Back to GatefoldIssue #32 by Cory Wiegel and Adnan Khan
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"MY FRIEND OF MISERY - Part Two"
Peter watched, fascinated, as the glass shattered and fell to the ground like a rain of diamonds all around him. His mouth, underneath his Spider-Man mask, curled in a small smile as he landed, ironically, quietly in opposition to the loud crash he had created by shattering the sky light of the large mansion he had infiltrated. He looked up at the large armchair in front of him from his crouched position on the floor, and then glanced to his left as he heard the Black Cat land softly to his right. Peter’s eyes immediately shot back to the large red armchair, and then again suddenly around the room as he heard the loud clicking and loading sounds around him.
The Black Cat and he looked around at the fifteen or twenty men around him, all cocking their strangely familiar weapons at the two heroes. The oddity of this whole situation was the fact that Bach’s slow steady melodies of Missae Breves played gently in the background. Spider-Man’s mouth continued to grow into a larger grin. It had been a long time since he had seen humor in a situation, and this was anything but not funny to him. Ignoring the armed men all around him, he looked back to the cradle, and then back at the armchair, facing the fire away from him.
“Cat…” Peter began, and but stopped as he saw the shadows coming from the armchair shift and flicker in a way different from before.
“Yes?” a voice said from the armchair. A short shuffling was heard emanating from it, and finally a figure appeared, bent and crooked. The man was of average height, but age had not visited the man well, and indeed his body was bent over, all the weight shifted onto the cane he was using for support. The man had a long crooked nose, his dimples and cheeks wrinkled more like a shriveled prune, yet somehow, this man managed to convey a presence that demanded the power and strength of a youth. “What where you telling this lovely young woman beside you…Spider-Man?”
The last words of his statement dripped with sarcasm, making Peter pause. Something about the way he said his name…he shook his head slightly, and attempted a response.
The elder man waved his hand to silence Peter, which for some reason, he obeyed. Peter wanted to hear what this man had to say. “Yes, yes. Something amiss here, Spider-Man?” The man had obviously caught that he had managed to take Peter by surprise with his tone.
Peter shook himself again; to knock himself out of this strange reverie he was stuck in. “Who are you?” he asked of the man.
“Don’t recognize me? Of course you don’t. It would have been years before you had seen me. Many years, indeed.” Now the man grinned, showing of a vast array of crooked teeth. Peter could formulate one thought, The man was ugly.
“I’m asking again. Who are you? And why do you have…that baby?”
The man glanced at the crib, and his smile grew bigger. “Oh, don’t know who that baby is, do you? I figured she’d be important to you.”
Peter noticed the Cat gasp quietly. She had figured it out; it was something Peter had been suspicious of since he had first heard the man speak his name.
“Don’t worry my dear lady. You have nothing to fear. I will not harm either of you. Well not yet, at least. Look, the men already drop their weapons. Nothing to worry about, now is there?”
“Who. Are. You?” Peter ground out through his gritted teeth.
“Ah, yes, yes, I’ve heard you. If it makes you feel any better, my name is Phineas Mason, not that that would mean much to you. It’s not really important who I am. It’s what I do, that matters; rather, what I can do that matters.” Finally the Cat decided to step in, “oh, and what’s that?”
“Look at these weapons. Look at the weapons my men have. Do you not recognize them? If you don’t, my lady, then surely the gentleman does.”
Peter looked at the weapons again and then back at the man named Phineas Mason again. “I recognize them. What I don’t understand, is how you have them? And why you have that…that baby.”
“Simple. They are inter-related, in a sense. The weapons, they were developed by me and then sold to Shield. I am a rich man, my friend. A rich man with enough money to buy something I cannot develop with my genius.”
“Oh?” Peter began to get frustrated with the situation. The man was really trying his patience.
“Knowledge. I cannot develop knowledge from thin air. I must learn it. So what I build, I sell and in turn buy what I cannot build. And not just any knowledge. A specific kind of knowledge. Like a secret identity perhaps? Or maybe who is related to whom?”
“You’re telling me you know who I am, and who my baby is, and you bought the knowledge from Shield?” Spider-Man said.
“You have no idea how rich The Tinkerer is my friend,” the man grinned, but as the realization of who the man was dawned on Peter, his Spider Sense flared up. “Enough talk! Take them out!”
Peter twirled into action as he shot two quick streams of webbing at two of the guards around him and the Black Cat and snatched them out. In a speed too quick for a normal human eye to catch, he swung them around his head like a lasso and then slammed them hard into the faces of the two weaponless guards. The guards’ bodies crumpled.
