Chapter 7
FINALS: SPIDER-MAN VS. IRON PATRIOT: PT. 4
Back in Rome, Spidey still found himself on the ropes as he jumped and flipped over every repulser blast fired by the Patriot. It certainly didn’t help the Web-Head when every fast and sudden movement he made further increased the pain that he was already in. But nevertheless, he still soldiered on, and after jumping and flipping forward to avoid another blast, Spidey went for a right legged scissors-kick, aiming for the dent on the Patriot’s abdomen.
Unfortunately, the Patriot spotted this attack coming and quickly sidestepped to the right to avoid it. But even in dodging that attack, the Thunderbolt saw that Spidey is not finished with his assault, for as soon as both feet hit the floor, the Wall-Crawler quickly turned and went for a left legged spinning back kick, with the dent still target. This, in turn, prompted the Patriot to throw his right arm downward and block the kick.
Despite having his kick deflected, Spidey still refused to give up as he pulled his left leg back and went for a right spinning back fist.
The Patriot, however, is all too ready for this and thus held up his right hand and caught Spidey’s fist. Moments later, he made his move by using his left fist to deliver a quick jab underneath the Web-Head’s side, then pulled the same fist back and delivered a left hook to the Web-Head’s left eye, leaving a huge crack in his eye-piece and knocking him loopy. After this attack, the Patriot released the Wall-Crawler’s hand, allowing him to drop to the steel floor.
The armored Thunderbolt’s counter attack was seen by both the Roman crowd, and the announcer via the Ref Bot. And with Spidey down, he began to count the fallen Wall-Crawler out. “One…two…three!”
As the count out commenced, the Patriot himself walked over to Spidey, who was still on the floor and holding his side in agony from the last punch. “I just cracked three ribs, Spider-Man,” said the Patriot, looking at Spidey’s body via an X-Ray system in his helmet. “It doesn’t take a genius to know that you should stay down.”
Despite the pain of his newly cracked ribs, Spidey chose not to give the Patriot the satisfaction of giving in, for the sake of his teammates and loved ones. And so, he tucked his neck in, then rolled his upper back and swung both of his legs up into the air in a counter clockwise motion, forcing the Patriot to step back. One he received the spaced needed, the Web-Head landed on his knees and with his lower body strength, shot right back up on his feet, gutting through the pain as he placed his left hand under his side and over his crack ribs. This caused the crowd to cheer at Spidey’s amazing display of ‘break-dancing skills’, and thus the Web-Head himself shot small webbing from out of his left wrist and over the spot where his cracked ribs were located. A task which was painful upon impact, but he knew that it provided his new injury some protection for the rest of the match, or at least he hoped. Afterwards, Spidey got into a readied fighting stance, briefly wincing as he got into this position. “Not happening, Normie! Besides, I’m just getting warmed up.”
This answer only irritated the Patriot, causing him to let out a low growl. “You truly are a glutton for punishment.”
“Only when I have people to fight for!” replied the determined Spidey, despite feeling his left eye swelling underneath his mask.
As for the Patriot, he only grunted as he charged up his gauntlets once more. “I’ll be sure to give them my condolences on your failure…if I decided to let them live!” The Thunderbolt then held up his left hand and fired a repulser blast at the patched-up Spidey.
Luckily, Spidey anticipated this and quickly ducked sideways to the right to avoid it, despite the quick movement causing more damaged to his ribs. Nevertheless, he easily shook off the pain as he kept the Patriot in his sits while still bent down. “Keep talking, Osborn!” he thought angrily, clearly not taking kindly to what the Patriot just say what he had in mind for the Wall-Crawler’s loved ones after the match. Moments later, he spotted the Patriot using his right hand to fire another blast, and gritting his teeth, rolled to the left side to avoid it.