Back to Gatefold
"Thank you for coming, Bruce," the woman said as she hugged Bruce Banner tightly. "You have no idea how hard it was to get ahold of you. It's like you just fell off the grid."
"Yes, well, I'm a very private person nowadays," Bruce said to his former schoolmate Tina Muniz. She was the first girl he had ever kissed, all the way back in sixth grade. They had kept in contact all the way through college when a certain situation had changed Bruce's life forever. "But I came as soon as I got your message."
Bruce followed Tina into the hospital room where a 12 year old boy was hooked up to an IV. "This is Sam, my son. Sammy, this is Bruce, he's going to try to help you."
"Hi," the boy tried to smile before he started coughing harshly. Bruce just sat down by the boy's bedside and felt his forehead.
"No doctor I've taken him to can explain his illness," Tina told him. "You're my last hope, Bruce. If anyone can figure out what's wrong with him, you can. You were always the smartest man I knew."
"I'll do everything I can to figure out what's wrong," Bruce promised as he looked at the boy. "You just stay strong, okay?"
"Okay," Sam said as he started coughing again.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
After several hours, Bruce found Tina, and was trying to find the words to tell her what was going on. The boy was dying, and his only hope hinged on whether or not she could answer his questions.
"Sam has a rare genetic disorder," Bruce told her. "So rare that it hasn't even been named or documented beyond a very small handful of cases, but luckily I've seen it personally before, and it is curable if we hurry. He's going to need a very special transplant from a blood relative."
"I'm all he has," Tina told him.
"Dammit, I've already checked your DNA to his, you're not a viable match for what I need," Bruce said. "Where's his father?"
"His father's not in the picture, and he never will be," Tina said.
"Tina, your son is dying, and we only have about two weeks, tops," Bruce told her. "And that's being generous. If this disease progresses any further... do you want to save your son or not?"
"He's not somewhere you can get to him easily," Tina told him.
"A boy's life is at stake, and I know someone who can help," Bruce said. "This boy will not die on my watch. Where is he?"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Spider-Man was sitting on top of a building, watching as an armored van pulled up to the prison with its new arrival.
Rick Barrett, the biggest slime ball in history. He murdered a woman and her 10 year old son in cold blood, showing zero remorse during the trial. Now you might be asking why your favorite neighborhood wall-crawler is here, well after this guy has been tried and sent to prison? Well, that's because a certain skull themed vigilante has been spotted in New York, and child murderers typically rocket to the top of his must kill list.
As much as I want to see Barrett fry, it's still a human life, and I'm sworn to protect lives, even ones as pathetic as Barrett's. Once I see the prisoner safely into the prison, my job ends and he's the system's problem. So far, no sign of Castle. He's typically ready and waiting with a sniper rifle for scum like this. Just have to keep my spidey senses on guard and-
Spider-Man's spider-senses started going crazy as the building he was standing on top of started to shake.
"Aw man, the Punisher must be going all out on this one," Spider-Man said as he looked down the street and saw cars being knocked out of the way as the gigantic form of the Hulk came running toward the courthouse. "What's the Jolly Green Giant doing here?"
Spider-Man extended a web and swung toward the Hulk, hoping to stop him before any real damage was done. "Hey, tall, dark, and ugly, would you mind keeping the noise-"
Hulk's fist slammed Spider-Man out of the way as he continued his path toward the armored van where Barrett was about to be taken out.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
"I sure am thirsty," a boy said as he sat in his apartment.
"Me, too," the girl said. "I know! Hey, Kool-Aid!"
It was at that moment that Spider-Man was knocked through the wall and landed on the floor.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The cops opened fire on the Hulk, but the bullets only bounced off of him as he took one swipe at the officers, knocking them all across the street. He put his hands on top of the armored van and ripped it open like opening a bag of chips. Barrett just looked up at the Hulk and smirked.
"Go ahead, do it," Barrett challenged him. "Finish me!"