Peter then flipped up towards the skylight, and as he somersaulted back, he saw the Cat had already pounced on a guard, stripped him of his weapon, and smacked him across the face with it.
Peter focused back on the Tinkerer, and saw that he was standing next to his baby, his beautiful baby girl, and in a sense, protecting the baby from danger since none of the guards dared to fire in his general direction. He’d leave the man for now.
Upon landing on the ceiling, he coiled his legs and sprung back down towards two stationary guards, taking both men by the necks in the crook of each of his elbows. He used the pressure from landing on their necks with his arms which slowed him down momentarily to swing his lower body forward so they landed smoothly on the ground. He then flexed his quad muscled in order to swing his lower back up and fling the two men down into the ground. Peter then grabbed one of their weapons and swung it at the man closest to them.
Both men paused for a split moment, in which time Peter noticed the Cat had taken down an additional two guardsmen. The man Peter had the gun aimed at looked at Spider-Man, surprised.
“What?” The man muttered, and finally Peter decided to respond.
“Oops! For a sec’ there I thought I had to shoot you!” Peter grinned and swung the weapon and knocked it into the man’s with just enough strength to knock him out. He then immediately ducked down and swung around, using the momentum from his turn to fling the weapon into the feet of a guard who had attempted to sneak up on him while he had paused on the previous man.
The man tripped over and fell hard onto the ground, grunting in pain as his jaw connected hard with the rug on the floor. Peter immediately shot a spurt of webbing, effectively taking the guard out of the fight.
“Cat?! You got this?” Peter called over to his partner, two which Cat grunted an affirmative. “How un-lady-like!”
“Shut up!” The woman responded, smiling, knocking down another guard.
Peter shot a web line to the ceiling of the room, and swung himself over to the Tinkerer, who had already seen the fight was not going well. He shoved his hand down into his jacket, yet before he could take the weapon out, Peter had already webbed him up and swung him into the wall. He then swung himself onto the wall, and latched on right above the Tinker’s head, his face upside down to the old man’s.
“Why did you take my daughter!”
“Why do you think, Peter Parker!” The old man spat angrily at Peter.
“TELL ME WHY YOU TOOK MY DAUGHTER!” Peter yelled angrily into the old man’s face.
“Think Parker! Think! Why would an old man like me take your precious offspring?”
Peter swung his fist towards the man’s face, saw the old man flinch, and at the last moment shifted the arm’s direction and slammed it into the dry wall. “TELL ME!”
The old man grinned, but he was wary now. “A man can only produce and sell weapons for so long. There is no future lying in that. Money yes, but where is the power?”
“You took my daughter to make a name for yourself? How, what?” Peter responded, confused.
“No, fool! I thought you were supposed to be smart! I took her to drag you out! You! The bane of the criminal underworld!”
Peter had heard enough, and webbed the Tinkerer’s mouth to shut him up.
“Spider!” Peter looked up and saw the Black Cat had taken down more guards, but pointed to the door. More guards had just started pouring into the room, and a glance down the corridor showed him there was many more coming.
He swung down from the wall and landed next to the crib. He smiled at May, who was crying uncontrollably, disturbed by the sounds of the violence surrounding her. He gently scooped her up and yelled to the Cat, “Let’s get out of here!”
“Our only exit is blocked!” She pointed to the skylight, which had been blocked off by thick steel bars.
“Argh!” Peter yelled, frustrated. “Here!” He took a small leap and landed next to the Cat. Gently, he handed the baby to Cat, who looked at Peter questionably. Peter quickly webbed the door shut, and leaped over and quickly dispatched the remaining guardsmen in the room with sufficient force. He then looked at the wall furthest from them, grabbed a gun, and started shooting it, firing round after round into it. Peter then took one look at the Black Cat and his daughter, and said, “Follow me! And keep her safe!”
“You know I will!” Peter then swung his full weight and strength into the wall, shattering into pieces, opening up into a new smaller room, with a door running alongside the far wall. He looked back and saw that the door behind them was being blown through by the thugs outside the room. Peter leaped again to the other door, and kicked it forward. The door flung out, knocking two guardsmen who had been stationed outside that room. He leapt over and ran into the corridor. He glanced back and saw that the Cat was still carrying his baby, hot on his heels.
Peter turned a corner, and again quickly dispatched another two guards who had begun to stream into this hallway to cut off the two heroes. Peter noticed he was driving completely on adrenaline now, not tiring at all. The surge to save his baby was overwhelming, in fact, giving him additional strength to his super-powers.
Finally, they made it out to a large balcony, one which Peter easily leapt down from into the large entrance hall. He heard the Cat land behind him, and then finally flung himself into the large oak doors, knocking it down hard.
