Chapter 1: In The Chill Of Night
In the chill of night, the moon shines down on New York City; the so-called "City That Never Sleeps".
It was an unusually quiet evening in the city with only the sounds of howling wind and distant cars echoing through the night sky. The various buildings and skyscrapers throughout Manhattan painted a picture of a bustling but otherwise, orderly city.
On top of one of the higher buildings, crouching on a ledge and overlooking the scene was a figure clad in red and blue spandex with a webbing texture across the areas colored in red. The figure also had two emblems on his front and back, both resembling a spider.
Eventually, the eye lenses of the figure slightly narrowed before he stood up… And dove headfirst off the ledge. He free fell for a brief moment before throwing out one of his hands and webbing-like fluid shot out of his wrists to cling onto a nearby building. Using the momentum from his recent fall, the figure holds onto the web and swings his way across the streets of the city.
That's right, readers. This masked crusader is the one who protects the city.
The figure threw out his other hand to produce the webbing and repeated the same action as before, only this time with a few flips for flare.
The one who helps the unfortunate when most needed.
The figure was now running across the walls of the building before diving off of it before he reached the edge. As he dove, he set his eyes on a nearby street light. He then threw out both of his hands and aimed it directly at the light. Once the webbing got a hold of it, the figure propelled himself forward by forcefully pulling himself using the webs. Once he got to the street light, his reflexes caused him to put both of his hands on the very top of the street light and launch himself far away from the point.
The one who does the responsible thing in spite of himself.
He is The Spectacular, The Amazing, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!
After spending the time swinging around the city doing midair stunts and tricks, Spidey ultimately landed onto the ledge of a building and perched on it. The masked hero panted after the web-slinging session before gaining his breath back after a brief moment.
"Whew! Now that was sweat inducing." Spider-Man said, twisting his neck to crack it. "But a pretty good final swing before the first day at ESU starts." Spider-Man looked over at the city and then stared into the night sky. It has been a few months now since he got bitten by that spider and over time, he had certainly improved in his skills as a spider-themed crime fighter.
Even though the night was going well so far, Spidey still felt unfulfilled. "You know. Swinging around the city was pretty fun and all but I could really use some sort of action right now! If I'm gonna have to end this era, then I'd rather it end with a bang!"
Unbeknownst to him, shadowy figures slinked across the same rooftop as him. The figures came in various shapes and sizes. One pulled out a pistol and made a toothy grin. The shorter one pulled out a rifle and aimed directly at the superhero. The figure looked through the scope and exhaled slowly. Its finger went onto the trigger and then…
BANG!
The rifle fired! But then Spider-Man flipped to the side, narrowly avoiding the bullet and landed onto the floor in a stanced position. "Well, speaking of bangs." Spidey quipped in an amused tone as the two shadowy figures stepped out of the darkness one by one, revealing their Imp-y demonic selves to the masked hero much to his surprise. "Huh. Quite the colorful duo we got over here."
The shorter one with white hair and the rifle smirked while aiming at Spider-Man. "We are more than just a duo." He snarked.
Suddenly, a tingling sensation began to occur in Spidey's head. He placed his fingers onto his temple and narrowed his eyes. "I see... But where…?" The hero looked around for any potential threat until suddenly…
"WATCH OUT, BIG GUY…" A loud, southern belle accent was suddenly heard when a third shadowy figure wielding an axe that looked way too big for anyone her size to be carrying ran into the scene. The figure leaped up high and swung the axe in the air in an attempt to bisect the webhead. "CUS' IT'S MILLIE TIME!"
Spidey's eyes widened at the newcomer that was rapidly descending onto his position before quickly leaping out of the way to narrowly dodge the axe attack from the female Imp. Spider-Man did a bunch of cartwheels before landing on top of a large rooftop unit. Now out of reach from his attackers, Spidey took a good look at them and noted their rather strange features such as black and white colored horns, red complexions and demon tails. "Huh. You guys look kinda weird. Is the circus in town or something?"
