Spider-Man: The Origins Part 2

Oscorp

“Ah, Doctor Connors, I’ve been expecting your call. I was almost beginning to think you lost interest in our little agreement” Norman said signing some papers. The voice of the angered scientist shot out the speakers in the desk. “It took a little longer than expected but I’m ready to continue my research. And test on humans” Curtis said looking at the vial of serum in his coat’s pocket. “Great to hear, Doctor, now get to work. I’ll get my son Harry and travel to the Oscorp stationed in London” Norman stated ending the call.

Norman stated out the window and sipped the cool alcohol out of the small glass. The reflection of his son, Harry, was visible in the window. “Son” he said “how would you like to go to England?”

“I don’t know, dad, what would we even do?”

“Meeting a work associate. So, pack your things”

Harry sighed and left the room. The elevator doors closed behind him and the sound of motors carried the carriage away. “Sightings of Spider-Man has increased in England which could mean crime has gone up, or he’s stopping crimes the police force hasn’t been able to stop. But one thing’s for certain is this new hero will have some run in with CEO of Stark Industries and head of the Avengers, Tony Stark, at some point” the news reporter said.

Chapter 1: What gets you out of bed in the morning?

A few days later – Luke’s room

“Y-you’re Tony Stark. Wow. I’m uh” Luke stuttered pushing his hands through his hair. “You’re Luke Knight and Spider-Man. Which is why I’m here” Tony stated standing up “you need help. You’re not Spider-Man in that onesie”
“It’s not a onesie”

“Nuh-uh. Me first. I recently fired a great scientist; you may have heard of him, Doctor Connors? Well, there’s been rumours of him now working at Oscorp”

“Oscorp? As in Oscorp Oscorp? The science company?”

“Yes. I want you to sneak in and find out what he might be doing there”
“But my suit’s broken”

“I know. How would you like a new one?”

Luke’s eyes widened “a new suit?” he asked. Tony nodded. Luke looked over his shoulder and saw Gwen smiling with her thumbs up. “Ok, I’m in”

“Great. I’ll get a Quinjet ready for you so you’re closer to the mission”

“Quinjet? I don’t do so good with heights”

“I saw you on the news. You swung through town to stop Herman Schultz”
“Adrenaline. Even then, I ran out of swing space”

“How about I make some drones that follow you around so you can swing anywhere? Sound good? Good. I’ve already made them”

Luke thought about the mission for a moment. “Having second thoughts?” Tony asked. Luke shook his head. “Good. Would you like to bring your girlfriends?” Tony joked

“Too dangerous. I’ll go alone. Plus, someone has to keep my cover”

Tony tapped his watch and a loud noise became audible outside. It was the Quinjet. The aircraft landed  and it’s rear door fell open.

Luke ran up the ramp while Tony paced up it. “This is how the Avengers get to their missions? So cool” Luke exclaimed strapping himself into one of the chairs. “Nothing new to me. Anyway, say hello to your new suit” Tony replied tapping his watch. A wall of the jet rotated to reveal a newer Spider-Man suit.
The new suit was red with black arms and legs. The arms were split into two lagoons of darkness by a strip of red. The boots finally matched the rest of the suit using the same shade of scarlet. On the mask was a thick black web pattern that was absorbed into a pair of triangular lenses. The grey spider on the chest resembled two hexagons close together with curved legs for their shield. A fingerless glove look was highlighted by the black gloves with red webbed fingers.

Luke stared at the outfit flabbergasted and in awe. “Yeah, take that out for a spin” Tony laughed leaning against the side of the cabinet. He glanced at the speechless kid and back to the ensemble. “I don’t know what to say, Mr Stark. Thank you” Luke finally said.

“No worries. So, who were those girls?”

“Umm the absolutely gorgeous blonde angel is Gwen Stacy and she’s, I’m pretty sure, my girlfriend. The redhead is Mary-Jane and she’s been my best friend since forever”

“You’re a lady’s man?”

“No. No, definitely not. I barely spoke to Gwen before the trip and I got bit”

“Bit? By a genetically altered spider?”

“I think so. Yeah, why?”

