Peter stirred, his eyes slowly opening, his head pounding with a massive headache. He started to rub his temples, half-asleep, trying to alleviate the pain. He laid on a small futon in Harry’s bedroom and he looked across to see Harry sound asleep.

“What the hell is wrong with—”

Peter paused in his statement, waking up fully and realizing what the pain was. IT was that buzzing he felt every time something bad was about to happen. And now it was almost unbearable, telling him to jump.

He leaped to Harry’s bed, grabbed his friend and then jumped towards the door as the wall exploded inward. Peter shielded the two of them as Harry awoke. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Peter looked and saw a snaking, metal tendril now where the wall had once been. It gripped the floor and another one slithered in and did the same. They looked as if they were bracing for something.

And that something came.

“Oh no… this is not good…” muttered Peter.

He recognized the man who wore dark glasses as Otto Octavius, a scientist who worked for Oscorp. What he didn’t recognize were the four metal tentacles. The scientist sneered at the pair, his arms crossed over his chest as his metal arms set him to the ground.

“Hello Harry,” he said. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. My name is Dr. Octopus.”

Great, first the Goblin and now this joker, thought Peter. Just what the hell does Osborn think he’s doing?

“What do you want?” asked Harry.

“Your father tried to blow me up,” said Dr. Octopus. “That isn’t something I’m willing to take lightly. But I believe going after his son would cause him far more pain than any torture I could devise.”

Oh no, thought Peter. This is what Osborn was talking about.

Peter instinctively stood between his friend and the madman. “Get out of here,” he said.

“And just what are you going to do?” asked Dr. Octopus. Two tentacles shot out, one reaching behind Peter and wrapping around Harry’s waist. Peter tried grabbing the tentacle, hoping to pry it open or tear it off or something, when the second one grabbed him by his collar and suspended him in the air as he squirmed.

“You’re quite the annoying little insect, aren’t you?” asked Dr. Octopus.

“You’re not getting away with this,” said Peter.

Dr. Octopus lowered his glasses just a bit so Peter could see into the man’s eyes. He then said simply, “I’m bored with you. But I will leave you with a message. Tell Osborn he’s getting exactly what he deserves.”

With that, Dr. Octopus hurled Peter against the wall as hard as the tentacle could throw him. Peter slumped to the ground, his nerves ringing out in pain, too painful to move as Dr. Octopus left the fraternity house with Harry in tow.

Peter tried to muster the strength to go after them, but the darkness overcame him instead.

ARMED & DANGEROUS

Part III: Ransom

By Dino Pollard

“Hey, hey you okay?”

As Peter’s eyelids lifted, he saw a blur of a human face. It came into focus as one of Harry’s fraternity brothers, a guy named Max Dillon. Also standing there were some of the other brothers. Peter pulled himself to a sitting position.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I was hoping you could fill us in.” Peter recognized that voice and the brothers parted. That’s when he saw Detective Jean DeWolff approach him. “Seems you and I are seeing a lot of each other lately, Parker. If you’re not careful, people will start to talk.”

“You’re not my type,” said Peter.

“Frat boys, scoot,” said DeWolff.

“Our brother’s missing,” said one of them, a tall black guy Peter recognized as Randy Robertson. “We’re not going anywhere until we find out where he is.”

DeWolff rolled her eyes. “Get out of here before I order squad cars to patrol this area every weekend.”

“We’re gone,” said Randy, him and the rest of the brothers leaving DeWolff alone with Peter.

“Frat boys…” she said, shaking her head. Her gaze became fixed on Peter. “I want you to tell me everything that happened.”

“I was sleeping when I heard something crash into the wall. When Harry and I looked up, there was this guy with four metal arms. He grabbed Harry and left.”

“Do you know who he was?” asked DeWolff.

Peter hesitated. He did know, but telling meant he was familiar with Oscorp employees. Which could give DeWolff reason to look deeper into the connection she already believes he has with Spider-Man.

“No, never seen him before,” said Peter. “But he said his name was—”

“Where is he?!”

Peter sighed. That was another voice he recognized and one he wasn’t as friendly with as he was with DeWolff. The door swung open and Norman Osborn stood in the frame, his face seething with anger.

“Can I help you?” asked DeWolff.

“I want to talk to him,” said Osborn.

“I don’t think so,” she said.

“Do you have any idea who I am, you stupid cow?” asked Osborn.