Before the Hulk could reach in, several strands of webbing attached themselves to Barrett's back, yanking him up into the air, and catching him as he was hanging onto the wall of the prison.
"Sorry, Shrek, but I can't let you turn this guy into a wishbone, even if he does deserve it," Spider-Man said. "He's going to prison where he belongs."
Hulk just jumped into the air, and got his fists ready to pound the wall-crawler, but he jumped and escaped with a strand of webbing, swinging away quickly. He started swinging past buildings with Barrett slung over his shoulder.
"Just let him have me!" Barrett shouted.
"Ain't happenin', pal," Spider-Man said. "You don't get to die that easy."
Hulk started leaping, bounding off of buildings as he started to catch up with the wall-crawler.
"Persistent little bugger, isn't he?" Spider-Man said. "I don't know what you did to get the Hulk peeved, but it must have been worse than murder."
"Nothing is worse than murder," Barrett told him.
A large shadow loomed over them as Spider-Man let go of the webbing and dropped toward the ground, rolling with Barrett as the Hulk landed on the pavement with a loud echoing smash that shattered every window around.
"Hulk want puny man!" Hulk shouted.
"Might I suggest Craigslist?" Spider-Man asked as the Hulk raised his hands, preparing to smash down on the hero in one giant fist. He didn't want to use it, but it was time to play his trump card. "Uh... my mother's name is Martha?"
The Hulk's hands came down as Spider-Man reached up and grabbed them before they could crush him. He used all of his strength to try to the keep the monster's hands up above his head.
"Your skin is so smooth," Spider-Man said as he struggled. "What kind of lotion do you use?"
"Spider-Man, stop!" Barrett shouted. "You can't win. Just let him kill me before anyone else gets hurt."
The Hulk removed his hands and just swatted Spider-Man away. "Hulk no kill. Hulk need puny man to save life."
"Alright, I'm lost," Spider-Man said as he peeled himself off the side of a car, where a huge hero sized dent was embedded in it. "Did you say you need him to save a life?"
"Puny man's son sick," Hulk said. "Need puny man to save him before he die."
"Sam," Barrett whispered. "Sam is dying?"
"Oh, now you care about another life?" Spider-Man asked.
"It's my son," Barrett told him. "Please. Let me see him."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
After having calmed down, Bruce Banner put on a fresh pair of clothes and took Spider-Man and Barrett to the small hospital where Sam was getting worse.
"The boy needs a complete genetic overhaul to erase this disease," Bruce told them. "I'll need bone marrow, blood, DNA, the whole nine yards, plus a barely below lethal dose of gamma radiation. Both father and son could die if even the slightest thing goes wrong."
"For Sam, I'm willing to risk it," Barrett said. "Let's do it."
"Before you go, I have to know," Spider-Man said. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you kill that woman and her child?"
"I might as well tell you, in case I don't make it," Barrett told him. "I didn't kill them. I don't know who did, but... the boy was my son. His mother didn't want me to see him, and we got into a fight. I left, came back... and they were dead. That's when the police arrived. With one son dead and another that I hadn't seen since he was two... I gave up on life. I wanted to die, so I confessed."
"Come on," Bruce said as he held the door open. "Let's start the procedure. It's a twelve hour process."
As he walked into the room, Spider-Man just clenched his fist in anger.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
12 hours to find out if Barrett is telling the truth. 12 hours to clear a man's name. I've worked with less.
Spider-Man *borrowed* the evidence from trial, including the security footage and sat down to watch it in his living room. He pulled off his mask and put the DVD in as he sat down.
"Maybe I should have made some popcorn," the hero said as he watched the footage of Barrett walking out of the crime scene. "That's Barrett, but something's not right."
Peter paused the video and saw that Barrett's eyes were yellow.
"The Chameleon."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The Chameleon was hiding out in a warehouse, watching the news of Spider-Man and the Hulk's fight over Rick Barrett.
"Great, now I have to deal with those two buffoons," the Chameleon said as Spider-Man burst through the skylight.
