New York — Tombstone Headquarters — Tombstone’s Office — Afternoon
Seated in his imposing leather chair, Tombstone silently watched New York through the large window of his office.
A heavy atmosphere filled the room, intensified by the dim lighting and the oppressive silence that enveloped the place.
A few knocks on the door finally broke the silence.
A few seconds later, Hammerhead entered the office.
— “You wanted to see me, boss?”
Without taking his eyes off the city, Tombstone calmly replied:
— “Yes. I think it’s time to recruit. Take some men with you and bring me as many criminals as possible. Tell them they’ll make a lot of money working for me.”
Hammerhead nodded slightly.
— “And if they refuse?”
At that question, Tombstone slowly turned his chair toward him, revealing a face as cold as it was impassive.
— “In that case, make them understand that it’s either work for me… or lose the use of their legs. Don’t hesitate to give them a little demonstration. That should make things easier if there are any rebels among them.”
The message was perfectly clear, and he immediately nodded.
— “Understood!”
He was about to leave the room when Tombstone’s voice stopped him.
— “Hammerhead.”
His right-hand man immediately turned around.
— “Yes, boss?”
Tombstone clasped his hands in front of him.
— “The police captain… the one who helped Spider-Man the other day. I asked you to look into him. Did you find his name?”
— “Yes. His name is George Stacy.”
Tombstone remained silent for a few seconds, then simply repeated in a low voice:
— “George Stacy…”
It was as if he wanted to engrave that name into his mind.
Then he continued:
— “Very well. I want you to find out if he has a wife or children. And I want the information within the next few hours. Don’t disappoint me.”
— “You can count on me.”
— “Oh, and gather all the explosives we have too.”
Hammerhead nodded briefly before leaving the office.
The door closed behind him, once again leaving Tombstone alone before the vastness of New York.
As for the masked hero, thick smoke had spread throughout the entire restaurant room, turning the floor into a truly opaque fog.
Between the overturned furniture, shards of glass, and leftover food scattered across the floor, the place looked more like a battlefield than a restaurant.
And lost in that immense opaque cloud, the criminals were doing their best to find their bearings.
— “Can’t somebody do something, seriously?” Sandman snapped.
“First a flash grenade and now a smoke grenade?!”
— “And it’s not over yet!” Spider-Man’s voice called out from somewhere in the smoke.
A shadow suddenly moved through the cloud.
Before Sandman could even react, Spider-Man appeared in front of him and delivered a powerful kick straight to his face.
The impact literally went through his grainy head, leaving a gaping hole in it.
— “I’ve got you!” Sandman shouted.
He immediately reached out to grab him, but Peter agilely ducked and slipped beneath his attack.
In the same movement, he spun around and delivered a spinning kick to his legs, severing them in a violent spray of sand.
— “What?! Is this a joke?!”
Thrown off balance, he didn’t even have time to fully reform his body.
Spider-Man grabbed a nearby table and brutally slammed it down on him.
Under the force of the impact, Sandman’s body completely scattered into an enormous cloud of dust that mixed with the surrounding smoke.
A little farther away, Electro flinched when he heard the crash.
— “Fuck, what the hell is going on?!” Electro shouted.
— “Sandman?! Still alive?!” Shocker yelled.
No answer came.
The silence that followed was enough to make some of the confidence of the three criminals still standing disappear.
Shocker narrowed his eyes, desperately trying to make out something through the smoke, but without success.
It was simply impossible to get his bearings.
— “We can’t see anything, and yet he’s moving around like it’s nothing…”
— “What do we do?! I can’t see shit!” Scorpion panicked.
— “Stay together!” Shocker ordered.
“If we split up, we’re screwed!”
— “I don’t give a shit!” Electro roared.
“I’m gonna kill him myself!”
Blinded as much by his anger as by the smoke, Electro charged straight ahead and began firing electrical discharges in every direction, hoping to hit Spider-Man at random.
But to Peter, his movements were anything but unpredictable.
— “Behind you!”
Electro barely had time to turn around before a violent kick struck him head-on and sent him crashing to the floor.
Furious, he immediately got back up.
More and more intense electrical arcs began coursing across his entire body.
