Spider-Man: Web of Magic

by MetalJrock

Issue #19: Scorpion Sting

It was early morning and within the lab at Tombstone's warehouse, and another experiment was underway. the last supposedly. Norman Osborn placed his sunglasses over his eyes, "Alright, Doctor Octopus, this had better work."

"I still hate that name..." Otto mumbled.

Hammerhead poked Octavius' chest, "Ya better get over it, unless ya wanna see why I'm called Tombstone's top enforcer."

Otto gulped, "N-No need, Hammerhead, sir. My apologies, Mister Osborn."

Osborn folded his arms and gave a smug response, "Just proceed with the experiment, Ock."

Inside of a round capsule was Maximus Gargan, his arms and legs kept within metal cuffs that attached to certain points. Smythe raised a finger and began talking, "Alright, Mister Gargan. We modified the mutation stone to give you synthetic armor similar to that of a Scorpion's as you requested."

Gargan smirked, "Great. Just get on with it!"

Smythe pulled the lever on the system, and the stone began to glow, surrounding Gargan in a bright green light. Osborn, Hammerhead, Otto and Smythe shielded themselves from it, allowing their device to do it's thing. Mac felt something thick and heavy cover his limbs, this also reaching his torso. This green armor eventually began to cover Gargan's head, covering all but his eyes, nose and mouth.

"My word..." Otto gasped.

The mutation didn't stop as the cuffs holding his arms and legs broke, his arms now pincers of some kind. Forming from his back was a stinger, like an actual scorpion. Based on what was happening, he looked more animal-like than even the Rhino. "Stop." Osborn ordered in his usual cold tone.

The scientists did as instructed, allowing Gargan to move freely. The glass dome shattered with each step he took and he looked in his reflection. "What the hell? It worked? But I look like a freak." he swung one of his pincer arms, cracking the glass.

"You agreed to the experiment." Norman stated. "And you requested for these results. We did our part, now you must fulfill your end of this little bargain."

Gargan said, "Let me guess, kill Spider-Man? Don't worry, I have a score to settle with that bug anyway."

Osborn smirked, "Excellent."

---

Peter Parker was walking through the hallways to his next class. It was usually a warzone at this time of day, with students rushing to their classes before the bell rang. Not only that, but for Peter, it was mostly because of...

"Well well, looks like we cross paths again, Puny Parker."

'Flash Thompson. The only person in the school my Spider-Sense goes off around.' Peter groaned in his head, closing his eyes in disgust again. There he was, face to face with his usual bully again when he opened them. The jock laughed and poked Peter, "...What do you want this time, Flash? My lunch money like a cartoon villain?"

Thompson laughed, "Nah. I just wanted to do this." he brought his hands upwards and knocked Peter's books out of his hands. "Ha! It never stops being fun."

Peter rolled his eyes at the act, having been the "victim" of it a million times before. This week even. "Real classy, Eugene."

"I know right?" Flash laughed.

While he knelt down to pick up his books, Peter could hear Flash Sentry say, "Seriously? You really have to stop, Thompson."

Eugene only responded with, "I just like doing it. It's not like anything's gonna happen."

'At least one jock is on my side.' mused Parker, clenching his fist before stopping, 'As much as I'd like to give Eugene a piece of my mind, I promised Uncle Ben I wouldn't stoop to his level ever again. Hopefully he changes his ways soon enough.' he scoffed to himself, 'Like that'll ever happen. Peter Parker and Flash Thompson: brother-in-arms. Pfft.' he shook his head at the idea that those two could ever be friends.

"Do you need help?" a voice snapped Peter out of his thoughts, causing him to look up. Staring down at him with concern was Twilight, the last person he expected to see or to have speak to him now of all times.

Peter thought, 'Crab baskets. Did she see any of that? Wait... it's not like Eugene tormenting my existence is anything new to people.' he cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, sure. Sorry you had to see that. Kinda zoned out for a bit..."

Twilight smiled, "You don't need to apologize..." she paused, "So..."