The taller Imp then shot his pistol at the wallcrawler to which he promptly avoided the bullet by front flipping off the unit and right between the assailants. "Now, don't get me wrong. I dig the getups but Halloween's not until a few months from now so you better recheck your calendars."
"The only thing we'll be checking is your name off of our hitlist, asshole!" The taller Imp snarked with a toothy grin before firing more shots at Spidey.
Spider-Man dodges the shots and while he does so, the axe-wielding Imp charges in and swings at the hero but his heightened senses alerted him of the danger and sidestepped out of the way to make the Imp miss her attack then promptly rewarded her with a face full of web which disoriented her. "A hitlist? With my name on it? Consider me honored!"
Spider-Man then did a sweep kick which brought the dazed Millie off her feet then launched her to the other side of the rooftop with another kick. The tingling sensation returned and Spider-Man turned around to see the other two Imps aiming their guns right at him. The Imp began to fire at the hero without pause as he constantly dodged out of the way. "You guys seem a little trigger-happy. Let's fix that!" The masked hero leaped into the air and shot webs at both of the Imp's weapons. Spidey landed then forcefully yanked at the guns on opposite sides which made the tall Imp's pistol bonk the shorter one's head and vice versa, knocking both of them down. "It's not nice to play with guns, y'know!"
"Eat this, ya son of a bitch!" The axe Imp roared as she was now suddenly swinging her axe at the wallcrawler with endless abandon. Spider-Man sidestepped, ducked and hopped over all of the swings much to the Imp's chagrin.
"Sorry! Can't eat anything right now. Had a snack earlier." Spidey then hopped over the Imp. While doing so he shot another web at her face then shot two more at each of her legs. Spider-Man landed then yanked at the webs, causing the Imp to drop the axe and fall on the floor and as soon as she landed, Spider-Man shot web after web at her to hold her down.
After the webbing was finished, the tingling sensation returned but as Spider-Man was about to turn around to look for the threat, a bullet was shot and it grazed his shoulder and tore a hole in his suit. Spidey exclaimed in pain and held onto his new wound. The hero turned to see the two Imps had recovered and were now wielding new weapons. The shorter one had a pistol now and the taller one was brandishing a knife. Spidey grimaced. "Of course you guys had extra weapons. Why wouldn't you?"
"Alright, fucko! End of the line! We're done toying with you!" The taller one exclaimed.
Spider-Man smirked behind his mask. "Really? Cus' it seemed like the other way around to me." He snarked which caused the tall Imp to growl in annoyance.
"Look. It's not personal." The shorter Imp added. His pistol still pointed at the wallcrawler. "But we were promised a handsome amount of pay for your assassination and we really need the cash!"
"Well, gee. Who doesn't?" Spider-Man replied without any hint of irony in his tone.
Suddenly, a roar of rage was heard when the female Imp tore herself free from the webbing on the floor. She hurriedly hopped onto her feet and set her eyes on Spidey like a predator would to their prey. Her expression was practically screaming rage and bloody murder with full intention to kill the masked hero in front of her. "You're dead, motherfucker…!" The Imp hissed under her breath.
The shorter Imp looked over at her with concern. "Millie?" He said, reaching a hand over to her.
But before anything else could happen, Millie charged at Spider-Man like a raging bull. "YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD!"
"Millie, no!"
The Imp tackled Spider-Man off the ledge as they both plummeted below. The two struggled against each other as they fell with Millie holding on to Spider-Man by the neck trying to throw punches at him with the hero dodging some of the punches and throwing his own. As the two rapidly approached the ground, Spider-Man struggled to break free from the she-demon's grasp before throwing a strong kick at her chest which sent her flying to the wall and she slammed onto it which caused her to plummet on the nearby ground.
With nothing holding onto him, Spider-Man quickly shot a web up onto a nearby building to slow down his descent. After the momentum from the fall disappeared, Spidey let go of the web and safely dropped down onto the ground. He looked over to see the unconscious demon laying on the ground, her impact causing a few cracks on it. The masked hero winced. "Sheesh."
