Phase One Completed
“White Tiger! What a pleasant surprise!”
“You’re going to pay for everything you’ve done to my family - and Paris!”
“Trapped in a feral rage. I must be rubbing off on you.”
“Oh, enough of that garbage, Kraven! We’ve got to stop them from ruining our plans!” Kraven nodded and drew his laser spear. White Tiger drew her claws. They leapt at each other. Electrocutioner shot another blast at Iron Fist, who was able to deflect with his trademark iron punch. Luke took it upon himself to evacuate the Mayor. A pity Thunderbolt wasn’t about to take that lying down. He barfed a stream of lightning at Luke, who was only protected by his invulnerable skin. He grabbed the Mayor, pulled him in close and leapt out the window, quickly followed by the lightning sentimonster.
“Do you still delude yourself into thinking you can triumph, Electro?”
“Now with added Cutioner! And how you beat a guy you can’t even touch? I don’t fancy your chances against the emperor of electricity!” A pink butterfly-shaped mask appeared over his face.
“Electrocutioner, stop the small talk and finish him!” Electrocutioner nodded and generated a massive ball of lightning between his hands. Danny was smart enough to recognise that was bad news. He ducked and dodged as Electrocutioner threw it at him. It instead hit the Mayor’s desk, exploding it into a shower of sparks. Electrocutioner growled and rose two fingers to his forehead. In seconds, Thunderbolt came charging through the wall, albeit with several visible punch marks, and in two of them, the perpetrator – Power Man. Thunderbolt roared to the skies and the city hall roof was torn apart by a massive storm of lightning, narrowly missing Kraven as he made another strike on the White Tiger. Electrocutioner leapt onto the sentimonster’s neck and generated another two balls of lightning. He boasted about his new power being more than a match for anything the heroes can throw at him, and then proved it by unleashing them both on White Tiger and Iron Fist, sending them both flying through the other end of the building. They were unconscious when Thunderbolt came leaping after them. Kraven and Electrocutioner were quick to catch up. Kraven wandered over White Tiger. He drew one of his laser knives and rose it above her heart.
“Too long has it been since I’ve had this chance! Your head for my mantle! At last, the hunt ends now!”
“…and that’s the whole story, is it?”
“Yes Spider Man.”
“Oh please, call me Spidey. Everyone does! So… another twist of fate grants an ordinary teenager arachnid powers, you worked alongside someone in a cat suit, you fight some evil genius who creates other villains and hides out in a secret lair… You sure your surname’s not Parker? ‘Cause I’m suddenly seeing similarities.” Marinette gave a reluctant giggle.
“The big question still remains, Peter. Why were the Sinister Six after her?” Tiki flew out of Marinette’s purse, taking Spidey and Nova by surprise.
“Sinister Six? I only counted five.”
“Whoever was leading them must’ve been hiding somewhere else, Tiki.”
“Ok… now I really want an explanation.”
“You may do, Nova. As Director Fury would say, any second we spend listening to her explanation is a second Doc Ock and his sinister stooges could be using to cover more ground. Anyway, we’ve already lost one hero today. Knowing my luck, we couldn’t have done anything to prevent Cat Noir’s death, but we can still save others.” Marinette shrugged and slumped even further. Spidey and Nova looked at each other. This could be a difficult task.
“Yo Danny!” White Tiger’s luck was good. Power Man managed to catch Kraven off guard long enough to get in a particularly strong left hook, sending him flying in Iron Fist’s direction, narrowly missing Electrocutioner and sending him crashing into a nearby unfinished statue of Mayor Bourgeois. He fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
“That’s one down. Thanks for the save, Luke.”
“Anytime, Ava. Now… what are we going to do about lightning butt over there?”
Meanwhile, Spidey and Nova were just about ready to give up.
“Too deep a slump she’s in, Nova.”
“Yeah, Petey. Could be weeks, could be days, could be any time before she’s mentally ready to help us.”
“What else is there to do besides report the discovery to Director Fury? I’m sure he’d want to know about Doc Ock and his stooges running amok in Paris.”
“Hmm… alright. I’ll check up on the others, you tell Director Fury.” And so Nova flew off, leaving Spidey to sit down besides Marinette.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Marinette… you’ve got to pull yourself together. That hyped up Electro attack. What if that’s related to Hawk Moth? You know him better then me. We need you.”
“Urgh! Why can’t you just work it out for yourself? I’ve been fighting him for ages, you only just give me a hand, and my boyfriend… urgh, sort of… was killed by that crazed hunter guy! I had so many plans for our future together!” Marinette wiped her eyes and buried her head in her hands. Spidey gave a sympathetic look. “You don’t know what it means to lose a loved one!” That remark. It hit Spidey harder than he thought it would. Rage began to build up in him. Tiki was worried, she desperately tried to get Marinette’s attention. Then Peter tore off his mask.