"So..." Parker drawn out his words. "I thought you were with your friends fighting some magic threat during class. Did it go well?"

Twilight blinked, "Oh, uh, yes! It did, actually. Really well!"

A brief moment of awkward silence came allowing Peter to stew in his thoughts, 'Alright, Parker. Just remember what Harry said. Time to let my inner Spider-Man shine.' he finally said, "Hey, so I kinda want to learn about this magic stuff. And I was wondering if... Maybe we could hang out later today and have a quick study session?" he began to talk faster with each word, but did his best to keep himself composed.

Twilight perked up, "R-Really?"

The boy shrugged, "Why not? That is, if you're willing to."

"I-I don't mind at all." the girl responded. "Where do you want to meet?"

Peter said, "How about Sugarcube Corner? Around five? My treat of course."

Twilight blinked, a smile on her face, "O-Okay."

After a bit of talking, the two exchanged numbers and went to their next classes. Once Peter was alone, he grinned confidently and kinda wanted to click his feet in the air, but resisted the urge.

---

Trixie stared blankly at Peter from across the table, unable to comprehend what her friend just explained. "Let me get this straight, you actually asked Twilight out on a date? I'm surprised to find out that Spider-Man has guts outside of the costume."

"It's not a date." Peter corrected through gritted teeth, "It's just a study session between friends." he specified, "That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. We're just gonna be learning about magic by ourselves, with no one else there, while we eat in Sugarcube Corner."

"So... It's a date." Ned stated.

"Ugh. It's not--" Parker slammed his head on the table in slight frustration. Again. He muttered, "Ow! Okay, can you stop me from doing that next time?"

"Ha, Puny Parker just faceplanted himself like a doofus." Peter heard Flash Thompson shout from a table over and he groaned aloud, while he rubbed his now aching forehead.

"Trixie will think about it." Trixie said in an amused tone.

Ned smiled and said, "Come on, Pete. It won't be that bad. How can it be any worse than fighting the Vulture or the Big Man?"

"I'm not wearing my costume and might end up looking like a total dork in front of her." Peter muttered. "Trust me, the stakes are higher than ever before."

Trixie rolled her eyes, "You're seriously overreacting, Parker. You didn't seem this nervous when you met the Avengers. Is this really that big of a deal to you?"

"Uh, yes." Peter replied in a deadpan tone.

"Trixie, Peter is clearly dealing with a code red emergency." Ned stated, then he faced his friend, "Listen, Peter. Want to impress her? Tell her you're Spider-Man."

Peter shushed his friend, "Dude, really? We went over this. I'm not gonna be telling Twilight that. Enough people already know who I am as it is, including Sunset. Would she even believe me?"

"I dunno. Worth a shot?"

Peter replied, "No secret identity confession, Ned. End of story."

Ned folded his arms, "Alright. Then just be ol' Peter Parker."

"Trixie agrees with Ned. The last thing that'll happen is you embarassing yourself in front of Twilight." the girl agreed. She could pretty much predict the outcome of this.

The webslinging teen said, "I can try. Results will vary though. Maybe some mid-afternoon swinging can ease me up."

"I wish I can do that." Ned whispered.

---

After school, Spider-Man arrived back in the city and began swinging in costume like always, 'Alright, Peter. Do your daily patrol and meet Twilight at Sugarcube Corner at five o'clock exactly. Shouldn't be too hard. Okay...' he thought, 'I'm Spider-Man, I've taken down supervillains, crooks with guns and ailen tech, and fought half the Avengers. And yet I'm literally going insane about this.'

Peter web-zipped around the corner of another building, 'I thought the spider bite would help my confidence... Even though it kinda did I guess. Just do as Ned and Trixie said, Parker, just be yourself.' he swung down on another roof and accidentally tripped, stumbling on the stone surface. Spider-Man groaned as he rolled on his stomach, "Okay, ow. I should probably concentrate on what's below me too." he told himself. "Man, it's been a while since I flopped like that."