— “You think you’re clever because we can’t see anything, huh?! Just wait… let’s see if… YOU CAN DODGE THIS ONE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”
He roared with rage as a phenomenal amount of electricity gathered around him.
Then, without the slightest restraint, he released all that energy at once.
The electrical wave exploded across the floor.
The shock was so violent that all the windows simultaneously shattered with a deafening crash.
Thousands of glass fragments were hurled across the room as the outside air violently rushed inside, carrying away the thick smoke that had until then concealed Spider-Man.
Outside the building, Yuri and her men saw a violent bluish light burst from the upper floors, immediately followed by the windows exploding.
They all understood that the situation had just taken a new turn.
Inside, Peter hadn’t been able to avoid all the shards.
Several pieces of glass slashed through his suit and cut into his skin, leaving thin trails of blood visible through the torn fabric.
The smoke was quickly disappearing.
And with it, Spider-Man’s advantage.
Shocker looked at the shattered windows before turning his head toward Electro, visibly impressed.
— “Blowing out the windows to clear the smoke? Not bad, battery. Even I didn’t think of that.” Shocker admitted.
Electro suddenly turned toward him, his nerves on edge.
— “MY NAME IS ELECTRO, DAMMIT! REMEMBER IT, FUCK!”
A voice suddenly interrupted them.
— “Hey, guys!”
The three criminals immediately turned their heads in his direction.
Spider-Man stood several meters away from them, his suit torn in places but still standing.
Without giving them time to react, he grabbed a heavy table with both hands and hurled it straight at them.
— “The action’s over here.”
New York — Hospital — Afternoon
George Stacy walked through the quiet, plain corridors of the hospital, his phone pressed to his ear.
His pace was calm, but his expression showed his full attention as he carefully listened to the person on the other end.
— “Are you sure about your information?”
He remained silent for a few seconds, taking in what he had just learned, then replied in a composed tone.
— “Alright… thank you for letting me know.”
He hung up and slipped his phone into the inside pocket of his jacket, though the thoughtful expression on his face remained.
— “So Tombstone has a right-hand man named Hammerhead…”
His gaze drifted into the distance for a moment.
— “I need to tell Peter and Yuri. But later… they must still be in the middle of the operation against the super-criminals…”
Temporarily pushing this new information to the back of his mind, George continued on his way to Aunt May’s room.
The moment he placed his hand on the door handle, a weak but terribly familiar voice rose from inside the room and completely took him by surprise.
— “Well… you haven’t changed a bit, have you…”
George froze for a fraction of a second.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise before a broad smile of relief appeared on his face.
— “And you’re still as strong as ever.”
He entered the room and sat down beside her bed, genuinely happy to finally see her awake after all that time spent worrying.
— “I’m really glad to see you awake.”
May responded with a gentle smile before concern quickly darkened her expression again.
— “Have you heard from Peter? Do you know where he is? The last time I spoke to him, he was at Harry’s and I’m worried…”
— “He’s at my place with Gwen, don’t worry. He’s safe. He knows about your accident, he wanted to come, but I told him to stay with her.”
A sigh of relief immediately escaped May.
— “Alright… that’s reassuring.”
Now that she knew her nephew was safe, May could finally release some of the tension inside her.
A brief silence settled in before she naturally shifted the conversation toward a much lighter subject, with a small amused smile.
— “You know… Peter and Gwen… they seem to like each other. I mean… really like each other.”
A slight smirk immediately appeared on George’s face.
— “They like each other? Just that? I wouldn’t say that about two people who’ve already kissed.”
May’s eyes immediately widened in surprise.
— “What?! They kissed? When did that happen?!”
Meanwhile, inside the multi-story restaurant, the fight was still raging.
Spider-Man darted through the devastated room, weaving between Electro’s devastating bolts of electricity and Shocker’s violent shockwaves.
Each attack shook the walls and sent more debris flying across the room.
Peter chained together dodges, leaps, and acrobatics at a frantic pace, focused on each of his opponents.
Then, without warning, he sneezed violently.
His spider-sense suddenly went wild.
Scorpion had just appeared behind him, his poisoned tail already shooting toward him.
Peter leaped to the side just before it could hit him, then firmly grabbed it with both hands.
