The Spider-Man Chapter Ten

-Manhattan-

Connors made Peter and Gwen swear not to tell anyone about him and cancelled his classes. He told them not to bother him again until he resumed them. After school ended and Peter walked Felicia home, he ducked into an alley, intending to suit up; head back to Midtown High and confront Connors. Before he could do anything, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Peter? It's Gwen."

Peter sighed. "Gwen, I really can't talk right now."

"I know but, you're the only other person who knows."

Peter leaned against the alley wall, accepting the fact that he wasn't getting out of the conversation. "This is about Connors, isn't it?"

"What else would it be about? Peter, we need to tell someone, the cops, my dad…"

"Hey," Peter cut her off, "you don't tell anyone, OK? Especially your dad. Do you understand me?"

"OK, fine, but this is really serious, Peter! Connors has turned himself into a human lizard hybrid!"

"Gwen, calm down," Peter pleaded, "don't panic. Everything's going to be fine."

"How?"

"Look," Peter took a deep breath, throwing caution to the winds, "Spider-Man is on his way."

"What?!" Gwen exclaimed, "How does he know?"

"I met him that night when the dance was hijacked. He told me how to contact him again."

"How?"

Peter paused for a moment, thinking of an acceptable answer as he held the phone between his ear and shoulder, pulling on his Spider-Suit gloves. "I'm going to have to keep that a secret. For his protection, you know?"

"OK,"

"OK, I have to go."

He hung up, pulling his mask over his head and scaling the wall. Felicia's apartment was right in the middle of Manhattan and it would take roughly fifteen minutes to get back to school.

He had to hurry before he missed Connors.

-Midtown High-

Spider-Man was pleased to find the window of Connor's classroom wide open. He vaulted through, landing in a crouch.

"Dr. Connors!" he called, standing up. "Are you here?"

No answer.

Spider-Man scanned the room with his mask. The scent of a lizard hung in the air, but no life-forms were present. Spider-Man decided to search the room for any indication of where Connors could have gone. Not home, it would have been way too dangerous.

Spider-Man stepped behind Connors' desk and started to sift through the clutter of items in his drawers. In the bottom drawer he found an official looking paper. Looking over it, he found that it was a waiver. Then he saw the Oscorp logo in the top right corner.

"Oscorp sent Connors a waiver?" Spider-Man muttered, reading it from top to bottom. "Oh, my God."

The waiver said that Oscorp was one hundred percent responsible for the effects of the regeneration serum that Connors was in possession of. And at the bottom, clear for all to see, was Dr. Connors' and Norman Osborn's signatures.

This was perfect! The waiver guaranteed that the serum's adverse effects on Connors were the company's fault. This was exactly what he needed to shut Oscorp down and avenge Smythe's death.

But where was Connors?

If the serums effects were Oscorp's fault and said effects were transforming a normally mild mannered ESU lecturer/teacher into a hybrid of lizard and human, where was he likely to go?

Then it hit him.

If Oscorp was responsible…

"He's going to Oscorp!" Spider-Man leapt out the window, heading for Oscorp.

-Oscorp-

Norman Osborn's spacious office had a wonderful view of the New York skyline. After watching an airliner pass over the city, Norman turned away from the ceiling to floor window and poured himself a glass of scotch at his desk. He downed it in one go and sighed. There had been no call from Connors about his regeneration serum. A pity, really.

Norman started and spun around as the sound of shattering glass filled the room. Standing by the now broken window was a seven foot tall humanoid figure that looked anything but human. Its skin was green and scaly, its eyes were yellow and it wore a torn lab coat and pants.

"Osborn," it growled, stalking forward on two legs, a gigantic tail swaying behind it.

Norman retreated around the back of his desk in fear. The reptile behemoth stopped on the opposite side, picked up the bottle of scotch and drank the whole thing, tipping its head back. Then its head snapped forward and it roared at Osborn.

Norman cried out in fear, certain that this was the end.

A red and blue blur tackled the lizard from behind, pulling him over the desk while Norman rolled under it.

The creature and the blur hit the floor, the creature on top with its claws around the blurs throat. Norman got a good look and saw that his savior was none other than the Spider-Man.

"You!" Norman gasped.

Spider-Man's head rolled to face Norman. "Osborn…" he gasped, "run."

"What?"

"Run!" Spider-Man shouted, getting his feet between him and the lizard. "Run!" He shoved with all his might, pushing the lizard back and off. Spider-Man leapt to his feet. Norman noticed a scrunched up piece of paper in his hand.

Spider-Man offered the paper hesitantly to the seven foot monster. "Connors, if you can hear me, you need to calm down!"

"Connors?" Norman cried, still under his desk. "That thing is Connors?"

Spider-Man ignored him, still holding out the paper. "This is your solution, Connors," he said. "This can fix everything. You have to trust –"

Connors swiped the paper from Spider-Man's hand, tearing it up with his claws.

