"San Fransokyo. Greatest city in the world. Once threatened by nefarious forces, now a beacon of peace, thanks to the fearless fortitude of Big Hero 9!" Fred cheered, showing off the drawing he sketched of the nine of them.
Baymax looked and saw Fred was standing on a chair. "You are unstable."
"What?" Fred asks.
"Falling from a chair is a major cause of injuries," Baymax explained, showing it on his monitor. "Would you like a step-ladder?"
"Oh, no," Fred said as he dropped down. "I'm good. I guess I just got carried away with my excitement about today."
"Wednesday?" Baymax asks.
"No, although, Wednesdays are pretty underrated," Fred stated. "I mean, today is the start of Phase Two!"
"Uh Phase Two?" Hiro asks, focusing on his work.
"Ah, Hiro." Fred chuckled. "Sometimes I forget how young you are." He then showed a sketch of Obake he crossed off. "Defeating Obake was the epic conclusion to Phase One."
"Phase One...?"
"Of the Big Heroverse!" Fred stated. "And now, it's time for all new adventures. Thus, Phase Two."
"Is it still Phase Two if nothing happens?" Hiro asks.
"So young, so innocent." Fred chuckled. "Something always happens, Hiro. Only in Phase 2, it's way bigger. Who knows what darkness lurks out there in the vast unknown?"
That was when they got an alert from their phones and looked to see it came from Peter. "Guys, we've got another fire downtown!"
"Another one?" Hiro asks. "Where is it this time?"
"Roxxon," Peter answered.
Peter burst onto the scene with an agile swing, his vivid costume a blur against the chaos. Simultaneously, Teresa soared down from the ceiling, her nimble legs propelling a small fragment of the roof away as she aimed to extinguish the encroaching flames below. GoGo zipped through the entrance, her lightning speed allowing her to evade the licking tongues of fire, as she focused on rescuing those in danger.
With determination etched on his face, Wasabi swung a sturdy arm, wielding his blades to slice through the wall, creating a sizable breach that offered a lifeline to those trapped inside. Just then, Peter sprang from the building's edge, two frightened individuals clutched safely in his arms as they narrowly escaped the inferno roaring behind them. Meanwhile, Peni ascended the exterior of the building, her SP/DR suit granting her the strength to punch through the surface, and she swiftly deployed her webbing to form a net, ready to catch anyone who fell.
"Red Hawk, douse the flames," Teresa said, her pack activating and revealing that she had enhanced it with her drone from the Open House.
The small drone flew around, releasing a foam that began to douse the flames. Teresa quickly flew down the halls, trying to figure out why these keep happening. She swapped her lenses to search for specific chemicals that could cause an explosion, but there was nothing that could explain why the explosion occurred. There were no gas leaks, no combustible chemicals, its like the labs just caught fire. That was until she came across one lab.
Approaching the lab that seemed to have started the entire fire, she looked around and noticed that the flames started from the center of the room, and there was a gaping hole from the explosion. Exactly like the last one. She looked up and noticed a gaping hole in the ceiling. And she looked over towards the corner where she noticed there was a scorch mark, but it was surrounding an empty area.
"Guys, it is just like we thought. The exact same as it was at Alchemax," Teresa reported as her drone returned. "We're heading out."
"Three tech companies with fires, and I have to guess they'll find some missing equipment that they will guess was burned in the fire," Peter commented as he sketched out the names of the tech companies.
"But Roxxon is energy-based, and Alchemax provides chemical, plastic, and agricultural products," Peni commented.
"But they had state-of-the-art tech," Honey Lemon reminded them.
"This could be a competitor wanting to knock down their competition," Teresa offered. "Who is left?"
"Sycorax, KreiTech, and Stark Industries." GoGo stated, looking over the list.
"And I doubt Tony Stark is sending fires to his competition," Wasabi commented.
"And also Stark shut down his facilities in the city after the whole incident with Noodle Burger," Teresa added.
"But if he did, that would be an amazing Phase 2," Fred stated. "Needing to fight an old friend turned enemy? That would be awesome!"
"Phase 2?" Peni asks Hiro.
"Don't ask," Hiro tells her.
Professor Granville then entered their labs, causing a few of them to jump before calming down. It was weird to see that the principal knew of their activities and decided not to speak of it to anyone.
"Students, I have a invitation," Granville tells them. "I have been requested to bring you with me to Sycorax."
"Sycorax?" Peter asked, looking back at the list and back to Granville. "Wait, you don't have cameras in here, watching us all the time, right?"
"No," Granville said as if it were obvious. "Liv Amara has asked me to bring you along for a tour and Karmi's internship begins there."
