The Amazing Spider-Man #2

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Issue #2: “Mind Over Might”
Written by D.L. Mann
Edited by Jeffrey Benne’
Cover by Gareth Williams[/center]



Itsy… bitsy… spider…. crawled up the water spout…

Then came the thug… who washed… the spider’s dad…

Out came… the spider, full of revenge…. and the itsy bitsy spider….

would never…. look away…. again….. [/i]



“I want a full clean-up of the scene and someone talk to that witness!”

“What do we do with this guy?”

“Leave him alone until he wakes up. I want to talk to him myself.”

“But Captain-“

“That’s an order!”

“That’s right, no opening until Christmas.”

The two officers stopped their argument and looked down at the still figure, both surprised he was already conscious.

“You’re kidding me. You told me-“

“Captain, I swear; the level of trauma this guy experienced should have been enough to put him in a full scale coma!”

“Nicest coma I ever saw,” the Captain said sarcastically.

“Maybe you could guess my weight? Like at the carnival? You might have more luck with that,” Spider-Man quipped as he sat up and rubbed at the back of his head.

“Spider-Man, it’s good to finally meet you,” the Captain said, getting down on one knee and helping the web-head stand.

“I’d say the same, but right now you’re just a gray blob and a high voice, so we’ll give it a minute for me to feel you out,” Spider-Man said as he tried to take a deep breath, but instead came up with a sharp gut pain .

“Captain Jean DeWolff. You’ve done some good work for us, put a lot of bad guys behind bars and stopped some tense situations. Was never a fan of vigilantism, but I appreciate a guy who’s just trying to do some good,” the Captain said with a, Spidey now noticed, very feminine smile.

“Wanna be my publicist? I’m good by the way. No free feels for the boys OR girls in blue I’m afraid,” Spider-Man explained as he stood up fully and pulled from the Captain’s helping grasp.

“We need to understand what happened here. What was that explosion earlier? All we can get from the witness is mutterings of arms and something about octagons,” DeWolff explained, going into a more business, no-nonsense tone.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you… it was-“

“Captain, if I may. We should take Spider-Man in for questioning, maybe get his full name and a witness statement?” the other officer said in a somewhat threatening tone, though Spidey noticed he wasn’t dressed like some of the other officers on the scene.

He was noticing a lot of things since his vision stopped being so blurry. For one, he was standing in a pile of bricks and broken gravel, and for another, he was surrounded by cops. Most were calming witnesses who were trying to get a peek at the happenings, while others were sifting through the rubble with flashlights. Glancing up at a stoplight, Spidey saw that his camera was still on the lamppost where he left it, but that it’s auto shutter was off. It was set to work for fifteen minutes, which meant the web-head had been out for at least that long.

“I’m the shy type, and all this attention’s making me flushed. So if you’ll excuse me-“ Spider-Man finished his statement by jumping into the air and back-flipping onto the wall, looking down on the Captain and Mr. Jumpy. “Ma’am, night to you. Slappy, don’t let those jockeys get too tight.”

With that last joke, and having gotten a better scope of the scene from the wall, Spidey shot out a web-line and swung over the gawking crowd before snagging his camera with a back-wave of his web-line.

The two figures stood there for a moment, not sure of what to say, before the Captain elbowed her companion; “Nice job. Now we got nothing out of him.”

“Sorry Captain, but I didn’t like how familiar he was being.”

“Stand down Brock. I already told you I won’t go out with you.”

The Captain walked away, leaving the blond CSU officer alone with his thoughts, before following the Captain like a lost lamb. When the two were out of sight, a man in a trenchcoat and old-fashioned fedora creeped onto the scene, glancing around at the rubble. Checking that no one would be privy to his phone call, he hit the auto-dial on his cell.

“Yeah, Robbie? Leeds here. I got a scent on something…”



“Young man, where have you been!?”

Peter Parker cringed as he slowly closed the front door behind him, facing the oncoming wrath of his usually dotting Aunt May. Though at the moment, standing in her nightgown in the middle of the main hallway, with that fierce look in her eye, she seemed less dotting and mo re wrathful.

“I’m sorry Aunt May, I know I’m late-“

“Peter, it is 2:30 in the morning! That is not a little late! That is blatant rule-breaking and I will not have it in this house! What do you have to say for- Peter… what is that bruise on your face?” Aunt May asked, instantly converting from her threatening tone, to her more familiar motherly one.