“You must have got bit by one of the spiders made for Raymond Warren’s experiments when he worked for me”

“Let’s hope that doesn’t come back to bite me” Luke froze for a moment “again”

2 hours later

Luke pulled the new mask over his face and activated his webshooters by pressing his ring and middle finger on the plate in the centre of his palm. “Like a glove” he  yelled trying to match that of Jim Carrey. “So, the mission is to infiqltrate Connors’ office and find anything that proves he’s working there” Tony said pulling a lever next to his seat. A large panel of the rear of the jet opened and a brawny gust of wind tore through the thin gap. “Umm Mr Stark? I’ve never been to New York. I don’t know where Oscorp is” Luke said nervously before his eyes locked onto Tony behind him.

“You see that tower over there?” he pointed to a tall tower with a device on top.

“Guessing that’s it” Luke asked getting ready to jump. Tony nodded. Luke took a deep breath and sprung off the ramp.

Chapter 2: The New Threads

Luke fell through the air while screaming. A voice pierced his mind. It was Tony. “C’mon, kid, you’ve swung before. Now you need to do it” he said. Luke stretched out his arm and fired a web to catch himself. His body jerked forward and the moment he gathered increased his speed. The web line was released and Luke performed a backflip before firing another web. Tony back in the jet clapped and cheered. “Mr Stark, it works” Luke excitedly exclaimed as he performed more air tricks.

Back in England

Gwen dropped into her bed and closed her eyes. MJ remained standing. “So, these missions take a while” she laughed crossing her arms. Gwen nodded “I miss him” she sighed “but he needs to do it. Just like we need to do our homework. Damn it”. She shot up and jogged to her bag to take out a notebook. She flipped through the pages until she found the current tasks. “Science, Maths and English. At least I have Mr Hope. He’s nice” Gwen said grabbing her sheet and a pen.

New York

Luke flipped onto the side of the behemoth tower. He spotted a square vent cover and scaled toward it. “Ok, Luke, don’t look down” he panicked. He immediately looked down. “God damn it” he yelled hitting his head against the wall. Luke seized the cover and yanked it off. The vent quickly got dark. There were no lights. Luke sighed before entering the ventilation. The further he went, the limited his vision became.
Luke shifted himself through the ducts until he saw another cover below him with lights oozing through slits. He punched the shroud and jumped down. He entered a fairly small lab. It had microscopes with Petri dishes underneath. There were a few whiteboards with notes about Lizards written upon them. “Nothing but biology stuff” Luke sighed examining the boards. He had a suspicious and checked under a desk. Sure enough, to his belief, there was a keypad that required a four-digit code. He stood back up and checked shelves for books or notes. Nothing. He searched the boards. Nothing. He checked through the drawers on the desk. Nothing. Luke grabbed a picture frame off the table and looked at it closely. He flipped it over and found a four-digit number. “Doctor Connors, my friend, you have got to get a better way of hiding your codes” Luke tutted crouching under the table. He entered the code. Suddenly a wall behind him moved out of place to reveal a hidden room. Luke ran to the door. “Talk about not being evil” he joked entering.

The lab was dark and had dim green lights on each wall. There were whiteboards with formulas and illustrations of lizards sprinkled all over. The room seemed to lead to deep water. Inside cages were small creatures. Some with enlarged limbs and others missing their limb. He looked closer at one of the boards. There was a small picture of Tony Stark with the word “eliminate” below it. Luke pulled his phone out and snapped pictures of everything. The tingling in his head went off and muffled speech was barely audible.

Luke ran back to the vent and jumped into it. He used his webs to return the plate of metal to its original state. He clambered through the ventilation trying to remain undetected. Curtis and Norman entered the lab. “As you can see, I managed to gather your research from Stark. You may continue as normal, Connors” Norman said opening his arms wide. “Why thank you, Mr Osborn, I will be sure to become a great asset to your team of brilliant minds” Curtis replied “my research may end your solders dying in war”.

“Good. I hope to see a working serum in twenty-four hours”

“As you wish” Curtis said. Norman left the room. Curtis glanced around his new lab but noticed something peculiar. Some residue of Luke’s webshooter was sticking to the wall where he had climbed. “Spider-Man” he sighed furiously.