"Nope, just one buffoon," Spider-Man said as the villain pulled out a blaster rifle and fired. Spider-Man jumped up into the air and shot one strand of webbing to jam the gun, and the other to pull it out of the Chameleon's hand. He landed on the table and did a backflip kick to the face, sending the villain falling back into a chair, where Spider-Man shot as much webbing as he could to pin him down. "Alright, pasty face, start talking! Why'd you murder those people and set Rick Barret up?"
"Because the boy was supposed to have been MY son!" the Chameleon shouted. "I was in love with her! That was supposed to have been my boy! When I found out that he was Rick Barrett's son, I had to dispose of all of them!"
"You are sick," Spider-Man said as he punched him. "A CHILD! You murdered a 10 year old kid just because he didn't have your twisted DNA?"
"What are you going to do, kill me?" the Chameleon asked with a laugh.
"Believe me, I am tempted," Spider-Man told him angrily. "I would love to tear you apart limb from limb and make you suffer for what you did. But I don't kill. You're going to prison, Chameleon."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
After a grueling 12 hours, Bruce walked out of the operating room and found Tina and Spider-Man waiting.
"Barrett's okay, he's recovering, but time will tell if the operation took with Sam," he said.
"That's good to hear," Spider-Man said. "I caught the real killer of that woman and her child. Barrett's innocent. You did good, Doc, even if your methods leave a lot to be desired."
"I could say the same for you," Bruce said as he shook Spider-Man's hand.
"Thank you," Tina said as she hugged Bruce. "I knew I could count on you."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Six Months Later
Sam was sitting on the front steps of his apartment, playing with his puppy when Barrett walked up.
"Hey, kid," Barrett smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel great!" Sam shouted. "I'm ready for our weekend together."
Barrett looked past him to Tina, standing at the door. "I'll have him back Sunday before 7, just like last month."
"You two have fun," Tina told him as she smiled at Sam. "I love you."
"Love you, too, mom," Sam smiled as he walked off with his father for their monthly weekend visit.
Across the street, on the top of a building, Spider-Man was checking up on the family before swinging away to make his rounds.
THE END
"Yes, well, I'm a very private person nowadays," Bruce said to his former schoolmate Tina Muniz. She was the first girl he had ever kissed, all the way back in sixth grade. They had kept in contact all the way through college when a certain situation had changed Bruce's life forever. "But I came as soon as I got your message."
Bruce followed Tina into the hospital room where a 12 year old boy was hooked up to an IV. "This is Sam, my son. Sammy, this is Bruce, he's going to try to help you."
"Hi," the boy tried to smile before he started coughing harshly. Bruce just sat down by the boy's bedside and felt his forehead.
"No doctor I've taken him to can explain his illness," Tina told him. "You're my last hope, Bruce. If anyone can figure out what's wrong with him, you can. You were always the smartest man I knew."
"I'll do everything I can to figure out what's wrong," Bruce promised as he looked at the boy. "You just stay strong, okay?"
"Okay," Sam said as he started coughing again.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
After several hours, Bruce found Tina, and was trying to find the words to tell her what was going on. The boy was dying, and his only hope hinged on whether or not she could answer his questions.
"Sam has a rare genetic disorder," Bruce told her. "So rare that it hasn't even been named or documented beyond a very small handful of cases, but luckily I've seen it personally before, and it is curable if we hurry. He's going to need a very special transplant from a blood relative."
"I'm all he has," Tina told him.
"Dammit, I've already checked your DNA to his, you're not a viable match for what I need," Bruce said. "Where's his father?"
"His father's not in the picture, and he never will be," Tina said.
"Tina, your son is dying, and we only have about two weeks, tops," Bruce told her. "And that's being generous. If this disease progresses any further... do you want to save your son or not?"
"He's not somewhere you can get to him easily," Tina told him.
"A boy's life is at stake, and I know someone who can help," Bruce said. "This boy will not die on my watch. Where is he?"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Spider-Man was sitting on top of a building, watching as an armored van pulled up to the prison with its new arrival.
