Post by HoM on May 12, 2019 13:21:40 GMT -5
Previously, in Amazing Spider-Man...
Having accepted a blind date with one Mary Jane Watson, Peter was well on his way to enjoying his Senior Prom, when the party was crashed by The Rhino, who sought revenge on Liz Allan’s father; the scientist who’s experiment on The Rhino had turned horribly wrong and stuck him in some kind of suit that he could not take off!
Spider-Man showed up and was able to save the day, only to discover that there had been one casualty during the battle… Peter Parker!
Oh yeah, and during his dance with Mary Jane, he whispered Gwen’s name, but at the moment that doesn’t seem to be the major problem...
Amazing Spider-Man
Issue #3: “The Deadliest Game, Part 3: The Shape of Things to Come”
Written by Brian Burchette
Cover by Roy Flinchum
Edited by David Ross
Spider-Man stared at the body of Peter Parker, lying in the ruins of the Hall that had been rented for the Senior Prom, speechless and unable to move at the site of his own lifeless body. His mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the turn of events.
To say that this is not right is the understatement of the decade, Spidey thought to himself as his friends gathered around him. Who the hell is that!
As Mary Jane screamed for help, her friend, Gwen Stacey, was the first to react by administering CPR, and then leaning his head back slightly and bringing her lips to Peter’s; beginning mouth to mouth resuscitation.
Well now if that doesn’t just top everything! I’m actually making out with Gwen Stacey and I can’t even enjoy it! Oh God, I shouldn’t even be thinking like that! Oh dear, I think this costume is becoming a bit too tight… I better get out of here.
“He’s not breathing,” Gwen cried out as she continued the CPR. She turned and saw Spider-Man standing there, staring at them.
“Please… please help me,” She begged as tears came streaming down her face.
“Umm, sure, what do you want me to do?”
“Mary Jane went to get help. If you can just keep giving him mouth to mouth while I continue the CPR.”
Peter blinked under his mask. “You’re kidding… right?”
“PLEASE! You’re supposed to be a hero, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Spider-Man said as his instincts took over and he knelt down beside his own body, working in correlation with Gwen.
He had moved his mask up to allow his mouth some freedom, but he couldn’t help but shudder as he began his part of the procedure.
This is just too surreal. On the other hand, my outfit is definitely fitting better, he thought.
Suddenly the body of Peter Parker began to cough, and the two of them pulled away as this Parker figure rolled on his side, gasping for air.
As soon as Peter had come to, the tingling in Spider-Man’s skull went off like fireworks. He stumbled back at the force of it.
Whoa! Never felt my Spider-Sense go off like that before; who, or what, is this guy?
“Peter, oh thank God,” Gwen cried out and hugged him as Harry came running up.
“Pete, buddy, you okay!” He asked, anxiously.
“Yeah… yeah… I think so,” Peter Parker said as he stood up.
Mary Jane had been watching the scene with a mixture of horror and fascination, but with Peter now breathing again, her attention seemed to drift to the man in the spider mask.
“Hi there, Tiger,” she said with a shy smile. “You’re a real hero.”
The real Peter realized that he had been standing, watching the scene, while people had been gathering around. It was time for him to, split like a banana, as his Uncle Ben would have said.
He nodded to MJ and turned to go, but not before his doppelganger called to him.
“Thanks, Spider-Man, for saving my life! If there’s anything I can do for you some day, I’m sure you’ll know where I’ll be.”
Spidey turned back and the other Peter gave him a half smirk and a wink.
Peter had to get out of there! The whole thing was too unbelievable. He leapt across the growing crowd and headed for the whole in the wall. As he shot his webbing and took off, the last thing he heard was the sound of Liz Allen’s voice:
“Hey! What happened to that Rhino guy… he’s gone!”
Least of my worries, Peter thought as he swung himself away from the disaster.
Two hours later, and while J. Jonah Jameson was not a man who slept well to begin with, when he finally did get to sleep, he was never happy to be woken for any reason… other than a front page story.
“This better be good,” he growled as he answered the phone in a half daze. He bolted upright as he heard the scene that had happened earlier at the prom. Crazed villain called The Rhino? Spider-Man saves lives and defeats monster of a man?! YES! Front page story, if only they had a…
“Photos?! We actually have photos?” He leapt out of bed, pulling the sheets with him and causing his wife to spin across the bed.