Chapter 3: The Breach

“And that’s when I found a picture of you with ‘eliminate' beneath it, Mr Stark” Luke exclaimed removing his mask. Tony stared down at the hero. Luke continued “and there looked to be multiple vials of some green serum in centrifuges”.

“Dammit, Connors”

“What?”

“Doctor Connors worked for me, as you know, and he was fired not long ago for wanting to test a lizard serum on humans to see if they could accelerate the regeneration process for soldiers. It looks like Osborn hired him. Kid, this might be your chance to prove to me that you could have a future with us”

“Us?”
“The Avengers”

“The Avengers?” Luke repeated with wide eyes “yes, sir”. Tony pushed a button on a monitor. “You’ll be staying in New York for a few days for this mission” he said “if you need me, just press the side of your mask”. He entered the cockpit.

A few hours later

“It appears Spider-Man has been given an upgraded by Stark Industries as citizens have reported seeing the wall crawler donning a more professional suit than the Shocker’s reign” the reporter said on the TV. Curtis was adjusting a dial on a device. “Stark!” he yelled angrily. He marched over to a centrifuge “Ok, spider, if you want to know what I have, I’ll give it to you. You can have a bite”. Curtis pulled out a vial of green liquid. He inserted it into a syringe and jabbed it into the stub on his shoulder. The scientist screamed in pain.

The scientist’s eyes faded yellow and his pupils shifted and became a diamond shape. His missing arm started growing back into a green scaly monstrous limb. Curtis examined the appendage closely and realised what he will become. What he shouldn’t have done. His human arm repeated the process as his other. He held his head in his reptilian hands and screamed louder. The legs grew crimson and scaly and his toes became knives: sharp and pointed. They tore through his black shoes. Curtis’ torso ripped through the bleach lab coat the scientist wore before. A long tail shot out of the bottom of his spine and writhed in the air. Curtis cried as his jaws extended and his teeth became daggers. The brown hair she’d out of his head and were replaced by sharp scales. The screaming stopped. Doctor Curtis Connors was no more. The only thing in that body was The Lizard.

Chapter 4: The Lizard

Luke sat on the edge of a building, still in his suit. He dialed a number on his phone. The recipient picked up. “Hi, Gwen” he said “I’ll be staying in New York for a bit. Mr Stark is being hunted by something”

“And he’s hired you to stop it?” Gwen chuckled

“Definitely”

“Does that mean you’re an Avenger?”

“No. But that’s the least of our worries because.... I’m sat like a hundred billion feet up in the air. It’s a nice view though”

“I doubt you’re that high up. Come home safe”

“Will do but I-” Luke was cut off by the tingles in his head again. “Luke?” Gwen asked concerned. “I got to go” Luke replied hanging up and placing the phone in his bag. He pulled the mask over his face and leaped into the Concrete Jungle.

Times Square

The Lizard leaped onto a hotdog cart and roared. The sound pierced civilians’ ears. Luke landed behind the creature. The monster rotated its head and then its body. “Somebody’s been a bad lizard” Luke joked crouching down in a fighting pose. The lizard roared again but was cut off by a web to the face. “Zip it, Krindlekrax” he continued. The beast forced its large jaws open and charged toward the spider letting out a ear-splitting roar. Luke ran to the lizard “stop roaring, you numbskull” he yelled bringing his knee level with the monster’s bottom jaw. The lizard jolted back and swung its muscly claw at Luke. He fell to the ground.

“God dammit” Luke shook his head “that hurt”. He climbed to a crawling position before the Lizard lifted him into the air. Luke’s concealed face centimetres from the creature’s scaly face. Its jaws opened wide and came closer to Luke’s weak head. He fired a web to the smashed hotdog cart “it’s way past dinner time” he joked. He yanked the line sending the cart flying toward the lizard. The wagon countered the monster’s attack and Luke fell to the floor. “Yah-how” he exclaimed clambering to his feet. The hero shook his head to gather his bearings. The lizard roared again. “Will you shut up?” Luke demanded firing another web at its ferocious jaws. “Hey, Blue from Jurassic World, let’s finish this” he said getting ready to fight once again.
The Lizard’s claws extended by a few centimetres and it charged toward Luke with its snarling mouth wide open. “Oh god” the frightened hero expressed leaping into the air. He fired both webshooters at the ground beside the beast and pulled himself onto the creature’s back, pinning it to the ground. The concrete shattered from the force. Webs were fired out the dark barrels of Luke’s wrists. They stuck to the creature’s limbs and formed strong restraints. “Who should we call? The police or Animal Control?” he chuckled. His laughter turned to groans as he held his ribs.