Spider-Man stumbled out and was instantly blinded by the bright lights shown on his face. “FREEZE!” A call came out, and after a moment, Peter’s eyes adjusted and he saw out in front of the mansion, there was a large gathering or police vans and SWAT cars, as well as several cars with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms surrounding them.
“We’ve got a warrant!” The call came again from a loudspeaker.
“Not my problem,” Peter mumbled to himself and the Cat, and immediately made a break for it. Peter and Felicia leapt from the front porch of the mansion towards the large orchards surrounding it.
“Wait! Hold your fire!” They heard a shout from behind them, but they ignored it. “Take your men and take ‘em in!”
Peter looked back and saw a small squadron of men running towards them, as well as two police cars. The two heroes were not in any mood to harm police officers, but were unsure if they could escape, as there were not tall buildings from which they could swing away.
Peter paused as he heard a large chopping sound, and then a huge gust of wind. A large helicopter flew by over their heads, and Peter managed to take note of the Shield emblems alongside the doors of the helicopter. The chopper made its way to the police that were running after the two heroes, and paused. For a moment, no one moved, and then the chopper opened fire on the police officers, raining down bullets and shattering the ground in front of them. The police backed up and they scattered in panic. The turrets then stopped unleashing their hail of bullets, and then spun around and flew back overhead the two heroes.
The two heroes used the distraction provided by Shield to escape the mansion and the police who had already begun to rush inside.
“Boys and girls, another round for all!” The boisterous crow was followed by a large cheer from the rest of the people in the bar. The man who had made the call smiled to himself as he stood up and grabbed the closest woman to him and started dancing with her.
She laughed and jokingly pushed him away. She would have liked nothing more than to dance with him, but as she was a waitress, she had to get back to work. She moved away from him and walked over to a table where two men were sitting. The man in the brown bomber jacket had called her over, wanting a drink.
“What can I do for you boys?”
“Baby, you can do anything you want for me,” he winked and patted her bottom. She frowned but ignored it and asked again.
“Surprise me babe, just surprise me,” the man grinned as he saw her smile and nod. As she moved away he turned to his companion and grinned.
“So what did you say I could do for you?”
“It is not what you can do for me, it is what I can do for you,” the man responded.
“Well, okay, what can you do for me?”
The man looked around, “it’s really not good to talk about here. It’s more of the, let’s say, less than legal business.”
“Ah I see, does your employer have a proposition for mine?”
“As I said, we really shouldn’t talk about it here.”
The first man wiped his brow, and looked around, “okay, I really want to know what you’re talking about. Let’s take a walk.”
“Lovely.”
“Hey babe! Cancel my order!” The first man called out to the waitress and moved to the door. He started walking towards the door but then paused, and turned around. His companion was right behind him, and frowned at him.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing…” he turned back and opened the door and walked out into the brisk cool night. “Kind of cool out here isn’t it?”
“I guess,” was his companion’s response.
“Okay, so what’d you want to talk about” he asked after walking for a minute or two.
“Well, my employer has a request from the Hobgoblin. A message.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
The man’s companion smiled, “well, it’s not really something that’s said. More like an action.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Be quiet,” and with that, the man slammed his fist into the man’s stomach. When he retracted, blood spilled down.
The first man looked up surprised, and then at the knife from which blood dripped. He was about to speak, but his companion quickly took his knife and slashed it across his throat.
“I said be quiet.” He took his blade and wiped it on the man’s bomber jacket. “Hammerhead sends his regards.”
Spider-Man swung his body from the helicopter with the web line he had spun onto the roof of the skyscraper, watching in his peripheral vision as the Black Cat swung after him from the SHIELD transport. He latched onto the roof with his legs, and held his daughter tightly in his arms as the transport helicopter spun around to align the passenger door which stood open alongside the two heroes.
Agent Toy and Bronson stood there, facing the two heroes as the transport hovered for a moment. It was too loud for any words, so Agent Toy merely smiled at Spider-Man, winked, and gave quick thumbs up. Bronson gave a curt nod and with that, the helicopter spun away from the two heroes.
“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” Spider-Man cursed to himself, frustrated with SHIELD and what they had done. Before he could do anything else, however, May began to cry softly and Peter immediately began to rock her gently, trying to coo her into silence.
The Black Cat nodded to their left, towards an air conditioning unit on the roof. “They left us a parting gift.”
Peter peered through the rising sun and saw the manila envelope and a small tape recorder attached to it. Both had been duck taped to the unit. “Huh? When’d they manage to put that there?” He walked over to the air conditioning unit and took a hold of the envelope and the tape. He looked first at the tape and pressed play.