“HOW DARE YOU!!!” Everyone was surprised by his outburst. As angry as he was, Spidey quickly worked to control his emotions before continuing. “I understand better than you realise. Because someone important was taken from me, too. I lost someone special to me for no reason at all. And unlike you, I had an opportunity for revenge. I had the guy who did it cornered, helpless. I could have finished him right there. But I realized, it wouldn't have changed what happened. Worse, I would have become as bad as the creep who took him from me. He always said I could choose what kind of man I wanted to be. I chose to walk away, to be better. To be Spider-Man.” Marinette began to perk up slightly. “We can’t always avoid tragedies. But we can learn from them. Without your help, Cat Noir could’ve died for nothing. Doc Ock and Hawk Moth could spread terror across the globe on a scale neither could’ve dreamed of alone. How many more would suffer his fate?” He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “If you help me, we can stop them both. Save millions more.”
“I…” Marinette stood up. “You’re right, Spidey.”
“Call me Peter.”
“I have to be strong. Adrien wouldn’t want me to tear my mind apart in mourning for him. Nor would he want me to let thousands suffer instead of doing something to help. I’ll help you, Peter.”
“Three liquefied akuma… thirty litres of the goblin formula…” Doc Ock shuddered vilolently as Doctor Doom gave him a pat on the shoulder, offering a chemical beaker.
“How much longer until the mission is completed, Octavius?”
“Do not rush a genius!”
“I’m not rushing, I’m helping!” One of Ock’s arms swatted away Doom’s beaker.
“Whoa! Will you chill out, Victor? If you ruin this batch, I won’t have time to genius up another one before Spider Man gets here! Alright…” Ock picked up a jar containing some minuscule samples of the Venom symbiote. He unscrewed the lid and poured the contents into the synthesizer. He turned it on. After a few seconds it switched off, allowing Ock to remove a vial of the new glowing purple formula. He picked up a syringe and filled it with the glowing purple formula. He gave a sinister laugh. “Now… may I have a volunteer?” Shadow Moth looked over their three captives, before finally settling on Alya. He dragged her forward. “Excellent.”
“Urgh… this isn’t going to hurt, right?”
“Oh no no no, it won’t hurt…” Ock smirked, before adding, “…for long!” He viciously jabbed the syringe into her arm. Almost immediately, she bent over in pain, clutching her head in agony. In seconds, she had completely transformed. She now sported a very deep violet butterfly-shaped mask on her face, and her eyes were moderate cerise. The top of her hair turned a slightly darker shade, and she wore a very dark purple supervillain jumpsuit, her lower arms, and legs white with three stripes that were white above each. On her chest is a glowing light brilliant rose Wi-Fi symbol, and a thin white line goes around her waist, with the line creating a semicircle above a short vertical white line in the front, resembling a power button. Shadow Moth gave a sinister smile. This gambit had worked. Perfectly.
“It has been a long time since our last meeting, Lady Wi-Fi.” Doom gave a barely audible scoff.
“Seriously?” Ock gave him an awkward nudge. Lady Wi-Fi knelt down.
“What are your orders, Shadow Moth?”
“Excellent. Bring me the other two for conversation and await further instructions.” Lady Wi-Fi nodded, grabbed both Nino and Zoe by the neck and dragged them to Ock, despite their protests. Both their transformations were equally painful. The serum gave Nino the same appearance as his superhero counterpart except for being red all over, and the lenses of his goggles and shield are all red. In contrast, Zoe gained a new form, as opposed to turning back into Sole Crusher. Much like Alya, she clutched her head and fell over in pain. Maybe not surprising given her transformation turned her into a humanoid insect, with a sickly green exoskeleton, yellow eyes on stalks, antennae, a pair of extra arms, and wings on her back. Ock seemed overjoyed with his work, while Shadow Moth winced in disgust for a moment before clearing his throat.
“Shell Shock. Hornex. You are now completely under my power. Your orders are clear – I want you to go with Lady Wi-Fi, head out into Paris and bring me the rest of your classmates to be re-akumatised.”
“And if you happen to encounter Spider Man on your travels…” One of Ock’s tentacles rose across his neck, mimicking a throat slashing gesture. All three supervillains nodded and rushed to obey. Shadow Moth gave a sinister smile.
“Today these three are put beyond the point of Ladybug’s magic… tomorrow their friends shall follow. I shall have an army at my beck and call, to find Ladybug and bring me her Miraculous!”
“Indeed. Then we’d only need Cat Noir’s ring for the ultimate power.”
“Actually Doom, I might have a way around that one… before he left to aid Electro, I saw Kraven wearing a ring matching Cat Noir’s. Perhaps he intends to keep it for himself?”
“Oh, with all the Zodiac Miraculouses out there, once I have my wish, he can do what he likes with them, for all I care!”
“Then it becomes a waiting game. Which will occur first… the extra recruits arriving, or the Sinister Six with Spider Man’s head?” Doc Ock gave a smirk.
"Either way, Doom, it is clear... phase one is completed."