Taking advantage of his opponent’s momentum, he spun around and violently hurled Scorpion against one of the restaurant walls.
Before he could even recover, several streams of webbing shot out and covered his body, firmly immobilizing him against the wall.
— “Seriously, guys… did you really think you’d get me twice with the surprise stin—”
A powerful shockwave struck him head-on before he could even finish his sentence.
Spider-Man was sent flying through one of the shattered windows and thrown out of the building.
His body immediately plunged into the void, several floors above the street.
By pure reflex, he extended his arm and fired a web that attached to the facade.
The tension abruptly stopped his fall.
Peter braced himself against the wall and immediately began climbing back toward the floor.
Shocker appeared near the opening and tried to take advantage of his position to finish him off, firing several more shockwaves in his direction.
Spider-Man dodged them one after another, then fired a web that attached directly to his opponent and pulled hard.
Shocker was yanked toward him.
Peter used his momentum to deliver a violent blow to his head before throwing him against the wall.
Several layers of webbing immediately covered his body until he was trapped inside a thick cocoon that held him firmly against the wall.
Spider-Man pulled himself back inside the building and quickly scanned the room.
There was only one left.
— “You’re the only one left, Electro! So, are you coming or not?!”
— “You’re gonna see what’s coming to you!”
Furious, Electro charged toward him at full speed.
But Peter was waiting for him.
With a quick movement, he pulled out a flash grenade and threw it directly into his path.
Seeing this, the criminal stopped dead in his tracks and immediately shielded his eyes with his arms.
— “AHAH! You’re not getting me this time! You really think I’m stupid enough not to…”
A few seconds passed, but nothing happened.
There was absolutely no explosion.
He then opened one eye slightly, trying to understand what was happening.
— “Huh? The bomb isn’t exploding? What the fu—”
He never got the chance to finish.
Spider-Man suddenly leaped into his field of vision, a chair in his hands.
The first blow slammed violently into his skull.
Then a second.
Then another.
Under the force of the successive impacts, Electro was finally sent crashing against a wall before collapsing, completely unconscious.
Silence finally fell over the devastated room.
Peter remained still for a few seconds, slowly catching his breath as he looked at the four super-criminals now neutralized.
Then, unable to resist, he theatrically spread his arms.
— “And there you have it! Another victory for the sensational, the spectacular, the fantastic, the AMAZING SPIDER-MAAAAAAN!”
A few moments later, he left the building and joined Yuri and her squad in front of the main entrance.
His suit was torn in several places and his body bore the marks of the fight, but none of that seemed capable of affecting his usual lightheartedness.
— “It’s all good, it’s taken care of! Call whoever handles prisoner transfers. I’m heading out, but it was a pleasure working with you!”
He approached the officers and sincerely greeted them one by one, before finally reaching Yuri.
— “Thanks for letting me step in despite your doubts. You’re a real pro at this job. That… no one can deny! If George wasn’t around, you’d make an excellent captain.”
In an attempt to ease the tension between them, Peter extended his hand toward her.
Yuri lowered her eyes toward it… before sharply pushing it away.
She then slowly stepped toward him.
Her gaze was cold, hard, almost predatory.
At that moment, she looked more like a lioness ready to pounce than someone who had just finished an operation by his side.
— “Don’t get the wrong idea. Working together on one operation doesn’t make us allies. We had a common goal, that’s all. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still under surveillance. And if you ever cross the line, I swear I’ll put you in prison.”
Spider-Man remained silent for a few seconds.
This time, no joke came to mind.
He understood perfectly well that there was no point in insisting.
So he stepped back slightly, respecting the distance she had just imposed between them, then gave her a simple nod.
No humor.
No joke.
Just respect… accompanied by a slight discomfort.
He finally turned away and leaped into the air, leaving the area in a few jumps before disappearing between the buildings.
Yuri didn’t move.
Without saying a word, she watched the masked hero’s silhouette disappear into the New York sky.
Her face showed no emotion.
Only silence.
In Oscorp Tower, seated in his large leather chair, Norman Osborn absentmindedly watched the images being shown on the flat-screen television mounted on the wall.