“Well… it’s a heck of a story really…” Peter said with a chuckle before explaining further.



Meanwhile, in a deep sewer beneath Brooklyn, Doctor Otto Octavius was resting his weary body and soul, trying to contemplate what his next move was to be.

The small cramped sewer drains would provide for an excellent hideaway, though the smell was already beginning to get to the doctor’s senses. Using his mechanical arms to swat away rats and other vermin that might try to attack him, the Doctor adjusted his hospital gown so he wouldn’t sit on anything too disgusting , and began to do what he did best.

Think.

“My Rosie is dead,” he said aloud, allowing the harsh reality of this truth to hit him.

For long moments, the Doctor just sobbed and sobbed, letting the pain rush through him as he reflected on every lost kiss, embrace, and smile that his wife would never be able to give him. For what seemed like hours, the Doctor simply cried until he couldn’t feel his eyes anymore, shook until the cold was gone from his arms, and heaved until there was nothing left in his body.

“Now, I must think about the next step. I cannot go to the hospital, obviously. They wouldn’t understand. I must move on. Somehow my mind has been… connected to these arms. They have not only been grafted to my body, but my mind is now the conduit to their movement. How could this have happened? The Prometheum, it must have… altered my DNA structure. It mutated me so that I would… have some sort of telepathic connection, with these arms. Yes… the theory is sound…” the doctor mumbled, thinking these things through.

“This means, the only means of a cure would have to be Prometheum. I need more of it. To remove my connection to these arms. If I simply surgically removed them, it m ight pose some danger to my mind. But, but how can I gain more Prometheum? It was so hard to procure.”

“Hammer! Yes, Hammer! He funded my research, and he obviously paid for me to be taken care of during my coma though, why didn’t he just take me to a regular hospital? That facility was so under-staffed and had no medical equipment to help me. It was all monitoring equipment.”

“Because he wanted to see what would happen! Of course! That little worm of a man was always trying to convince me to use Prometheum as a weapon. He probably saw my mutation as some new research he could fund for his next super-soldier. I was going to be his next project. His next test subject! THAT WORM!”

“Wait, but maybe I’m not thinking this through. He did take care of me. And it wasn’t his fault this happened.”

“But he threatened me! He told me that my research needed to be accelerated or he would pull my funding. I warned him that Prometheum was not yet stable, that it needed to be further researched, that… that the levels of radiation he wanted me to use were dangerous! If it weren’t for the pressure he put on me, I never would have continued the experiment! Rosie would never have died!”

“No bu it’s not his fault. I made the decision. The reactor was already at critical mass, and I pushed it further. That was my choice. I need to take responsibility for that.”

“But I was perfectly content with plant mutation. On low dose exposure. He’s the one who forced my hand. He’s the one who scheduled the demonstration six months ahead of my timetable! AND HE’S THE ONE WHO ASKED MY ROSIE TO CONVINCE ME!”

“No… no this isn’t true… something is wrong with me… I need help… yes… help… yes…”

“After I gain my revenge. Hammer did this to me. He sabotaged my research and turned me into a monster. So, as my last act as a monster, before I cure myself of my affliction, I will behave like a monster and KILL JUSTIN HAMMER! So help me, he will rue the day he tried to kill me!”

“Yes… yes…. YESSSS!!!”



Peter Parker gave a lazy yawn in his bed, before slowly opening his eyes and peeking at the bright-red display on his alarm clock. It read about 12:30, which panicked Peter for a moment, before he remembered the previous night and its activities.

Well, crisis averted Mr. Parker. Aunt May thinks you were mugged, and you are completely clear fro m any blame for last night. Plus I have a nice, convenient excuse for the bruises I got from Ock.

That dark thought suddenly made Peter sit up, his bruises healing over from last night nicely.

I’m sure of it. That was definitely Doctor Octavius. Everyone thought he died at that demonstration six months ago, but I guess he’s somehow survived, with his metallic harness grafted to his body. You know, now that I think about it, that spider that bit me. I was at his demonstration when it happened. Maybe the spider was somehow mutated by the arc reactor’s energies when it bit me? I’ve never really thought about it too much… I wish I could have been there for the rest of the demonstration. Maybe I’d understand what happened to me more. Then again, I was too busy feeling bad after that spider bit me. Plus the explosion happened right after, so maybe it was for the best.

