New York — The Corner Café — Terrace — Afternoon
On the terrace of the Corner Café, Peter and Gwen were enjoying a quiet moment, sitting across from each other with drinks in hand.
Despite it being early December, the cool air remained pleasant, while a light and peaceful atmosphere accompanied their time together.
Peter let out a satisfied sigh.
— “This is so nice.”
Gwen gave him a teasing smirk.
— “What’s nice? The beautiful weather in the middle of December? The fact that we’re spending some time together after school? Or maybe… the fact that we’re dating?”
Peter thought for a moment, then smiled with relief.
— “Honestly? All of it. Ever since the Lizard incident, everything’s been calm again… and it’s great! Criminals don’t dare make a move with me around, Tombstone’s keeping quiet, and there aren’t any psychos with weird powers running around. It was starting to get exhausting.”
Intrigued, Gwen raised an eyebrow slightly and asked:
— “Weird powers? What do you mean?”
Peter started gesturing with his hands, telling the story with enthusiasm.
— “Long story short: ever since I started messing with Tombstone’s business, he’s been turning guys into monsters to kill me. First there was a guy who shoots shockwaves, another one who’s literally half-scorpion, a guy who can turn into sand… and even some dude who got turned into a rhinoceros! Seriously, can you believe that?! I swear, only in New York do things like this happen.”
Amused, Gwen replied with a playful look.
— “You’re not wrong. But at least they’re in prison now. You can finally breathe a little and enjoy a normal high school life. And on top of that, you get to enjoy it with me…”
Peter gave her a tender smile.
— “Yeah… I think I’ve earned a little break.”
Gwen slipped her hand into Peter’s, but suddenly, several police cars came speeding down the street.
Sirens blared, and Peter immediately understood.
Almost looking guilty, he gave her an awkward expression.
— “…Sorry.”
Gwen gave him an understanding smile.
— “Don’t worry. Go.”
He leaned over, stole a quick kiss from her, climbed onto the roof of the restaurant, changed into Spider-Man, and took off at full speed after the police vehicles.
Spider-Man quickly arrived at the scene, and what he saw left him speechless.
— “Seriously?! A guy with six arms… and another one throwing electricity?!”
He let out a long sigh.
— “Here we go again… I really need to stop talking. I keep jinxing myself.”
Farther away, a man whose body crackled with electricity looked over at his partner.
— “Hey, Doc! How’re you doing with those arms?”
Otto Octavius looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
— “Can’t you see they’ve been doing whatever they want this whole time?! How am I supposed to control them?!”
Around him, six mechanical arms flailed wildly in every direction, completely out of control.
The electric man simply shrugged.
— “Yeah, that sucks…”
Completely overwhelmed by the situation, Otto gestured frantically, desperate.
— “But this is ridiculous! I’m not a criminal! I’m a scientist, I don’t fight!”
— “I know, but Norman was clear: after the mission, you can have them removed. So shut up and focus.”
That was when the memory of an event from a few days earlier crossed Otto Octavius’s mind.
He saw himself once again inside the enormous underground laboratory beneath Oscorp Tower, standing beside his boss and the owner of the company: Norman Osborn.
— “Why me, sir? Why do I have to do this?” Otto asked, his expression filled with confusion.
Norman, meanwhile, maintained his usual composure.
— “You know perfectly well that under normal circumstances, I never would’ve asked this of you. But you’re doing it for a good cause.”
Otto remained silent for a few moments.
He lowered his eyes slightly, but his expression still showed his confusion.
After all… why him?
Norman continued with a kindness that sounded strangely insincere.
— “Listen, I need two people for this mission. Max, our maintenance worker, agreed. And then there’s you. You created those arms. Otto… you’re the only person truly qualified to use them. It’s almost as if they’re already a part of you. And besides…”
An unsettling smile slowly appeared on the Oscorp director’s face.
— “It’ll be the perfect opportunity to test them under real-world conditions.”
Snapping out of his thoughts and returning to reality, Otto let out a long sigh.
In front of them, several police officers had surrounded them and were aiming their weapons in their direction.
— “Hey, you two! You’re surrounded, so put your hands up… metal ones included. And surrender peacefully!”
Electro snickered.
— “Surrender?! Is this guy high?!”
Otto took a step forward, visibly panicked, and desperately tried to explain himself.
— “No! Listen, please! My name is Otto Octavius, and this is all just a misunderstanding! I don’t want to hurt anyone, I just want someone to get these…!”
But before he could finish his sentence, his mechanical arms suddenly sprang into motion.