The news played in the background, once again covering the events that had recently shaken New York.
— “To all New Yorkers, here’s some news that will put a smile on your face. It’s official: all the super-criminals have been arrested by the police, thanks to a joint operation with our favorite masked vigilante… Spider-Man!”
Norman remained silent for a few seconds, his gaze fixed on the screen.
Then he slowly leaned forward, grabbed the remote control resting on his desk, and abruptly turned off the television.
Silence immediately fell over the room again, and a slight mischievous smile appeared on his face.
— “Very well… I finally have the answer to my question.”
His gaze drifted toward the windows of his office.
— “Spider-Man… from this day forward… you’ll be my new test subject.”
In the office of New York’s biggest crime boss, Tombstone stood in front of his computer, focused on what he was typing with almost methodical precision.
His icy gaze had lost none of its intensity.
In the dimly lit room, the light from the screen barely illuminated his face.
Then, a sharp knock sounded at the door.
— “Boss… can I talk to you for two minutes?”
Tombstone didn’t immediately look away from his screen.
— “Is it about what we talked about earlier?”
— “Yes.”
— “Then talk. I’m listening.”
Hammerhead stepped farther into the room before giving his report.
— “I gathered some men like you asked me to, and we’ve got about a hundred recruits. The guys are explaining the rules to them and what’s expected of them. As for the police captain, I checked: no wife, no other relatives in the city, just a daughter named Gwen Stacy. And for the explosives, we got them. What do you want us to do with them?”
Tombstone finally stopped what he was doing and looked up at him.
Then, he calmly replied:
— “Place them throughout the entire building, but in discreet locations where no one will think to look. As for the captain’s daughter: put together a team, kidnap her, and bring her here.”
Hammerhead immediately nodded.
He was already about to leave the office when Tombstone’s voice stopped him once again.
— “And one last thing.”
Hammerhead turned around.
— “Yes?”
— “Prepare my jet on the private runway. Put together a close-protection team to accompany me as well.”
— “Understood, boss. I’ll take care of it right away.”
This time, he left the room for good, leaving Tombstone alone in front of his computer.
Far below, away from the heights of the immense tower, New York seemed almost like another world.
Despite the still-visible traces of the recent chaos, the streets were now so calm… and so empty.
After Spider-Man’s feat and the arrest of most of the criminals, the city was slowly returning to a more peaceful atmosphere, but one that was strangely silent.
Almost as if this calm was merely the one that followed an apocalypse.
And in the middle of those deserted streets, Gwen walked quickly along the sidewalk.
The cold was gradually settling over the city in early December, but protected by her jacket, she seemed barely affected by the chilly air.
She continued on her way home, occasionally glancing around her, observing the almost completely deserted streets.
— “I should call Dad when I get home… that way, he won’t be stressed about me going out or doing something stupid.”
Gwen continued walking for a few meters before slowing down slightly, her gaze discreetly shifting over her shoulder toward a car driving behind her.
She had noticed it several minutes ago, but until then, she hadn’t really paid much attention to it.
After all, there was nothing strange about a car taking the same route as her.
Yet, in the middle of those almost deserted streets, its presence was becoming difficult to ignore.
Doubt gradually crept into her mind.
Enough to make her cross the street and continue walking on the opposite sidewalk.
But the car continued moving behind her, without changing direction.
She frowned slightly and, a few meters farther ahead, turned onto another street.
She unconsciously listened closely as she continued walking and, a few seconds later, heard the sound of the engine turning behind her as well.
Her pace became slightly faster.
She then took another street, this time solely to test her suspicions, but the result was the same.
When she glanced over her shoulder again, the car was still there.
The doubt she had felt until then began to give way to a much more genuine concern, while her heart slowly began to beat faster in her chest.
Now, Gwen was almost certain: that car wasn’t behind her by coincidence.
— “Okay… something’s wrong here. Should I run or call someone?”
She quickly scanned her surroundings, hoping to spot someone on the sidewalk or at the entrance of a building.
But there was no one. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Not a single passerby, not the slightest movement around her.
Only the distant sounds of the city disturbed the silence of the streets, accompanied by that damn car that continued to stay behind her.
