{Five Years Later}
The suited men held their guns and faced the kneeling victims in froth of them. They were all on the rooftop of a building, overlooking the overcast above the city. The main man paced around and brandished his pistol.
Man 1: Don't take this personally. Think of this as...using your life as a message to all.
The men and women in front of them whimpered as they thought their end would be soon. The suited man cocked his gun and aimed at the first guy.
Man 1: The Maggia always remembers.
Before he can shoot, a disk-like projectile sticks to the side of his gun. It shocks him, and the man drops the weapon as he held his hand.
The gunman behind the main man looks up and doesn't expect to see Spider-Man above. You land on him and slam his head into the pavement.
Man 2: Open fire!
Three men pull the triggers of their pistols and unload bullets. They hit you, but the bulletproof nano-tech of your suit deflects them. It kind of tickles, but it's a hard tickle.
You shoot two web-lines and stick a couple of the men. You pull them and make them slam on the ground.
Man 1: Bring out the big guns!
Another Maggia member takes out a different looking weapon from his case. He charges it up, and shoots an electric bolt at you. This actually succeeds as you writhe in disconfirm.
Man 3: Dialing this up to ten, asshole!
He starts to charge the gun up again, but then a billy-club wraps his leg and pulls him down.
The remaining men look on in awe as the second combatant drops down near his victim.
A/N: Credit for this redesign goes to Zhanibek Kurmanbay on Artstation!
The Daredevil.
Before one of the four men can shoot at him, you leap at the man and kick him off the building. You shoot a web to catch him before he plummets and stick him to the side.
Daredevil charges at the men and grapples the main Maggia member, taking him down using a judo move and punching him a couple times. He quickly gets up and roundhouse kicks the second criminal and knocks a few teeth out of his mouth.
The last man runs over to grab the rifle from the floor, but you shoot a web and stick his foot to the floor. Daredevil runs up and hits him across the face with his baton, then finishes him off by slamming his face into the nearby wall.
You pant as you look on at the incapacitated Maggia members. The civilians on their knees either watched it all unfold or had their eyes still closed in fear.
You motion towards the rooftop door that leads to a staircase going down into the building.
You: Go. One of you call the authorities.
They all listen and run off to the stairs, leaving you and Daredevil with the unconscious bodies of the Maggia.
You stretch out your arms and hold your back as you look over the ledge onto the skyline. Daredevil walks up to you, taking off his mask and exhaling.
You: Thanks for the assist, Henry.
Henry: Looks like you needed it, old man.
You chuckle. You are currently 36, while Henry Murdock was a decade younger.
You: I wish I was 26 again.
Henry: Unless you build some sort of time machine...I wouldn't keep wishing.
You deactivate your mask and take in the fresh air. You scratch the stubble on you chin.
You: Ford hasn't stopped with these scare tactics. Looks like it's getting worse.
You are talking about Abraham Ford, also known as Hammerhead. He is a crime boss that started gaining traction once you retired in 2016 and AJ became the main Spider-Man.
Henry: Sometimes I wish he was part of the half that was dusted.
You sigh.
You: Well, he wasn't. Now we gotta deal with it and finish what AJ started.
Henry nodded. He doesn't express his feelings much, but he did miss AJ, Judith, and Tenn...they were his best friends since high school.
At least his college friend, Foggy Nelson, and co-worker, Karen Page, are still around. Together they run a law firm.
Suddenly, your spider sense goes off. Henry also uses heightened hearing and hears something going on a few blocks away.
Henry: Stand-off on 9th Avenue. Officers are down and backup's not available.
You: Great. The city never sleeps...still.
You re-activate your mask and leap off the building. Henry puts on his helmet and follows suit.
• •
The four jewelry store robbers take cover behind their truck as they exchange fire with the remaining officers. They already shot down a few.
Robber 1: The heat died down. We gotta move!
Robber 2: We ain't leaving until they're all dead.
Robber 3: And the driver's side door is on the other side, thanks to this idiot.
Robber 4: Shut the hell up.
As they continue shooting, they suddenly hear a crashing thud several yards to their left. They turn, and see a man wearing brown vest over a quilt-designed sweater.
A/N: Credit for this goes to kyomusha on DeviantArt!
Luke Schultz. The Shocker.
Robber 1: Is that—
Shocker charges his gauntlets and fires a blast at the group of men. It sends their truck toppling down the road along with them. The police are in awe, and surprisingly decide to hold their fire at the sight of him.
Three of the four men are still able to get up. One of the robbers raise their gun but Shocker propels himself up and slams down on the asphalt, sending him flying back into a shop window.
Shocker immediately swings his arm at another man and heaves him into the side of the toppled truck.
The last guy drops his gun and pus his arms up. He starts to lay on the floor.
