<...This is NBC Evening News. All citizens of New York are holding their breath. Just thirty minutes ago, police arrived at this shocking scene... a young woman has been taken hostage inside a taxi, suspended in midair at the 80th floor of a building. The area resembles a giant spiderweb, and every attempt by the police to rescue the hostage has been thwarted by a massive Sandman. The crisis continues to escalate...>
As the news report continued, footage showed the ESU (Emergency Service Unit) tactical team rushing out of armored vehicles.
They were a special law enforcement unit under the local police department, specializing in counter-violence and counter-terrorism operations, commonly known as S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics)...
When necessary, they could even collaborate with the FBI to form joint task forces, carrying out intervention missions across the United States.
This fully armed special forces unit was equipped with MP5 submachine guns, M4 assault rifles, sniper weapons, and sniper teams. They wore TAC tactical vests reinforced with ceramic plates for added protection, helmets with personal radio earpieces, and carried an array of high-powered gear, including throw phones, fiber-optic scopes, and battering rams.
Their mobile command platform was a specially modified S.W.A.T. truck... a large SUV built on a dual-axle heavy-duty truck chassis, featuring multiple drawer-style compartments inside. The vehicle could receive live video feeds from reconnaissance teams while simultaneously directing individual S.W.A.T. squads.
The reason the NYPD had mobilized such a heavy response was due to the sheer audacity of the criminals. They had taken a hostage in an abandoned building in the heart of the city, drawing swarms of media coverage.
This was nothing short of an open challenge. If the hostage situation wasn't resolved quickly, the police commissioner could expect a flood of complaint letters on his desk.
"Look! It's Spider-Man!" screamed a bystander in the crowd.
From the live footage broadcast by reporters, the tactical team that had stormed the building was swiftly repelled by a dark figure. Even their overwhelming firepower couldn't land a single hit on their elusive target.
The elite officers were tossed around like mice being toyed with by a cat, they were played with before being casually crushed. Meanwhile, the line of armored vehicles at the base of the building was being flipped and hurled aside by the enormous Sandman.
The scene was utter chaos. Viewers watching from their TVs held their breaths.
These two super-criminals wreaking havoc in New York had picked the perfect time... Iron Man was in Los Angeles promoting his new energy market, while the Fantastic Four were in Washington D.C. preparing for a superhero speaking tour.
As a result, the vast city of New York had no one to stop these two rampaging villains. Inside the suspended taxi, the young woman screamed in terror. Anyone dangling 80 stories high would likely react the same way.
<...The hostage has been identified as Mary Jane Watson, a Broadway actress who has rarely performed in recent years. This is April O'Neil reporting live from the scene...>
Peter paused in front of a café's television, staring at the frozen image of Mary Jane, his former dream girl, now pale with fear, crying for help.
Above her, the massive spiderweb spelled out in bold letters: SPIDER-MAN! COME STOP US IF YOU DARE!
...
An hour earlier, Eddie Brock (whose mind had been corrupted by a black symbiotic substance, later to be known as Venom) had sought out Flint Marko, the Sandman...
Eddie wanted to team up with this powerful man who had also suffered at Spider-Man's hands, to eliminate New York's friendly neighborhood hero.
From the residual consciousness of the Venom symbiote, Eddie had learned Spider-Man's true identity. The merging of two hated figures into one filled him with both shock and delight.
The sudden surge of power had inflated the young photographer's ego, like an ant suddenly gaining the body of an elephant, now believing itself the strongest creature in the world.
Flint, who needed to rob a bank to fund his daughter's medical treatment, knew Spider-Man would interfere. Reluctantly, he agreed to the plan, even though he bore no real desire to kill New York's hero.
With his partner secured, Eddie then kidnapped Spider-Man's girlfriend, Mary Jane, to lure him out. What Venom didn't realize was that they were only lucky the other superheroes were out of town... otherwise, this would have turned into another spectacular battle.
The cold wind at this height whipped through Mary Jane's hair as she clung to the taxi's window. The entire car swayed precariously, as if it could plummet at any moment. Suddenly, the heavy steel frame snapped the resilient black webbing, sending the taxi into a freefall...
A terrified scream pierced the night sky as the cab plummeted over a dozen stories before jerking to a stop. The crowd below watched in horror, hearts pounding for the hostage inside.
A red figure leaped down from above... it was Spider-Man who had been missing for so long. He landed nimbly on the black web, staring through the window at his beloved.
"I'll get you out of here–"
Before he could finish, Venom struck like a bullet, sending Spider-Man flying into the concrete side of the building.
Eddie retracted his 'mask' and grinned triumphantly as he stood atop the swaying taxi, looking down at the stunned hero.
The humiliation he had suffered was finally being avenged, "Remember what you did to me? You took my job, destroyed my camera, trampled on my dignity... Now, I'm giving that pain back to you, tenfold!"
As Spider-Man lunged forward, Venom lashed out with a brutal punch. Now endowed with even greater strength, he had no fear of the hero's retaliation.
Peter was knocked back midair, losing control and crashing onto the web below. As he struggled to rise, two sticky globs of webbing pinned him down. Then, the black figure dropped from above, slamming into him with crushing force.
The red and black figures clashed in a high-altitude brawl, but Venom clearly had the upper hand... He was faster, more agile, and his fists rained down with devastating force. His maniacal laughter echoed through the night, broadcast live into countless homes.
Peter, now at a disadvantage, tumbled onto a pile of sand, only for it to shift and rise, forming a colossal sand giant, towering as tall as a 20 to 30-story building.
The terrified crowd and reporters scrambled back.
Dodging the giant's slow but crushing punches, Spider-Man fought desperately to break free and save Mary Jane who was still in mortal danger above...
But Venom wasn't about to let that happen. He suddenly appeared from behind, ensnaring Peter's neck with a thick strand of webbing. Unable to move, Peter was pummeled by the massive sandy fists.
The abandoned building trembled violently.
Unable to fight back, Spider-Man felt as though every bone in his body had shattered. Agony wracked his frame as he stared helplessly at Mary Jane, her life hanging by a thread. His eyes filled with despair, while the crowd below shut theirs, fearing this might be the end of New York's friendly neighborhood hero.
<...For the people of New York, this is a tragic day, and it may very well be Spider-Man's last...>
...the news anchor solemnly declared.
Countless grains of sand coalesced into a massive fist, slamming down like a hammer onto Spider-Man's chest. Blood trickled from the corner of Peter's mouth.
In just a few more minutes, he would be dead...