Dusting himself off, Peter crouched down on the edge of the roof, seeing a masked crook get away with a bag. "Alright! Maybe some action can help me destress!"

Jumping down, Peter landed in front of the crook and stealthly extended a leg before he reacted, tripping the thief. Spider-Man swiftly webbed up his wrist and jumped up, tying the gossamer over a light pole. While the robber tried to break free, Peter webbed up the other hand, leaving him stuck. Reaching down for the bag, Peter picked it up and gestured around asking, "Is this anyone's bag? Any takers? Come on, whoever this guy took it from should seriously be here by now if they cared."

'Okay, I can't just stand here like an auctioneer. I need to hurry. And it admittedly looks pretty weird.' he mused, "Does anyone have a piece of paper and a pen?"

After a few moments, Spider-Man swung away leaving a note on the bag reading, "Do not steal (unless you're the owner). From, Your Friendly-Neighborhood Spider-Man."

Back with Peter, the webslinger stuck to the side of a building. He crouched down into his usual crawling stance and put a finger to his ear saying, "Send a call to Aunt May. It'll be best if I tell her I'm coming home later than expected."

The mask did as instructed and a voice was heard within Peter's bluetooth, "Peter? Are you alright?"

Peter shot a thin webline and zipped upwards, "Yeah I am, May! In fact, I feel pretty darn good."

"And what brought your mood up so suddenly?" May wondered in a lighthearted manner.

Spider-Man began running on the glass surface and flipped once he reached the top, landing in a crouching position. "I'm gonna be home a little later than expected, and it has nothing to do with me Spider-Manning this time."

"Oh, really?" May asked.

"Yep!" Peter responded. "I have a little study session with someone in an hour."

"Interesting, so I presume you did ask Twilight out after all."

Peter blinked and was brought to silence for once, "I never gave any names. Who said--?"

"Your staring was pretty obvious, Peter." May teased.

"Oh..."

Jumping on another rooftop, the boy sat down, "I'll be honest, May. I'm a bit nervous about this."

"Oh, it'll be fine, Peter. Twilight is a sweet girl and you're quite a gentleman yourself. You probably were told to just be yourself by Ned and Trixie multiple times." his aunt replied, "Well, they're not wrong. You're a confident young man, Peter, you just have a habit of not showing it when you're not Spider-Man. How about just this once you let some of that confidence out? Don't go overboard though. Oh, and be punctual." she added.

Peter smiled, "I'll try, Aunt May. Thanks for the advice."

"Of course, Peter. Just be careful out there please."

The boy stood up, "Sure thing, May. See you tonight."

And so, Peter leaped off the building and continued web-swinging. One thing he was grateful for was that he planted a tracker Stark installed in his suit onto his bookbag in case he forgot where it was. So it was just a matter of being on the lookout and taking off the costume before he was too late.

Spider-Man felt his Spider-Sense tingle and suddenly felt his webline snap, causing him to go careening towards a glass window, his face smushed on it. "Hooboy." he muttered, slowly sliding down the side of the building. One of the people in there stared at the wall-crawler stuck to the window. "Sorry. I'll clean it later."

Then his Spider-Sense rang again, and before he could push himself off the wall, something or someone shoved him. Peter slid face first on the carpet floor, feeling his face slightly burn. "Ugh. Rug burn... Okay, who is it this time?" the hero groaned, pushing himself upwards. He felt his Spider-Sense tingle again and he flipped on instinct, dodging what appeared to be a green pincer. "Everyone, go now!" he told the bystanders, "I'll handle the villain of the week!"

Finally turning around, Spider-Man got into a crouching position. Towering over him was a bulky man in thick green armor, pincers for hands, and a giant scorpion tail attached to his back. "Holy moly. I guess Rhino was starting some sort of fashion trend. Based on what's happening, I'm guessing you're some old thug I met looking for revenge. I'm gonna guess you're either Toomes or Schultz."