DeWolff crossed her arms and stared daggers back at the wealthy businessman. “Norman Osborn, CEO of Oscorp. Now get out of my face before I slap my cuffs on you and fit a muzzle for that mouth of yours.”

“You are making a massive mistake, lady,” sneered Osborn, his eyes narrowing.

“My mother once said it’s a habit of mine,” said DeWolff. “Now get out of here before I have you dragged out.”

“MY SON IS MISSING!”

“…and the NYPD will do our best to find him, but in order for us to do that, we need you to stay out of our way!”

Osborn pointed at Peter and then tapped his own nose before he left. DeWolff sighed and turned back to the young college student. “Now, before we were rudely interrupted, you were saying something about this man giving you his name?”

“Yeah,” said Peter. “Said his name was Dr. Octopus.”

“…great, so we have another cartoon character running around out there,” she muttered. “This city is quickly becoming Freak Central, U.S.A.”

Peter knew she was right and he also knew he was partly to blame for that. If he had refused Osborn’s offer from the beginning, there would have never been a Goblin. Probably wouldn’t be a Dr. Octopus, either.

“Did this guy say anything about why he took Harry?” asked DeWolff.

“Just… just something about his father,” said Peter, lying again.

“Ransom, most-likely,” said DeWolff. “Thanks for your help, Parker.”

“Do you have any other leads?” asked Peter.

DeWolff’s eyebrow raised in curiosity. “Why do you care?”

“Harry… Harry’s a friend of mine,” said Peter. “I want to know what’s going on.”

“A few days ago, there were murders at a hospital and a giant hole in the wall. After this, we think they were both done by the same guy. We’re running down the patient lists, trying to see if we can I.D. the bastard. But that’s all we have now.”

“You think you can find him?”

DeWolff managed a slight smile, one that showed she was trying to keep from telling Peter what she really thought. “We’ll do what we can, okay? Meanwhile, you should go back to your dorm, try and get some rest. Things have been pretty difficult for you lately.”

“Right, thanks,” said Peter.

“And Parker?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re a good kid,” said DeWolff. “Good enough that I hope I never have to see you again, understand?”

Peter smiled. “I hope so, too, Detective.”

Lieber Towers

As Peter stepped off the elevator and walked towards his room, he was struck hard as Gwen ran into him, throwing her arms around him. He could hear her crying as she held to him.

“Oh my god, did you hear about Harry?” she asked.

“Yeah, I was there,” said Peter. He looked down at her. “How did you find out so quickly?”

“I told her.”

Peter looked up, catching sight of Osborn standing in Gwen’s doorway, arms folded. “Hello again, Mr. Parker.”

“Mr. Osborn said Harry was kidnapped,” said Gwen. “Do you know why?”

“No, but I’m starting to have some guesses,” said Peter, glaring at Osborn.

Norman came up beside the two of them and set his hand on Gwen’s back. “My dear, you should go back to your room and get a little rest. I’d like to speak to Peter for a bit.”

“Yeah… maybe you’re right,” said Gwen. She left the two men alone and returned to her room. Osborn and Peter locked their gaze on each other.

“So, shall we discuss this out here or would you prefer a bit more privacy…” asked Osborn, and then he smiled as he said in a low whisper, “…Spider-Man?”

Peter’s eyes widened. Osborn was just brash enough at this point to expose him for who he really was and that was the last thing the young hero needed now. He took the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Flash lay on the bed, watching a football game. As soon as Peter stepped in, Flash immediately jumped to his feet, raising his fists.

“I’m not going to fight you,” said Peter.

“You’re not?” asked Flash. “Well… good! I don’t want to have to hurt you, especially after you sucker-punched me last time.” He noticed Norman enter behind Peter. “Who’s the stiff?”

Osborn approached Flash and stared down at the football player. “Take a walk.”

Flash gulped hard. “I… I gotta meet some chick for lunch anyway,” he said. He ran from the room, leaving his wallet, keys and cell phone on his desk. Osborn closed the door and locked it once Flash was gone as quick as his namesake.

“Now… tell me what you know,” said Osborn.

“It was Octavius,” said Peter.

“Yes, that I know,” said Osborn.

“How do you know?”

“Because he came to my house as well,” said Osborn. “And if you had listened to me when I called, none of this would have happened!”