Peter Parker pondered for a few more minutes, before getting out of bed and turning on his laptop. Going directly to the Daily Bugle website, Peter perused the archives before coming across the article he wanted.

Yep. Here it is. Doctor Otto Octavius, dies in explosion at Empire State University. There were three other casualties, one of who was his wife. Wow. That… that really sucks.

Suddenly, a breaking news update popped up at the top of the Daily Bugle page and Peter clicked on the link instinctively, as he had used the website in the past to check out high-level crimes.

”DECEASED DOCTOR RETURNS WITH AVENGENCE! TIMES FOUR!” was what the headline read, the article going on to explain that Spider-Man had fought (and lost) against a revived Doctor Otto Octavius, who had somehow returned from the dead with four mechanical arms grafted onto his body.

“Huh, I see they got my photos,” Peter said triumphantly, as he patted himself on the back for remembering to e-mail the pics he got before passing out. “And the story is fairly accurate for once. No mention of the words ‘menace’ in conjunction with the word ‘Spider-Man.’ Though, they’re calling Doctor Octavius… what? That name totally sucks!”

“Knock, knock,” Aunt May said behind Peter’s bedroom door.

Quickly shutting his computer’s screen and rushing into bed, Peter gave a small, weak cough before telling his Aunt May that she could come in.

“Peter, a friend of yours is here to see you. Are you well enough for visitors?” Aunt May asked with a smile.

“You bet Aunt May,” Peter said with a fake cringe. “Oh, hey Carlie!”

Carlie Cooper shyly appeared behind Aunt May, before the older woman gave her a light shove into the room, closing the door, and sneaking away, but not before she gave the young Cooper girl a not-so-subtle wink.

“Wow Pete, you look like hell. When you didn’t come into school today, I assumed mono, not a mugging,” Carlie joked with a somewhat nervous smile.

“Yeah, well, that’s New York life for ya. You skip school today or something?”

“No, I’m just here for my lunch break, so I can’t stay long.”

“Oh.”

Peter and Carlie awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds, both waiting for the other one to say something. Peter knew that Carlie wanted him to explain his injuries in more detail, she aspiring to be a forensic scientist someday, but he didn’t want to get into details and risk his secret identity.

“Hey, I just remembered! Remember that sample I obtained of Spider-Man’s web? Well, I think I was able to isolate a polyurethane compound in it. Maybe if I can find out what kind of make it is, I can find the manufacturer and track down who ordered the chemicals aka, Spider-Man himself,” Carlie explained in an excited tone, sitting next to Peter on his bed.

“Wow, that’s-that’s great,” Peter said nervously, imagining his address being found by Carlie, and her unmasking him to the public.

“You know, I think I’ve got a real chance of finding out how to make this stuff. Heck, maybe when I meet Spider-Man, I could even help him rework his web-formulas,” Carlie said in a kind of whimsical sigh, sliding over in the bed in thought. “What do you think?”

“I think… it’s great you have a hobby Carlie,” Peter said with a chuckle.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, I mean… all you ever do is study for class, or study for exams, or study crime scene info with your dad, but now you’ve got something to do in your free time. Most people would take up a sport or get a job or a boyfriend, but to each his own I guess,” Peter babbled.

Carlie looked at Peter for a second before shooting up from the bed and walking toward Peter’s door. “I have to go.”

“Carlie?”

“You just don’t get it!” she shouted at Peter before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.

Peter stared at the door, relieved that Carlie was gone but also severely confused by what just happened.

“Women…”



Justin Hammer stared out the wide bay windows of his seventy two floor office building, watching wrecking balls destroy a Smythe Initiative work building to make way for another Hammer Industries Energy Plant. This was the way of the world; you didn’t by being original or smart or strong, you won by being ruthless and knocking everyone down who dared get in your way. That was the way he lived and flourished.

Though recently he’d hit a snag.

“Have you found our good doctor yet?” he asked his assistant Susan.

The woman pushed her brown frames up her nose before looking down into her PDA, her appearance from the smart business suit and mid-length power skirt looking perfectly immaculate.

