Chapter 19: Enter: Peter Parker
[Peter Parker POV]:
[12 Hours Earlier]:
SPLASH!
Splashing water on his sleepless face, Peter made an attempt to focus on getting ready for class to hardly any avail.
Gwen had broken up with him — Again. Over text. It was disheartening enough to prevent Peter from having any concepts of sleep the night before. And now, he had class, which only served to becoming an obstacle course in and of itself.
'I was so distracted yesterday and last night, I couldn't even go out to be Spider-Man,' Peter thought, staring at his reflection in the mirror. 'Thankfully, there was that new, up and coming team of heroes who stepped up by expanding their patrols last night. What were their names again? The Defenders? Maybe they'll be willing to do it a second time, so I can process everything?'
Not only had Gwen broken up with Peter and was now his ex, but she had also gone silent afterwards which served to further his anxiety. It didn't help that he hadn't been able to convince her otherwise either.
Furthermore, it felt like his best friend, Harry, had begun to grow distant from him. And even though he was convincing himself Harry was likely busy, he couldn't shake the feeling that his best friend was hiding something from him. He just had no idea what.
His mind returned to Gwen, to the text,
[ You're going to kill yourself wearing that suit, Peter. I can't stick around to see it.]
[ I cannot, in good conscience, support this. ]
[ I think we need time apart… Away from one another. ]
[ It's why I'm going away for a time.]
[This is the end of us. We're through.]
After attempting to call her three times after reading the text, he then managed to receive 1 final message:
[ I'm blocking your number. Don't call me again, Peter. ]
And, of course, when he tried again it didn't even make it to voicemail.
Peter was devastated.
And even as he made it from class to class at ESU, he was highly distracted by his thoughts — So distracted, in fact, by his thoughts was he during the break between his 2nd and 3rd class, that he wasn't watching where he was going, accidentally bumping into someone.
"Sorry, sorry," Peter began, shaking himself from the haze, reaching down to help the girl up to her feet, as he began attempting to help her with her textbooks and papers that had spilled all around them. "Here, let me help you with that."
"Ouch," the woman said, rubbing the front of her head, glaring at Peter before noticing Peter's face and her glare turning into a brighter expression. "You're Peter, right? Oh, I'm Mary."
As Mary outstretched a hand, Peter couldn't help but admire her beauty.
[Peter Parker Reference Image]:
[Mary Jane Reference Image]:
She had cherry red hair, green bright eyes and calm aura. She wore a white shirt, teal green jacket beneath a black leather jacket and blue jeans. Her freckled faced gave her a natural beauty and her warm smile enchanted Peter instantly. He felt his heart quicken as he processed her words.
"I am—" he reached for her hand, only to be interrupted a second later.
"Peter Parker. Yes, I remember you. We have Cross Species Genetics with Professor Connors together?" MJ shook his hands enthusiastically. "I was present when you and Harry helped Dr. Connors come up with his first breakthrough. I must say, I am pleased to officially meet you. I am an… admirer of sorts."
"Really?" Peter asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.
By this time, Peter had helped Mary, who he started calling MJ, pick up her books and papers he had accidentally caused her to drop. He was now standing before her, taking him her features.
He was starstruck.
"Really," she expressed.
"Well, would it be out of pocket to ask for a date with one you admire?" questioned Peter. He needed to get over Gwen and MJ seemed like a decent person. 'Who better to date than someone who already admires you?' was his thinking. "I know a nice pizza place on 1st and 3rd. What do you say?"
"Are you asking me out, Peter Parker?" MJ raised a brow in challenge, before chuckling at Peter's response of 'Maybe.' "Sure. See you tonight, then?"
"At 7?" questioned Peter as they exchanged numbers and addresses. "Good. Excellent. See you then."
As they parted ways, Peter felt himself become lighter, in a better mood. He even decided to take another hiatus today from being Spider-Man — this time for a completely different reason...
And, in typical fashion, those plans tanked that evening when Peter was watching the news and noticed MJ was captured by a group of Peter's rogues — alongside Gwen Stacy, being held hostage by the Vulture above the Empire State Building.
["New Team of Villains Captures Two New Yorkers"] one news channel says.
["Sinister Six" Demands For The Appearance of The Spider-Man] another says.
["Where Is The Spider Now? Has He Finally Gone Rogue?"] James Jonah Jameson says.
These headlines werre bold and trending by the time Peter saw them. When he did, of course, see this, he rushed into action.
He wasn't too sure if he could take on all 6 villains, but he was certain he intended to try. He may have been broken up with by Gwen, but he wasn't petty nor vindictive enough to get her killed. And MJ didn't deserve any this to begin with.
He had no choice. He had to go and save them.
The plus side was that at least MJ hadn't actually ghosted him. Unfortunately, perhaps getting ghosted would've been safer for the woman.
Donning the suit, he rushed to the scene, his swings coming out much swifter and urgent than he would've typically done in a regular confrontation, where Vulture held both women by their necks, hundreds of feet above the Empire State Building. And, atop the building, below the thunderous black sky where lightning traversed and black clouds blotted out the moon above, were some of Peter's most dangerous villains: Mister Negative, Digger, Scorpion and Molten Man.
"Well, look what we have here, boys?" Mister Negative chuckled as Peter landed on the roof, looking at where the Vulture held the two barely unconscious forms of the women Peter cared for. "A spider in a nest of predators."
"What should we do with him, boss?" Scorpion asked, clearly ready to end Spider-Man.
"Release them, Vulture!" Spidey said, ignoring the others.
"I don't answer to the likes of you, Spider," Vulture exclaimed.