"Tour?" Teresa asked as she looked at Peter. "Sounds like a good chance to check it out for any criminal activity."
"What makes you think it's Sycorax?" GoGo asks.
"I've had a bad feeling about that place ever since the whole monster incident." Peter shrugged. "Yet again, that could have been the Symbiote."
"Actually, Mr. Parker, I have another task to offer you," Granville commented as she approached. "There is a new student coming, I want you to give him a tour of the facilities."
"Me?" Peter asks.
"Yes, I believe you are the most qualified," Granville said.
"Well, alright, you guys go to Cycorax and see what you can find, I will hang back," Peter shrugged.
Teresa nodded and everyone began to leave. "See you later, bro."
"Yeah..." Peter sighed as he looked around the empty labs. "Wait, did I ask when he was coming by?"
"Wow, Sycorax is even more amazing than I imagined." Honey Lemon said as she looked around the clean and pristine lobby of the building.
Wasabi was focusing on the floor. "And even cleaner than I imagined." He stated, seeing how crystal clean the floor was. "And I imagined immaculate."
"It's fine," GoGo stated.
"Liv Amara pledged a fortune to the school," Granville tells them. "I expect best behavior."
Hiro was already being dropped off by a security guard as he walked away. "Ah I know it said "no photos" but I didn't know it meant "no photos"," Hiro said.
"Mmm, I trust you will all be supportive of Karmi and her new internship," Granville tells them.
"It's an internship, it's-it's not a big deal." Hiro shrugged.
"You're right." Teresa replied. "It's a huge deal."
"Hiro, are you feeling competitive with Karmi again?" Honey wonders.
"What?!" Hiro asked. "No, I-"
"Grace! Sorry to keep you waiting." Liv said as she approached the group. "I was stuck in a holo-conference. You know how tedious those are. Let's get this tour started!" Then a man approached the group. "This is my assistant, Chris."
Chris is a tan-skinned young man of tall and slim stature, with dark blonde hair and sage-green eyes. He is usually dressed in a mint-green polo shirt with the Sycorax logo, a watch strapped around his left wrist, navy blue pants held by a dark brown belt with a bronze buckle, and brown shoes.
"Oh! Do the joke, do the joke with my name." Chris said, almost sounding like a puppy wanting his owner's attention.
"My Chris-sistant," Liv said, getting Chris laughing.
"She makes me laugh anywho." Chris then started to hand out ID tags to everyone. "Your name tags have been individually programmed to display your age, height, and interests."
"And names?" Wasabi asks.
"Of course Wasabi," Chris said as he handed his tag.
Teresa looked confused as she looked down at her nametag. "Uh, that's-"
"He knows my name!" Wasabi sounded too pleased.
"That's... okay," Teresa decided to drop it.
Back with Peter, he made his way to the quad where he found who he was supposed to meet. Harry Osborn. He walked over and approached Harry, not entirely sure how to do this. He was with the group showing Hiro around, but that wasn't exactly the same circumstances.
"Hey, are you Harry Osborn?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, you must be Peter Parker," Harry said, shaking Peter's hand. "I was told to expect you."
"Well, let's show you around," Peter said as he gestured to the buildings. "So, what do you major in?"
"I'm hoping biochemistry," Harry answered as Peter brought him into the labs.
"Oh, you might just be in luck then," Peter said as he started to show him around. "I have a friend who's into chemistry, could introduce you two if you would like."
"That would be nice," Harry said, looking around.
"So, where are you from?" Peter wonders.
"Oh, New York. My dad moved us out here so he could stay close to me, and for his new branch of his company," Harry said.
Peter froze when he heard that: New company? There's a new company? "And what kind of company is that?"
"Oh, tech, military-grade weaponry, stuff like that," Harry answered, looking over the tech and over the chemicals in Honey Lemon's lab. "Wow. A lot of chemicals."
"Yeah, Honey Lemon does a lot of experimenting," Peter said, focusing more on what he just said.
"Honey Lemon?" Harry asks.
"Oh, it's a nickname we give her," Peter explains.
Could Norman Osborn be behind all of this?
Liv began to give everyone the tour as they walked around an indoor garden surrounded by drones that looked like Krei's Buddy Guards. "I don't see Sycorax as just another biotech company. Mother Nature is an artist, and I see myself as her protege. Studying and even improving on her work."
"Inspiring," Granville said nobody was sure if that was sincere or
"I favor a holistic approach to the work-life balance," Liv said. "In fact, right now, you're walking on bio-metric scanners, which are linked to your name tags." They looked down and saw circles surrounding them. "Watch..."