Stark Industries

Tony glided his finger across the holographic designs of what looked to be some sort of armour. AC/DC was blasting through some speakers on a nearby desk. “Incoming call from Spider-Man” Jarvis announced. The working billionaire selected a piece of the armour “send him through” he said. Luke’s voice echoed through the workshop “Mister Stark, I’m guessing Doctor Connors used his serum. In New York, there was a massive lizard thing. I managed to take him down but he might improve the equation and become stronger”

“If that’s true then you’ll need help. I’m working on a few new armours. Learn what you can about this threat and I’ll improve them”

“Yes, Mister Stark” Luke sighed hanging up. He pulled his mask over his scarred face. He swung back around to the street where the battle took place. A withered van with a large hole marked into its side laid dormant next to a open sewer cover. Scratch marks created a path from the wreck to the gash in the ground. Luke crouched close to the manhole cover and dropped down.

Chapter 5: Stronger Every day

The sewers were dimly lit but still visible. The brick walls were covered in a slimy substance that filled the environment with a toxic smell. The army of sewage that dominated the water didn’t help with the stench. Luke crossed his legs with his feet connecting to a web line. His hands had a firm grasp on the line as he descended into the drain. “Note to self: reinforce the mask so I don’t have to smell bad things” he said covering his nose with one hand. “Not going to touch... anything. I’ll just web sling through here” he continued firing a web to fling himself across the toxic floor. His body jerked forward until he reached a balcony overlooking a low budget lab.
“Creepy lab? Check. Mad scientist? No” Luke said climbing down the wall. “Come on out, Connors, I know you’re the Lizard” he called out. His voice echoed through the tunnels. He looked around the lab and found some notes on how to improve the serum. “Sharper claws, faster regeneration? Wolverine?” Luke joked reading the clipboard. The tingling in his head painfully rang again. Suddenly the lizard pounced on top of the unsuspecting prey sending them both through the ground. They landed on a large pipe. “Spider” the beast hissed stretching his scaly claws toward the pinned hero. Luke resisted the attack but was struggling to keep the talons away from his chest. “You won’t stop me this time” the Lizard roared “I’m getting stronger every day”. The daggers grew and dug into the arachnid on Luke’s chest. Blood emerged from the gashes. Luke cried out in anguish and tried with all his might to remove the knives from his chest.

A pipe burst in the monster’s face allowing Luke to escape its brawny grasp. The Lizard roared as Luke kicked its face. The beast fell backwards and fell off the pipe. Murky green water splashed when the creature absorbed into it. Luke looked over the brink and took a deep breath. “Ok, time to get the hell out of here” he declared web zipping upward to the lab. He tracked his steps back to the beginning and left the sewers.

The Street

Luke clutched his side as he clambered through the street. He wandered for a while before his limb was healed enough to not be supported; thanks to his accelerated healing factor. He walked over a grate and heard hissing beneath him. His eyes widened as the metal sheet shot up and a large reptile jumped out. Civilians nearby scattered away. The beast grabbed Luke and held him in the air. Its tail wrapped around Luke’s unprotected neck and the monster’s claws squeezed the webshooters on the warrior’s wrists leaving him vulnerable. Web fluid burst out of the cartridges and splattered onto the brute’s machete-like claws. The lizard ripped the feeble mask off the trapped spider. “Poor Luke Knight” it snarled “no grandpa, no backup, all alone”. Rock music echoed through the city and signalled that someone was coming. A loud war machine flew closer. Blue plasma blasts singed the Lizard’s thick hide. It released Luke from its clutches and roared. “He’s not alone” the armoured avenger said with his hand still in its firing position

Chapter 6: The Ironman

The armour was a dark red colour with golden plating that covers the thighs. A permanent frown was marked into the aureate face plate. In the centre on the metallic chest was a circular bright beam of light. It looked like a power source. The thin slits in the eye are glowed blue like the chest. The palm of the outstretched hand resembled the power source and slowly faded to darkened glass.