With a deafening metallic crash, they struck several police cars, sending them flying in every direction.
Impressed, Electro exclaimed:
— “Whoa, nice one, Doc! Looks like you’re getting better!”
— “No… I didn’t mean to…!”
— “My turn. Take this, you sons of—”
He never got the chance to finish his sentence.
Before he could unleash his lightning, a figure suddenly appeared and slammed straight into him.
— “What the fuck—”
In a hurry, Spider-Man turned toward Otto.
— “Alright, your turn, big guy. Any last words before I knock you out?” Spider-Man said.
— “No! Wait, I—”
— “Move, Doc! I’m gonna fry that asshole who hit me!” Electro shouted.
— “No, Max! Wait—”
It was too late.
Electro unleashed a violent electrical blast that Spider-Man narrowly dodged.
The lightning struck Otto head-on, causing the brain chip connected to his mechanical arms to explode in a shower of sparks.
The impact was so violent that Otto suddenly froze.
His body remained completely still and unresponsive, as though his consciousness had just shut down.
— “Hello? Anyone still in there?” Spider-Man asked.
He lightly tapped one of the scientist’s mechanical arms, but got no response.
— “Uh… well, I think he’s out cold. Thanks, battery boy. That’s one down.”
Suddenly, his Spider-Sense went off.
Without warning, all six mechanical arms moved at once and lunged at him with deadly precision.
Spider-Man barely managed to dodge the successive attacks, but one of the arms eventually struck him head-on, violently sending him crashing to the ground.
— “Whoa… those arms hit really hard!”
— “Nice one, Doc! Looks like you finally figured it out!”
In a cold, authoritative voice, Otto replied:
— “Exactly. But try not to blast me with your lightning again, because it’s seriously starting to piss me off…”
Slightly surprised, Electro blinked.
Then, he adopted a sarcastic tone.
— “Damn, Doc, you’re way more bossy now. You sound a lot less like a vict—”
A web cut him off, sticking directly over his mouth.
In a hurry, Spider-Man said:
— “Sorry, guys, but I really don’t have time for this.”
In a cold and direct tone, Otto replied:
— “Good. Neither do we.”
Otto straightened up completely.
His six arms were now perfectly synchronized with his every movement.
As if they had always been a part of him.
— “That electric shock opened my eyes. I’ve been exploited from the very beginning. People have always used me for my skills and intelligence… but I’m a genius! And it took one stupid electrical shock for me to FINALLY realize it! Spider-Man… you’re going to step aside and let me do whatever I want. I’m not a puppet anymore!”
He charged at Spider-Man.
— “Okay… he’s not messing around anymore.” Spider-Man thought.
Behind him, Electro tore away the web covering his mouth and fired several more lightning bolts, making sure not to hit Otto.
Spidey shot a web directly into Otto’s face, blinding his sensors.
He dodged the lightning, leaped into the air, and used one of his webs to pull a manhole cover into his hands.
— “Eat this!” Electro shouted.
The hero shielded himself with the manhole cover, absorbed the impact… then hurled it violently into Electro’s face, knocking him out on the spot.
Taking advantage of the opening, Spider-Man wove a massive web around Otto.
The scientist, barely recovered from being blinded, found himself trapped, his arms restrained and unable to break free.
One well-placed uppercut was enough to knock him unconscious, bringing the fight to an end.
— “Finally over…”
A police officer approached Spider-Man with a friendly smile.
— “Thank you, Spider-Man. You saved the day! Again.”
— “Always a pleasure, sir. By the way… do you know where George Stacy is? I mean… your captain.”
— “He’s busy, so he couldn’t make it. But he knew you’d be here, so he asked me to congratulate you on your victory.”
Realizing that George had been so confident in his victory almost made him blush beneath his mask.
He felt proud.
Almost like a little kid.
— “Thank you. And tell him I said hi.”
— “Count on me! We’ll take it from here. You can go.”
— “Perfect! Thanks!”
Spider-Man waved goodbye to the officers before swinging away.
A few minutes later, he reached one of the rooftops near the Corner Café, where he had left his belongings.
He had barely picked up his bag when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Gwen was calling him.
Peter answered immediately.
— “Hello, Gwen?”
In a neutral but slightly hurried tone, Gwen asked:
— “Peter, where are you?”
— “On the rooftop near where we were. I stopped the criminals and just got my stuff back. What about you?”
A brief silence followed before Gwen spoke again:
— “I’m at Professor Connors’ lab. You do remember we were supposed to go there, right?”
Peter froze as he suddenly realized what he had forgotten.
— “Oh no… I totally forgot…!”