"Liv Amara. Your readings are normal and healthy. Have a great day."
"You'll also notice these little guys flying by," Liv said, seeing the drones coming by and activating in front of Chris. "Employee lunches are made fresh, and delivered right to their desks."
"I sourced the ingredients myself," Chris said, taking a bite.
"Of course, we're proudest of our state-of-the-art gen-tech lab," Liv said, approaching some high-tech doors.
The mention of high tech got their attention as this might be another location that could be under assault from whoever is attacking research facilities. Opening the doors, they walked inside and were amazed with the equipment and saw two people inside.
"This must belong to someone doing really important work," Hiro commented.
That was when one of the people inside was revealed to be Karmi. "It does."
Hiro didn't seem all impressed anymore. "Maybe not that important."
"Karmi, this is your lab?!" Granville was surprised.
"Oh, just temporarily." Karmi shrugged. "My real lab is being modified to my specs. But in the meantime, I get to work with Dr. Michael Morbius!"
The second scientist approached them with a cane in hand as he removed the goggles. "Hello, SFIT."
"Dr. Michael Morbius?" Teresa was shocked to see him. "As in THE Michael Morbius? The God of biochemistry?"
"You a fan?" Michael asks.
"Well, I wouldn't say I am not a fan, I found your paper on vampire bats and electroshock therapy to cure blood disease fascinating," Teresa admitted.
Michael chuckled as he walked over to a container where he turned on the lights, revealing that it was full of Vampire bats. "Yes, and thanks to Ms. Amara over here, I am now able to test my theories. Improve the lives of hundreds of people. Save countless lives..."
"That... is a lot of bats," Peni said, her fear of bats well known.
"We treat our interns well." Liv said as she approached Karmi. "Now, let's keep this tour moving."
Karmi gave off a grin and Hiro only groaned and went to walk away. But when he did, they heard what sounded like clanging metal. Peni then felt her senses alert her of danger, and everyone was caught in a massive explosion.
Across the city, Noodle Burger Boy had managed to escape police custody due to him cutting the power, allowing him just enough time to escape. His circuits were still glitching after the dozens of shots that were laid down on him when Teresa had the shot, electrifying his systems. He opened up a case from the ocean, revealing the broken fragments of Trina, who still had her head removed from not being fixed.
"Howdy and hello, Trina!" Noodle Burger Boy greeted her.
"Hey, Noodle," Trina said with a sigh. "Come on, help me put myself back together."
Liv however was watching from the side as police and fire department swarmed her building. She walked off and approached the firetruck to make a call. She waited a moment and heard the phone ringing.
"I have another job for you," Liv reported to the person on the other side. "Someone stole some... equipment of mine. I want you to hunt it down."
"Hunting people costs extra, you know this," Prowler reported from the other side of the phone. "Plus my usual fee."
"Fine," Liv promises.
"I'll get right on it," Prowler said.
Karmi was outside of an ambulance, it seems she wasn't fatally injured and was just shoved by the shockwave of the explosion. As she sat there, she saw her uncle Rick Lawson approaching.
"Karmi, hey," Rick said as he walked over and kneeled at her. "Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine, Uncle Rick," Karmi promises. "I just got pushed around."
"Well, come on, kiddo, I got someone covering for me today," Rick said as he stood up, gesturing for Karmi to follow. "I'll stay home with you to make sure you are okay."
"Thanks, Uncle Rick," Karmi said as she followed.
But what they all missed, was the chaos of the building shook the entire foundation, leaving fragments that allowed a certain radioactive spider to escape. The spider crawled out from the lower levels where it was created and began to make its way around, looking for somewhere that wasn't full of rubble and destruction to call its new home. That was where it came across a facility that was still in development... Karmi's labs.
Hiro let out a low groan as he pushed himself back to his feet, surveying the devastation around him. A gaping hole marred the side of Cycorax, the once pristine structure now a shattered shell. The air was thick with acrid smoke as he spotted frantic movement nearby; everyone was working tirelessly to assist the scientists in their evacuation. Teresa rushed over, her face set with determination, as she helped Morbius to his feet. His cane lay abandoned in the chaos, but GoGo quickly ran to support him, their shared urgency palpable.
Hiro turned his attention to the chaos that had unfolded. The explosion had violently thrown him from the sterile confines of the high-tech labs, leaving them engulfed in swirling smoke and leaping flames, a terrifying reminder of the calamity that had struck. This upheaval ignited a spark of determination within him; now was the moment to uncover the identity of those responsible for this disaster.