“The help was much appreciated web-head!” Peter winced as he heard Agent Toy’s cocky voice start talking on the radio. “Thanks to you two taking out Phineas Mason and his crew, the NYPD and BATF were able to enter the facility safely. They found most of Mason’s crew of goons lying on the ground,” at this point, Toy laughed. “Anyways, they found Mason webbed to a wall, and we know for a fact that there’s enough evidence in the mansion, and this is excluding all the weaponry and illegal technology Mason had, to put the man away in prison for quite some time.”
Spider-Man sighed and glanced at the Black Cat, who just shrugged. They were both wondering what the point of this message was.
“You guys should be proud. You made the world a significantly safer place now that Mason’s out of the black market business. We’re still making several arrests around the world thanks to the data we’ve found. His entire operation should be out of play within the month.” Toy paused, and then continued, “SHIELD also now possesses some of the finest armament in the known world because of the confiscated weaponry. It appeared the weapons made for us were downgrades of what he could really do.”
“With this newfound safety of the world (though it may not seem much sometimes), comes happiness for all of us Spider-Man. I know it may seem like the government just uses the little guy as pawns in the battle, but we take care of our Spider-Man. So even you should be happy, my friend. Especially you.”
“Adios, compadre. Until we meet again, ta ta!” there was another pause, “Oh yeah, this tape will self destruct in five seconds.”
Spider-Man looked up at the Cat, and his spider sense flared up! He hurled the tape into the air and watched it explode into hundreds of blazing little pieces.
Peter looked at his baby girl, falling asleep in Felicia’s arm, obviously not perturbed by the small explosion in the air. Felicia smiled at May and looked up at Peter, “What did he mean happiness for even you?”
“Probably having my baby back again,” Peter shrugged, and started to open up the envelope. It was thick, and when Peter peered in, saw there were several papers in there. He took out the first paper, and saw that it was a birth certificate for May. He began to smile as he took out several more documents, and saw a social security card and number.
Finally Peter saw something that made his jaw drop. It was an acceptance letter to New York University. He saw a little post it attached to it. Peter read, “Let’s just say SHIELD appreciates what you’ve done for us, and we took the liberty to apply for you.”
“Oh my…” Peter looked at Felicia again and went to the next sheet up paper. It was a financial aid letter, stating Peter would receive a full ride to NYU, as he qualified as a single parent and a widow. He was sure SHIELD had pulled a few strings to do this for him. He saw the business card for a counselor and a financial aid advisor. He would have to go speak with them to finalize some issues before it was all final.
“What is it?” Felicia asked, approaching him from behind.
Peter tore off his mask and grinned at Felicia. He took his baby from her and kissed her gently on the forehead. Looking back at Felicia, he said, “I think it’s the silver lining…”
The sun was barely coming up as Robbie Robertson strolled into his office. He glanced back at the cubicles through his glass walls, and saw there weren’t many in yet to start work. That was fine. Robbie liked coming in before everyone else; it made him feel good to be the first. Robbie twisted his neck until it popped, and closed the door behind him.
He turned and proceeded in. After taking a step, Robbie felt a blast of wind hit him causing him to frown. “What?”
The man looked at his window and saw it was hanging open. The breeze was causing the drapes in his office to billow around, and Robbie quickly walked over the window and shut them. It was strange, Robbie never opened the windows, especially when they were this high up from the ground.
Robbie went over to coat rack, and took off his coat. He placed it on the rack and walked briskly back to his desk and turned on his computer. He leaned back in his desk for a moment, taking it all in, before he began to get started on his work.
After a moment, something caught Robbie’s eye. Glancing up, he noticed a note attached to the wall to the right of him, next to the window. Robbie stared wonderingly for a moment, before pushing his chair back from beneath the desk and standing. He slowly walked over to the note and pulled it off. He looked around the room and looked back at the note.
“Robbie,
I’ve decided I’m going to leave the Bugle. It’s time I move on with my life, and it’s time I stop living check to check, with no definite idea of how much I’ll have and after all my bills, if I’ll have enough money to buy food. I’ve decided it’s time to take control of my life, instead of the other way around.
I’m sure you understand that I really have no future at the Bugle. There’s not really much promotion available for a freelance photographer. I need some sort of steady definite base in my life, and random shots of a superhero every once in a while and getting different amounts for the same thing isn’t going to cut it for me.
I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’ve been almost like a father to me, helping me out constantly in this big, big place. I hope I see you around from time to time, and give Jonah my regards. Even if he is incredibly abrasive, everything he’s done for me is much appreciated. Tell Randy we should hang out sometime, and I’ll be sure to check out the Bugle, even if it isn’t the nice paper in the world.