Rick Barrett, the biggest slime ball in history. He murdered a woman and her 10 year old son in cold blood, showing zero remorse during the trial. Now you might be asking why your favorite neighborhood wall-crawler is here, well after this guy has been tried and sent to prison? Well, that's because a certain skull themed vigilante has been spotted in New York, and child murderers typically rocket to the top of his must kill list.
As much as I want to see Barrett fry, it's still a human life, and I'm sworn to protect lives, even ones as pathetic as Barrett's. Once I see the prisoner safely into the prison, my job ends and he's the system's problem. So far, no sign of Castle. He's typically ready and waiting with a sniper rifle for scum like this. Just have to keep my spidey senses on guard and-
Spider-Man's spider-senses started going crazy as the building he was standing on top of started to shake.
"Aw man, the Punisher must be going all out on this one," Spider-Man said as he looked down the street and saw cars being knocked out of the way as the gigantic form of the Hulk came running toward the courthouse. "What's the Jolly Green Giant doing here?"
Spider-Man extended a web and swung toward the Hulk, hoping to stop him before any real damage was done. "Hey, tall, dark, and ugly, would you mind keeping the noise-"
Hulk's fist slammed Spider-Man out of the way as he continued his path toward the armored van where Barrett was about to be taken out.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
"I sure am thirsty," a boy said as he sat in his apartment.
"Me, too," the girl said. "I know! Hey, Kool-Aid!"
It was at that moment that Spider-Man was knocked through the wall and landed on the floor.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The cops opened fire on the Hulk, but the bullets only bounced off of him as he took one swipe at the officers, knocking them all across the street. He put his hands on top of the armored van and ripped it open like opening a bag of chips. Barrett just looked up at the Hulk and smirked.
"Go ahead, do it," Barrett challenged him. "Finish me!"
Before the Hulk could reach in, several strands of webbing attached themselves to Barrett's back, yanking him up into the air, and catching him as he was hanging onto the wall of the prison.
"Sorry, Shrek, but I can't let you turn this guy into a wishbone, even if he does deserve it," Spider-Man said. "He's going to prison where he belongs."
Hulk just jumped into the air, and got his fists ready to pound the wall-crawler, but he jumped and escaped with a strand of webbing, swinging away quickly. He started swinging past buildings with Barrett slung over his shoulder.
"Just let him have me!" Barrett shouted.
"Ain't happenin', pal," Spider-Man said. "You don't get to die that easy."
Hulk started leaping, bounding off of buildings as he started to catch up with the wall-crawler.
"Persistent little bugger, isn't he?" Spider-Man said. "I don't know what you did to get the Hulk peeved, but it must have been worse than murder."
"Nothing is worse than murder," Barrett told him.
A large shadow loomed over them as Spider-Man let go of the webbing and dropped toward the ground, rolling with Barrett as the Hulk landed on the pavement with a loud echoing smash that shattered every window around.
"Hulk want puny man!" Hulk shouted.
"Might I suggest Craigslist?" Spider-Man asked as the Hulk raised his hands, preparing to smash down on the hero in one giant fist. He didn't want to use it, but it was time to play his trump card. "Uh... my mother's name is Martha?"
The Hulk's hands came down as Spider-Man reached up and grabbed them before they could crush him. He used all of his strength to try to the keep the monster's hands up above his head.
"Your skin is so smooth," Spider-Man said as he struggled. "What kind of lotion do you use?"
"Spider-Man, stop!" Barrett shouted. "You can't win. Just let him kill me before anyone else gets hurt."
The Hulk removed his hands and just swatted Spider-Man away. "Hulk no kill. Hulk need puny man to save life."
"Alright, I'm lost," Spider-Man said as he peeled himself off the side of a car, where a huge hero sized dent was embedded in it. "Did you say you need him to save a life?"
"Puny man's son sick," Hulk said. "Need puny man to save him before he die."
"Sam," Barrett whispered. "Sam is dying?"