Gwen let out a small sigh.
— “Oh, Peter…”
— “I know, sorry! But don’t worry, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
— “Alright. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”
The call ended.
Peter immediately put his phone away, grabbed his bag, and swung off into the air.
Going from building to building, he crossed New York at full speed until he spotted the Connors’ laboratory.
Once he arrived, Peter quickly changed before meeting Gwen at the entrance.
Together, they entered the laboratory.
They had barely stepped through the door when Martha Connors rushed toward them.
Without hesitation, she pulled them both into her arms.
Gwen in particular.
— “Gwen! Oh my God, I’m so happy to see you! Are you okay?”
— “I’m fine, don’t worry. What about you? Where’s Dr. Connors?”
Martha hesitated.
— “Curtis? Oh… he’s…”
— “Right here.”
The voice came from the back of the room.
Curtis Connors calmly stepped out of his office before approaching his wife and his two students.
When he stopped in front of them, his face was marked by genuine shame.
— “Peter… Gwen… I’m so happy you’re okay. I sincerely want to apologize for everything that happened. I’ve been an unworthy professor. It won’t happen again. And thank you for not alerting the police. Truly.”
Gwen gave him a kind smile and answered with gentleness and maturity.
— “It’s okay, Professor. I’m alive, and I don’t hold grudges. There’s no point spending your life dwelling on the past. Besides, I had the support of people who mean a lot to me… that helps you heal.”
Moved by her words, Martha couldn’t help but smile warmly.
Peter smiled, proud of her.
— “Good job, Gwen…”
Curtis Connors spoke again:
— “Thank you, Gwen. I know you’re being forgiving, but I needed to say it. And besides…”
Suddenly, Billy came running in, carrying a cake, accompanied by his parents.
All three of them smiled at Gwen.
Together, they exclaimed cheerfully:
— “Welcome back to the lab, Gwen!”
The young girl remained speechless for a few seconds, visibly surprised by the gesture.
Then, a sincere smile lit up her face.
— “Thank you…!”
Standing slightly behind them, Peter watched the scene in silence, unable to hide the gentle smile on his face.
He was relieved… and proud of his girlfriend.
Things were finally getting back to normal.
New York — Ryker’s Prison — End of the Day
In the high-security wing of Ryker’s Prison, Otto Octavius and Max Dillon, also known as the six-armed man and the electric man, were unconscious and placed in two neighboring cells under heavy surveillance.
Curious, Rhino watched them.
— “Hey, who the hell are these guys? Wait… does that dude have arms coming out of his back?” Rhino asked.
Sandman looked over as well.
— “Yeah… and it looks like they’re like us.”
— “Hey, can you two shut up?” Shocker growled.
Half asleep, Scorpion added:
— “I’m trying to sleep, so yeah, that’d be nice.”
The six prisoners were spread across neighboring cells.
A proximity that quickly reignited tensions… or sparked curiosity.
Not long after, Otto and Electro slowly woke up, disoriented.
Electro brought a hand to his head.
— “Ow… my head… I… where the hell am I?”
He looked around in confusion.
Aggressive and still completely lost, Electro snapped.
— “Fuck, answer me! Can somebody tell me what the hell is going on?!” Electro shouted angrily.
— “We’re in prison, Electro.” Otto calmly replied.
— “What?!”
Shocker let out a sigh.
— “Looks like the six-armed guy pays more attention than the loudmouth.”
— “To be fair, he looks completely lost.” Sandman added.
— “I don’t understand a damn thing you guys are saying, but I don’t give a shit. I’m getting the hell out of here!”
Electro raised his arms and attempted to unleash a powerful electrical blast… but nothing happened.
No lightning.
Not even a sound.
His powers had been neutralized.
— “What the fuck?!”
— “Your powers don’t work in here. These cells block them. So quit dreaming.” Shocker said.
Frustrated, Electro muttered:
— “Fuck…”
Rhino approached the bars of his cell and spoke up:
— “So, what about you guys… why are you in the slammer?”
Crossing his arms with contempt, Otto replied:
— “We’re here because of a certain… superhero.”
Still frustrated and stunned by what had just happened to him, Electro added:
— “Yeah, it’s because of that Spider-Man! That asshole literally knocked me out with a manhole cover! Can you believe that shit?! That guy’s fucking crazy!”
Shocker replied in a direct, cold, and contemptuous tone.
— “Well… looks like we’ve got something in common, then. We’ve got a score to settle with that son of a bitch too.”
Rhino thought about it innocently.
— “Hey! So… does that make us brothers?”
