Part 7: New faces, new questions
Somewhere in New York:
It's been a couple hours since the fight on the condo, where the 'visitors' went to do their own thing, since May's unfortunate death...
I'm current on a rooftop where a billboard stays, showing J. Jonah's report on the scene that's now being broadcasted across New York, another play in his mission against Spider-Man. "Tragedy. What else can I call it? What more need be said? The damage... The destruction... You saw it with your own eyes. When will people wake up, and realize that everywhere Spider-Man goes... chaos and calamity ensue. Everything Spider-Man touches comes to ruin. And we, the innocents, are left to pick up the pieces." Heh..... That's one way of putting it, but I think a better explanation is what the Goblin's word on it.
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"No good deed goes unpunished."
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"J. Jonah Jameson, reporting. Good night. And God help us all." He finishes as the billboard now turns to a add about some Mysterio merch, guess every 'hero' has to have one. I look around the night sky of New York, realizing the Goblin was right. I know deep down, part of May's death was on me, but if I helped Peter instead, I would've been named 'Spider-Man's heroic friend' then everybody would consider me his accomplice, then they'd hate me the same way, and once again, no one would respect me. That's the biggest con of becoming a hero, despite everything you've done for them, in the end, they will hate you, so why should I bother?
Anyway, back to the current task at hand, I decided to take Goblin's instructions and head to the meeting point which should be nearby now. I stand up, looking towards the big view I got, double checking to make sure I know where I'm going before heading down the side-steps back to the sidewalk.
It's that moment, when three cars speed towards and surround me, this is basically what they call, 'bad'. I take the moment to observe as three men step out of each car, they wear masks that resemble a dragon, and their color scheme is black and white, there's no doubt, this is the Inner Demons.
"Hello, Y/N." One of them drop my name in an intimidating manner. I feel my eyes widen at the fact they somehow know who I am, I've changed incredibly, and I shouldn't be identifiable by looks.
"How...?" I question. The gangster who spoke earlier, shows off his fluent English as he sympathetically shakes his head.
"If you mean how we found you, you're new features made you pretty easy to follow." He starts with. " If it's about how we know you're alive...." He then chuckles. "Your 'friend' Mark owed us *four times* the amount you did, he offered that canister to us in exchange to be debt free, he never intended to sell it, nor split it, you were sold out."
I feel my lava rise as this reveal is told to me, part of me wants to deny it, but I remember I never really knew Mark's money situation, I shouldn't be surprised he would go that far. Heh, look at me, already doubting the good in an old 'buddy' of mine.
"After that.... it was just a means of putting two and two together. Man goes in, another goes out with different features..." The gangster finishes. I look around, and notice the way the men are positioned, it doesn't look like they're not giving second chances. Four of them form in a square around me, while the other four cock their guns, while the one who speaks English leans against the car, waiting for something.
He says something in Chinese, and the gunmen open fire, which obviously does nothing. I throw a few fire balls towards them, and they take cover in an alleyway, or a car.
Right after the last fireball lands, a whip catches me by the hip, then another by the arm, then the other two by another arm and the stomach. I realize the men that surround me had whips, and then the ones with guns immediately unequips them and pull out some kind of electrified sword, the guns were a ruse, smart gangsters.
The leader pulls an electrified martial arts weapon of his own, they march towards me as the I struggle against the whips holding me in place. Come on, I'm not going down like this!
"Hold him still." The leader, orders the rest. I try to raise my heat up, he stares me up and down, before striking me in the neck with his nun-chucks, the energy is enough to hurt me inside, it's lethal against me. I growl in pain as I keep battling the whips grip. The gangsters don't seem to like this, another one hits me with his sword.
I hear my rage screaming to be let go, I angrily roar, and I feel my lungs threaten to give out as I feel my voice echos around. Suddenly something rises up in my throat, thinking that anything will help, I point myself towards the leader and let myself throw up, and molten lava comes out! Well, dang, that shows part of my insides.
The leader screams in agony as the lava slowly melts him, the gangsters are shocked, not knowing that could happen. So am I, but I know I need to act fast, with the whips grip slightly reduced I force my hand to take hold and before the man can react, I grip and swing the whip and him towards me, the man's flying body bumps into a sword-man and that's one hand free.
As the men with swords try to put me down, I use my free hand to sling a fireball to another towards a few, but although grazed, they get back up, nothing burning on them, looks like they've brought protection.
I decide to punch one instead, the mask takes most of the hit, but the gangster still loses his guard, I take that moment to grab his head and force him against one of his partners, his sword accidently stuns him.
I then battle the whips forcing me still, trying to use my hand to reach and grab a second whip. snatch and pull on it, but the gangster's grip is tough, and with the punishment I'm getting, I feel my energy draining. No.... I can't... not like...
