“You call that a layout!?” J. Jonah Jameson asked as he looked at the latest edition of the Bugle, which was about to hit the press in less than an hour. He was standing behind his desk, puffing his cigar, which was clenched firmly between his teeth. “Helen Keller could do a better layout than this! Plus she wouldn’t give me any lip about how I don’t like her layout when I say I don’t like it regardless!”

“Jonah’s in a mood tonight,” Robby said as he stood out in the bullpen as he saw Peter and Drew approaching. “Be careful.”

“When is he not in a mood?” Peter asked. “I’m just tagging along with Drew tonight to give him a few more pointers. I hear he’s getting pretty good.”

“He’s not bad,” Robby told him. “In a few years he might be as good as you, Peter. Listen to this guy, Drew, he could teach you a lot.”

As he talked to the two of them, Robby started noticing how similar Peter and Drew looked to each other. He just shook it off as the lights started flickering.

“What’s happening?” Drew asked as he looked up at the lights.

“It’s these old buildings,” Robby told him with a sigh. “Jonah’s too cheap to move us to a newer location.”

“I HEARD THAT!” Jonah shouted from inside the office. Robby winced as he backed away slowly.

“Come on, kid, let’s get this over with,” Peter said as he put a hand on Drew’s shoulder as they headed to the office, just as his spider-sense started going off. Being surrounded by the office workers, there wasn’t a place to easily duck into to change into his costume. As Peter was about to turn around and head for the broom closet, the lights went out completely. “What, did Jonah forget to pay the light bill?”

The building started shaking as the doors to the elevator were blown open. The Shocker stepped out, the only glow coming the light his gauntlets were producing. He smiled under his mask as he looked around.

“Look at all the little people trying to make a living,” Shocker said as he walked toward the office. “Everyone behaves, everyone lives. Tonight, the Shocker is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle.”

“Like hell you are!” Jameson said as he exited his office. “You piece of pond scum, get out of my building before I have you thrown out!”

“You want to throw someone out?” Shocker asked as he marched toward Jonah, but Peter got in the way. “How about I toss you out the window, you old windbag?”

“Now, everyone just calm down,” Peter said as the Shocker picked him up by the shirt and tossed him through the window. Peter just sighed as he saw the street rapidly approaching below. Calmly he pulled back his right shirt sleeve, revealing his webshooter. “Yeah, this was how I wanted to spend my evening.”

BLAZE OF GLORY

By Tobias Christopher

A.J. looked down at his watch as he sat in the auditorium, watching a group of first graders doing their rehearsal for ‘A Clockwork Orange: The Musical’. So far it was just like watching the movie.

“So much attention to detail, but where are the guys?” A.J. asked as they did the ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ scene. “It’s almost seven, where are they? If they’re not here soon, I’m out of here.”

Just below, in the cellar, the Lizard had broken up through the sewer system. He was smelling fresh meat and the beast was starving. What was left of his sanity, the small part of his mind that had kept him human, was now gone. Now all that was left was the ravenous beast who knew eating and killing.

Upstairs, A.J. pulled out his cellphone and called Darren’s cellphone, but only got a busy signal. The Phillips brothers were always running late, but they always at least phoned and let A.J. know when they were on their way.

“Well, at least I’m getting a free show,” A.J. sighed as he sat back down.

Ben was waiting on the MalChem-X hiring office, waiting for his interview. He hoped to land a job with the new company as he had to offer, having a scientific mind that could help their research.

“Mr. Reilly?” a red-headed secretary asked from behind her desk. “We just need you to fill out a few forms.”

She set a few pieces of paper on her desk as Ben looked at them. “That’s not so bad.”

“That’s just your parking validation, honey,” the secretary said as she put a thick pile of papers on the counter.

“Ay-yi-yi,” Ben said as he felt around his pockets for a pen. “You wouldn’t happen to have a-”

The secretary held up a pen as Ben smiled. “Thanks.”

“Alright, here’s how it’s going to go down,” Shocker said as he looked around the office. “We’re all going to sit here and behave while we wait for Spider-Man to get here. Anyone tries to be brave, and they’ll follow that last hero out the window.”

Drew was sitting on the floor, his head staring down as he was trying not to break down.

“You okay, kid?” Robbie whispered as he put his arm around the boy.

“P- Peter’s gone,” Drew said, his voice cracking. “He- he just-”

Robbie sighed as he let the boy rest his head on his shoulder. “Listen to me, kid, Peter’s survived way worse than falling out of a window. Besides, New York’s crawling with heroes, one of them could have seen what was happening and helped him. Don’t count Peter Parker out yet, son.”

Just as Robbie said that, Spider-Man crashed through another window, sending glass flying to the floor.

“You vandal!” Jameson shouted, more annoyed with Spider-Man than he was with the Shocker now. “You did that on purpose! There was already a broken window you could have come through!”