“It would seem that we’ve lost all trace of him sir.”

“The Bugle had plenty of information on him, and now they’re asking me very awkward questions Susan. I want this taken care of. There are pictures. I can’t continue denying his existence and what am I supposed to tell the press? That I kept him alive out of, what, curiosity? I want this taken care of before my birthday!” he explained sternly but calmly.

“Yes sir,” the prim and perfectly coiffed assistant said to her boss.

“God… have you heard what they’re calling him in the papers? Doctor-”

“Sir!” but Susan didn’t get to finish her warning as the window exploded in a shower of glass and a solid metal arm shot through her chest, sprinkling Hammer’s face with a spurt of blood, pinning the body of his former assistant to the opposite wall.

“Mr. Hammer, your next appointment is here,” Doctor Octavius said with a gleeful smile.



Sally Avril was looking at a picture that she kept in her purse, her eyes unfocused and glazed, unlike their usually focused ferocity. Sitting in the Daily Bugle, her computer on sleep mode, the day hadn’t yielded any exciting stories or news-breaks for her to pounce on. More importantly, there weren’t any leads on Spider-Man either. Which meant, she would go to the usual activity she did when her mind wasn’t distracted by the usual hustle and bustle.

Reminiscing.

“FOSWELL! INCIDENT AT HAMMER INDUSTRIES! TAKE LEEDS! OCTAVIUS WAS SIGHTED!” Jonah shouted into the bullpen, Betty Brant behind him, making sure that the coffee she just placed on his desk didn't fall to the ground during the fray.

Sally’s coat was already on as she put the picture away. Even though Leeds had the luck of falling into the Octavius story recently, Sally knew that this was exactly the type of thing Spider-Man would be attracted to. Mass-mayhem and destruction? Yeah, that sounded like super-hero business.



And a young Peter Parker would have agreed with the rambunctious reporter, as the news-report on his computer continued, and the window to his bedroom was opened for him to make his leave. Securing his mask into place, Spider-Man jumped into the night with a well-placed web-line.

“Round two…”



At the top of Hammer Industries, Justin Hammer got to see a view of the city that he was treated to almost every day, though this time was a bit different. Before, he could usually look down on the city from one of his private jets or in his office from Central Headquarters. Today, he watched as he was dangled upside down from the leg.

“I didn’t mean… the amount of force I used wasn’t… that woman… what was her name?” the Doctor asked in a concerning voice.

“She was Susan… Susan… Robinson, I think,” Hammer explained, trying to placate Octavius.

“No one else was meant to, I didn’t it was an accident. Simple. For that Mr. Hammer, I am deeply sorry. The only person who was supposed to suffer was you.” Octavius explained, his voice slowly becoming steadier but also more dangerous.

“Otto, listen to me! I can help you! You don’t want to do this! I-“

“You already did plenty to help me! You forced my hand, caused my experiment to go awry! I wouldn’t be surprised if you planned the whole thing, yes, you were threatened by my genius! But no longer! No more. I played by the rules, tried to make this world a better place, but no more!”

“Otto, please!”

“Yes, YES! Beg like the worm you are! Good deeds give you nothing but wanting and heartache! Power is everything, and for the first time in my life, I have REAL power! You know it, so you cower before me!”

“I’m cowering because I think you’re going to do something stupid, like drop me!”

“You dare call the greatest genius of our time stupid!? I will show you now yes, retribution it is simple… equivocal goodbye Justin Hammer. May you die for my Rosie, and for the betterment of the world! Goodbye!”

“LUUUUCY, I’M HOOOOOOOOME!”

Justin Hammer felt a slight rushing feeling in his temples as he began to fall, but that was abruptly stopped by a sudden… swinging sensation, followed by a very annoying voice in his ear.

“Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do.”

“Who are you!?”

“Spider-Man of course, though this seems to be a not-so-friendly neighborhood,” Spider-Man quipped as he swung away from the Hammer Industries building, slowly bringing himself down to a safe descent on the ground.

“You! What are-“

“I’d love to gab, but I need a cliff-notes version of what’s happening here,” Spider-Man said to Hammer as he placed the elderly man on the ground, his security team coming to their employer at a rush.