“Who ever that kid is, get him down to the Bugle now, Robbie! I’ll be there as quick as I can.”
Jonah slammed down the phone, stumbling as he tried to untangle his legs from the bed sheets as he grabbed for his pants.
“Oh Jonah, do you have to go in now?” His wife asked, desperately trying to pull the bed linen back up onto the bed.
“Only if I want to break the story of the century! Spider-Man just fought a guy in a Rhino costume and brought a kid back from the dead, and another boy has pictures of the whole thing! This is going to put the Bugle on the map! It’s going to make my paper the number one circulation in this city!”
He buttoned his shirt over his pajama top and through a pair of shoes on. His face was determined and his eyes were blazing with dollar signs. He had made a rushing dash to the bedroom door before he was suddenly stopped by his wife’s raised voice.
“J. Jonah Jameson!”
The halted abruptly at the entrance to their room, rolled his neck as his left eye twitched for a moment, and then turned back to her with a smile on his face. He walked over, leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Don’t be up all night, dear.” She told him sternly.
“Yes dear,” he replied as he turned away from her, his eye twitching even more, as he ran for the door.
Spider-Man had followed his friends, and the person claiming to be him, as they made their statements to the Police Officers, before leaving. He also caught a glimpse of Dr. Allan, Liz’s father, as he held on to his daughter, shaking with fear.
Why that Rhino guy wanted Dr. Allan is beyond me, and I will find out, but right now I better follow Harry and the others. Whoever this guy is, he obviously knows who I am. The message was far from subtle. Still, who is this guy?
Swinging from the trees and rooftops, he followed the limo as it went back to his aunt’s home. They all got out and walked Peter to the door. Spidey hung off the side of the neighbor’s house so he could listen in.
“You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital or something, pal?” Harry asked with genuine concern.
“No, no, I’ll be alright.”
“I hope so, buddy, cause to tell you the truth, not remembering our names at first doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.”
“Yes… well… it was quite a blow I received, but if my memory lag gets any worse, I will report to the emergency room immediately. I should be going in though; I don’t want to worry the folks needlessly.”
Harry and Gwen shot each other a concerned look.
Gwen took the young man’s hand, “Peter… your folks are… well… they passed away a long time ago. I think maybe you should go to the emergency room, now.”
The person posing as Peter pulled his hand away quickly. “I know that, you know what I meant.”
Spider-Man watched as Harry’s cell-phone went off and he stepped away to take the call. Gwen gave him another concerned look, but nodded. “I guess after all this time; it’s easy for you to think of your Aunt May and your Uncle Ben as your folks. I mean, they did raise you and all. Umm… you do remember what happened to your Uncle Ben, right?”
“Of course I do, but now is not the time to talk about it.”
Before Gwen could respond, Harry came back to them. “You sure you’re going to be, okay, buddy?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, then we have to roll. That was Mr. Robertson from the Daily Bugle and they want to see the photo’s I took of Spider-Man beating up The Rhino!”
Great, the real Peter thought. Now my best friend, who has all the money in the world to begin with, is going to make money off of me. I’m starting to wonder if there is any justice in the world.
“Can I have a moment alone with Peter, please?” Mary Jane asked.
The two nodded and got back into the limo.
Mary Jane turned to her date. “First, I’m glad you’re safe. You really did scare all of us. Second, I’m not going to say a word to Harry or Gwen about what you said on the dance floor. Third…” And with that she hauled off and slapped him across the face. “A gentle reminder that when you are dancing with a beautiful young lady, keep your mouth shut.”
For a second Spidey was sure that Peter was going to strike her back, but she had turned and stormed off the porch.
Ha! I guess there is justice after all! Still, its not like I didn’t deserve that, Peter thought.
He watched the limo drive away and turned his attention back to the faux Peter, who seemed to still be boiling with rage at the strike. Finally he turned his attention to the front door and hesitantly tried the handle. It was, of course, locked. He cursed under his breath and fumbled around in the real Peter’s tux until he found a set of keys. The second key opened the front door, and Spidey watched the guy walk into his house.