As I feel my knees give out and touch the road, a gangster steps towards my front. With one look, he brings his sword up for a finishing slice....
-Until a hand stops it. "Hell, yeah..." I turn to the hungry sounding voice, It's Max! No doubt drawn to the energy of the weapons. He does something that drains the sword, and the gangster can do nothing now but stare at his null weapon. Max then takes that energy and blasts the gangster down an alleyway, electrocuting him.
I feel flames erupt as the men stop to see the sudden newcomer who interrupted the fight. I stand up and aggressively shake around, trying to loosen the whip's grip. I see a gangster trying to strike so I will stop, but I'm tired of it! Listening to my instinct, I throw a punch to the guy's chest and it immediately stops him, but after taking a moment, I see that it went through his heart!
The gangster drops dead, Max fights with another sword-man. With a slight amount of my energy back, I once again take hold, and pull on the whip holding my hip. The tug-of-war seems even, but with my adrenaline pumping, I'm able to win and pull the whip strong enough, it sends him also flying, and goes head-first into a car, leaving a big dent.
Realizing the fight is over, the last gangster retreats, by I shoot a fireball than hits him and knocks him down. I see him getting up, but as soon as he stands, a glider comes out of nowhere and stabs him against a building's wall, causing him to eventually bleed out.
I turn to Max who's done with other last guy (Yes, there's two last guys, shut up.) He faces me with a cocky grin. "You couldn't last against a few gangsters?" He questions.
"They came out of nowhere with a plan, okay?" I try to defend myself. "Besides, I was fighting back!"
"Yeah, yeah, right..." He says, distracted by the energized weapons on the floor. I sigh, this guy gets a boner for every energy source he sees.
I hear a slow clap, Max and I turn to the source, the Goblin himself. He gestures to both of us, seemingly glad we're here. "Hello gentlemen and gentle-sinisters~." I stare confused before glancing at Max, he was invited too?
"Hi, can you tell me what you brought me..." I glance at Max again, "-Maybe us, here?"
"Yeah, what? you're trying to get the team back together?" Max questions the Goblin. "Cuz, I don't need nobody's help no more."
"Need, or not, we all want something similar." The Goblin begins, and we both listen. "This New York, free for the taking, ready for us to conquer, its future can be what we want!" He gestures to the entire city. "But there's one thing that objects, it threatens to stand in our way..."
"The box." I concluded, understanding where he's going. "The wizard's spell that can bring you back, MJ and Ned have it, and they can activate it any moment."
"Bingo." Goblin shoots a finger gun at me. "We three agree that we will not go back." He correctly states. Flint and Curt would just activate the spell the second they take it, and Doc Ock is probably helping Peter as we speak.
"And how you presume Y/N here cares. He was born here after all." He probes. "Better yet, why do you think he's actually gonna 'kill' us?"
"Peter's Aunt is dead..." I explain. Max blinks, slightly surprised. Goblin's point then becomes clear for both of us. "Peter can tell MJ to activate the box any moment, they press the button, you get sent to die. But if Peter goes 'missing' MJ lives up to her promise, she presses the button, you get sent to die." And then I'm all alone...
"Oh... I ain't down for that." Max shakes his head in denial, not noticing the lack of an answer to his first question. He then turns to the Goblin "So, you got a plan?"
Goblin looks at me before humorously making a thinking face, but I can tell he already has an idea in mind.
"Well... there's always knocking."
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Leed's Home:
3rd POV:
Ned and MJ have been in Ned's apartment, they're only knowledge of current events is the news that have been reporting on the situation as Ned's grandmother serves them dinner. "...and we can confirm at least one person has been killed." The news show Aunt May's face, deliver the two the sad news.
"Still nothing?" MJ asks Ned. They've been trying to contact Peter ever since he went dark.
"No." Ned somberly answers. It's been at least two hours, they're starting to get worried, despair threatens to take over as Peter is nowhere to be found. MJ then glances at The Machina de Kadavus.
"I'm gonna press it." MJ tells him.
"What? No!" Ned heavily objects
"He told us to wait, but I'm gonna do it." MJ forcefully states. Ned sighs, really stressed at the loss of communication with his friend.
"I just wish.... I just wish we could see him." He says, gesturing to the entire world. Suddenly, sparks erupt out of nowhere. Surprised, MJ and Ned stares at where they came from.
"Ned?" She questions, feeling a sense of luck. "Do that again."
"Yeah." Ned takes a deep breath. "I just wish we could see him." He says again, repeating his movements also. The sparks erupt again, this time a little stronger, creating a circle similar to Strange's portals. Ned and MJ stand up, as he does it again. "Okay... I just wish we could see Peter!" He name drops while making magic gestures, hoping for a stronger reaction.