“He’s insane! Trying to kill me! What else do you need to know!?” Hammer shouted in a very excited and ornery tone. “Leave him alone boys,” Hammer remarked to his security team.

“Alright, but you’d better run. I don’t have time20to protect you and fight this guy,” Spider-Man said to Hammer as his security team started to walk their boss to a limo that peeled onto the curb. “Hurry up, that guy will be here in a matter of-“

BOOOOOM!

“Hammer, come quietly and I won’t make your death drag out.” Octavius said as his arms lifted out of their crater.

“Ooooh, best pick-up line of the year, but I’m your dance partner tonight,” Spidey said with a laugh.

“If you get in my way, I will-“ but Octavius’s sentence was interrupted as Spider-Man jumped up and gave him a kick in the stomach, before his arms instinctively whipped at the wall-crawler. His spider-sense warning him of the oncoming danger, Spidey caught one of the arms mid-strides and used it to pivot himself out of the way and into the air, before swinging away from Hammer’s limo.

“Catch me if you can!”

“Imbecile!” Octavius shouted, following Spider-Man in a blind rage, forgetting his original target in his haze.

As Spider-Man was swinging, he periodically infuriated the Doctor with a web-ball to the face or a quick-witted insult. He knew that Ock was suffering some sort of mental damage, but that was a very loose thread that could easily be broken by any sort of sense Ock may get, and return to his original target.

Soon, finding a parking garage to be the perfect and civilian-less place for a showdown with the doctor, Spidey swung into one of the upper levels and waited to face his foe.

“Why do you get in my way? I did nothing to you ! I even spared your life!” Octavius shouted as he followed Spider-Man into the cramped, open-air garage.

“Me, having to explain myself to you? You’re kidding, right? You were one of the most prominent genetic researchers in the world! You were going to change the world! What happened to you?” Spider-Man asked with his back sticking to a corner in the ceiling.

“What happened? THIS HAPPENED!” Octavius shouted, his four metallic arms shrilly creaking as they rose into the air. “I have become a monster! I lost everything!& nbsp; And it was all because of Hammer!”

“But, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing!” Spider-Man explained, trying to distract Octavius from thoughts of Justin Hammer. “Look, Prometheum affected me too. I was at that demonstration. A spider bit me, and it gave me these abilities. I’m like you. I’m sorry you lost your wife. I lost someone very close to me too, but instead of letting it get me angry or blaming someone for it, I decided to use these gifts to help people. This is what you always talked about Dr. Octavius. Helping the world, to the best of our ability.”

For a long moment, the former Dr. Otto Octavius stared at Spider-Man, a curious expression on his face, before his arms slowly lowered, and he took his sunglasses off to rub his eyes.

“If Prometheum were exposed to a spider in high doses, it’s possible it could pass the radioactivity to a human. It’s venom would act as a template for the mutation’s effects granting you secondary characteristics of the spider that means safe human mutation is possible.”

“Yes! See! I am proof that Prometheum can be used as a cure for almost anything. It made me stronger by re-enforcing my DNA with Arachnid DNA, but it could be used with different templates in place. Your research isn’t a lost cause. And you aren’t either. These arms they give you great power, and with great power comes great responsibility.”

Octavius stared at Spider-Man for a long time, before giving him a reassuring smile.

“Alright, you’re right.” Octavius said calmly, giving Spider-Man hope that he could resolve this without violence. “But you must go with me.”

“What?”

“I’ve already killed two people, maybe injured more. They were accidents, but people won’t be forgiving. They won’t listen. But if I go to the authorities with a famous hero to give me his recommendation, then I might have a chance.”

“Wait, but-“

“Unmask yourself before the authorities. Give yourself up, and I will too,” Octavius explained, giving Spider- Man a stern and threatening look.

“I-I can’t… you don’t understand-“

“You said it was a responsibility. That we needed to do this. Are you reneging on this responsibility?”

“No, I just- I have other- it’s more complicated than-“

“LIAR!”

Spider-sense was on Defcon Four, but it was too late as one of Ock’s tentacles whipped out and pinned Spider-Man in his concrete corner, while a second arm started to crush his throat.

“Otto Octavius is dead now… he died with his wife Rosalie… all that lives now is what they’re calling me in the newspapers; I AM…

“DOCTOR OCTOPUS!”