Robber 3: All right! All right! My cut was going to be wack anyway.
Shocker's gauntlets let out a trill as he deactivates them. Moments later, you and Daredevil make it to the scene and gaze at the aftermath. You are the first to notice Schultz.
Henry goes up to an officer who was tending to his injured partner.
Henry: EMT's on the way?
Officer 1: Yes, they're four minutes out.
Henry faces the officer beside him.
Henry: Let's take in the gunmen.
He nods, and calls over a couple other officers to go apprehend the taken down criminals. Daredevil follows.
The Shocker looks at you before propelling himself up and landing on-top of a building nearby. You choose to catch up to him.
THWIP!
You get on the rooftop, seeing Shocker fiddling with one of the gauntlets on his arm. He pulls of his mask and sits against the wall, then takes off both gauntlets and examines them further.
You deactivate your mask and walk up to him.
You: Nice work down there.
Luke: I don't need your compliments.
You: Okay...I'll do criticism. Infrastructural damage would've been minimized.
Luke let out a dry chuckle.
You: I made you laugh? I can finally cross that off my bucket list.
Luke shakes his head as he pulls out a screwdriver and starts fixing up one of the gauntlets.
Luke: I don't get it...
You raise a brow.
Luke: Five years. Five years of...
He sighs, not wanting to recall the sad times. He continues.
Luke: ...and you still find a way to make a joke out of everything.
You look down at Luke, thinking of what to say.
He had a point. The last five years has been a time of sadness, grief, and attempts at recovery. People lost their loved ones...their livelihood.
Luke was one of them. After the Sinister Six plot in 2010, he went on parole a year later and started changing his life around. He found somebody, and was with her for years after that.
But he lost all of that in 2018. He lost her and his unborn child. With everything gone, he went back to being the Shocker...but in order to do some good. All in memory of his loved ones.
You: Yeah...I try not to think too much of it. If I put myself in a dark place...then things won't get done.
Luke looked up at him.
Luke: You still have your family, don't you?
You stood quiet.
Luke: Yeah. Having one makes things easier. That's my two cents.
You: We all lost people. It's up to us to move on...make the best of things. You do what you do to honor them, right?
Luke stays silent.
You: And they're proud, Luke. You've been doing good things since then.
Luke: A part of me thinks this is punishment for the things I've done. The times we've fought.
You: But there was change. You were never too far gone. And now, you've found redemption.
Luke gives a nod. That's all he wanted. He knows his family understood that too.
Luke: I came a long way from blasting a 17 year old in spandex at a Bank of America, huh?
You chuckle at the callback to your first encounter him. That was almost 20 years ago.
You: That long ago, huh? Man, we're old.
• •
You walk down the dirt path and through the trees towards your lakeside cabin home. You are in civilian attire and carry a bag containing food you picked up on the way.
You open the door but don't need to announce your presence as your 11 year old twins call out in unison from the living room.
Aaron/May: Hey, dad.
You: How are my favorite set of twins?
Aaron: We're watching reruns of The Sensational Spider-Man.
May: Did you really get mind-controlled by twins?
You let out a small laugh as you look on at the television. After you retired in 2016, a production company asked if they can re-tell your adventures as Spider-Man in a show. They were willing to pay you, so you agreed. It was cool, since people who were young, like your kids, would be able to see what it was like.
You: Yeah, those were my least favorite set of twins, I gotta say.
Aaron: When will we see the episode that shows what happened to your arm?
You look at your vibranium arm and clench your fists. You still haven't told them about your fight with Thanos.
You: Eh, I don't know. Maybe the series finale or something.
Clementine walked into the living room.
Clementine: Hey, honey. You brought food?
You: Thought'd it be a good idea to save you from the hassle of making dinner.
The two of you kiss as you place the bag down on the counter.
You: Where's Ben?
Clementine: Like usual. In his room. You can call him over so he can eat.
You agree and walk into the hallway and towards your 12 year old son's room. You enter and see him at the desk writing in a journal with his computer on.
Ben: Hey, dad.
You: Hey, kiddo. I brought food.
Ben: I'm not hungry.
You: Oh, okay. What are you doing?
Ben: Getting homework done a couple days early. I'm helping mom babysit Morgan tomorrow.
With Tony gone, you and your family have been helping Pepper Potts take care of her new child. They did a lot in helping you and your kids growing up, so you all wanted to repay the favor.
You: That's good. I'm proud of you.
Ben: I just wanted to help.
You: And it's the right thing to do. I know the Starks appreciate it.
Ben smiles as he gives a nod, then continues writing. You smile too, proud of your son and also grateful that you are here to see them.
You: Well, food is in then kitchen if you're hungry. Keep up the good work.
You give a nod and close the door.