"Don't remember me, bug? I came for a bounty, and I intend to finish it once and for all!" the villain snarled. Peter backflipped, driving his feet into enemy's jaw, landing into a crouching position.

"Hold on, you're Mac Gargan? I doubt that Fisk would want to pay you after you royally screwed up your job! Heh, I didn't even need Punisher or Daredevil to help take you down." Spider-Man quipped. "So I'm assuming you decided to go for the Big Man makeover. I heard it's what all the lowlife thugs are doing nowadays."

Gargan smirked, "Damn right. Even if I don't get paid, it'll be a pleasure beating you to a pulp! Time for the Scorpion to get payback."

Spider-Man leaped forward and swung his fist towards Scorpion's chest, his hand aching once he hit the armor. Peter cringed, "Ow! My bad guy punching hand!"

"Like the upgrade?" Gargan mocked.

"No. Not really." Peter groaned, shooting a strand of gossamer onto one of the office desks. He yanked down and threw it towards Scorpion, the objects shattering upon collision. It distracted Gargan long enough for Spidey to dish out a kick strong enough to cause his enemy to skid on the floor slightly.

"Not bad, Spider." Mac said. "But it won't be enough." he charged forward elbow first and pushed Spider-Man out the window he was kicked into when it began.

Peter gasped and extended an arm, zipping himself back onto the wall of the building across from him, a brick surface. "Whoo! That was close." he sighed. The wall-crawler watched as Scorpion jumped as well, sticking his claws onto the side of the building. "Oh yeah. Figured as much."

Scorpion hissed and lashed out his stinger towards Spider-Man. Peter backflipped away from it and webbed it up, pulling on the strand and flipping Scorpion over with as much strength as he could muster. "Up and over!" he shouted. He threw Gargan down hard enough to create a small dent on the wall. Peter stood up and dusted off his hands while Scorpion used his claws to remove the webbing.

Peter's mask lenses narrowed, "Aw. You look pretty upset there, Scorpy! Did I do something wrong?"

"You have a lot of talk for some scrawny kid." Scorpion taunted.

Spider-Man jumped and kicked Scorpion in the jaw, "Yep. That's just how I roll!" he said. While in the air, Peter felt something wrap around his waist and holding him there. "Well, that's one way to get a hug!" he grunted, trying to move his arms and break free from Scorpion's stinger wrapping around him.

Gargan raised his pincer arms, "Quite a fate, huh bug?"

"I don't have time for this!" screamed Parker in annoyance. "Some of us have important things to do, Gargan!"

"I don't care about your social life, kid." Scorpion grunted, flailing his stinger around so that Spider-Man was slammed onto the wall. Gargan repeated this action and tossed Peter into the building, creating a huge hole in the process, and causing some of the bricks to fall towards the bystanders watching. Once he was thrown, Peter was freed from Gargan's grip.

"No!" shouted Spider-Man, webbing Scorpion down to the wall as he ran forward. He dove down and aimed a webshooter at the bricks. A cop pulled someone aside as one fell onto the ground, narrowly dodging it. Peter used another webline onto the building, and zipped up one of the bricks upward, tossing it directly towards Scorpion's vicinity. Peter managed to grab another one and bungie-jumped his way back up, brick still in hand.

"Yo, Scorpy!" Spider-Man shouted, watching as Gargan freed himself. The villain hissed. "Taste some building blocks!" he said, swinging the brick directly onto Scorpion's jaw, causing him to reel his head in pain. Peter watched as the brick shattered in two. "Oh wow. You got a thicker skull than I remember."

Scorpion growled and elbowed Spider-Man. Peter gripped a hand onto the surface to get his bearings as he was pushed backwards. "Do you really think I will falter, Spider-Man?" Scorpion wondered.

Peter's lenses widened, "Uh... Maybe?"

