Under Shadows
Perched on the edge of the Octavius Industries building, Peter sighs. He has been waiting for Miles to show up for the last thirty minutes, but the man apparently can’t stay on time. When Ganke called to tell him that Miles was ready for the field again and to meet Spider-Man on the roof of Octavius Industries two days after the Beetle incident, Peter was expecting the man to at least be on time.
“Wait. Is this how everyone else feels when I’m late?! Oh, this sucks!”
“What sucks?” the sound of Miles’ voice asks as he flips and lands on top of the building next to Peter.
“Ah… nothing.”
“Was it the fact I’m late?”
“...”
“Your silence is its own kind of answer, Peter. Actually, I should get used to calling you Arachkid in the field.”
“Right, and I should just call you Spider-Man.”
“Hey~! Looks like Gank’s has been able to teach you some of the stuff whilst I was out!”
“Well, it would have been boring otherwise.”
“I also heard about Black Cat. I can’t believe Uncle Aaron is still causing me problems… Don’t stress it too much.”
“Yeah… I just… Well, it’s whatever. I did manage to take down that Beetle dude.”
“Oh, yeah! Abe’s cool as well. What was the headline JJ gave you? Masked Arachnid Stops a Pest! Does a Better Job Than Spider-Man.”
“It was way too wordy. Robby tried to get him to shorten the title, but you know what JJ’s like.”
“Honestly, I’m more impressed you got JJ on your side. The man gave you credit for your action whilst belittling me.”
Humming, Peter remembers the article. The main sticking points are the ‘accountable’ and ‘responsible’ parts. Apparently, taking the webs and the villain away was better in JJ’s eyes, but he still didn’t like the Spider-Man affiliation, wanting this ‘new arachnid’ to be held accountable by the police force or something.
“So, what are we starting with?”
“Swinging. Now that I can catch you, there's someone that can be held accountable for any mistakes that might happen.”
“...wait, that was why I wasn’t allowed to learn how to swing?”
“I mean, what where you expecting?”
“I don’t know… something about the dangers of swinging?”
“Well… It’s not that dangerous. You just have to watch out for drones.” Standing up, the man stretches, turning as he balances on the edge of roof, “Right, so, the simple breakdown is aim with your hips, not your wrists, that’s the first mistake I made, then, you just relax your body and swing yourself like you’re on a swingset. C’mon.”
Leaping backwards off the ledge, Spider-Man spins, his hips twisting as he angles himself towards the top of the building northeast of the Octavius Industries roof. He watches as the man shoots out a web, swinging his body as it jerks with the webbing. Swinging his entire body upwards, he lets go and lands on the rooftop of the building, waving down at Peter.
Gulping, Peter leans over the edge, looking up at the building as he breathes out. Angling his hips towards the building, he steps off the building, raising his wrist as he squeezes his palm, the thread of his web spiralling off towards the rooftop. His eyes widen as he waits for the thread to snap into place, trying to relax, the ping of the web going taunt ringing out through the air.
Trying to relax, he swings his body, using the momentum to launch himself into the air, arms flailing to his sides. Peter’s body spins, and his face looks straight down at the street below. His body catches, his upward momentum pausing as he begins to fall again. Desperately looking around, he angles his hips towards another building, firing a web towards the building as he swings up and latches onto the side of the building. Panting heavily, he turns, watching as Miles steps off the top of his building and swings over, landing on the side of the building next to him.
“Right, I think I forgot the whole ‘angle your body to where you want to go when swinging’ thing. You basically need to make adjustments and figure out where you’re going to be swinging next. But hey! Nice recovery. I think you’ll be a natural at this!”
“R-right. That makes sense. I kind of did that when I tried to land here.”
Nodding, Spider-Man leans off the wall, looking at the boy next to him.
“Alright, let’s keep going. I didn’t realise how stressful it is to watch and train people on swinging.”
“How did you learn?”
“My uncle. Before I was bitten and before I knew who he was, he showed me how to swing with a grappling hook. It’s because I was reading some comic books. You know? The ones with Batman?”
“Right, so he just showed you then-”
“ Oh, hang on! What’s up, Ganke?”
“Hey, guys, so I just got a ping about some riddle in Central Park. Figured you guys might want to check it out?”
“Alright, we’ll swing there now, c’mon Arachkid.”
“Aye, aye, Captain Spider-Man.”
“Oh, right. When you want to move forward, pull and release the web mid-swing, got it?”