What do I do now? I can’t go in there as Spider-Man, and going in as a nearly naked Peter Parker, with one Peter Parker already in the house, would be way too much to try and explain to Aunt May; especially since I don’t have an explanation myself. My spider-sense tells me he’s dangerous, but he hasn’t made a move on any of my friends, so I’m guessing that he’s after something. Of course, he obviously knows who I am, so maybe its Aunt May that he wants. Somebody close to me, to draw me out in the open… but if so, why?
He leaned back and slumped down against the neighbor’s chimney. Nothing I can do, for now, I guess. I’ll just hide around here until morning, keep an eye on things.
Aleksie Sytsevich opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding from the blow he had taken, only to find a giant light shining in his face. He tried to move his arms to block the light, but found that they would not move for him. In fact, the every body part he had seemed frozen in place. Even trying to shout did him no good.
His eyes moved back and forth until the light was partially blocked by the shadow of man, who’s only distinguishing feature was that his hair seemed perfectly slicked back; other than that, he was nothing more than a shadow in the light.
“Ahh, good, you are awake. You are a most fascinating creation, one worthy of my interest. It was pure luck that my associate happened to see your performance tonight. My guess is that you were created by Professor Gerald Allan, were you not?”
Aleksie could say nothing, but tried his best to glare at him, hoping the words he was thinking could be read through his eyes.
“Do you know that law enforcement officials have already dubbed you, ‘The Rhino’? I find that to be a very fitting name, for myself as well as you. This new hide of yours was extremely hard to penetrate. The poison that courses through your body is only meant to paralyze you, though; so do not worry. You will stay like this until I am ready for you.”
The shadow disappeared again and he heard hard healed boots walk across some kind of stone or marble floor; then the door to the room opened and shut. The Rhino was left alone with a building rage that he could do nothing about.
Just before the sun was to begin to rise, the rain started. Spider-Man looked up from the position he had been sitting for nearly five hours, and sighed. Of course, he wouldn’t have expected anything else. Looking on the bright side, he realized that the clouds would help keep him a bit more concealed. On the down side, he was stuck in the rain.
He saw movement from inside his house and made a small leap onto his own roof, where he spun his web and lowered himself, upside down, to peak into one of the kitchen windows.
There was Aunt May, preparing breakfast, as she did for him each morning. His heart went into his throat. It wasn’t as if he ever really took this for granted, but watching her now, knowing he wasn’t a part of it, made his realize just how important he was to her, and him to her, as well.
If only Uncle Ben were with her… if only he hadn’t…
Stop! This isn’t the time or the place. Less than a month in this suit, trying to do what I know Uncle Ben would have wanted me to do, and already I’ve placed Aunt May in the middle of danger. I’ve got to focus on the now… not the past or the what ifs.
A few minutes later the fake Peter came walking down slowly, confidently, striding over to the counter, where he grabbed a piece of toast and began to walk away.
“What do you think you are doing, mister?” Aunt May said in shock as her nephew headed for the front door.
“Leaving,” the fake Peter replied rather coldly.
Spidey’s heart stopped for a second as the two of them stared at each other. Surely if anyone realized something was major league wrong, it would be her. What if she questioned him, tried to stop him. He’d have to swing in… there was nothing else he could do.
“You don’t just grab a piece of toast and strut out the door without filling me in on your big night… or giving me a kiss goodbye, for that matter.”
The imposter’s eyes narrowed for a second, than reluctantly, he walked back towards her. “My night was fine, if not a bit boring. High school girls are rather silly, if you ask me. I’ve got to hurry along to school. I’m hoping to talk to Professor Allan before classes begin.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked away from her a second time.
“Peter? Peter, are you alright?” She asked.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” He asked as the door; refusing to turn and look at her.
“You just don’t seem to be yourself, this morning.” She stated.
“Blame it on the rain,” He replied as he let himself out.
Thank God for that. Professor Allan… it’s all tied in with him! I’ve got to get to the school before I do. I mean… well… I know what I mean.
He was a private investigator who loved his job. Mac Gargan was also considered the tops in his field, respected by both local law enforcement officers as well as his occasionally brief encounters with Government Agencies that may or may not actually be on paper, anywhere.
It was one of these agencies that his current assignment was for. He had been asked to look into a shell company that had been traced back to Roxxon Oil and a man by the name of Michael Brady. He was the head of Roxxon Chemical Division. The shell company had made billions by cheating mostly elderly out of their well earned dollars. The question was what this Brady character was doing with all this money that was flowing in.