See ya’ around.
Peter”
Robbie frowned, and then looked at what had been holding the note to the wall. It was a clump of webbing. Robbie frowned, and then his eyes grew big in surprise and realization. Finally, Robbie realized it all made sense, and he smiled to himself.
The Black Cat and he looked around at the fifteen or twenty men around him, all cocking their strangely familiar weapons at the two heroes. The oddity of this whole situation was the fact that Bach’s slow steady melodies of Missae Breves played gently in the background. Spider-Man’s mouth continued to grow into a larger grin. It had been a long time since he had seen humor in a situation, and this was anything but not funny to him. Ignoring the armed men all around him, he looked back to the cradle, and then back at the armchair, facing the fire away from him.
“Cat…” Peter began, and but stopped as he saw the shadows coming from the armchair shift and flicker in a way different from before.
“Yes?” a voice said from the armchair. A short shuffling was heard emanating from it, and finally a figure appeared, bent and crooked. The man was of average height, but age had not visited the man well, and indeed his body was bent over, all the weight shifted onto the cane he was using for support. The man had a long crooked nose, his dimples and cheeks wrinkled more like a shriveled prune, yet somehow, this man managed to convey a presence that demanded the power and strength of a youth. “What where you telling this lovely young woman beside you…Spider-Man?”
The last words of his statement dripped with sarcasm, making Peter pause. Something about the way he said his name…he shook his head slightly, and attempted a response.
The elder man waved his hand to silence Peter, which for some reason, he obeyed. Peter wanted to hear what this man had to say. “Yes, yes. Something amiss here, Spider-Man?” The man had obviously caught that he had managed to take Peter by surprise with his tone.
Peter shook himself again; to knock himself out of this strange reverie he was stuck in. “Who are you?” he asked of the man.
“Don’t recognize me? Of course you don’t. It would have been years before you had seen me. Many years, indeed.” Now the man grinned, showing of a vast array of crooked teeth. Peter could formulate one thought, The man was ugly.
“I’m asking again. Who are you? And why do you have…that baby?”
The man glanced at the crib, and his smile grew bigger. “Oh, don’t know who that baby is, do you? I figured she’d be important to you.”
Peter noticed the Cat gasp quietly. She had figured it out; it was something Peter had been suspicious of since he had first heard the man speak his name.
“Don’t worry my dear lady. You have nothing to fear. I will not harm either of you. Well not yet, at least. Look, the men already drop their weapons. Nothing to worry about, now is there?”
“Who. Are. You?” Peter ground out through his gritted teeth.
“Ah, yes, yes, I’ve heard you. If it makes you feel any better, my name is Phineas Mason, not that that would mean much to you. It’s not really important who I am. It’s what I do, that matters; rather, what I can do that matters.” Finally the Cat decided to step in, “oh, and what’s that?”
“Look at these weapons. Look at the weapons my men have. Do you not recognize them? If you don’t, my lady, then surely the gentleman does.”
Peter looked at the weapons again and then back at the man named Phineas Mason again. “I recognize them. What I don’t understand, is how you have them? And why you have that…that baby.”
“Simple. They are inter-related, in a sense. The weapons, they were developed by me and then sold to Shield. I am a rich man, my friend. A rich man with enough money to buy something I cannot develop with my genius.”
“Oh?” Peter began to get frustrated with the situation. The man was really trying his patience.
“Knowledge. I cannot develop knowledge from thin air. I must learn it. So what I build, I sell and in turn buy what I cannot build. And not just any knowledge. A specific kind of knowledge. Like a secret identity perhaps? Or maybe who is related to whom?”
“You’re telling me you know who I am, and who my baby is, and you bought the knowledge from Shield?” Spider-Man said.
“You have no idea how rich The Tinkerer is my friend,” the man grinned, but as the realization of who the man was dawned on Peter, his Spider Sense flared up. “Enough talk! Take them out!”
Peter twirled into action as he shot two quick streams of webbing at two of the guards around him and the Black Cat and snatched them out. In a speed too quick for a normal human eye to catch, he swung them around his head like a lasso and then slammed them hard into the faces of the two weaponless guards. The guards’ bodies crumpled.
Peter then flipped up towards the skylight, and as he somersaulted back, he saw the Cat had already pounced on a guard, stripped him of his weapon, and smacked him across the face with it.
Peter focused back on the Tinkerer, and saw that he was standing next to his baby, his beautiful baby girl, and in a sense, protecting the baby from danger since none of the guards dared to fire in his general direction. He’d leave the man for now.