Sandman stared at him, perplexed and almost annoyed.
— “Brothers? Are you fucking serious?”
Before the conversation could continue, two guards suddenly entered the corridor, and one of them looked at the prisoners mockingly.
— “Looks like everybody’s getting acquainted in here.” the first guard said with a mocking smile.
The second one chuckled sarcastically.
— “Everything good, guys? Want some coffee? Maybe a croissant?”
— “Is your mom on the menu?” Rhino replied.
— “Ha-ha… very funny, you fucking—”
But before he could finish his sentence, a third “guard” appeared out of nowhere and knocked both officers unconscious with two quick, precise strikes.
Slightly annoyed, Scorpion immediately reacted.
— “What the hell is happening now?!” Scorpion muttered.
Without saying a word, the fake guard entered a security code into the wall-mounted control panel, releasing Otto.
Then, in less than a minute, she did the same for the other five.
— “Congratulations, gentlemen. You’re free.”
Perplexed, Sandman reacted.
— “Uh… what?” Sandman blurted out.
Suspicious, Otto narrowed his eyes.
— “Who are you? And why are you freeing us?”
The woman simply shrugged.
— “I got paid to do it, so who I am doesn’t matter. I did what I was asked to do. Now… you’re on your own.”
She immediately disappeared, running through the prison corridors.
Otto remained silent for a moment as restrained anger began to rise within him.
— “Norman…? If that’s you, then just wait until I—!”
Then he reconsidered.
— “No… forget it. I don’t have time to waste dealing with vermin like you.”
— “You think this is some kind of trap?” Sandman asked.
— “Who gives a shit?! Let’s get the hell out of here!” Electro replied.
— “The loudmouth’s right.” Shocker added.
— “Shut the fuck up!”
Scorpion looked at the others.
— “Okay, so what now? What’s the plan?”
— “A plan? It’s simple. We coordinate and get the hell out of here.” Otto quickly replied.
— “Like a family?”
— “Nah… like a team.” Sandman corrected him.
They all looked at one another before nodding.
— “I’m in.” Shocker declared.
Then, looking around at the others, he asked:
— “What about the rest of you?”
The other four answered at the same time:
— “Yeah!”
— “Yeah!”
— “Yeah!”
— “Yeah!”
Otto turned toward Rhino.
— “Rhino, think you can make us a hole in that wall?”
A huge grin spread across the giant’s face.
— “With pleasure!”
The wall exploded with a deafening crash.
Rhino had just smashed straight through it with his massive body, sending chunks of concrete and clouds of dust flying in every direction.
Alarms began blaring, red emergency lights flashed frantically, and guards scrambled into action, rushing out into the yard.
One of them, confused and panicked, shouted:
— “What the hell is going on?! How did they get out of their cells?!”
Another completely gave in to panic.
— “We’re fucked! Quick, shoot them!”
They drew their weapons… but didn’t even have time to open fire.
A blinding bolt of electricity struck them head-on, sending them flying several meters through the air.
They crashed to the ground, motionless.
Electro stood in the middle of the yard, his arms crackling with electricity.
All around them, prisoners panicked or took advantage of the confusion to escape.
Chaos spread throughout the prison.
A voice suddenly echoed from one of the watchtowers.
— “CODE RED! CODE RED! THE SUPER-CRIMINALS HAVE ESCAPED! CONTACT THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY!”
Spotlights swept across the yard, sirens roared, and the security system was completely overloaded.
The six super-criminals regrouped near the breach.
Cold and direct, Otto took command.
— “Alright, listen up. Here’s what we’re going to do: Rhino, Sandman… you’re going to free every prisoner in this prison. And tell them to free everyone they come across too. Then—”
— “I’m going to get my equipment back. Without it, I won’t be much use.” Shocker interrupted.
— “Fine. Electro, Scorpion, and I will take care of eliminating anyone in this prison who gets in our way. And after that… we’ll get our revenge on that damn spider, and then we can do whatever we want!”
No one protested.
They simply exchanged glances, as if no words were needed to understand what had just been decided.
They had nothing left to lose.
And that night, Ryker would no longer be a prison.
It would become the starting point of a true nightmare.
Just as they were about to leave, something on the ground caught Otto’s attention.
A pair of black sunglasses lay only a few inches away from the body of a guard.
A thin trail of blood was slowly making its way toward them, dangerously close to reaching the lenses.
Before a single drop could touch them, Otto delicately picked them up with one of his mechanical arms, without even needing to bend down.
He stared at them for a brief moment, then slowly placed them over his eyes.