Mac had made several quiet inquiries and with the help of what he thought was an ally, had actually found himself inside of Roxxon’s Chemical Division that sat just outside of Harlem. A non-descript building, one that made Gargan even more suspicious.
As he quietly made his way down the corridors, checking any room that wasn’t locked, he couldn’t help but feel discouraged. There really was nothing out of the ordinary as far as he could tell.
“Disappointed, aren’t you?” Came the slightly Spanish accented voice from behind him.
Mac turned and saw a costumed figure standing right in front of him. He went to draw his weapon, but it was easily kicked out of his hand. Mac swung a punch that the costumed figure blocked without any difficulty and then threw his own, landing square on Mac’s jaw.
Stunned, but not out, Mac tried to return with another hit of his own, only to find that his enemy had suddenly protracted some kind of long thin blade from his glove. It struck his in the upper thigh as the man ducked Mac’s blow.
Mac staggered back, realizing instantly that he had been poisoned. His body shook once; then he fell to the floor, unconscious.
“That was too easy,” the figure said as he picked him up and pulled out a small transmitting device from his belt. “Tarantula to base, I’ve got the package and bringing it in.”
“Excellent,” came the voice from the other end, “As soon as we have acquired the Professor, we shall use him as our guinea pig.”
“Whatever, just as long as Roxxon pays us for getting this guy off their trail, I could care less.”
Tarantula slung Mac Gargan over his shoulder and walked out of the building feeling the pride of accomplishment.
The real Peter Parker was always eager to learn, and in his new role as Spider-Man, he learned that trying to follow someone in daylight, clouds or not, was not an easy task to pull off. More than once he was spotted, but usually by small children or senior citizens. By the time the kids reacted he had gone and the seniors just seemed to stare with their mouths open.
As he reached the school, following his double, he saw that Professor Allan had arrived early, as usual. No doubt in the middle of one of his own experiments that the school had allowed him to work on. The rest of the faculty would not start rolling in for another half hour or so. Spider-Man hoped this would be enough time to find out what was going on.
He watched himself walk into the building, edging his way across the grounds. Doc Allan’s lab was on the second floor of the east wing, so he quickly made his way up the side of the building; peering into the window.
What he saw surprised him. Professor Allan was sitting alone, cursing himself, striking his legs as he rocked back and forth. This was not a good sign, Spidey thought.
He had little time to finish the thought when the faux Peter walked into the room, startling Gerald Allan, who jumped up from his chair.
“Peter… I… are you… alright? After last night… I didn’t expect you to be here. What I’m trying to say is… is… what can I do for you?”
“You can come with me quietly, Professor. My Employer would like to see you. He is very interested in your work… and your new creation.”
“Peter, what are you talking about?”
“I am not, Peter Parker, Doctor. In fact, if you must know, they call me The Chameleon, and one way or the other, you’re coming with me.”
The fake Peter’s face began to change and shift until it appeared as nothing more than a non-descript head; a mannequin, Dr. Allan thought at first.
“I’m not going anywhere with you!”
The Chameleon pulled out some kind of gun and aimed it at the Professor, “I think you are.”
The window blew in at that moment as Spider-Man leapt into the room. “I think the Doctor said he didn’t want to. You’re being awfully pushy for a guy with no face.”
The Chameleon grinned, “I should have figured I’d be seeing you again. After all, I’m sure you have many questions; the first being how I knew who you really are, so that I could take over your identity.”
Spider-Man fired his web-shooters, the first pulling the gun from the man’s hand, and the second covering up the villains mouth. “I don’t think I need to know that badly… at least not at the moment.” He said as sprung forward and struck the white faced man in the chin, pulling his punch to be on the cautious side. He was glad he did; since the villain seemed to go down with once punch.
Trying not to look at Professor Allan at all, he scooped up the unconscious villain and slung him over his shoulder. “Well, alls well that ends well, as Steinbeck said.”
“You always were lousy in literature, Peter,” Dr. Allan replied, though hesitantly.
Spider-Man turned to face his teacher. “Excuse me? Not understanding what you’re saying Doc?”
“I think you do. You know I’m not a stupid man, I heard what I heard. It’s you, isn’t it… Peter?”