— “Or maybe I’m just being paranoid… but better to be prepared…”
Without slowing down, Gwen discreetly slipped one hand into the right pocket of her jacket, ready to grab something to defend herself with if the situation really did escalate.
She kept walking, trying not to let anything show, her attention still focused on the car behind her.
But at that very moment, she violently bumped into someone.
Startled by the impact, she stepped back slightly before looking up.
An enormous man stood in front of her, easily almost twice her size.
His imposing build took up nearly the entire sidewalk, completely blocking her path.
— “Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t see you…”
Still unsettled, she simply tried to walk around him, but the moment she took a step, the man’s hand brutally closed around her arm.
— “You’re coming with me.”
Gwen froze, caught off guard by his words and by the force with which he was holding her.
— “W-What?!”
The man didn’t answer.
His cold stare was more than enough to make it clear that his intentions were anything but good.
His grip tightened around Gwen’s arm and, without giving her any more time to react, he began dragging her by force toward the car parked a little farther away.
The fear rising inside her immediately pushed her to act.
With a quick movement, Gwen plunged her hand back into her jacket pocket, grabbed the pepper spray she kept there and, as soon as she managed to pull it out, sprayed it directly into her attacker’s eyes.
— “MY EYES! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! WHAT KIND OF SHITTY JOB IS THIS AGAIN?!”
The man instinctively brought his hands to his face and immediately loosened his grip.
Gwen took advantage of the opening to wrench her arm free and start running as fast as her legs could carry her.
Panic sent her heart racing and her breathing quickly became short, but she didn’t slow down.
— “I need to call someone… Peter!”
Still running, she hurriedly shoved a hand into her pants pocket and pulled out her phone, struggling to keep her eyes on the screen while continuing to run.
But she didn’t even have time to dial his number.
Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed behind her and, before she could even turn around, the man had already caught up with her.
He brutally grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
Gwen slammed violently against the pavement as her phone flew from her hands, bouncing across the ground before sliding several meters away, now completely out of reach.
— “You’re coming with us! You got that, you fucking bitch?!”
— “No! Stop! Plea—”
A violent blow to the head cut her sentence short.
The impact blurred her vision almost instantly, and the shapes around her began to blend together.
She tried to stay conscious, but her strength quickly abandoned her.
Then everything went black.
The man leaned down and lifted her without the slightest care before carrying her toward the car.
Once he reached the vehicle, he opened the rear door, revealing two other men already sitting inside, then tossed Gwen’s unconscious body in before climbing in after her.
The door slammed shut and, a few seconds later, the vehicle started moving before quickly driving away, eventually disappearing into the deserted streets of New York.
Silence then reclaimed the area, as though nothing had happened.
On that empty street, no one had witnessed the scene, and no one yet knew what had just occurred.
Spider-Man, meanwhile, had been patrolling the city for quite some time already, swinging between the buildings of Manhattan.
He had just intercepted a few more isolated petty criminals, but compared to the chaos that had recently struck New York, the streets now seemed far calmer.
— “Alright… all six super-criminals have been arrested. Most of the smaller criminals too. The streets are a lot calmer. Looks like everything’s finally starting to get back under control… We’re finally reaching the end of this mess. I’m exhausted…”
After spending several hours patrolling the city, Peter eventually landed on the roof of a building and removed his mask to catch his breath.
He had barely gotten a few seconds of rest when his phone vibrated.
He pulled it out and discovered a message from George Stacy, beginning a text conversation between the two.
— “Peter. I found out that the Big Boss has a right-hand man. A guy called ‘Hammerhead.’ He does everything for him… always in his shadow. I’m thinking if we find him, we’ll find Tombstone.”
Peter immediately replied.
— “Great info!”
The response came almost instantly.
— “Yeah. I told Yuri about it too. Over the next few days, we’ll come up with a plan to catch him and put an end to this.”
A smile appeared behind his mask.
— “I’m 100% in, George! Tombstone’s almost finished!”
— “Exactly!”
Their conversation went quiet for a moment before another message from George appeared.
— “And look at this.”
A photo then appeared on Peter’s screen.
It was a selfie of George alongside Aunt May, finally awake and smiling from her hospital bed.