"No, just someone much worse..." Spider-Man murmured, eyeing Mister Negative up and down. "What do you want for them?"
Mister Negative merely cackled before answering. "I want you to let us... beat you, and if I see even a hint of retaliation, then dear old ex and love interest both fall to their dooms!" he bellowed.
Looking at a glaring Gwen who, even now, seemed to despise Peter and a wide-eyed MJ, whose gears seemed to be working overtime, Peter realized that if he didn't comply, he'll lose them both. And should he comply, if he showed even an ounce of retaliatory reaction, the Vulture would drop them both.
Deciding to go along with it, Peter allowed the villains their way — They beat him to a pulp and the various news stations via helicopters caught the scene, much to New York's horror.
However, it was as he was being hoisted up by the neck from Mister Negative that the man revealed to Peter a secret: "We had no intentions of letting either live anyway. We just wanted to beat you on live television," he whispered. "Thank you, Spider, for the opportunity of your lively humiliation."
Eyes widening in horror, Spider-Man reacted to the whispered secret, kicking Mister Negative square in the chest, causing the man to go through multiple walls.
Then, as Vulture let go of both his hostages, Spider-Man used his evasive abilities and spider sense to maneuver his way through the Sinister Sixers, diving down to catch MJ.
He succeeded in catching MJ. However, as he attempted to get Gwen, Mister Negative flew through the building wall, catching Spider by the throat as they were veered off course, plummeting down. "No!"
All hope seemed lost when a singular figure in black and green flying a futuristic tech-based board flew down from the sky at blurring speeds, catching Gwen and landing her safely on the ground before giving Spider-Man thumbs up.
[Green Goblin Reference Image]:
That was all Spider-Man needed. He fought the Sinister Six alongside his new ally — And they did fairly well together, handling Digger, Molten Man and even Vulture like pros. This new guy even had green-black circular auras that held various effects to them, including electrical discharge and combustion. Even his board wasn't natural, with various utilities being used to aid him in combat.
Spider-Man wasn't entirely certain, but he thought this new person had similar-level physicalities as himself, even heightened speeds. Unfortunately, their turn around was pre-judged. As they attempted to combat Scorpion and Mister Negative, Electro finally showed himself.
He had been absorbing the storm's lightning, super-charging himself to unpredictable levels. Dressed in a highly conductive armor with a green-black pattern, "Spider-Man!" Electro shouted, charging forward mid-flight.
[Electro Reference Image]:
"That doesn't look good…" Spider-Man murmured, tensing and mentally bracing himself for the ungodly amount of shock he was sure he'd experience…A level of shock that hadn't even come his way.
WHAM!
A strange, crimson and black jet of sorts rammed right into the Electro, shocking everyone present as the crimson and black jet carried Electro skyward, disappearing into the night, stormy sky.
The last thought Peter had was, 'Isn't that the Redline?'
[Luke Blake]:
Luke walked the massive halls of his private lab on the 9th floor of his apartment building, passing the stasis tube that held Apocalypse's sleeping form, as well as a few more empty stasis tubes filled with their see-through liquids that were virtually trillions of micro-nanites. Just held a specific temporal effect that stopped all effects of time to any being dropped within before he left for the rooftop.
He passed Exodus' pod as well as Electro's, choosing to walk straight past their stasis tubes and first to the blood sample refrigerator.
Under the label read "Pre-Sentry Active Blood Samples," Luke located samples labeled "Post-Sentry Active Blood Samples," before looking at the 4 samples of Pre-Sentry Active blood samples given to him by the Master.
His eyes briefly traveled to the two vials labeled "Post-Sentry Active" blood, noting its more vibrant crimson glow, with a slight golden tint as if the particles within weren't just blood cells.
Then, looking further down, Luke took note of the Sentry serum replicate he created using a synthesized stabilizer.
'With this particular serum, anyone can be injected with it and there would be a 82% chance of granting one Sentry-like abilities, albeit slightly weaker — closer, in physicality, to Man of Steel Superman before he even got the suit. Its downside is underwhelming but, at least, the risk of Void appearing within is vastly diminished — Practically zero,' Luke thought, eyes traveling back to the samples. 'The true Sentry serum is stored in the most secure place the Master had available —- the warehouse he trained in his adolescence. We've upgraded it and even installed security measures that would give most Omega-level threats problems they wouldn't be easily able to bypass, so I'm not worried about Robert's future as the Sentry being put in jeopardy at all, especially before he's even ready for the mantle.'
Eyeing the blood samples of Pre-Sentry Active Vials, Luke thought to himself, 'The Master had stored these samples here in case of emergency or in case we ever needed more manpower to get things done. Each sample is imprinted with a sliver of the Master's spirit. And each one has a sliver of each of us — The original 4 clones the Master created. We have already given one sample a speck of our blood. Each one is a clone base to create a helper or sidekick for each of us, should we ever need it…
'But it doesn't necessarily have to be 4 individual clones so much as it could be a combination of 2 or 3 of us. Control won't be a problem as they're each based with a sliver of the Master's spirit.
'That said, if we needed something more powerful, like we may need now, based on the vision I had this morning…Merging two vials into one may just be the solution. And, with so many specimens we're saving for later use, now is probably the right time to prepare to expand our inner circle, right? And who is more trustworthy of our cause…than us?'
Luke mentally reached out to his siblings using their cosmic link to get approval to use them. He might be the Master's public persona given form, but the family was still mostly democratic.
When he got approval, he snatched the samples that contained both Crystal's blood and his own, mixing them into one larger vial before pouring its contents into a pool by itself, where he went to work designing the characteristics of a fifth clone…