“Oh! Mary Jane… what are you doing here?” Aunt May asked curiously, moving aside to let the redhead inside.

“Well, I spent all day being mad at Peter for missing my play, so now that I’m done pouting, I’ve decided to take the first step and forgive him,” Mary Jane explained with a triumphant smile and a shrug.

“Well, that’s very big of you MJ. But Peter was mugged last night, poor thing, so I really think he couldn’t have made your play last night,” Aunt May explained with a sad sigh for her nephew.

“What?! Really? The poor schmuck. Well, that means he definitely needs to see me,” MJ said with a worried gasp and a quick step to the staircase. “Nothing gets the boys out of bed faster than a smile and a promise of a coffee date with me. Yoo-hoo! Petey-boy!”

Opening the door with a flourish, MJ was presented with the sight of an empty room and bed, and an open window. Peter Parker was long gone.

“Oh Peter, no. How could you?”

“MJ? What’s wrong?”

“Aunt May, no! I wouldn’t-“

“Where’s Peter? WHERE’S PETER!?”



“He’s been sighted on the fourth floor Captain DeWolff. Octavius is supposedly up there as well,” Carter explained to his Captain.

“Can we get a SWAT team up there?”

“We would but… we were all a little tentative to interfere with Spider-Man’s fight,” Carter explained sheepishly.

“That goes against every police protocol… but was probably the smartest move. Let’s expand our cordon and-“ but DeWolff was interrupted a sudden bed of webbing being made on top of the Captain’s car, followed by the prone body of Spider-Man, landing with a loud-

KAAAAARUUUUUUNCH!

“Ouch.”

“Spider-Man!”

“Captain, we have to stop meeting like this,” Spider-Man joked as he slipped off of the cushion of webbing and stood on his wobbly legs.

“Spider-Man, you stay here, we’re going to be sending a SWAT team up and take care of this. Go see our EMS and-“

“No! I can do this!” he said unconvincingly, barely able to stand up straight.

“This guy’s kicked your ass two times in two days. I’m not giving him a third chance. It’s over kid; this is way over your head.”

“He just got the jump on me if you send your men in now, it’ll be a slaughter. Give me one more chance, please.”

DeWolff stared down the spandex covered-hero, but his masked face seemed unbending to her will, so she gave a sigh and nodded.

“Aw shucks, I’ll send you flowers for this Captain,” Spidey joked before jumping into the air and swinging up to the fourth floor of the parking garage. The noise of crunching gravel and metal were a good indicator of Ock’s location.

“Yo, bowl cut!” Spider-Man shouted as he shot a spray of webbing into Ock’s eyes, before flipping over his head and facing his wrath.

“ARGGH! I will destroy you! I am stronger, I am faster, and unlike you, my arms will never tire!”

Even though he was swinging blind, Ock’s claims were correct; every time Spider-Man tried to dodge, he felt the wind from Ock’s tentacles passing by and those few times they did hit, Spider-Man felt like there was an explosion of pain, even if the hit was minor. Continuing to dodge, the web-head seemed to have the initial advantage, but slowly his wounds began to overtake him. Finally, Ock removed the webbing from his face, and was able to catch Spidey in a wide swing, sending him flying into a Hybrid.

“Good for the environment, bad for your health,” Ock said with a snide smile.

“Hey, I’m the only one with the quips here,” Spider-Man said with a cough.

One shot at this. This better work!

“You’re not so strong Ock! Those tentacles, all they do is tickle!” Spider-Man boasted with a point to Ock’s closest coiling arm.

“Oh really? Well...”

Two of his metallic arms reaching for the car, Ock lifted the Hybrid over his head, ready to bring it down upon Spider-Man. Before he could though, the wall-crawler made sure to shoot a few of his thickest threads of webbing, trapping Ock’s arms around the car.

“You think your flimsy webbing can loosen my arms’ hold?” Ock laughed.

“Not at all, in fact, I expect them to help you keep your grip,” Spider-Man explained, suddenly sliding across the floor and kicking one of Ock’s metallic arms off the ground. Holding the tentacle off the ground with the sticking power on the bottom of his foot, Ock now only had his own human legs and one tentacle to keep his stance.

“Wai- what are you doing?”

