Chapter 2
Story of the Century.
Midtown Manhattan, 2:30 PM
"Alright everyone, you know the drill!" Shocker menacingly glared at the kneeling and panicked crowd of bank goers.
He slowly walked towards the heavy set clerk, who's face was drenched in terrified sweat.
"Cof 'em up!" Shocker barked as he aimed his gauntlets at the clerk.
"But..but.." the clerk stuttered and clamored to speak but was cut off by a frustrated Shocker.
"I said give it to me!"
Just then Shocker head a familiar and alarming voice.
"Hey Shockey!"
"Oh no....." Shocker muttered under his breath as he turned around to see the wall crawler of New York standing at the door of the bank.
"Why don't you wait your turn!" Spider Man quipped. "I'm sure there are more people here who have more important withdrawals to make!"
"Spider Man!" A nameless female civilian shouted in glee.
"Not you!" Shocker shouted as he fired a blast of his gauntlet at the wall crawler. Spider Man leaps out of the sight of shockers projectiles and unto the ceiling!
"That's no way to treat an old friend!" Spider Man said as he fired his web shoot at the Shockers right fist.
"Let go of me!" Shocker yelled in annoyance as he fired a plasma bolt of his left gauntlet. Spidey once again dodged the blast, this time leaping back down on the ground. The scared bank attendants then fled out of the bank as a piece of the ceiling fell down on Spider Man, but the yet again he dodged it. Shocker fired another round from his left gauntlet but Spider Man fired his webbing onto the ceiling.
"This is getting tedious Shocker!" Spider Man commented as he was perched upside down on the ceiling.
The friendly neighborhood Spider Man then fired another round of his webbing onto Shocker's left hand, totally disarming him.
"SHIT!" Shocker cursed in anger before Spider Man could completely rap up his legs and entire body with webbing, leaving only his head untouched.
A minute later, Spider Man watched from a nearby building as the boys in blue took the webbed up shocker into their patrol car.
"All in a days work". Spider Man aka Peter Parker commented as he took photos of his latest victory. "I wonder how Jameson's going to spin this one against me?"
Daily Bugle. 3:30 PM.
J. Jonah Jameson flipped through the photos of Spider Man swinging through the city and a webbed up Shocker being taken by the police.
"Good job on this one Parker!" Complemented as his face was partially hidden by the deck of photos held in his hands.
"As usual as always" a prideful Peter triumphantly said."Let's see how he spins this one against Spider Man" Robbie Robertson humorously whispered to Peter. Jameson then slammed the pictures on his desk and turned to the window behind him with his arms outstretched.
"I can see the headlines now!" Jameson proudly announced. He then turned to Peter and Robbie, arms still outstretched and face filled with smug pride. "Spider Man and Shocker rob bank! Spider Man gets away!".
Peter promptly sighed while Robbie rolled his eyes."Come on Jameson, those are obviously Spider Man's webs on the shocker!" Robbie pointed his photo to said picture.
"He's duping us!" Jameson stubbornly retorted. "He's using him as the fall, Spider Man's the real master mind! "Oh come on Jameson!" Exclaimed a frustrated Robbie. "Now you sound like Alex Jones!"
"Hey, I'll have you know my paper is more reliable and legit then whatever that crackpot spouts!". Jameson retaliated with. Jameson huffed as sat himself back down. As soon as he did so, he quickly changed the subject. "Let's just move on, I had just heard that a cargo ship was found wrecked in in the Bay of Seattle" Jameson explained. "The survivors said it was some kind of monster who did it!"
"A monster?" Robbie raised his eyebrows.
"I wonder who could be behind this?" Peter thought. Normally this would fall into the jurisdiction of either The Avengers or Fantastic Four but if Jameson wanted a story out of this then Peter could probably afford some plane tickets to Seattle from MJ's salary.
"Parker!" Jameson pointed to Peter. "I want you to fly to Seattle and give me some pictures!" Jameson demanded. "I have a feeling this story will be bigger then whatever crime that wall crawler is committing!"
"For my sake I hope so." Peter thought. Anything to get Jameson's attention away from Spider Man was always a plus in Peter's book.
An hour later, Peter was back at MJ's house.
"Don't worry Aunt May, I'll probably be back in a couple of days." Peter assured his worried Aunt while MJ sat on the couch. "I love you too, Aunt May!" Peter then put the phone back on the table, prompting Mary Jane to get up and walk towards him.
"So how long do you think you'll be gone?" MJ asked."Probably about two to three days" Peter speculated.
"Well, let's hope it's no more then three...." MJ began to caress Parker's shoulders. "When will you be going?""Probably tomorrow" Peter replied. MJ smiled as she began to trace her fingers on his chest. "I think I like were this is heading" Peter enthusiastically thought!"In that case, maybe I'll give you a farewell present before you go?" MJ said in a sultry tone. The couple then walked together into their bedroom' were they'd spend a good chunk of afternoon in.