Having accepted a blind date with one Mary Jane Watson, Peter was well on his way to enjoying his Senior Prom, when the party was crashed by The Rhino, who sought revenge on Liz Allan’s father; the scientist who’s experiment on The Rhino had turned horribly wrong and stuck him in some kind of suit that he could not take off!
Spider-Man showed up and was able to save the day, only to discover that there had been one casualty during the battle… Peter Parker!
Oh yeah, and during his dance with Mary Jane, he whispered Gwen’s name, but at the moment that doesn’t seem to be the major problem...
Amazing Spider-Man
Issue #3: “The Deadliest Game, Part 3: The Shape of Things to Come”
Written by Brian Burchette
Cover by Roy Flinchum
Edited by David Ross
Spider-Man stared at the body of Peter Parker, lying in the ruins of the Hall that had been rented for the Senior Prom, speechless and unable to move at the site of his own lifeless body. His mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the turn of events.
To say that this is not right is the understatement of the decade, Spidey thought to himself as his friends gathered around him. Who the hell is that!
As Mary Jane screamed for help, her friend, Gwen Stacey, was the first to react by administering CPR, and then leaning his head back slightly and bringing her lips to Peter’s; beginning mouth to mouth resuscitation.
Well now if that doesn’t just top everything! I’m actually making out with Gwen Stacey and I can’t even enjoy it! Oh God, I shouldn’t even be thinking like that! Oh dear, I think this costume is becoming a bit too tight… I better get out of here.
“He’s not breathing,” Gwen cried out as she continued the CPR. She turned and saw Spider-Man standing there, staring at them.
“Please… please help me,” She begged as tears came streaming down her face.
“Umm, sure, what do you want me to do?”
“Mary Jane went to get help. If you can just keep giving him mouth to mouth while I continue the CPR.”
Peter blinked under his mask. “You’re kidding… right?”
“PLEASE! You’re supposed to be a hero, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Spider-Man said as his instincts took over and he knelt down beside his own body, working in correlation with Gwen.
He had moved his mask up to allow his mouth some freedom, but he couldn’t help but shudder as he began his part of the procedure.
This is just too surreal. On the other hand, my outfit is definitely fitting better, he thought.
Suddenly the body of Peter Parker began to cough, and the two of them pulled away as this Parker figure rolled on his side, gasping for air.
As soon as Peter had come to, the tingling in Spider-Man’s skull went off like fireworks. He stumbled back at the force of it.
Whoa! Never felt my Spider-Sense go off like that before; who, or what, is this guy?
“Peter, oh thank God,” Gwen cried out and hugged him as Harry came running up.
“Pete, buddy, you okay!” He asked, anxiously.
“Yeah… yeah… I think so,” Peter Parker said as he stood up.
Mary Jane had been watching the scene with a mixture of horror and fascination, but with Peter now breathing again, her attention seemed to drift to the man in the spider mask.
“Hi there, Tiger,” she said with a shy smile. “You’re a real hero.”
The real Peter realized that he had been standing, watching the scene, while people had been gathering around. It was time for him to, split like a banana, as his Uncle Ben would have said.
He nodded to MJ and turned to go, but not before his doppelganger called to him.
“Thanks, Spider-Man, for saving my life! If there’s anything I can do for you some day, I’m sure you’ll know where I’ll be.”
Spidey turned back and the other Peter gave him a half smirk and a wink.
Peter had to get out of there! The whole thing was too unbelievable. He leapt across the growing crowd and headed for the whole in the wall. As he shot his webbing and took off, the last thing he heard was the sound of Liz Allen’s voice:
“Hey! What happened to that Rhino guy… he’s gone!”
Least of my worries, Peter thought as he swung himself away from the disaster.
***
Two hours later, and while J. Jonah Jameson was not a man who slept well to begin with, when he finally did get to sleep, he was never happy to be woken for any reason… other than a front page story.
“This better be good,” he growled as he answered the phone in a half daze. He bolted upright as he heard the scene that had happened earlier at the prom. Crazed villain called The Rhino? Spider-Man saves lives and defeats monster of a man?! YES! Front page story, if only they had a…
“Photos?! We actually have photos?” He leapt out of bed, pulling the sheets with him and causing his wife to spin across the bed.