Ready for another attack, Peter flipped, using his hand to vault over Scorpion's arms once he drove it onto the wall. "I say it's about time we went down!" he kicked both his legs onto Gargan's back, choosing to go all out for just a moment, mustering the strength needed to push him off the wall. "How's this for a ride?" he asked, shooting some webbing onto Scorpion's claws to keep him still.

As Peter held on to the gossamer, he backflipped over his enemy's stinger and remained in the air. "You're an idiot, Spider-Man. This isn't gonna stop me from crushing you!" Scorpion bragged.

"Oh, I know you'll keep trying, but I--"

Suddenly, Peter heard his phone ring and his mask brought up the contact and the time, Peter's stomach turned once he remembered. 'Oh crap... I'm gonna be really late. Sorry, Twilight.' he thought to himself in disappointment. The boy put his phone on silent for the moment until he was done. He looked back down to his foe, "Sorry about that. As I was saying..."

Spider-Man stomped on Scorpion once they landed on the ground. Peter felt his legs go numb for a a minute and he shuddered. 'Note to self. Prepare legs for hard fall next time.' he told himself. 'Okay. I have to wrap this up soon before I become the Amazing Spider-Ditcher.'

Scorpion's stinger poked Spider-Man, making a small hole in his suit. The boy groaned, "Great. I really don't feel like going back to my old suit again." he turned around and faced the now standing Gargan.

And there he was: Mac Gargan. Looking no worse for wear, which Peter honestly expected. People began to back away as more police officers showed up on the scene. Peter remained still. He needed to come up with a plan, and fast. "Ha! Look at you. Frozen in fear like the kid you are. Seems you finally met your match, Spider-Man."

"Nah, sorry. I'm not actually scared. I'm just thinking." Spider-Man admitted, leaning back from Scorpion's pincer. He performed a handstand and got back on his feet properly. He looked around and noticed the officers doing their best to barricade the area. "Alright, at least I don't have to worry about anyone. Let's end this, Gargan!" he did a quick gesture to challenge the bounty hunter.

Once Scorpion charged forward, Peter gripped Gargan's arm and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him on the ground as hard as he could. Spider-Man said, "What's it like down there, Gargan?"

Scorpion grabbed Peter's ankle and threw him towards a parked car, destroying the windshield. Spider-Man groaned and kicked Gargan's chin once he was close enough, "Oops! Your face hit my foot!" he quipped, Peter crouched down behind the car and lifted it with ease. "I'm just gonna say sorry to whoever owns this."

Spider-Man slammed the car down on Scorpion, "Ha!" he screamed, "I know that won't kill you. Your armor is thick enough to prevent that." he hopped on top of Scorpion's body once he put the car down gently next to him. "Gotta say, you look pretty comfy down there, Mac."

"Heh. You're right about that. What'cha gonna do now?" Scorpion spat. He swung his stinger at Peter, smacking him away from his body. Mac stood up and coughed from the dust surrounding him. "This exosuit makes me unstoppable."

"Almost unstoppable." Parker corrected. "Trust me, there's always a weakness..." he narrowed his lenses. 'And I do believe I figured out just what it is.'

"I ain't so sure about that." Scorpion debunked.

Spider-Man grabbed another car and lifted it over his shoulders. "Again. Sorry to the owner." he muttered. He threw it straight at Gargan, launching him through an empty building. Peter jumped forward and divekicked Scorpion's chest, knocking the wind out of him. "Just to be on the safe side..." he grabbed his enemy's stinger and threw it down, webbing that up and his pincer arms. Eventually, Gargan was covered in a thick web cocoon.

"Ultra-thick webbing, enough to keep even you still." Peter explained, clenching a fist, "And just to be safe." he punched Scorpion in the jaw twice. "A good punch or two to the only exposed part of your skin, which wasn't enhanced." he finished.

Spider-Man walked out and was greeted by Captain Wantanbe and a few officers. "Is he detained?" she asked.

"He's all yours to arrest, Yuri. I wish I could stick around to write a note, but I have somewhere important to be." Spidey explained. He swiftly zipped away to get changed and hoped he wasn't late.