Stark Mansion. 4:30 PM
Deep in his laboratory, Billionaire, playboy, and inventor Tony Stark (alias Iron Man) was fast at work repairing his standard suit. He had recently been in a fight with The Beetle, and the right arm of his suit was damaged by one of Beetle's grenades. With a blowtorch, he ironed out the creases brought on by the blast damage.
Just as he was about to finish, Jarvis entered the room.
"Sir I have some very distressing news for you!"
"The Dodger's are moving again?" Tony quipped.
"A Cargo ship carrying company supplies crashed of the coast of Seattle." Jarvis somberly explained.
Tony turned his full attention to Jarvis with great concern. "How did it happen?"
"The survivors said it was some kind of monster that did I it"
"Monster?" Tony thought. "Perhaps Fin Fang Foom is at large?"
"And to make matters worse sure, the survivors have been struck ill by radiation poisoning!"
A somber feeling began to churn within Stark. What could of cause them to contract radiation sickness? It couldn't have been Fing Fang Foom then?
"Computer, show me the daily news!" Tony ordered.
A large screen scrawled down from the ceiling which then turned to a CNN bulletin. The screen showed pictures of the wreck. The wreck looked as though a giant creature had clawed at it.
The footage then switched to that of the female captain laying on a hospital gurney, looking very very ill.
"The Survivors have mysteriously contracted what seems to be an acute form of radiation sickness" the Anchor stated.
The Anchor then continued.
"Besides the question of what caused this tragedy, there is the lingering question of how will Tony Stark pay for these damages? Especially the lives and well being of those on the ship?"
"By finding what ever did this to them!" Tony muttered. "And making sure it never happens to another ship, to another crew!".
Seattle, 9:25 AM.
Peter was outside Seattle Airport, waiting for the bus to arrive. Strapped on to his shoulder was his camera or as he called it "old reliable".
"I wonder what that West Coast Avengers are doing" Peter wondered. This seemed right up their alley!
A blue and grey bus with an advertisement for Genosa plastered on it. As the door opened, Peter stepped inside the bus and tipped the elderly driver with a mustache and sunglasses.
"Thanks for the tip!" The driver said.
Peter scanned the bus for a seat until he spotted a free seat beside what looked to be another reporter judging by the camera that was strapped to his chest. He also was older then Peter, probably in his late 60s or early 70s. Peter sat himself beside the older journalist.
"Never thought I'd be sat next to the guy who takes Spider Man's photos" the older journalist commented.
"You recognize my work!" A flattered Peter replied with.
The old journalist chuckled. "Your a legend among the photographers at United World News" He said. "How do you do it?"
"Well being friends with Spider Man has its perks." Peter answered.
"Aw, the magician never reveals his secrets!" The journalist said. "Smart man". The older journalist extended his hand to Peter who promptly shook it. "Steve Martin, United World News" the older journalist introduced himself as. "I've been in the scene since the Korean War".Peter was impressed. "You must of seen a lot of action!" he commented. "Oh yes" Mr. Martin began to list off. "Sputnik, Little Rock, Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK, Vietnam, RFK, MLK, The Moon Landing, Watergate, Iran-Contra, Chernobyl, September 11......".
"Wow!" Was all Peter could muster.
"As a matter of fact, this recent incident reminds me of one of my earliest stories.
"What story was that?" Peter walked curiously.
"The Lucky Dragon incident" Mr. Martin answered.
"I've heard of that" Parker replied. "A Japanese fishing boat went to close to an nuclear testing site and died of radiation sickness!"
"You've done your homework" Mr. Martin said. "I went to Tokyo for that story. I had an a old friend there."
"What are your thoughts on people saying it's a monster that did?" Peter asked.
"Well extraordinary things have happened in 50 years". Mr. Martin explained. "A man who can climb buildings, a man who can turn into a green monster, a war hero being frozen for 60 years, people being born with extraordinary abilities. Who's to say?"
Peter and Mr. Martin stood in front the barrier which blocked the general public from entering the irradiated wreck. Behind the barrier were state officials and police officers in hazmat suits. Journalists were shoving microphones into their faces while photographers like Peter took pictures of the wreck.
"Mr. Adams, do you know what else the survivors said about the incident?" A female reporter in a yellow jumpsuit asked the head of the quarantine operation.
"Well one of the survivors said that the ocean was boiling and on fire or something like that!"
The words "boiling" and "on fire" caught the attention of Mr. Martin. Martin then walked toward were the yellow jumpsuit reporter was.
"Excuse me sir, did you say "boiling" and "fire"?" Martin asked.
"That's what one of the survivors said" Mr. Adams replied.
A feeling of fear crept up on Mr. Martin.
"It can't be!" He thought. "He was disintegrated!"
Peter then walked towards Martin.
"Mr. Martin, is there something wrong?" Peter asked with concern.
"I'm fine, Mr. Parker" Mr. Martin replied. "Just some old wounds popping up."