“You’re a scientist Doc, you should know what leverage is and what it means, to not have it!” he explained, kicking the last tentacle off the ground, leaving Ock’s human legs under the entire weight of the hybrid, no metallic tentacles to help brace him.

“Aggggh!” was all Ock could utter as his legs gave out under the weight, both about to break from the pressure. Thankfully, the merciful web-head knocked the doctor out with a straight jab to the jaw, quickly knocking him out. The arms no longer receiving commands, gave out, dropping the Hybrid to the ground while Spidey used his speed to escape the crushing vehicle with Ock in tow.

“Photo finish!”

Standing up, Spidey grabbed onto one of Ock’s arms and began pulling. After extreme effort, the tentacle ripped from Ock’s harness, and Spidey was able to do the same for the rest of his arms, leaving Ock’s threat neutralized.

“You just don’t get it Ock. I lost someone very dear to me a great man, smarter than any of us, and I fell back into some powers and became a freak. That doesn’t mean you didn’t have to do the same. God, what a waste,” Spider-Man remarked before taking a moment of silence for his fallen hero. It didn’t really strike him until this moment.

The world had lost one of it’s best.

Swin ging away, Spider-Man headed home, and Sally Avril came out of the shadows before switching off her camera.

“Huh.”



Peter Parker soon arrived home, but found that Mary Jane Watson of all people was waiting in his bedroom. Not wanting to crawl in as Spider-Man, he quickly changed his clothes in some bushes, having some emergency clothes stashed behind a garden-shed. Changed and his web-shooters shied away under the front porch, Peter walked in through the front door. Aunt May wasn’t there to greet Peter, so he quickly dashed up the stairs to his room, facing what was about to come.

“Hey MJ,” Peter said cheerily.

“Peter, I can forgive you missing my show. I was about to when I came here. Then I found that you snuck out, with your Aunt May worrying about you like you were about to die! She was scared sick when she saw you were gone!” MJ immediately started, making Peter jump.

“But I-“

“It’s one thing to be a bad friend Peter, it’s another to be so selfish that you can’t care about your only living relative. Peter, that’s all I wanted to say. Your Aunt’s asleep in her room by the way, after I talked her down. You’re welcome.”

“MJ, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, same old song,” and with that she left.



“Great piece Sally. The phones are ringing off the hook and we’ve gotten over 2 million hits. Spider-Man defeats Doc Ock. Scoop of the century,” Ben Urich said quickly but earnestly, patting Sally on the back.

She gave a nod, but was still focused on her screen, trying to figure out something that had been bothering her.

”I lost someone… a great man…”

Turning in her chair, Sally started a search on her computer of men who were casualties of gang violence and surviving family.



“Huh, well I’ll be…” Carlie Cooper remarked to herself, staring at her computer.

“This self-expanding polysynthetic blend was a researched patent by one Richard Parker…. Peter?”



Peter Parker lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, holding his mask up to the light.

Grounded for two weeks, Aunt May doesn’t trust me as far as she can throw me, Carlie won’t take my calls and MJ hates me. Nice. Meanwhile, the Internet is busting with the news of Spider-Man’s latest victory. Polls say that he’s everyone’s favorite celebrity, and the mayor wants to give him a key to the city for his efforts against Ock. Oh, and Ock is in a coma again, but his arms are still in custody, notably still moving. Whatever that means.

Oh yay! And I just remembered, I didn’t take any pictures of my battle with Ock. Though Sally Avril certainly got some good shots. Plus, the finale, I STILL haven’t written that English paper. I definitely won this battle. Not.

But at least the bad guy is behind bars. And hopefully, one super powerful bad guy every six months will be the new trend. I definitely do not want to do that again.



“Spider-Man…” the lone figure remarked, watching the news report on TV in a dark room, furniture piled up in the corner and dust collecting on high-up rafters.

“Bam,” he remarked with a point of his finger, the TV exploding.



You think the wall-crawler had trouble with Ock!? You ain’t seen nothing yet! Spills, thrills, and chills are on their way for Spider-Man, and you get to see it all here… next month! Ha! See what I did there? In this biz, we make sure to keep our customers satisfied… for about twelve seconds! The rest of the time we’re just big teases! Coming back around, I’ll tease you with just one word for next month: MYSTERIO! And for now, this is-

Not… The END!

‘Nuff Said.