“I’ll try.”
Leaping off the building, the pair begin swinging through the city, Miles occasionally giving pointers. It doesn’t take too long before they’re swinging through the city like it’s natural. Increasing the speed, the city blurs into a kaleidoscope of noise and colour as they flip and turn, the movements becoming fluid as they arrive at Coloumbus Circle, landing on the side of the statue.
“Alright, we’re just outside Central Park. Where do we need to head to?”
“Reports are saying it’s at Belvedere Castle. The thing is, I’ve got some of the images of this riddle but… I think it’s dangerous if people get involved with this.”
“It always is. Wanna give me- I mean, us an explanation on it?”
“It’ll be better if you check it out yourselves.”
Hearing the man above him groan, Peter tilts his head, looking up at Spider-Man. Following the man as they swing through and over the canopy of trees that envelope Central Park. Twirling as he hums to himself, the boy blindly lands on the roof of the castle, eyes vaguely flicking around the building as he kicks a rock.
“Witnesses have reported that there are some weird patterns on the floor and objects. I don’t know what it means, though.”
“Well, let's start by having a swing around and seeing where the patterns are. Got that, Arachkid?”
“Yeap! I’ll go West!”
Thwipping out a web as he launches himself to the top of the castle steeple, he looks across the courtyard. The lenses in his mask scrunch together as he tilts his head, ignoring the civilians who are pointing and gawking at him. These lines make no sense. It’s like a swirling pattern of… nothing.
Although some of the patterns seem to be making sense… Like that swirl and those straight lines. They almost seem like a… tail? Or at least the end of a rat's tail… Mouse’s tail? They’re very similar.
“Hey, so, I don’t know about you, Spider-Man, but I think that this might be some kind of Rebus Puzzle. On my side, I’ve got what looks like a… vermin’s tail. Either a rat or mouse. I’m not sure.”
“Whoa! Nice job spotting that! If you’re seeing something on the west side, we should start looking from the air there… Hey, G, did you add the web-wings to Arachkid’s suit?”
“You know it!”
“Cool, cool. Yo, Arachkid, I’m going to launch you into the sky; you just need to pull your wings out of your suit; they’re around your calves,” Spider-Man says, swinging over and perching next to him. The man’s hands fumble with the suit before him, pulling on the straps that hold the web-wings and looking them over.
Looking at the straps, he frowns, realising the random line that was running down the side of his suit served a practical function. It would also explain why the sides have a little elastic tension.
“Um, how do I steer?”
“Oh, it’s kind of simple. I’m guessing you’ve never used a wingsuit. It’s just tilting you’re body in the direction you want to move, but don’t over-tilt. It’s about a ten-to-fifteen degree angle; anything more and you’ll start nose-diving.”
“That’s… okay. I got it. Slight tilt left or right to move.”
“Great! It’s better to learn how to do this without having to fight someone. I learnt that the hardway. Alright! Slip your hands in these loops.”
Slipping his hands in the loops presented to him on either side of him, Peter gulps, looking up at the sky. How he’s about to be thrown up there, he has no clue. Hopefully he isn’t going to be swung-
“Alright! See you in ten!”
“Wait, wha-”
Feeling something attaching to his back, Peter spins, looking at the webs on his back before looking at Spider-Man, the lenses of his mask wide. Trying to protest, Peter tries to take a step forward. A fatal mistake he’ll remember forever. He begins spinning around the man as he twirls in place, the webs connecting the pair, before launching Peter into the air.
His scream pierces the wind, and he wonders if this fear is the same the criminals feel when they get thrown into the air. Twisting as he grits his teeth, remembering the wing suit, he unfurls his arms, feeling the wind catch beneath the fabric as he slows down. Swirling in the air, he tries to right himself above the castle. The lull in the wind, a soft gliding sensation, and Peter opens his eyes.
Belvedere Castle is small beneath him, as he stares at the small figures below him. The reflective paint that lines the building glares at him as he frowns, trying to figure out what direction the creation is pointing in.
“You see anything, Arachkid?” the voice of Ganke asks, cracking against the communication device in his ear.
“Nothing. It’s… the wrong angle. I’m going to try a different angle to see if that will reveal anything.”
Tilting to his right, Peter circles the castle, mentally tracing the lines of the reflective tape, ignoring Spider-Man’s movements. Nothing… nothing… nothing… C’mon! There’s got to be something more than the tip of the tail to this thing!