“A broken window: three hundred bucks,” Spider-Man said as the Shocker rushed toward him. He flipped backward, kicking the Shocker backward. “The look on your face: Priceless. Alright, Shocker, what’s the game?”

“The game is that you die!” Shocker shouted as he charged up his gauntlets and started punching wildly at the hero. Spider-Man backed up as he ducked and dodged Shocker’s attacks.

“Is this because I said you were putting on weight the last time we fought?” Spider-Man asked as he uppercut Shocker. “Seriously, you could learn to lay off the Hostess snack cakes.”

As the two were fighting, Robbie was ushering all the hostages toward the stairwell. “Come on, while they’re distracted.”

“I’m gonna kill you!” Shocker shouted as Spider-Man ducked a blast from the gauntlet, creating a large hole in the wall.

“If only I had a nickel for everytime I heard that,” Spider-Man said as he jumped onto the ceiling and started firing webs at Shocker’s gauntlets, encasing them in webbing. “I’m probably have more than Jameson pays his workers in a year.”

“Why that little-” Jameson said as Robbie pushed him into the stairwell. He looked around to make sure that everyone had gotten out, not realizing that Drew had hidden behind a desk.

A.J. was about to leave the auditorium when he suddenly felt a splitting migraine coming on. It stopped him in his tracks as his knees started to buckle. He held his head in pain as he tried to get up.

“What the hell was that?” A.J. asked as he heard a screaming from the stage. He saw the kids starting to panic as he saw a large green tail hanging over the stage. “No. It can’t be,” without thinking. A.J. pulled out his cell phone to call Peter. Getting no answer, he tried Ben, and got a voice mail message. “Dammit!”

A.J. knew what he had to do. He didn’t have a costume to put on, and he had no weapons or powers to help him, but he’d be damned if he was going to let the Lizard make a buffet out of a group of children. Rushing toward the stage, A.J. got to the children first.

“There’s a fire exit that way, run!” A.J. said as he looked at their teacher. “Get them out of here, I’ll distract it!”

It was then that the Lizard landed on the stage, sending pieces of the wooden floor flying. He roared with a powerful rage as the children screamed in terror.

“Back off!” A.J. shouted as the Lizard took one good sniff and instantly remembered his scent. He still had the scent of his son Billy all over him. As he stepped forward, the Lizard roared again and with good smack, knocked A.J. right out of his sneakers, sending him flying into a cardboard set piece of a large building. As the set fell over, A.J. landed hard and realized he was still alive, but now really hurting. “Oh, you mother f-”

Rhett Carson stood in the cemetary, looking over the graves of his two brothers. Both died from gunshots, and both died way too early in their lives.

“It’s my fault,” Rhett whispered as he laid a flower on both graves. “Richie, Ryan, you’re both gone because I wasn’t a good brother to either of you. You’re both dead because I screwed up. I’m sorry.”

A tear fell down Rhett’s cheek as he kneeled down, wishing it had been him that died instead of his brothers. “It should have been me that died.”

“I believe that can still be arranged,” an eerie voice said. As soon as Rhett recognized it, a blow came to the back of his head, rendering him unconscious.

“Alright, what set you off this time?” Spider-Man asked as Shocker tossed a desk at him, having blasted his way out of the webs on his gauntlets. “Killing time until the new season of ‘Orange is the New Black’ premieres?”

“I’m just tired of your webbed face!” Shocker shouted as he shoved the largest desk at Spider-Man, pinning him against the wall. “I’m gonna enjoy frying you, web-slinger!”

“No!” Drew shouted as he stood on top of a desk with a lighter, just as the Shocker was getting to full power with his gauntlets. Drew held up the lighter, setting off the sprinkler. At he water rained down on everyone, Shocker just laughed.

“You think I’m dumb enough to have a flaw in my costume that’ll let me be electrocuted by my own gear?” Shocker asked. “You on the other hand, are-”

“Brilliant for distracting you,” Spider-Man said as he grabbed Shocker’s gauntlets, crushing them with his strength. He picked Shocker up by neck and punched him hard enough to send him flying through the wall. “Thanks ,kid. You saved me.”

“Peter, is he-”

“He’s safe,” Spider-Man said as he looked at Drew. “He told me to make sure that you were safe. He really cares about you, Drew.”

“I know, it’s just… you’ll just laugh,” Drew said as he looked away.

“Come on, kid, it’s me, Spidey,” Spider-Man told him. “I’m here to help. What’s on your mind?”

“I think Peter might be in love with me,” Drew said.

The Lizard had the children and their teach filled with so much fear that they couldn’t move. They were ripe for the picking as the hulking creature was about to charge forward to eat his dinner. As he rushed forward, he was suddenly stopped in tracks by A.J., who had grabbed his tail and was pulling him back.