A simple gesture, almost insignificant at first glance… but one that definitively sealed his transformation.
In the streets, still illuminated by the final rays of daylight as evening slowly began to settle over the city, Peter and Gwen left the Connors’ laboratory side by side.
With his hands behind his head, Peter let out a long, exhausted sigh.
— “Phew…! This day is finally over. That was long, don’t you think?”
Gwen stared straight ahead, lost in thought.
— “Yeah, but strangely… I feel like this is only the beginning…”
Peter stopped dead in his tracks.
— “Oh no… no, no, no, no, NO! Don’t say another word!”
Gwen turned toward him, confused.
— “Huh? What?”
Nervous and almost superstitious, Peter continued:
— “Don’t say things like that! I can feel it… you’re gonna jinx us! Well… jinx ME, mostly!”
Gwen burst out laughing, amused by his reaction.
In a teasing but affectionate tone, she replied:
— “Come on, Peter. Just because we talk about it doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen.”
As if to immediately prove him wrong, at that exact moment, around a dozen police cars sped past them, sirens blaring.
Peter closed his eyes and let out a long, defeated sigh.
— “…See?”
He turned toward Gwen with a guilty expression.
— “Sorry, Gwen, but I’m gonna have to leave you here.”
— “No. Take me with you.”
— “No, it’s dangerous.”
— “But I’m not going to fight! I just want to watch from a distance.”
— “But Gwen… that’s not the poin—”
Gwen cut him off, her expression firm and determined.
— “Peter… take. Me. With. You.”
He rolled his eyes, defeated.
— “Your wish is my command… Come on.”
A few moments later, they slipped into a deserted alley.
While Gwen kept watch, Peter quickly put on his costume.
— “You done?” she asked.
— “Yeah, let’s go!”
Spider-Man grabbed his bag, took Gwen into his arms, then immediately swung into the New York sky.
They raced between the buildings at full speed.
The wind whipped against their faces as skyscrapers rushed past them.
Eventually, Spider-Man landed on the rooftop of a building overlooking a wide avenue.
Then they looked down… and froze.
Chaos had consumed the streets below.
Overturned cars, shattered storefronts, fires, looting, robberies… dozens… no, hundreds of criminals were flooding the city.
Gwen was in complete shock.
— “Oh… my God. What… what is this?!”
Peter, equally stunned, stared at the scale of the disaster.
— “What the hell is going on…?” Peter thought, completely lost.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
It was George Stacy, and he answered immediately.
But before Peter could say anything, George’s voice came through, the urgency unmistakable in his tone.
— “Peter! Peter, is Gwen with you?”
— “Yeah, she’s with me, but—”
Before he could finish, Gwen practically snatched the phone out of his hands.
— “Dad! Are you okay?!”
Slightly panicked and worried, George replied:
— “Yes, sweetheart. What about you? Are you safe?!”
— “Yes! I’m on a rooftop with Peter.”
— “Perfect. Stay with him!”
— “Okay, but what about you? Where are you?”
— “I’m still at headquarters. Don’t worry about me!”
Tense from everything he could see happening in the streets below, Peter took the phone back.
— “George, explain this to me. What is all this? Why are there so many criminals out there?! What the hell is going on?!”
On the other end of the line, George fell silent for a moment.
Then, with bitterness and frustration, he answered:
— “They’re the prisoners from Ryker… They… they all escaped!”
Peter felt his stomach tighten.
He was completely stunned.
— “What?! How is that even possible?!”
— “I don’t know! We just received an alert from the prison reporting some kind of problem, and then nothing! Since then, it’s been complete panic! They’re pouring into the city!”
Peter remained frozen for a moment before an old warning suddenly resurfaced in his mind: “He’s willing to do anything.” George Stacy’s words echoed through him like a bell announcing the end of everything.
As realization struck him, his expression twisted with worry.
A shiver ran down his spine as an icy thought crossed his mind.
— “Tombstone… You didn’t really go this far… did you?!”
At the very top of a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan, Tombstone watched the city.
Standing behind an enormous glass window, he stared at the flames illuminating the streets below.
A glass of whiskey rested in his hand as a satisfied smile slowly spread across his face.
— “Freeing every criminal wasn’t part of the plan… but Osborn warned me. And in the end… it’s not such a bad thing.”
He raised the glass to his lips and took a sip.
His gaze settled on the chaos stretching as far as the eye could see.
— “All I have to do is recruit this vermin and turn them into my mercenaries. Now I just have to wait and enjoy your downfall, Spider-Man. Let’s see how you get out of this one.”
TO BE CONTINUED.