Upon landing on the ceiling, he coiled his legs and sprung back down towards two stationary guards, taking both men by the necks in the crook of each of his elbows. He used the pressure from landing on their necks with his arms which slowed him down momentarily to swing his lower body forward so they landed smoothly on the ground. He then flexed his quad muscled in order to swing his lower back up and fling the two men down into the ground. Peter then grabbed one of their weapons and swung it at the man closest to them.
Both men paused for a split moment, in which time Peter noticed the Cat had taken down an additional two guardsmen. The man Peter had the gun aimed at looked at Spider-Man, surprised.
“What?” The man muttered, and finally Peter decided to respond.
“Oops! For a sec’ there I thought I had to shoot you!” Peter grinned and swung the weapon and knocked it into the man’s with just enough strength to knock him out. He then immediately ducked down and swung around, using the momentum from his turn to fling the weapon into the feet of a guard who had attempted to sneak up on him while he had paused on the previous man.
The man tripped over and fell hard onto the ground, grunting in pain as his jaw connected hard with the rug on the floor. Peter immediately shot a spurt of webbing, effectively taking the guard out of the fight.
“Cat?! You got this?” Peter called over to his partner, two which Cat grunted an affirmative. “How un-lady-like!”
“Shut up!” The woman responded, smiling, knocking down another guard.
Peter shot a web line to the ceiling of the room, and swung himself over to the Tinkerer, who had already seen the fight was not going well. He shoved his hand down into his jacket, yet before he could take the weapon out, Peter had already webbed him up and swung him into the wall. He then swung himself onto the wall, and latched on right above the Tinker’s head, his face upside down to the old man’s.
“Why did you take my daughter!”
“Why do you think, Peter Parker!” The old man spat angrily at Peter.
“TELL ME WHY YOU TOOK MY DAUGHTER!” Peter yelled angrily into the old man’s face.
“Think Parker! Think! Why would an old man like me take your precious offspring?”
Peter swung his fist towards the man’s face, saw the old man flinch, and at the last moment shifted the arm’s direction and slammed it into the dry wall. “TELL ME!”
The old man grinned, but he was wary now. “A man can only produce and sell weapons for so long. There is no future lying in that. Money yes, but where is the power?”
“You took my daughter to make a name for yourself? How, what?” Peter responded, confused.
“No, fool! I thought you were supposed to be smart! I took her to drag you out! You! The bane of the criminal underworld!”
Peter had heard enough, and webbed the Tinkerer’s mouth to shut him up.
“Spider!” Peter looked up and saw the Black Cat had taken down more guards, but pointed to the door. More guards had just started pouring into the room, and a glance down the corridor showed him there was many more coming.
He swung down from the wall and landed next to the crib. He smiled at May, who was crying uncontrollably, disturbed by the sounds of the violence surrounding her. He gently scooped her up and yelled to the Cat, “Let’s get out of here!”
“Our only exit is blocked!” She pointed to the skylight, which had been blocked off by thick steel bars.
“Argh!” Peter yelled, frustrated. “Here!” He took a small leap and landed next to the Cat. Gently, he handed the baby to Cat, who looked at Peter questionably. Peter quickly webbed the door shut, and leaped over and quickly dispatched the remaining guardsmen in the room with sufficient force. He then looked at the wall furthest from them, grabbed a gun, and started shooting it, firing round after round into it. Peter then took one look at the Black Cat and his daughter, and said, “Follow me! And keep her safe!”
“You know I will!” Peter then swung his full weight and strength into the wall, shattering into pieces, opening up into a new smaller room, with a door running alongside the far wall. He looked back and saw that the door behind them was being blown through by the thugs outside the room. Peter leaped again to the other door, and kicked it forward. The door flung out, knocking two guardsmen who had been stationed outside that room. He leapt over and ran into the corridor. He glanced back and saw that the Cat was still carrying his baby, hot on his heels.
Peter turned a corner, and again quickly dispatched another two guards who had begun to stream into this hallway to cut off the two heroes. Peter noticed he was driving completely on adrenaline now, not tiring at all. The surge to save his baby was overwhelming, in fact, giving him additional strength to his super-powers.
Finally, they made it out to a large balcony, one which Peter easily leapt down from into the large entrance hall. He heard the Cat land behind him, and then finally flung himself into the large oak doors, knocking it down hard.
Spider-Man stumbled out and was instantly blinded by the bright lights shown on his face. “FREEZE!” A call came out, and after a moment, Peter’s eyes adjusted and he saw out in front of the mansion, there was a large gathering or police vans and SWAT cars, as well as several cars with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms surrounding them.