As he pulled, A.J. could feel the surge of adrenaline rushing through his body, but that wasn’t the only thing. The adrenaline was feeding something else in his blood stream, something that had gotten into his bloodstream weeks ago when his head had been dunked in a vat of red liquid in an attempt to drown him.* The combination of the adrenaline and the serum was causing a reaction in him that he had never dreamed of.

(*ASM #27)

The Lizard roared as he whipped his tail, causing A.J. to fly off, but instead of hitting the wall, his hands and stocking feet both attached firmly to it.

“What the hell?” A.J. asked in confusion as he looked at his hand, seeing tiny coarse hairs retracting into his palm. “No, it’s not possible.”

The Lizard picked up a piece of the fallen set and flung it at the young man, who jumped off the wall and landed in a crouched position on the floor.

“Alright, I think the odds just got a little more even,” A.J. said as he stood up and motioned the Lizard forward. “Let’s dance.”

“Well, uh, that’s,” Spider-Man said, not really sure how to react. “Drew, I don’t think that’s what-”

Before he could get another word out, Shocker stood up from behind the damaged wall and blasted Drew right out of the window.

“NO!” Spider-Man shouted as he dived out after Drew. Shocker smirked under his mask, having just bought himself enough time to escape and meet up with the others. “Gotta time this just right.”

Spider-Man several strands of webbing toward Drew, enough to support his back and neck. After having lost Gwen in a similar incident, the hero vowed to never lose anyone the same again. He shot another strand upward to stop himself falling, catching both himself and Drew before they hit the ground. He gave one good pull and yanked Drew up enough to catch him before swinging away.

“What about Shocker?” Drew asked as he held onto Spider-Man tightly, watching the streets below.

“He’s probably already made his escape, but he’s now #1 on my most wanted list,” Spider-Man told him as they landed safely. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just been a hell of a night,” Drew said as he ran a hand through his hair. “It’s been a hell of a year. I don’t know if I can take much more of this. I’m supposed to be a regular high school kid, and now I’ve become the target of several super villains on top of losing most of my family.”

“I know it’s rough, kid,” Spider-Man told him. “But you still have a lot of people who care about you. You still have A.J., and Flash, and Peter, who by the way, is not in love with you.”

“Then why is he so… obsessed with me all of a sudden?” Drew asked as he stared up into the night sky.

“Drew, there are things about Peter Parker that are going to be…difficult to explain,” Spider-Man told him with a sigh. “But when the time is right, you two are going to sit down and have a long talk. Peter really does care about you, Drew, more than you’ll ever realize.”

“I- I just want to go home,” Drew whispered. “I need to see my brother.”

“You got it,” Spider-Man said. “Then after I drop you off, I’m going hunting.”

“It’s about damn time,” Shocker said, having met up with Rhino, Vulture, and Mysterio in the sewers under the city. “I had to throw a kid out a window to buy time to get away from Spider-Man. Next time, I’m doing the jailbreak.”

“Not gonna be a next time, because we’re gonna finish the Spider,” Rhino told him.

“The jailbreak was actually quite boring,” Vulture told Shocker as they walked through the damp sewer, with only a flashlight to guide them. “They typically are when you have everything planned down to the most minor detail.”

“The only thing we didn’t count on was the Lizard never causing a distraction,” Mysterio said. “Wonder if he actually left the city?”

“Or maybe he’s down here waiting for us,” Shocker suggested. “Let’s find that safe house and get the hell out of these sewers before Spider-Man thinks to look for us down here.”

A.J.’s fist collided with the Rhino’s jaw, hoping the move wouldn’t shatter his hand. Instead the Lizard’s head flew back before snapping back with his full rage. A.J. just looked down at his fist, wondering just how strong he really was now.

The Lizard charged at him, as A.J. grabbed him and pushed back with equal force before lifting the Lizard over his head and tossing him through a cardboard set. He hoped the real Spider-Man would arrive soon and end this.

“At least all the kids are safe,” A.J. said as he heard the crying of one of the children coming from not too far away. A little girl was sitting underneath a prop table, crying in fear. “Oh, shit.”

The Lizard also heard the crying and charged toward the girl as A.J. punched him away.

“Run!”

The girl ran toward the exit as the Lizard chased after her, taking a running leap at her as A.J. grabbed his tail and swung him out into the seats in the auditorium. A loud crash was heard as the young man ushered the crying girl to the door. “Go, find your classmates and have them call the police if they haven’t already.”

He pushed her out the door and bolted it shut so the Lizard couldn’t follow. He stopped to breathe before being hit by a splitting headache caused by his new spider-sense. “What the hell is that?”

He turned around just in time for the Lizard to sink his jaws deep into A.J.’s neck. The young man tried to scream, but it was no use as the blood started flowing from his wound. In two minutes, A.J. Michaels would be dead.

Which gave him two minutes to finish this fight and make sure the Lizard couldn’t harm those children.

To be continued