He gets his wish as a portal opens up, revealing Peter with his Spider-Man suit. "Salamangkero!" Ned's grandmother says.
"Oh, you're right, I am magic!" He whispers in quiet amazement, staring at Strange's ring.
MJ taps Ned's shoulder. "Is that him?" She asks for confirmation, keeping her eyes on the Peter awkwardly waving on the other side.
Ned observes, the figure definitely has the mannerisms down. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. It has to be!"
"Peter! Peter!" They call out to him.
"Hey, Peter!
"Peter!"
The Spider-Man runs up, but as he gets closer, Ned and MJ notice this one's different. He's much taller, and his muscles are slightly bigger. And when the figure jumps through the portal, it's clear his suit is incredibly different, this isn't their Peter.
Ned's Lola screams at the stranger. "Hi, hi." 'Peter" responds. The panicked woman throws a pillow at him. "No, no, no. No, no, no. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. I'm a nice guy." He tries to peaceful assure her, but Ned's Grandmother just screams and takes cover. The stranger then takes his mask off, revealing an older man.
"Okay..." The stranger breaths out. The three of them stare each other down, some are glad, some are mad, some are thankfully not bad.
"Who the hell are you?" MJ very suspiciously interrogates the stranger.
"I'm Peter Parker..." He answers, raising his hands up in an attempt to calm everyone down.
"That's not possible..."
"I am Spider-Man." He surprisingly reveals too. "-In my world, but then yesterday.... I was just, was just here." He testifies, as he looks around the room, while Ned and MJ stay across from him, even as he walks around. 'Wow...String theory... Multidimensional reality... And matter displacement. All real?"
"Yeah..." They hesitantly answer.
"Knew it!"
Ned and MJ are still busy wonder how the heck another Peter Parker is here. "This has to be because of the spell." Ned guesses, accidently catching the stranger, Peter's attention.
"Spell?" The stranger looks at them excitedly. "Like, magic spell?"
"Uh... there's no spell." Ned quickly retracts his earlier sentence.
"No spell..." MJ agreeingly denies.
"No, no spell."
"Magic's here real too?" The unknown Peter asks, their strange denial and tone only telling him the opposite.
"Well... I mean..." Ned begins.
"Ned, shut up."
"No, it's not *real*..." Ned tries again, but still hints toward Strange.
"Shut up."
"I mean, there's magicians and stuff, but there's no like-"
"Ned, stop, stop talking!" She hisses, orders him. Ned nervously stops, looking away. MJ looks back at the stranger. "Prove it."
"Prove what?"
"That you're Peter Parker."
The Peter doppelganger amusingly looks at her. "I... don't carry an I.D with me, you know. Kinda defeats the whole super-hero thing-" He mentions, before being attacked by a bread roll, curtesy of MJ.
Peter awkwardly shrugs. "Why'd you do that?" He questions, staring at the girl who's now doing a ninja pose.
"Trying to see if you have the tingle thing." She cautiously answers, still weary of the Non-Peter Parker.
"I have the tingle thing, just not for bread." He notes. MJ only responds by grabbing another role. "Can- Can you not, throw the bread again?" He tries pacifying the.... vigilante, teenager. "You're a deeply mistrusting person, I can respect that." He compliments before jumping up and sticking to the ceiling with his fingers, showing he has the sticky stuff.
MJ makes a 'so what?' gesture, still challenging the man's legitness for whatever reason, she then points around the ceiling. "Crawl around."
" 'Crawl around'? " He repeats, the teenager's suspicion is on a hole-other-level.
"Yes." MJ nods, waving the bread roll around to let Peter know she's not afraid to use it.
"No."
"Yes. Crawl around."
"Why do I need to crawl around?"
"Cuz this is not enough."
"This is plenty."
"Not it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it's not."
"How do I stick to the ceiling-" The Spider-Man is then 'hit' by another bread roll. MJ grabs another one, she has plenty of ammunition.
"Do it." She persistently commands.
"Ned?" The boy's grandmother calls him, asking something in Tagalog. Ned turns back to the different Peter.
"Lola is asking if you can just get the cobwebs there." He translates the request, pointing at a decent-sized web on the corner opposite of Peter, who sighs. "Since you're like, up there?"
"Yeah." Peter politely obliges, he puts his mask in his mouth, so he can use both hands to crawl around the ceiling and remove the spider's web with his hands.
"Thank you." Ned' Grandma then says.
With that done, the Peter-guy then loosens his grip, dropping to the floor before dusting himself off. "Are we-" He then takes the mask off. "Are we good, now?"
"For now." MJ and Ned hurl together, leaving Peter to do nothing but look around.
"So, I opened the portal to the wrong Peter Parker..." Ned guesses, as the portal finally closes.
"Yeah, I guess you just keep doing it until you find the real one." MJ suggests, that being the only plan they have.