With his heart pounding, Hiro dashed back into the lab, instinctively covering his mouth with his sleeve to shield himself from the acrid fumes. His eyes darted around the room, taking in the wreckage when something caught his attention—a large glass containment unit that had been shattered, its contents nowhere to be seen. Panic surged through him as he realized that the glass housing the vampire bats had been breached, and the creatures were now in a frenzied panic, flapping wildly around the room.
As he continued to scan his surroundings, Hiro's eyes widened in horror as he noticed a monstrous shadow looming over a secondary opening in the lab. The vampire bats swarmed towards it, a dark whirlwind against the chaos, and he felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed something dangerous was lurking beyond that gaping threshold. The shadow then vanished and left within the swarm of vampire bats...
Baymax and Fred were in the labs after Peter and Harry finished their tour. He was playing ping pong against Baymax when the doors opened and they turned to see the others returning with debris covering their clothes. Peter returned and was shocked at what he saw.
"Whoa, what happened at Sycorax?" Fred asks.
"You guys okay?" Peter asks.
"The same thing that happened to all of the other tech companies," GoGo groaned, pushing Fred's chair, which ended up spinning him around. "They were robbed."
"Hiro said he got a look at who is behind this," Honey Lemon said.
"Not a good look, mostly the shadow," Hiro said. "And I am not entirely sure what I saw. His shadow looked bigger than any normal person. Yet again, it was likely just the light. But he was definitely on a flying board. It was like some new tech."
"New tech?" Peter asks. "I might have something on that." He then walked over and scratched off Stark Industries and wrote OsCorp. "The only place to yet be hit..."
"What's OsCorp?" Wasabi asks.
"I've never heard of it," GoGo added.
"Because it doesn't exist yet," Peter stated. "But this afternoon, it will..."
"What?" Fred asks.
Peter groaned. "I think I might know who is behind this..."
Norman Osborn approached his balcony, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as the weight of the impending press conference pressed down on him. The warm evening breeze tousled his hair, carrying with it the distant sounds of the city below. He poured himself a drink, the cool glass cool against his palm, then walked with purpose to the edge of the balcony. Leaning over the ornate railing, he gazed out at the bustling streets, the vibrant lights flickering like stars in the twilight, reminding him that he was on the cusp of a moment that would define him.
"Today is the day..." Norman whispered.
That was when he heard a thunk and turned to see Spider-Man standing over the ledge. "I guess it is."
"Spider-Man?" Norman seemed shocked to see him there. "What are you doing here?"
Spider-Man then leaped down and landed beside him. "Getting a look at you."
"Me?" Norman asks.
"The only tech organization in the city to not get attacked," Peter said as he stepped forward. "Military grade weaponry. Explosives that leave no trace. I think I know who you are."
"And who do you think I am?" Norman wonders.
"The guy who shows up in my city, and a few weeks later, chaos spreads the streets with a monster of some sort terrorizing people on a glider," Peter stated as he stepped closer. "What do you want with this tech?"
"Terrorizing?" Norman asked in shock. "Wait, hold on, I am here for my son. That is the only reason I came to this city, you think I came here for some sort of crime spree of tech?"
"Like I said, you are the only-" Peter then felt something that caused his senses to alert him.
The two of them then looked over when they heard something clanging from above. The office had a small sphere that rolled down from the building and bounced closer toward the two of them. Norman seemed just as confused at what was happening as he looked down at the sphere.
"What is-" Norman was asking when Peter then tackled him to the ground.
That small orb caused a massive explosion that caused the ground to crumble beneath them. Peter clung to Norman as the explosion took them downward into the chaos.
. In the midst of smoke and disarray, Peter was gripped by panic. A fire had erupted, and as he reached for his mask, he realized his mask socket was shattered from the explosion. Struggling to his feet, he scanned the area, attempting to grasp the situation. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to a small sphere tumbling from an opening in the ceiling, rolling down the debris-strewn floor. When the sphere landed, it began to flash green, its golden casing clear and Peter panicked.
With every ounce of strength, Peter sprinted away, but a powerful explosion detonated behind him, propelling him forward and crashing him against the unforgiving wall. Disoriented but determined, he rose to his feet and squinted through the dust and debris. From the jagged opening in the wall, a peculiar silhouette emerged, gliding gracefully downward. It was a glider, sleek and ominous in shape, and atop it sat an enormous figure.
The rider loomed large, with sharply pointed ears that jutted out from a head shrouded in shadows. His skin was a mesmerizing mix of deep greens and blacks, swirling together like a stormy forest, while a tight-fitting jumpsuit in shades of black and grey clung to his form, accentuating his imposing presence. Every detail painted a vivid picture of a being both alien and formidable, as he descended with an air of unsettling confidence.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Norman then groaned as he came out of the rubble, surprising Peter. That was when the lights finally showed the true form of this monster. He was a demon-like goblin of enormous size and stature. The skin was both green and black across it, almost like an orca.