Beneath the photo, George had added a few words:
— “Your aunt’s doing great! As usual!”
At the sight of the photo, Peter spent a few seconds staring at his aunt’s smile.
Touched, Peter smiled as he quickly replied:
— “That’s Aunt May! The strongest person I know! I’ll get there as fast as I can!”
He stared at the photo for another few seconds.
An almost goofy smile spread across his face.
— “Aunt May is finally awake…”
An immense sense of relief washed over him.
After everything that had happened since yesterday, between the criminals flooding the streets, the nonstop fighting, and his aunt’s condition, Peter finally felt like he could breathe again.
— “Things are finally going back to normal!”
Without wasting any more time, he put away his phone, pulled his mask back on, and leaped from the top of the building, performing a magnificent backflip while letting out a triumphant cry of victory and joy.
Falling through the air, he fired a web toward the neighboring building before heading straight for the hospital.
New York — Hospital — Late Afternoon
Meanwhile, George was still sitting in the hospital room beside Aunt May.
Clearly in a very good mood, she glanced at the phone he was still holding in his hands.
— “So? What did he say?”
George gave a faint smile.
— “He said he’s not surprised to see you smiling. You’re still the strongest person he knows.”
May smiled softly upon hearing those words.
But their brief moment of peace was suddenly interrupted by George’s phone ringing.
He looked down at the screen and immediately noticed that he didn’t recognize the number calling him, causing his smile to fade slightly.
May noticed the change in his expression and kept her eyes on him.
Not wanting to let anything show in front of her, George immediately came up with an excuse.
— “Oh, it’s Gwen! Excuse me, I have to take this. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
— “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” she replied jokingly.
George gave her one last smile before leaving the room and gently closing the door behind him.
Once in the hallway, his expression became more serious as he looked once again at the number displayed on his screen.
— “An unknown number…?”
After a brief hesitation, he answered and brought the phone to his ear.
— “Hello? Who is this?”
No response came.
George waited a few seconds, his expression growing increasingly suspicious.
— “Hello? Is anyone there?”
A calm voice finally spoke from the other end of the line.
— “Good evening, Captain Stacy. Your daughter has a very nice hairstyle. Did you choose it for her, or is that her own taste?”
At those words, George froze.
It took him only a second to understand what that sentence implied, and every trace of calm immediately vanished from his face.
His jaw clenched as his grip tightened around the phone.
— “Tombstone…”
— “You figured it out that quickly? Impressive.”
The fear that had just seized George quickly turned into anger.
He moved slightly farther away from May’s room, keeping his voice low despite the pressure building inside him.
— “Listen to me carefully… if you—”
— “No. YOU listen.”
On the other side of the city, inside Tombstone’s office, Gwen was tied to a chair, unable to move, a strip of duct tape covering her mouth.
Hammerhead stood beside her and, at a simple signal, ripped the tape away to let her speak.
— “Dad! Dad! Can you hear me?!”
The sound of his daughter’s voice was enough to send George’s panic surging to another level.
— “Yes! Yes, I can hear you! Where are you, sweetheart?! Tell me where you are!”
— “I don’t know… in some kind of huge—”
She didn’t get the chance to finish.
Hammerhead brutally slapped the tape back over her mouth, immediately muffling the rest of her words.
George understood what had just happened, and the anger he had been holding back until now finally exploded.
— “Let my daughter go! Right now! Do you hear me?! If you don’t release her, I swear I’ll—”
— “Calm down, Captain. Here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to the address I just sent you. Now… and alone. If you take too long… or if you get the bright idea of bringing a certain masked vigilante with you… then believe me… you can say goodbye to your daughter.”
George remained silent, the phone pressed firmly against his ear.
Every instinct in him screamed to act, to call for backup or warn Peter, but the threat was clear enough for him to understand that he couldn’t take any chances with Gwen’s life.
Before he could even answer, Tombstone hung up.
George slowly lowered the phone from his ear and, a few seconds later, a new message appeared on the screen: an address.
He stared at it for a moment, torn between anger and worry, before putting his phone away.
He had no choice now.
But before leaving the hospital, George made one last stop by Aunt May’s room to tell her he had to go.
TO BE CONTINUED.