“Who ever that kid is, get him down to the Bugle now, Robbie! I’ll be there as quick as I can.”
Jonah slammed down the phone, stumbling as he tried to untangle his legs from the bed sheets as he grabbed for his pants.
“Oh Jonah, do you have to go in now?” His wife asked, desperately trying to pull the bed linen back up onto the bed.
“Only if I want to break the story of the century! Spider-Man just fought a guy in a Rhino costume and brought a kid back from the dead, and another boy has pictures of the whole thing! This is going to put the Bugle on the map! It’s going to make my paper the number one circulation in this city!”
He buttoned his shirt over his pajama top and through a pair of shoes on. His face was determined and his eyes were blazing with dollar signs. He had made a rushing dash to the bedroom door before he was suddenly stopped by his wife’s raised voice.
“J. Jonah Jameson!”
The halted abruptly at the entrance to their room, rolled his neck as his left eye twitched for a moment, and then turned back to her with a smile on his face. He walked over, leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Don’t be up all night, dear.” She told him sternly.
“Yes dear,” he replied as he turned away from her, his eye twitching even more, as he ran for the door.
***
Spider-Man had followed his friends, and the person claiming to be him, as they made their statements to the Police Officers, before leaving. He also caught a glimpse of Dr. Allan, Liz’s father, as he held on to his daughter, shaking with fear.
Why that Rhino guy wanted Dr. Allan is beyond me, and I will find out, but right now I better follow Harry and the others. Whoever this guy is, he obviously knows who I am. The message was far from subtle. Still, who is this guy?
Swinging from the trees and rooftops, he followed the limo as it went back to his aunt’s home. They all got out and walked Peter to the door. Spidey hung off the side of the neighbor’s house so he could listen in.
“You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital or something, pal?” Harry asked with genuine concern.
“No, no, I’ll be alright.”
“I hope so, buddy, cause to tell you the truth, not remembering our names at first doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.”
“Yes… well… it was quite a blow I received, but if my memory lag gets any worse, I will report to the emergency room immediately. I should be going in though; I don’t want to worry the folks needlessly.”
Harry and Gwen shot each other a concerned look.
Gwen took the young man’s hand, “Peter… your folks are… well… they passed away a long time ago. I think maybe you should go to the emergency room, now.”
The person posing as Peter pulled his hand away quickly. “I know that, you know what I meant.”
Spider-Man watched as Harry’s cell-phone went off and he stepped away to take the call. Gwen gave him another concerned look, but nodded. “I guess after all this time; it’s easy for you to think of your Aunt May and your Uncle Ben as your folks. I mean, they did raise you and all. Umm… you do remember what happened to your Uncle Ben, right?”
“Of course I do, but now is not the time to talk about it.”
Before Gwen could respond, Harry came back to them. “You sure you’re going to be, okay, buddy?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, then we have to roll. That was Mr. Robertson from the Daily Bugle and they want to see the photo’s I took of Spider-Man beating up The Rhino!”
Great, the real Peter thought. Now my best friend, who has all the money in the world to begin with, is going to make money off of me. I’m starting to wonder if there is any justice in the world.
“Can I have a moment alone with Peter, please?” Mary Jane asked.
The two nodded and got back into the limo.
Mary Jane turned to her date. “First, I’m glad you’re safe. You really did scare all of us. Second, I’m not going to say a word to Harry or Gwen about what you said on the dance floor. Third…” And with that she hauled off and slapped him across the face. “A gentle reminder that when you are dancing with a beautiful young lady, keep your mouth shut.”
For a second Spidey was sure that Peter was going to strike her back, but she had turned and stormed off the porch.
Ha! I guess there is justice after all! Still, its not like I didn’t deserve that, Peter thought.
He watched the limo drive away and turned his attention back to the faux Peter, who seemed to still be boiling with rage at the strike. Finally he turned his attention to the front door and hesitantly tried the handle. It was, of course, locked. He cursed under his breath and fumbled around in the real Peter’s tux until he found a set of keys. The second key opened the front door, and Spidey watched the guy walk into his house.