The lizard roared as it tumbled to the ground. The armoured plating that covered the face shot up and revealed Tony’s face. “You definitely need help” he said making contact with the ground slowly.

“Mr Stark, thank god, I-”

“No, kid, thank me later after we stop this abomination” Tony stated. His voice became robotic as the face shield slammed down again. He flew up and blasted the Lizard in the back again. Luke struggled to get to his feet. He grasped his mask. One of the lenses cracked from it being thrown to the ground. The mask slid over the hero’s bloodied and scarred face. The fractured glass obscured his vision. To him, all audio was none existent. All he heard was his rapid heart rate and muffled screeches from Tony’s repulsors.

The armoured avenger flew around the beast and fired rockets, plasma bolts and lasers at it. Luke shook his head and all his senses returned. He tried firing a web but only sparks shot out. Luke rolled his eyes and charged at the walking tank. The reptile roared and swung at Tony. Luke slid in between its legs and held his arms out. The lizard fell to the ground. Tony’s arm opened up and a chamber elevated from the plating. A net was launched out of it and tied the defeated once-scientist. The face plate of Tony’s helmet opened again “good job, kid” he said before flying away. Luke waited for the police to arrive to take the monster away.

The lizard began to scream. It sounded different. It was more human. The creature reverted back to Curtis. “That wasn’t me. It was the serum. It took over. You have to believe me” he cried. The net was now loose enough for him to escape. Luke crouched next to him. “You endangered innocent people tonight. I want to believe you” he said “that’s why I’m getting you the best help”.

Luke’s room an hour later

Gwen knocked on the door and entered Luke’s room. “Hey, Lukie, we’re back” she said sitting next to him on the bed. MJ followed a few seconds after. “Quite a few stuffed animals” Gwen commented “I don’t mind it. It’s actually cute” she smiled.

“Well, I love to hug soft things”

“Why not hug me?” she laughed. Gwen opened her arms and Luke fell into them. Luke closed his eyes and sighed. He finally felt safe. He felt like nothing could hurt him now. MJ smiled. “Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot. You have a drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend and spider powers” she said snapping a picture of the couple. A few silent minutes passed before it was disturbed by a wailing police car. Gwen released the needed hero. Luke turned to the window and looked back to the girls. He got up and changed into his new yet damaged suit and grabbed his old webshooters before leaping out the window.

Chapter 7: Snap Back to Reality

“Then Ernish attacked. Then attacked again and revealed my identity which I still need to fix” Luke said. His head was on Gwen’s lap and she was stroking his hair. She gave his head an occasional kiss. “I joined the Avengers. I met other Spider-Men. I need to catch up with them. Feel bad for Andrew; he lost his Gwen” he continued. “But at least he saved me, right?” Gwen asked planting a kiss on Luke’s lips. He nodded. Jessica stood up “and you’ve just begun with your journey” she said.

“What?”

“Trust me. You meet more than just three spiders from the multiverse”

“Awesome”

“Not when one of them is just a colony of spiders. That one still freaks me out” Jessica continued “whatever you do, don’t go to Earth 65. You’ll get confused and probably end up loving that spider instead”. She jumped off the building and swung away. An orange portal opened in her way and she slipped through it.

“So, what now, cutie?” Gwen asked looking over the view of the town. “Not sure. But I’m staying here on your lap. Every inch of you is a comfy pillow. I’ll call you Spider-Pillow” Luke laughed closing his eyes. Gwen chuckled and kissed her tired boyfriend on his head. The sun set on a peaceful evening.

Oscorp

“Are they ready?” Raymond Warren asked pushing a button. “Yes, Doctor” the computer said. “Perfect. The Spider-Man will fail to fend against these” the scientist continued as the white pods opened. In each one was what looked to be clones of Spider-Man but with definitive features like a large blade sticking out of each wrist, increased muscle mass, or a ghostly appearance for speed. “The Spider-Slayers are ready to kill” the computer said. One of their hands twitched.