"Oh, now you care about another life?" Spider-Man asked.
"It's my son," Barrett told him. "Please. Let me see him."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
After having calmed down, Bruce Banner put on a fresh pair of clothes and took Spider-Man and Barrett to the small hospital where Sam was getting worse.
"The boy needs a complete genetic overhaul to erase this disease," Bruce told them. "I'll need bone marrow, blood, DNA, the whole nine yards, plus a barely below lethal dose of gamma radiation. Both father and son could die if even the slightest thing goes wrong."
"For Sam, I'm willing to risk it," Barrett said. "Let's do it."
"Before you go, I have to know," Spider-Man said. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you kill that woman and her child?"
"I might as well tell you, in case I don't make it," Barrett told him. "I didn't kill them. I don't know who did, but... the boy was my son. His mother didn't want me to see him, and we got into a fight. I left, came back... and they were dead. That's when the police arrived. With one son dead and another that I hadn't seen since he was two... I gave up on life. I wanted to die, so I confessed."
"Come on," Bruce said as he held the door open. "Let's start the procedure. It's a twelve hour process."
As he walked into the room, Spider-Man just clenched his fist in anger.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
12 hours to find out if Barrett is telling the truth. 12 hours to clear a man's name. I've worked with less.
Spider-Man *borrowed* the evidence from trial, including the security footage and sat down to watch it in his living room. He pulled off his mask and put the DVD in as he sat down.
"Maybe I should have made some popcorn," the hero said as he watched the footage of Barrett walking out of the crime scene. "That's Barrett, but something's not right."
Peter paused the video and saw that Barrett's eyes were yellow.
"The Chameleon."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
The Chameleon was hiding out in a warehouse, watching the news of Spider-Man and the Hulk's fight over Rick Barrett.
"Great, now I have to deal with those two buffoons," the Chameleon said as Spider-Man burst through the skylight.
"Nope, just one buffoon," Spider-Man said as the villain pulled out a blaster rifle and fired. Spider-Man jumped up into the air and shot one strand of webbing to jam the gun, and the other to pull it out of the Chameleon's hand. He landed on the table and did a backflip kick to the face, sending the villain falling back into a chair, where Spider-Man shot as much webbing as he could to pin him down. "Alright, pasty face, start talking! Why'd you murder those people and set Rick Barret up?"
"Because the boy was supposed to have been MY son!" the Chameleon shouted. "I was in love with her! That was supposed to have been my boy! When I found out that he was Rick Barrett's son, I had to dispose of all of them!"
"You are sick," Spider-Man said as he punched him. "A CHILD! You murdered a 10 year old kid just because he didn't have your twisted DNA?"
"What are you going to do, kill me?" the Chameleon asked with a laugh.
"Believe me, I am tempted," Spider-Man told him angrily. "I would love to tear you apart limb from limb and make you suffer for what you did. But I don't kill. You're going to prison, Chameleon."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
After a grueling 12 hours, Bruce walked out of the operating room and found Tina and Spider-Man waiting.
"Barrett's okay, he's recovering, but time will tell if the operation took with Sam," he said.
"That's good to hear," Spider-Man said. "I caught the real killer of that woman and her child. Barrett's innocent. You did good, Doc, even if your methods leave a lot to be desired."
"I could say the same for you," Bruce said as he shook Spider-Man's hand.
"Thank you," Tina said as she hugged Bruce. "I knew I could count on you."
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Six Months Later
Sam was sitting on the front steps of his apartment, playing with his puppy when Barrett walked up.
"Hey, kid," Barrett smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel great!" Sam shouted. "I'm ready for our weekend together."
Barrett looked past him to Tina, standing at the door. "I'll have him back Sunday before 7, just like last month."
"You two have fun," Tina told him as she smiled at Sam. "I love you."
"Love you, too, mom," Sam smiled as he walked off with his father for their monthly weekend visit.
Across the street, on the top of a building, Spider-Man was checking up on the family before swinging away to make his rounds.
THE END