What do I do now? I can’t go in there as Spider-Man, and going in as a nearly naked Peter Parker, with one Peter Parker already in the house, would be way too much to try and explain to Aunt May; especially since I don’t have an explanation myself. My spider-sense tells me he’s dangerous, but he hasn’t made a move on any of my friends, so I’m guessing that he’s after something. Of course, he obviously knows who I am, so maybe its Aunt May that he wants. Somebody close to me, to draw me out in the open… but if so, why?
He leaned back and slumped down against the neighbor’s chimney. Nothing I can do, for now, I guess. I’ll just hide around here until morning, keep an eye on things.
***
Aleksie Sytsevich opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding from the blow he had taken, only to find a giant light shining in his face. He tried to move his arms to block the light, but found that they would not move for him. In fact, the every body part he had seemed frozen in place. Even trying to shout did him no good.
His eyes moved back and forth until the light was partially blocked by the shadow of man, who’s only distinguishing feature was that his hair seemed perfectly slicked back; other than that, he was nothing more than a shadow in the light.
“Ahh, good, you are awake. You are a most fascinating creation, one worthy of my interest. It was pure luck that my associate happened to see your performance tonight. My guess is that you were created by Professor Gerald Allan, were you not?”
Aleksie could say nothing, but tried his best to glare at him, hoping the words he was thinking could be read through his eyes.
“Do you know that law enforcement officials have already dubbed you, ‘The Rhino’? I find that to be a very fitting name, for myself as well as you. This new hide of yours was extremely hard to penetrate. The poison that courses through your body is only meant to paralyze you, though; so do not worry. You will stay like this until I am ready for you.”
The shadow disappeared again and he heard hard healed boots walk across some kind of stone or marble floor; then the door to the room opened and shut. The Rhino was left alone with a building rage that he could do nothing about.
***
Just before the sun was to begin to rise, the rain started. Spider-Man looked up from the position he had been sitting for nearly five hours, and sighed. Of course, he wouldn’t have expected anything else. Looking on the bright side, he realized that the clouds would help keep him a bit more concealed. On the down side, he was stuck in the rain.
He saw movement from inside his house and made a small leap onto his own roof, where he spun his web and lowered himself, upside down, to peak into one of the kitchen windows.
There was Aunt May, preparing breakfast, as she did for him each morning. His heart went into his throat. It wasn’t as if he ever really took this for granted, but watching her now, knowing he wasn’t a part of it, made his realize just how important he was to her, and him to her, as well.
If only Uncle Ben were with her… if only he hadn’t…
Stop! This isn’t the time or the place. Less than a month in this suit, trying to do what I know Uncle Ben would have wanted me to do, and already I’ve placed Aunt May in the middle of danger. I’ve got to focus on the now… not the past or the what ifs.
A few minutes later the fake Peter came walking down slowly, confidently, striding over to the counter, where he grabbed a piece of toast and began to walk away.
“What do you think you are doing, mister?” Aunt May said in shock as her nephew headed for the front door.
“Leaving,” the fake Peter replied rather coldly.
Spidey’s heart stopped for a second as the two of them stared at each other. Surely if anyone realized something was major league wrong, it would be her. What if she questioned him, tried to stop him. He’d have to swing in… there was nothing else he could do.
“You don’t just grab a piece of toast and strut out the door without filling me in on your big night… or giving me a kiss goodbye, for that matter.”
The imposter’s eyes narrowed for a second, than reluctantly, he walked back towards her. “My night was fine, if not a bit boring. High school girls are rather silly, if you ask me. I’ve got to hurry along to school. I’m hoping to talk to Professor Allan before classes begin.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and walked away from her a second time.
“Peter? Peter, are you alright?” She asked.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” He asked as the door; refusing to turn and look at her.
“You just don’t seem to be yourself, this morning.” She stated.
“Blame it on the rain,” He replied as he let himself out.
Thank God for that. Professor Allan… it’s all tied in with him! I’ve got to get to the school before I do. I mean… well… I know what I mean.
INTERLUDE:
He was a private investigator who loved his job. Mac Gargan was also considered the tops in his field, respected by both local law enforcement officers as well as his occasionally brief encounters with Government Agencies that may or may not actually be on paper, anywhere.
It was one of these agencies that his current assignment was for. He had been asked to look into a shell company that had been traced back to Roxxon Oil and a man by the name of Michael Brady. He was the head of Roxxon Chemical Division. The shell company had made billions by cheating mostly elderly out of their well earned dollars. The question was what this Brady character was doing with all this money that was flowing in.
