Dennis Carradine woke up from a wave of intense pain.
He felt like his head had been split open with an axe, his wrists were sore from the ropes binding them, his feet were dangling, and his body swayed like a boat on the waves.
"Where am I?"
He tried to open his eyes, but the dim light only hit his corneas. His vision was blurry, with multiple images overlapping, and he couldn't see anything clearly.
When he tried to speak, his voice was just a pained groan.
He didn't know where he was, but at least he was sure he wasn't at sea. The air that hit him wasn't the wet, salty smell of the ocean. Instead, it was filled with dust, rust, and a faint hint of gunpowder, just like any abandoned factory in Hell's Kitchen.
He had been kidnapped.
He quickly realized this, as such things were common in New York.
But he couldn't figure out why anyone would go to the trouble of kidnapping him. He was just a nobody, a small-time hoodlum.
His eyes still couldn't see anything, but that didn't stop him from feeling scared and regretful.
Damn it!
If he had known this would happen, he should have robbed a bank earlier, stolen a car, and gotten out of this hellhole called New York!
"Dennis Carradine."
A strange voice, a bit sharp and with a double tone, echoed in his ears. The sound reverberated in the space, as if countless people were speaking to him, the layered waves of sound pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Dennis Carradine's face contorted in fear, and he pleaded, "Sir..."
"Dennis Carradine," the voice said again, "do you know why I brought you here?"
Dennis Carradine's vision began to clear gradually. He found himself hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned factory. Not far away were fences and walkways made of sheet metal, and there was nothing beneath him.
His heart leaped into his throat, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he swayed even more violently.
"I don't know, sir..." Dennis Carradine's voice trembled, laced with sobs. "You... you can have anything you want, I'll tell you anything you want to know, please..."
People like him, bottom-feeders who couldn't make it in Hell's Kitchen, didn't have much courage. He was completely terrified now. But he thought, since he wasn't killed immediately, he must be of some use, right?
He just hoped that the person got what they wanted and would let him live.
However, the other person's next words plunged him into complete despair.
"I just want your life!"
"No, sir, please..." Tears streamed down his face, his eyes wide with terror as he kept looking at the ground. He was at least fifty feet (about fifteen meters) above it. If he fell from here, his brains would surely splatter everywhere.
So he desperately searched for the person who had kidnapped him, wanting to see who it was. He wanted to know how he had offended this person. No matter what it was, he could kneel down and apologize, as long as they spared his miserable life.
Soon, he spotted a strangely shaped, somewhat slender shadow standing in the darkness—
"Sir..." Dennis Carradine cried, as if he had seen a savior. "Don't kill me, sir, please... I can do anything for you, anything..." He couldn't finish his sentence. The words got stuck in his throat like fishbones. His eyes were wide open, but his pupils had shrunk several times.
Because the strange shadow walked out of the darkness, revealing itself to Dennis's eyes. It was a monster!
The thing looked like a Velociraptor, most of its body covered in black, with blue arms and feet. Its long tail also had rings of blue stripes—XLR8!
This kidnapper was, naturally, Ben.
Originally, Ben had planned to keep a close watch on Uncle Ben after Peter was bitten by the spider, to prevent Uncle Ben from encountering danger. But after transforming into Grey Matter yesterday, he changed his approach—why should he wait for tragedy to strike before trying to prevent it?
Evil should be nipped in the bud!
So, he immediately started looking for clues.
He didn't know who the criminal who killed Uncle Ben in this world would be, but he had watched two versions of the Spider-Man movies and had two clues in mind—
In the Toby Version movie, Uncle Ben was killed by Sandman, William Baker. In the Amazing Version movie series, the killer had a star mark on their wrist. And the world he was in was a bit like a combination of the three Spider-Man universes.
"I hacked into the New York Police Department's system and found your file, Dennis Carradine."
Ben's tone was a bit impatient at this moment. He paced back and forth on the sheet metal platform, his roller-skate-like feet making a "swish-swish" sound on the ground.
"Out of all the criminals with a file in New York, not many have a star tattoo on their wrist. There's only you!"
Of course, Ben had also investigated Sandman, William Baker, but he couldn't find any record of him.
"If I offended you before, I'm willing to apologize..." Dennis pleaded humbly.
He clearly realized that Ben had captured him with a specific purpose, not a random attack by a mad monster. But he also knew that he had no value and that no one would buy his cheap life.
So, the only possibility was that he had accidentally provoked someone, or—he glanced at Ben's appearance—or accidentally stepped on a lizard in the sewer?
"I'll apologize to you after I kill you."
Ben sneered. He walked up to Dennis. Now, all he needed to do was extend those black hands, like scissors, to cut the rope that was hanging Dennis.
He knew this was not an act of justice.
Perhaps he didn't deserve the powers of Spider-Man, nor the Omnitrix, like this.
But that didn't matter. He wasn't a hero, and he didn't intend to become one.
What mattered was that he could protect the people he cherished with this power!
"No! No! No!"
Dennis screamed as he watched the ropes slowly get cut by Ben's sharp claws. The fear of death almost made him wet himself. He didn't have time to wonder what kind of creature this was; he just wanted to live!
"I don't know, sir, I don't know what I did to offend you," he cried, speaking very quickly. "But please, spare me, please..."
"You don't know? That's okay, I can tell you," Ben said. "Because you were going to kill a good person, and you deserve it!"
"I didn't," he whimpered, shaking his head desperately. "I didn't kill anyone."
"Not yet," Ben said. "But in a few days, it'll be different."
A few days later?
Dennis thought this monster had to be crazy!
Dennis deeply regretted his choices now. He should have left Hell's Kitchen a long time ago!
Those gang members were always fighting, and joining a gang was a death wish.
He should have gone to Brooklyn, Queens, or anywhere else to grab some money, then stolen a car and left New York!
Anywhere would do, San Francisco, Washington...
As long as this monster couldn't find him.
But it was too late for regrets.
What could he do?
He could only try to reason with a monster, beg a madman for mercy:
"I won't, I promise!"
But Ben had no intention of continuing the conversation.
After transforming into XLR8, his personality had become a bit more impatient. It was already patient of him to talk to Dennis this much.
Now, his claws severed the ropes, and Dennis instantly lost his last support, falling with a scream. Ben didn't look down. He knew Dennis's head would smash against the hard concrete floor and splatter like a watermelon.
"Thump!"
A loud noise!
But it wasn't the sound of Dennis hitting the ground. Instead, a fiery figure burst through the ceiling of the abandoned factory.
The shadow flashed before Ben's eyes, and scorching heat washed over his face!
He swooped down and caught Dennis just as he was about to hit the ground. Then, he released him, placing Dennis steadily on the ground. Fire spewed from his hands as he slowly rose until he was level with Ben.
"To-ny, Star-k!"
Ben's voice was filled with extreme anger.
Note 1: Dennis Carradine is actually the fake culprit caught by Toby in the first season of the Toby version of Spider-Man. Since the name of the person who killed Uncle Ben in the Omnitrix was not found, this name was borrowed.
New book seedlings, readers who like it can add it to their bookshelf.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com