"Well, if you're going to be like that then I'll resort to Plan B." He darted forward, ducking under a swipe of Connors' tail and countering with an uppercut. Connors spun with the blow and knocked Spider-Man to the side and over Osborn's desk.

Connors turned his attention to Osborn for a moment, and that was all that was needed for Spider-Man to vault onto the desk and launch himself at Connors. They both hit the floor and stood up. Connors turned to Osborn again, determined in his mission. Spider-Man latched onto his tail.

"Tails?" he asked. "You lose!"

But before Spider-Man could do anything else, Connors swung his tail, taking the hero with him and slamming him straight into the wall.

Spider-Man cried out in pain, releasing Connors and falling to all fours. He fired a webline at Connors ankle. The lizard creature growled, grabbing the web and reeling the vigilante in.

"Not good, not good, not – argh!"

Connors gripped the Spider-Man's head in one oversized hand, digging the tips of his claws into the mask. The material was tough and didn't give. Unsatisfied, Connors dragged Spider-Man across the office floor and slammed him against the wall. The Spider-Man winced as the plaster cracked under the impact.

Connors applied more pressure, attempting to crush Spider-Man's head and push him through the wall at the same time. Spider-Man gripped the claws and attempted to pry them off his head to no avail.

"This isn't you, Connors!" Spider-Man shouted. "Stop this before you do something you'll regret!"

Connors pulled back with the idea of smashing Spider-Man's face into the wall. Noticing an opening, Spider-Man ducked, managing to wrench his head out of Connors' grip. The claw came down, leaving giant scratch marks on the wall.

Still crouching, Spider-Man spun on his haunches and launched a solid blow directly into the lizard's soft underbelly. Connors staggered back, stunned and winded. Not missing the opportunity, Spider-Man landed a quick series of strikes; a jab to the nose, a knee to the gut and a spinning kick to the side of the head. Connors fell, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Silence filled the room as Norman Osborn slowly crawled out from under his desk. "Is he…?"

"No," Spider-Man shook his head. "Just unconscious."

Norman groaned, rolling his shoulder and standing up. "I feel I should thank you, but I still remember the last time we met."

Spider-Man turned back to Osborn. "I haven't given that up. The only reason you're not lizard food is that it wouldn't solve anything. It won't bring Alistair back."

"Don't think I don't recognize my own exo-suit, Spider-Man."

"Don't think I didn't notice your repulsion gauntlets holding a school hostage," Spider-Man retorted.

Norman straightened his dress jacket nervously. They stared each other down for a moment before the door to the office burst open. Three men in full armour surrounded Connors, pointing assault rifles at him. Spider-Man noticed the acronym S.H.I.E.L.D. on their backs.

A fourth man stepped through the doorway, this one of African-American descent. An eye patch covered his right eye and he was completely bald. "Put him in the strongest cell we have," he ordered the men around Connors. "Quickly, before he wakes up."

"What the – Who are you? How'd you get here so quick?" Spider-Man demanded.

"Son, we are the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. It's our business to keep track of any and all threats to New York. We followed your green friend here."

"My green friend is a respected ESU lecturer," Spider-Man stated, stepping closer to the man. "So you find a way to cure him, OK?"

"Son, do you know whose grill you're getting up in?"

"Mr. Uncooperative?"

"Let me tell you something, kid. Nick Fury does not like being talked to like he is inferior."

The two were now nose to nose.

"Take care of him," Spider-Man growled, turning to leave.

"You've got attitude, kid," he heard Fury say. "Want to be part of a team I'm putting together?"

Spider-Man stopped and turned back. A team? Spider-Man hadn't needed backup in his short superhero career, but who was to say his luck might run out one day. They could come in handy. But no, he had a responsibility to take down Oscorp, not be sitting around with a bunch of other superheroes.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Spider-Man replied, turning back to the window. "This spider swings solo."

As he swung away, Peter wondered if a team would benefit him at all. But in the end, he didn't think of himself as a superhero. All he wanted was to avenge Smythe's death. And the only way he could do that was to shut down Oscorp. He had the repulsion gauntlets, but he needed more if he wanted to convince the police.

In the end, only one thing was certain.

Peter was the Spider-Man.

The End

And it's all over. I just had to put in a Nick Fury scene. It bugged me that Spider-Man wasn't in The Avengers, and I think this scene sort of explains why, even though this isn't quite the movie-verse.

On the other hand, a lot of plot points in this are unresolved and left wide open, so you can expect a sequel, but it may be a long time before it appears. I can confirm that it is all about the Black Suit and Venom, so it will be a much darker story.

I've also noticed a pretty big mistake in this story. Remember way back to the first chapter? That first scene with Walter Hardy? Do me a favour. Completely forget that scene. It wasn't meant to be there and I've only just noticed it.

Until next time.