“We’ve got a warrant!” The call came again from a loudspeaker.
“Not my problem,” Peter mumbled to himself and the Cat, and immediately made a break for it. Peter and Felicia leapt from the front porch of the mansion towards the large orchards surrounding it.
“Wait! Hold your fire!” They heard a shout from behind them, but they ignored it. “Take your men and take ‘em in!”
Peter looked back and saw a small squadron of men running towards them, as well as two police cars. The two heroes were not in any mood to harm police officers, but were unsure if they could escape, as there were not tall buildings from which they could swing away.
Peter paused as he heard a large chopping sound, and then a huge gust of wind. A large helicopter flew by over their heads, and Peter managed to take note of the Shield emblems alongside the doors of the helicopter. The chopper made its way to the police that were running after the two heroes, and paused. For a moment, no one moved, and then the chopper opened fire on the police officers, raining down bullets and shattering the ground in front of them. The police backed up and they scattered in panic. The turrets then stopped unleashing their hail of bullets, and then spun around and flew back overhead the two heroes.
The two heroes used the distraction provided by Shield to escape the mansion and the police who had already begun to rush inside.
“Boys and girls, another round for all!” The boisterous crow was followed by a large cheer from the rest of the people in the bar. The man who had made the call smiled to himself as he stood up and grabbed the closest woman to him and started dancing with her.
She laughed and jokingly pushed him away. She would have liked nothing more than to dance with him, but as she was a waitress, she had to get back to work. She moved away from him and walked over to a table where two men were sitting. The man in the brown bomber jacket had called her over, wanting a drink.
“What can I do for you boys?”
“Baby, you can do anything you want for me,” he winked and patted her bottom. She frowned but ignored it and asked again.
“Surprise me babe, just surprise me,” the man grinned as he saw her smile and nod. As she moved away he turned to his companion and grinned.
“So what did you say I could do for you?”
“It is not what you can do for me, it is what I can do for you,” the man responded.
“Well, okay, what can you do for me?”
The man looked around, “it’s really not good to talk about here. It’s more of the, let’s say, less than legal business.”
“Ah I see, does your employer have a proposition for mine?”
“As I said, we really shouldn’t talk about it here.”
The first man wiped his brow, and looked around, “okay, I really want to know what you’re talking about. Let’s take a walk.”
“Lovely.”
“Hey babe! Cancel my order!” The first man called out to the waitress and moved to the door. He started walking towards the door but then paused, and turned around. His companion was right behind him, and frowned at him.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing…” he turned back and opened the door and walked out into the brisk cool night. “Kind of cool out here isn’t it?”
“I guess,” was his companion’s response.
“Okay, so what’d you want to talk about” he asked after walking for a minute or two.
“Well, my employer has a request from the Hobgoblin. A message.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
The man’s companion smiled, “well, it’s not really something that’s said. More like an action.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Be quiet,” and with that, the man slammed his fist into the man’s stomach. When he retracted, blood spilled down.
The first man looked up surprised, and then at the knife from which blood dripped. He was about to speak, but his companion quickly took his knife and slashed it across his throat.
“I said be quiet.” He took his blade and wiped it on the man’s bomber jacket. “Hammerhead sends his regards.”
Spider-Man swung his body from the helicopter with the web line he had spun onto the roof of the skyscraper, watching in his peripheral vision as the Black Cat swung after him from the SHIELD transport. He latched onto the roof with his legs, and held his daughter tightly in his arms as the transport helicopter spun around to align the passenger door which stood open alongside the two heroes.
Agent Toy and Bronson stood there, facing the two heroes as the transport hovered for a moment. It was too loud for any words, so Agent Toy merely smiled at Spider-Man, winked, and gave quick thumbs up. Bronson gave a curt nod and with that, the helicopter spun away from the two heroes.
“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” Spider-Man cursed to himself, frustrated with SHIELD and what they had done. Before he could do anything else, however, May began to cry softly and Peter immediately began to rock her gently, trying to coo her into silence.
The Black Cat nodded to their left, towards an air conditioning unit on the roof. “They left us a parting gift.”
Peter peered through the rising sun and saw the manila envelope and a small tape recorder attached to it. Both had been duck taped to the unit. “Huh? When’d they manage to put that there?” He walked over to the air conditioning unit and took a hold of the envelope and the tape. He looked first at the tape and pressed play.
“The help was much appreciated web-head!” Peter winced as he heard Agent Toy’s cocky voice start talking on the radio. “Thanks to you two taking out Phineas Mason and his crew, the NYPD and BATF were able to enter the facility safely. They found most of Mason’s crew of goons lying on the ground,” at this point, Toy laughed. “Anyways, they found Mason webbed to a wall, and we know for a fact that there’s enough evidence in the mansion, and this is excluding all the weaponry and illegal technology Mason had, to put the man away in prison for quite some time.”