“Excuse me for not jumping through your hoops anymore, Norman!” said Peter. “This is now the second freak you’ve created! Except Octavius strikes me as being a bit smarter than the Goblin!”

“Octavius did this to himself,” said Osborn. “That much I know for certain.”

“Yeah, I find that really hard to believe,” said Peter.

“And just what the hell were you doing there?” asked Osborn.

“Harry’s a friend of mine,” said Peter. “Luckily, being an asshole doesn’t seem to be hereditary.”

Osborn took a step towards his former employee. “I should break your neck for speaking to me like that.”

“Go ahead and try, we both know which of us will end up in the hospital,” said Peter. “I’m going to clean up your mess, Osborn. But I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for Harry. After that, the next freak you cook up who comes looking for you, I’m going to let him.”

“Don’t bother, I’ll handle it myself,” said Osborn. “And if you get involved, I can’t be held responsible for the consequences.”

Norman left the room with that statement. Once he was gone, Peter went to his computer and did a search for Octavius. He located his address, an apartment building in Manhattan. Peter stripped off his clothes, revealing the red and blue skintight costume beneath, pulled on his mask and gloves, and left through the window.

It didn’t take long for Spider-Man to arrive at the apartment owned by Otto Octavius. Inside, Spider-Man searched around for some clue that could lead him to where Octavius had taken Harry.

There wasn’t much in the apartment. In fact, it was pretty bare. No furniture other than a bed, a table with a chair, and a bookshelf filled with various science texts and journals. Also on the table was a laptop computer. No television, no couch.

Spider-Man sat down at the computer, turning it on, seeing if he could find something in there. He checked the computer’s hard drive, searching through the files. He discovered a spreadsheet file labeled EXPENSES and opened it up.

Inside there, he found records of Octavius’ various bills. One of them was for another rental property, near the bay. A small office, maybe as a personal laboratory? It was the only lead he had, so he made note of the address.

His spider-sense went off as he heard the sound of the door unlocking. The door open and the landlord walked in with DeWolff in tow.

“He was a quiet guy, didn’t come in here a lot and he always paid on time,” said the landlord. “He—”

They both froze when they saw Spider-Man. The young hero extended his hands and acted instinctively.

TWHIP

TWHIP

In an instant, he had DeWolff and the landlord webbed up and sticking to the wall. Spider-Man jumped in front of them as DeWolff cursed his name. “Just what the hell are you doing?” she asked.

“Sorry, but I’ve gotta take care of this guy and I really can’t have anyone getting in my way,” said Spider-Man. “No hard feelings, right?”

“You had better let us out of this right now,” said DeWolff.

“Relax, it’ll dissolve,” said Spider-Man, moving towards the window. “You just have to wait about an hour.” He opened the window and leapt out, swinging away from the apartment building.

“GET BACK HERE!” DeWolff shouted after him. She let loose with a string of profanities before she finally began to calm down and quiet herself.

“So… should we play twenty questions?” asked the landlord.

“If I could reach my gun, I think I’d shoot myself…” she muttered.

As Spider-Man swung away from the building, he failed to notice a form in black and white, watching him from the rooftops. One his spider sense failed to register. “Soon, little spider. Soon.”

Once Osborn arrived at his home, he noticed the door was wide open. He signaled for Kingsley to enter first. Osborn’s bodyguard drew his gun, walking carefully into the darkened mansion. As he turned the corner, something pounced on him from above. Kingsley’s groans followed the sound of fists pounding against his flesh.

Osborn slowly moved forward, picking up the discarded gun when something sharp just lightly pinched his forehead. He lifted his eyes and found himself staring down the edge of a spear. Slowly, Osborn stood up, finding himself face to face with a man dressed in animal furs and with dark, European features.

“I assume you’re the Hunter,” said Osborn.

“Kraven,” hissed the Hunter. He sniffed the air.

“He sent you,” said Osborn. “As I told him, you will be rewarded handso—”

“There is no need,” said Kraven.

“What?”

“It’s all been arranged. Think of this as a…favor.”

Osborn groaned. The last place he wanted to be was in his pocket.

“Was the target here?”

“Yes, earlier tonight,” said Osborn.

“Good, then I have his scent.”

Like that, Kraven was gone, moving so quickly that Osborn didn’t even see him leave. He turned on the lights and aside from him, the only other person in the room was the unconscious Kingsley, welts and bruises already forming on his face.