---

'Two hours late and a lot of missed calls. Nice going, Parker.' Peter sighed inwardly. He was back in his regular clothes and was standing outside Sugarcube Corner, the lights were on now that the Sun came down. Unfortunately, he couldn't spot Twilight anywhere inside. He knew what he did wrong, and yet he still decided to pick up his phone and make a call.

"Hello?" came a voice. It was Twilight.

"Hey, Twi..." Peter greeted in a sad tone.

"Peter? Where were you? I-I thought we were--"

Peter exhaled, "I'm sorry. N-No seriously I am. It's just... The--"

"The Stark Internship." Twilight finished for him. Her tone sounded kinda bitter to Peter.

"Y-Yeah..." lied Parker. "It... It came up last minute. I wasn't able to get a hold of you cause t-things have gotten seriously busy and I-I... Oh man... I messed up big time, Twilight.”

Twilight was silent for a moment, "Peter... I understand that you have responsibilities... I really do... But it's just... I don't know if I can trust you to keep your word."

"What do you mean?"

"You vanished when Sugarcube Corner was attacked, we couldn't find you when the Green Goblin attacked after we evacuated, and now... I don't want to sound selfish, but you left me waiting for an hour and a half with no response... I really want to get to know you better, Peter, but you have a habit of... not being able to stay in one place for long."

Peter sighed, "I know. And really, I'm trying to get better... Believe me, Twilight. I'm still trying to get the hang of juggling all of this at once. I really thought I had it figured out." he was silent for a moment, "How about we talk about this in person and I make it up to you?" he offered.

"..." Twilight paused, no doubt thinking how to respond. "I know you mean well, Peter, but I need a day or two to give you an answer. I just need to be sure you’ll keep your word."

The boy nodded, "I understand... See you tomorrow at school?"

"Yeah..."

The call ended at that moment. While dwelling on the conversation that just took place, Peter walked into an alleyway and leaned on the wall. He opened his bag and looked at his mask. As much as it pained him sometimes, he couldn't back down from being Spider-Man, no matter how much it took a toll on his personal life. This was just another test that he had to push on through. He knew that.

Even though he was still disappointed in himself for ruining what could’ve been a fun day, Peter put that mask back on and took out his costume. He needed to clear his mind, and he knew just how to do it.

Author's Note:

It took a while, but this chapter is finally done. I wanted to touch upon the usual problems of Peter’s dual identity finally. Hopefully I succeeded in that regard.

Next Time: The night isn’t over yet as Spider-Man heads to the sewers to finish his search for the Lizard. Unknown to him though, a Spider-Slayer drone was sent to find him first.

Luckily for Peter, another hero is here to lend a hand. Unfortunately for him, he’s the best there is at what he does, and he what he does isn’t very nice.

Comments

[TriforceAndroid]

I really hope Twilight finds out Peter is Spiderman and decides to help him later!

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Ooh, so Wolverine is up next?

[Animeguy1101]

Nice chapter, I say you got the dual life problems of Spider-Man down.

Something else I’ve been wondering about is if there’s going to be any thing romantic between him and Sunset from working together as heroes? Or would it just be a running gag of people thinking there a couple like how Punisher called Sunset Spider-Man’s girlfriend?

[Jonny Bench]

I feel like either wolverine or deadpool will be coming in soon

[DavisSentoV5]

"..." Twilight paused, no doubt thinking how to respond. "I know you mean well, Peter, but I need a day or two to give you an answer. I just need to be sure you’ll keep your word."

Oh Pete, you done fuck up, when a girl said that, it means you're never talking to her again, trust me I know from experience.

P.S. This was glorious & worth the wait.

[Voltaje]

Its imposible, he cant keep his word, not matter how much he wishs it, if he is ever to have a wife, or girlfriend even, he WILL have to tell her that he is spiderman, and accept that his life is chaotic, then she can choose to pursue him por not, if he wants a change with twilight, he must tell her.

[TopGun1986]

The Wolverine!