“Hey, I think I got the angle, but not the right perspective,” Spider-Man calls out across the comm.
Looking at Spider-Man, Peter watches him point in the direction about thirty degrees south from the western steeple. A tree about twenty-five feet away… that looks like it might be the right distance for the image.
Pulling out of the web-wings as he spins, Peter lands on the tree, carefully aiming his lenses back towards the castle. The leaves of the tree tickle against the edges of his suit, the image of a rat, a highly detailed rat, forming in front of him as he looks at the paint.
“How do I take a picture of what I’m seeing?”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. Just hold still for a couple of seconds and we can use the footage… well, not that we need it. It looks like the rat’s pointing south, right? Maybe our mysterious friend is heading south.”
“But why leave a trail?”
“Eh, the supervillain types like the attention. I mean, think about Abe,” Spider-Man chips in, swinging over towards Peter, pointing south.
“Right…”
“I think the sewers is another safe bet, considering it was a rat. So, maybe they’re heading to the New York water supply.”
“The real question is why.”
“We can figure that out after we find them.”
Swinging down through the park, the spider-duo continue on their careening path. The scent of wood mixes with the gasoline exhaust from the cars. Peter thinks to himself, wondering if this is normal. Swinging back and forth to find villains. Not to mention how tiring the sensation is. It’s no wonder Spider-Man is in such good shape, with how much energy it seems to take to swing around. If anything, Peter’s worried that his increased appetite is going to cause problems for May and Ben… Oh, that’s not a good thought.
Landing on the side of a construction site, Peter watches as Miles pops open a sewage grate in an alleyway, beckoning him to follow. Grimacing as he zips across the road into the alley, he obeys, looking into the darkness below him.
“Remember to pull the lid back over yourself.”
“Right…”
Watching as the man hops down the grate, a soft thud sounding back up the tunnel, the young boy looks around, gently sticking himself to the brickwork. Webbing the manhold cover towards him, he gently pulls it over his head, placing it back as he lets go, relaxing and falling into the sewer.
Gagging as he lands, the scent of the sewage water filling his nostrils, Peter spins, looking for any sign of Spider-Man, finding him standing a couple of feet away. The man tilts his head, silently questioning Peter.
“The smell.”
“Ganke… did you forget to put the respirator in Peter’s suit?”
“...I knew I forgot something.”
“Right… you think you can handle the smell? If not, you can always go back…”
Peter shakes his head in response, determination setting into his mind as he stands up tall, pretending not to notice the scent. Breathing out, Peter internally asks how long this is going to take as he walks past Spider-Man, leading the way as they continue to head south through the sewers.
“Alright, if you’re sure. Now, we’re going to be on the ceiling since it’s better for stealth… You can’t turn invisible, can you?”
“No…”
“Then I won’t either. The idea is to be quiet and use the tips of your fingers. Because of the way the spider mutation works, we can use minimal points of contact to crawl around.”
“Huh… Okay, so that’s why only the toes of the suit don’t have a sole to them…”
“Exactly! You’ve already been unconsciously using it with your toes, so now, you do the same, but with your fingers.”
Leaping onto the ceiling, the pair continue to crawl through the dim, dark and dull tunnels. The constant thrum of running water and droplets hitting the concrete or water rings in echoes. If it wasn’t for the scent, Peter would almost consider this to be one of the most interesting places he’s been in.
“Nice job. We’re heading towards the direction of One Plaza Roxxon. Something tells me that our little mystery guest might be targeting Roxxon.”
“Which would explain why they left clues… they wanted you to help them with whatever their plan is.”
“Exactly. I’m guessing that Roxxon is up to something, and this person might be some kind of aspiring hero… you never know.”
A flicker of a light draws Peter’s eyes away as they continue overhead of the rushing water. Tunnels spread out in a maze. A labyrinth… Something about this doesn’t feel right now that Peter is thinking about it. Rats…
Why rats? The creatures are littering the edges of the sewer, their insistent squeaking as they dart back and forth a shallow cacophanony of noise. He crawls forward, eyes narrowing more and more, the hairs on his body feeling like they’re growing more and more taunt.
“I don’t like this…” Peter mumbles under his breath, eyes darting around, “It feels like prime time some kind of omen of bad luck will rear its head… that’s just how Parker luck is…”
“What? Expecting your mysterious Black Cat girl to show up?” Miles asks, the smirk beneath his mask evident despite the words.