Mac had made several quiet inquiries and with the help of what he thought was an ally, had actually found himself inside of Roxxon’s Chemical Division that sat just outside of Harlem. A non-descript building, one that made Gargan even more suspicious.
As he quietly made his way down the corridors, checking any room that wasn’t locked, he couldn’t help but feel discouraged. There really was nothing out of the ordinary as far as he could tell.
“Disappointed, aren’t you?” Came the slightly Spanish accented voice from behind him.
Mac turned and saw a costumed figure standing right in front of him. He went to draw his weapon, but it was easily kicked out of his hand. Mac swung a punch that the costumed figure blocked without any difficulty and then threw his own, landing square on Mac’s jaw.
Stunned, but not out, Mac tried to return with another hit of his own, only to find that his enemy had suddenly protracted some kind of long thin blade from his glove. It struck his in the upper thigh as the man ducked Mac’s blow.
Mac staggered back, realizing instantly that he had been poisoned. His body shook once; then he fell to the floor, unconscious.
“That was too easy,” the figure said as he picked him up and pulled out a small transmitting device from his belt. “Tarantula to base, I’ve got the package and bringing it in.”
“Excellent,” came the voice from the other end, “As soon as we have acquired the Professor, we shall use him as our guinea pig.”
“Whatever, just as long as Roxxon pays us for getting this guy off their trail, I could care less.”
Tarantula slung Mac Gargan over his shoulder and walked out of the building feeling the pride of accomplishment.
***
The real Peter Parker was always eager to learn, and in his new role as Spider-Man, he learned that trying to follow someone in daylight, clouds or not, was not an easy task to pull off. More than once he was spotted, but usually by small children or senior citizens. By the time the kids reacted he had gone and the seniors just seemed to stare with their mouths open.
As he reached the school, following his double, he saw that Professor Allan had arrived early, as usual. No doubt in the middle of one of his own experiments that the school had allowed him to work on. The rest of the faculty would not start rolling in for another half hour or so. Spider-Man hoped this would be enough time to find out what was going on.
He watched himself walk into the building, edging his way across the grounds. Doc Allan’s lab was on the second floor of the east wing, so he quickly made his way up the side of the building; peering into the window.
What he saw surprised him. Professor Allan was sitting alone, cursing himself, striking his legs as he rocked back and forth. This was not a good sign, Spidey thought.
He had little time to finish the thought when the faux Peter walked into the room, startling Gerald Allan, who jumped up from his chair.
“Peter… I… are you… alright? After last night… I didn’t expect you to be here. What I’m trying to say is… is… what can I do for you?”
“You can come with me quietly, Professor. My Employer would like to see you. He is very interested in your work… and your new creation.”
“Peter, what are you talking about?”
“I am not, Peter Parker, Doctor. In fact, if you must know, they call me The Chameleon, and one way or the other, you’re coming with me.”
The fake Peter’s face began to change and shift until it appeared as nothing more than a non-descript head; a mannequin, Dr. Allan thought at first.
“I’m not going anywhere with you!”
The Chameleon pulled out some kind of gun and aimed it at the Professor, “I think you are.”
The window blew in at that moment as Spider-Man leapt into the room. “I think the Doctor said he didn’t want to. You’re being awfully pushy for a guy with no face.”
The Chameleon grinned, “I should have figured I’d be seeing you again. After all, I’m sure you have many questions; the first being how I knew who you really are, so that I could take over your identity.”
Spider-Man fired his web-shooters, the first pulling the gun from the man’s hand, and the second covering up the villains mouth. “I don’t think I need to know that badly… at least not at the moment.” He said as sprung forward and struck the white faced man in the chin, pulling his punch to be on the cautious side. He was glad he did; since the villain seemed to go down with once punch.
Trying not to look at Professor Allan at all, he scooped up the unconscious villain and slung him over his shoulder. “Well, alls well that ends well, as Steinbeck said.”
“You always were lousy in literature, Peter,” Dr. Allan replied, though hesitantly.
Spider-Man turned to face his teacher. “Excuse me? Not understanding what you’re saying Doc?”
“I think you do. You know I’m not a stupid man, I heard what I heard. It’s you, isn’t it… Peter?”
TO BE CONTINUED
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