"What... the heck is that?" Norman asked Peter.
"I don't know," Peter said.
"Wait, that..." Norman recognized the technology. "That's an old prototype glider. We trashed it... it was too dangerous."
"Oh, isn't this a nice surprise?" The monster asked with a chuckle. "I came here expecting only Norman, and here I have the itsy, bitsy... spider."
Peter laughed when he heard that. "Wait, you thought... I came here alone?"
That was when a rocket fist came flying and punched the creature, but to their shock and horror, it only infuriated him. He growled and even caught the fist. He looked up and saw Hiro and Baymax flying above him, the robot's fist still stretched, waiting for his arm to return.
"Oh, no." Baymax said.
The monster then turned the rocket at full speed, sending it shooting off towards the two. Baymax was hit, sending both Hiro and Baymax flying and crashing into the ground. Peni came charging in, shooting webs to try and catch the monster, but all it did was rip through the webbing, followed by Peni going in for a direct attack, trying to punch him.
But the monster only leaped off of the glider, landing and grabbing Peni, and repeated the action with her second arm, quickly ripping the arms off of the robot. Then he used his arms to smack Peni, sending her capsule flying into the wall.
Teresa flew in as fast as she could and saw what had happened. "Hey, don't you dare hurt her!" She then flew and shot tasers at the monster, as many as she could. But all he did was wipe them off as if they were raindrops. "Oh, god..."
The monster grabbed her by the neck and threw her into the ground. Before he could strike her again, GoGo threw her disks while Honey Lemon threw chem balls to attack him. All that did was contain him for a second before he then quickly punched himself free. When GoGo sped her way over, the monster held his hand out and several more of those orange bombs. He threw them around, causing them all to jump and run from them, and more explosives surrounded the area.
Wasabi and Fred then showed up coming in from the hole. "Hey, we've..." That was when Wasabi got a look at the monster.
He did not take it well...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The monster groaned and threw a bomb towards them. Fred tackled Wasabi and avoided the bomb. Peter then shot two webs and went in to kick the monster, managing to get him to stumble back. Then Peter went in to kick and tried to strike again, but the monster grabbed his palm. Peter felt his wrist break as his hand was crushed, causing Peter to cry in pain.
"Oh, if you thought that this was going to be easy, Spider-Man, think again..." The monster then threw Peter across the room, slamming into Peni's pod, and breaking his back. He then walked over to a wall and ripped off a piece of equipment. His glider then came back down and he leaped back on top of it, spinning around and facing the heroes once again. That was where he saw Peter struggling to stand back up in his stance. "Now, I promise you, we will meet again, Spider-Man..."
The monster then tossed the bomb, causing Peter to see that it was heading towards Norman. Peter leaped over and shielded him, causing himself and the suit to take most of the explosion. The monster then flew off, a trail of smoke following as he laughed maniacally and flew off. He turned around and saw the news reporters who were eying him.
"Citizens of San Fransokyo... this is your new ruler, the Green Goblin speaking!" The monster said, pulling another bomb. "Big Hero 9's days are numbered... and so are yours."
That was when he threw several bombs and flew off, laughing maniacally as he did so.
Peter groaned as he laid back in the couch at SFIT after their beating. His arm felt literally crushed as he held it in his non-broken hand. Everyone was taking care of themselves after the beating they got from the Green Goblin.
"Ow..." Peter whinced.
"On a scale of-"
"Twenty, Baymax!" Peter cried in pain. "It feels like a twenty."
"That Goblin guy sure knew what he was doing," Wasabi said in fear. "He was so... scary."
"That thing was a monster," Honey said in fear.
"You okay, Peni?" Hiro asked, seeing Peni fixing the SP//DR.
"He wrecked my suit." Peni seemed furious.
"Classic Phase Two super-villain," Fred stated. "They are always more dangerous, always differently from the last one."
"Phase Two?" GoGo asks.
"Defeating Obake was the epic conclusion to Phase One of the Big Heroverse," Fred stated. "Obake was brainy, and now this Green Goblin seems to be both brains and brawn."
"Uh-uh, never mind." GoGo wanted him to stop talking.
"What do we do?" Teresa asks Peter.
Peter looked down at his fist and saw how the entire bone was fractured... this man was dangerous. And this was going to be a lot more encounters from the sound of it.
Just like Fred said, Phase 2 has just begun...