"Ouch." The other Peter chimes in.
"No offense." The two look back at each other, before nodding in agreement. "You got this."
"Okay..." Ned prepares himself, rehearsing the same way he opened the portal earlier. "Find Peter Parker..."
"What's the thing on his hand?" The Peter-stranger queries.
"Shush."
"Find Peter Parker, find Peter Parker!" He chants. Eventually, another portal opens, although it notably opened behind where Ned was pointing.
The figure steps out, showing a Peter Parker who's not in his Spider-Man suit, coming from some kind of rooftop, acording to the bright building standing out in the background. "Great, it's just some random guy." Ned grumbles, disappointed.
"Hello..." The Peter Parker greets in a polite tone.
"I hope it's okay, I just came through this..." He looks back, but the portal immediately disappears, compared to its predecessor. "Oh, it just closed." He points out like a newborn who was just given birth.
"You're Peter?" MJ interrogates again.
"Yeah." The man responds. "Peter... Parker. I-I've seen you two..." He mentions. He and Lola catch eyes for a second, and the older Peter can't help but notice how he reminds him of her Aunt May. Ned's grandma smiles greetingly, this time not scared by the Peter's slow and polite entrance. "Hi." The second Peter slightly waves at her.
Meanwhile, the first stranger-Peter looks slightly weary of the newcomer, who returns the favor. "Wait, he's not your friend..." He identifies before the two stare each other down, causing Ned and MJ to grow nervous.
Suddenly, the two sling a web at one-another, but they both block eachother. They then do the same evasive jump as the older Peter webs the other's wrist, stunning his web shooter. The two then stare at each other in respect. "What's your superhero name?" The Older Peter queries after a moments reflection.
"Spider-Man, you?"
"Spider-Man also." The older Peter sighs a breath of relief. "I'm sorry, I thought you were that clone-villain I fought once."
"What was his name?" The other Peter curiously asks.
"Web-Spider." The older Peter answers. "He had the same powers, and suit as mine, but the suit's colors were swapped.
"Wait, so you're Spider-Man too, why didn't you just say that?" Ned then questions him, who amusedly chuckles.
"I... genuinely don't go around advertising it, kinda defeats the whole Anonymous Super-Hero thing." He explains.
"I just said that.."
"That's what he just said..." MJ mentions.
Ned's grandpa then starts scolding and complains about something in Tagalog. "My Lola is asking if you guys can clean the cobwebs you just shot?" He translates, asking the two.
"Oh, sorry Lola..." The Peter in his suit apologizes.
"Of course." The Older one assures.
Satisfied, Ned's Grandma makes her leave. "I'm going to bed." She tells them.
"Night, Lola."
"Good night, Ned's Lola."
The Younger Peter gets straight cleaning as the older Peter addresses Ned and MJ. "So, this might seem kind of weird...but... I've been looking for your two friends ever since I've got here." He tells them. "I just have this sense that.... they might need my help."
"Our help." The other Peter chimes in. The older Peter nods.
"He does." MJ nods. " But...we don't know where he is. And, um... Honestly, right now, we're all he really has left." MJ then remembers their other friend. "Well... besides Y/N..."
"Y/N?" The older Peter repeats, getting a nervous feeling when that name's mentioned.
"Yeah, he's also a friend of Peter's" Ned answers. "Right now, he's.... pretty much a guy made out of charcoal and lava. Like a... molten man." He describes him. The older Peter nods.
"Well, is there a place your Peter would.... Mean something to him?" He asks MJ and Ned. "Like a... a place he would just....."
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
This sudden knock on the door turns the Spider-Men into defensive mode. "Hello? Uh.... Pizza delivery?" A uncertain voice rings out from the other side.
"Did you order pizza?" A confused MJ asks Ned. Who nervously shakes his head.
"No." Ned answers. The Spider-Men cautiously look around for any other bad signs, but so far, their special sense hasn't triggered yet. "S-Should we open it?"
"Umm.... Okay, I'm not actually a Pizza guy. I'm...I'm looking for a Peter Parker?" The voice mentions, catching Ned and MJ's attention, is this another visitor?
"Okay... tiny note, I have a really bad feeling about what's on the other side." The Peter with the suit comments, hinting that the door should probably be left alone.
MJ glances at him before eyeing the door again. "Yeah, yeah. You're probably right."
"But maybe...." Ned drawls out, his instinct is giving him a good feeling, but the Spider-Men have to be nervous for a reason, right?
Ned hesitantly walks up and turn the door's knob, causing the older Peter to grow nervous. "Wait, don't-!"
However, Ned eventually opens up and the man looks at them in a freindly manner. What they see outside catches them all by complete surprise, the older Peter looks like he's seen a ghost "Oh my gosh...."
"Hey guys."
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