Spider-Man sighed and glanced at the Black Cat, who just shrugged. They were both wondering what the point of this message was.
“You guys should be proud. You made the world a significantly safer place now that Mason’s out of the black market business. We’re still making several arrests around the world thanks to the data we’ve found. His entire operation should be out of play within the month.” Toy paused, and then continued, “SHIELD also now possesses some of the finest armament in the known world because of the confiscated weaponry. It appeared the weapons made for us were downgrades of what he could really do.”
“With this newfound safety of the world (though it may not seem much sometimes), comes happiness for all of us Spider-Man. I know it may seem like the government just uses the little guy as pawns in the battle, but we take care of our Spider-Man. So even you should be happy, my friend. Especially you.”
“Adios, compadre. Until we meet again, ta ta!” there was another pause, “Oh yeah, this tape will self destruct in five seconds.”
Spider-Man looked up at the Cat, and his spider sense flared up! He hurled the tape into the air and watched it explode into hundreds of blazing little pieces.
Peter looked at his baby girl, falling asleep in Felicia’s arm, obviously not perturbed by the small explosion in the air. Felicia smiled at May and looked up at Peter, “What did he mean happiness for even you?”
“Probably having my baby back again,” Peter shrugged, and started to open up the envelope. It was thick, and when Peter peered in, saw there were several papers in there. He took out the first paper, and saw that it was a birth certificate for May. He began to smile as he took out several more documents, and saw a social security card and number.
Finally Peter saw something that made his jaw drop. It was an acceptance letter to New York University. He saw a little post it attached to it. Peter read, “Let’s just say SHIELD appreciates what you’ve done for us, and we took the liberty to apply for you.”
“Oh my…” Peter looked at Felicia again and went to the next sheet up paper. It was a financial aid letter, stating Peter would receive a full ride to NYU, as he qualified as a single parent and a widow. He was sure SHIELD had pulled a few strings to do this for him. He saw the business card for a counselor and a financial aid advisor. He would have to go speak with them to finalize some issues before it was all final.
“What is it?” Felicia asked, approaching him from behind.
Peter tore off his mask and grinned at Felicia. He took his baby from her and kissed her gently on the forehead. Looking back at Felicia, he said, “I think it’s the silver lining…”
The sun was barely coming up as Robbie Robertson strolled into his office. He glanced back at the cubicles through his glass walls, and saw there weren’t many in yet to start work. That was fine. Robbie liked coming in before everyone else; it made him feel good to be the first. Robbie twisted his neck until it popped, and closed the door behind him.
He turned and proceeded in. After taking a step, Robbie felt a blast of wind hit him causing him to frown. “What?”
The man looked at his window and saw it was hanging open. The breeze was causing the drapes in his office to billow around, and Robbie quickly walked over the window and shut them. It was strange, Robbie never opened the windows, especially when they were this high up from the ground.
Robbie went over to coat rack, and took off his coat. He placed it on the rack and walked briskly back to his desk and turned on his computer. He leaned back in his desk for a moment, taking it all in, before he began to get started on his work.
After a moment, something caught Robbie’s eye. Glancing up, he noticed a note attached to the wall to the right of him, next to the window. Robbie stared wonderingly for a moment, before pushing his chair back from beneath the desk and standing. He slowly walked over to the note and pulled it off. He looked around the room and looked back at the note.
“Robbie,
I’ve decided I’m going to leave the Bugle. It’s time I move on with my life, and it’s time I stop living check to check, with no definite idea of how much I’ll have and after all my bills, if I’ll have enough money to buy food. I’ve decided it’s time to take control of my life, instead of the other way around.
I’m sure you understand that I really have no future at the Bugle. There’s not really much promotion available for a freelance photographer. I need some sort of steady definite base in my life, and random shots of a superhero every once in a while and getting different amounts for the same thing isn’t going to cut it for me.
I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’ve been almost like a father to me, helping me out constantly in this big, big place. I hope I see you around from time to time, and give Jonah my regards. Even if he is incredibly abrasive, everything he’s done for me is much appreciated. Tell Randy we should hang out sometime, and I’ll be sure to check out the Bugle, even if it isn’t the nice paper in the world.
See ya’ around.
Peter”
Robbie frowned, and then looked at what had been holding the note to the wall. It was a clump of webbing. Robbie frowned, and then his eyes grew big in surprise and realization. Finally, Robbie realized it all made sense, and he smiled to himself.