbed her pistols with his webs, but she performed a spin-kick, which he blocked and pushed her back!
"Stop!" Dr. Michaels got between. "We need to brief Mr. Osborn! Now!"
Silver sneered at Peter, who only glared back at her, before she nodded her head.
"I'll go with them," said Michaels as the agents began to bring him in. "I'll remember this."
As for Silver, she glared at Peter, who only crossed his arms.
"One of these days, your little 'vigilante' act is going to destroy this whole city, and when that happens, I'll be there to say I told you so."
As the chopper flew away, Peter flipped her off. Then, he called Yuri.
"Please tell me you have a location on Martin Li!"
"We have footage from a guy at a coffee shop," Yuri responded. "Looks like he hopped into a black sedan after the crash."
"Okay; black sedan."
"Let me finish. We have a partial plate, and one of my patrol guys just found a matching plate. Black sedan, in a parking lot near Canal and Hudson."
Peter sighed in relief, "Thanks Yuri. I'm on my way."
MJ called him next, "Peter? I saw that big chase on the news! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, MJ," Peter replied. "Shook up, but fine...but now we have a problem."
"How worried should I be?" she asked, sounding apprehensive.
"Very... Li got away with the Devil's Breath."
"What?!" MJ questioned. "How in the hell did that happen?!"
"Ugh, things got complicated... But, good news; I know where Li is and I'm heading there, now."
"Thank god."
"...Hey, MJ?" Peter asked. "You...you don't think I'm a failure, right?"
"Is this about what happened?" MJ asked. "Peter, I know it's hard, but I keep telling you this; you can't let this stuff keep getting to you!"
"I know, but sometimes it gets to me..."
"I know. Just remember our pep talks, okay loser?"
"Hehe...yeah, I know," Peter replied. "Thanks, MJ. Look after Anya, okay?"
"You even have to ask?"
With that, she hung up.
Then, he got ANOTHER call,
"Spider-Man? Hello? Is this working?"
"Dr. Michaels?" Peter questioned, surprised. "How are you calling?"
"Borrowed one of Sable's radios," Dr. Michaels said. "Listen: transit hubs are the most likely release points for Devil's Breath. Airports, bus terminals, train stations. It'll spread like wildfire from there."
"Yeah, I figured that," Peter replied. "I'm a science guy. But, I gotta ask; why the hell is Oscorp developing a bioweapon in the city? Shouldn't this be in an artic bunker?"
"Devil's Breath is personal for Norman," Dr. Michaels answered. "It's been his obsession for decades. The project breaks every state and federal regulation on the books, but he doesn't care."
"If word of this gets out, he can kiss re-election goodbye," Peter commented.
"Forget re-election," Dr. Michaels retorted. "He'd be tried in the Hague for war crimes."
"Wait, why are you telling me all this? Aren't you just as culpable as Norman?"
Dr. Michaels sighed, "Yes, completely. But Li's actions have been a wake-up call. We've ignored the projects risks for too long. I trust you, Spider-Man. You're the only one trying to do the right thing. Please, protect the city from our mistakes."
He hung up, then Peter arrived at the parking lot and saw the black sedan. All the doors were open and all the windows were busted, but no sign of anything.
"Dammit, it's gone...!"
Now what?
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