“No! It’s not like that either!”
“Uh-huh. From what I heard from Ganke, your heart rate was elevated, and you pinned her do-”
“IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!” Peter half shouts, trying to keep his voice down as he glares at the hero, “I just… she seemed to have… forget it.”
“Sorry, sorry. I was just teasing, but I get it. The first person that manages to escape you is always the one that you can’t get off your mind. At least not until you’ve caught them. It was that way with me and the Tinkerer after all.”
Peter stops, thinking about what Miles said. It makes a bit too much sense. Not to mention that it definitely didn’t help that she was- No! Peter already told himself that he wouldn’t think about that. Not again.
Continuing to crawl along the now pipe-lined ceiling of the tunnels, Peter and Miles find themselves staring at light. A lot of light. Artificial bulbs of luminous essence glimmer in the previously dark tunnel as they continue moving.
The sounds of construction, the ringing cries of a foreman and the stinging drilling of a jackhammer. Grunts and groans of lifting and moving equipment along with that distinct, metallic screech of metal against metal. Something is happening down here.
“Stay quiet and follow me.”
Nodding as he watches Spider-Man zip a couple of feet ahead of him on the ceiling, Peter continues to push forward, slowly focusing on staying as quiet as possible. Seeing Miles raise his fist, or is it lower it in this situation? Semantics. Peter pauses, eyes glancing past the man as two, three… twelve, purple and red high-vis jacketed men talk. Their equipment hums, sparks flying from some kind of soldering equipment as they work away. Printed in large, metallic-hued letters on the back of their jackets is one word. Roxxon.
“Looks like we found the target. The question is, wheres our mysterious guest?” Spider-Man mutters, looking around the tunnel for any sign of rats.
Peter frowns to himself, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as he leaps back. Seeing Spider-Man turn to look at him, Peter ignores the eyes, staring down one of the tunnels.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
The heavy metal sound of boots hitting concrete rings through the air. His heroic mentor frowns, turning to face the noise himself. Trudging forward, the sound of the person moving swaying as a faint purple glow appears in the tunnel. An amulet swung around his neck. A face contorted into a fierce smirk. A suit of armour, reminiscent of Iron Man, wrapped around him.
A Greek man of already towering proportions stares into the tunnel, chuckling as he spots the spiders on the ceiling. The former CEO of Roxxon, Dario Agger, continues walking forward, ignoring the pair. Peter watches as Miles tenses, his fists curling into balls as he stares daggers into the man.
“It’s good to see you again, Spider-Man… I see you have your sidekick with you again. This time with a proper suit.”
“Well, I figured it was about time, Mario- I mean Dario. Wouldn’t want to offend you by calling you a plumber. Although this current situation… kind of makes it seem like you are.”
The man chuckles as Peter tries to process the situation. His mind twirls, trying to figure out where this man could have seen them together before. Eyes meeting the bullish amulet slung around the mans neck, his eyes widen, the lenses of his mouth clicking and shuddering as he realises.
“Minotaur?”
“Oh, he’s quick… How wonderful.”
“Let’s drop the pleasantries, Dario. What are you and Roxxon up to down here?”
“Investing in power, as per normal. After the last… debacle in Queens, we decided it would be wise to move the next facility a little closer to home.”
“So Greece?”
“Hmph. No, little Spider. But you will wish it was. Now, let’s talk business. The new CEO doesn’t like interruptions.”
“And we don’t like potentially hazardous experiments under residential areas.”
“Which brings me to the proposal of my boss. You two leave this place alone, and we won’t kill you or any of the citizens of New York. You just have to let us enslave them all to my queen's reign.”
“That doesn’t sound like it’s part of the hero code, Spider-Man,” Peter mentions, his eyes flicking between the tunnel Dario had walked out of and the man himself.
“A shame. I was hoping we could settle this peacefully. I guess violence is our only solution. Luckily, I’m not alone either,” the man says, spinning the amulet as he begins to grow, the armour conforming to his gradually growing form. The hum of electricity ignites from the tunnel Peter was watching, a tall black and red figure running down the hall as it leaps through the air. The Tarantula pounces out of the darkness, the Minotaur roaring as he charges toward Spider-Man. Peter narrows his eyes as he lets the Taratnula grab him, rolling into a tunnel with the man.
Oh, it’s on. Time to go rock an old man to sleep.