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Frantic gunshots were heard as Spider-Man narrowly dodged the oncoming bullets. "Stay the FUCK away from her!" The short Imp yelled with a pissed off look as he kept shooting and shooting at the hero.
Spider-Man did hops and leaps and jumps as he dodged each bullet from the vengeful Imp before he threw out both of his hands and shot webs on the Imp's pistol and his other hand. The Imp struggled against the web before Spidey forcefully yanked at the web to launch himself directly towards the Imp. Spider-Man then promptly dropkicked the Imp in his face which knocked him down quickly.
Spider-Man panted as he looked over at the semiconscious Imp. "Two down." The hero then turned around and there he saw the tall Imp, giving him an icy cold death glare. His toothy grin was replaced with a scowl as he slowly approached the hero with a knife. "One to go."
The Imp growled. "And here I thought that this was gonna be some easy ass horseshit job that we'd be done with by now…"
"Sorry to disappoint." Spidey replied.
"And what you did to my two best employees…? I am NOT taking that shit sitting down! You're dead, motherfucker! And I hope I can see you in Hell so I can murder you all over again, you cuntwipe!"
Spider-Man crossed his arms at the Imp. "You know. I tuned it out at first but you really swear like a sailor, huh? Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
And this comment was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Imp's eyes became wide and bloodshot. His hands trembled and his breathing became heavier. His teeth clenched harder than he had ever clenched before. (phrasing)
"Woah! Looks like I struck a nerve, eh?"
The Imp spoke under his breath, his tone dripping with venom and rage. "I will tell you this just once, Spider-Man. Nobody. And I mean NOBODY… Talks about my mom…" In a sudden movement, the demon launched himself at the hero with the knife in hand. "Like THAT!"
With quick motion, Spider-Man deflected the attack by blocking the Imp's arm holding the knife with his own but then the demon dropped the knife and caught it with his free hand. Spidey's eyes widened as the Imp swung towards his head, narrowly avoiding the attack with only his mask slashed. With the attack avoided, Spidey used his momentum to kick the knife away from the Imp's hand and counterattacked with a right hook to the face.
The punch sent the Imp flying towards the nearest car which he slammed into and promptly dented. The punch and the subsequent slam were enough to weaken the Imp to near unconsciousness. In his blurry vision, he noticed Spider-Man walking up to him. Not saying a single word. Just standing there. Staring. The Imp took the silence as mocking and glared at him. It took every ounce of his remaining strength to utter a few words. "Damn you…" Before finally falling into unconsciousness.
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Later that night, Spider-Man was exhausted and chuckled. He clapped his hands after the whole endeavor and looked over at his handiwork.
Said handiwork was an upside down cocoon made of webs that was holding the Imp assassins in place. The Imps inside stared at the superhero with death glares, specifically the tall one.
"Looking at you like this, you guys would make great Halloween decorations! Maybe you could drop by then?" Spider-Man snarked which earned the groan of the shorter Imp and female Imp.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, pal." The taller Imp replied. "But you won't be laughing soon when we get outta here! And when we do, we'll find you and tear you open a new ASSHOLE!"
"Yeah, good luck with that." Spider-Man shot back before the realization hit him. It was already late at night and he was still far from home. He had to wrap this one up quickly. "Ah, crap! Well, I'd hate to leave you guys hanging like this but I've got places to be…" Spidey then glanced at his non-existent watch on his wrist. "And a 9pm curfew to follow so I bid you all, adieu."
With a playful mocking bow, Spider-Man shot a web onto a nearby building and shot himself into the air before swinging away into the night, leaving the assassins alone to hang within the web cocoon. The silence between them was palpable as the cold air of the night lightly blew on them. The shorter Imp decides to break the silence. "Sir… Did we… Fail?"
"Ah, quit your whinging and bitching, Mox. I wouldn't call this a failure." The tall Imp replied, his tail cautiously came through the gaps of the cocoon while holding a knife. "I consider this…" In one swift movement, the tail swung and the knife cut through the cocoon, freeing all the Imps inside with the tall and female Imps landing gracefully while the short one face planted. "A work in progress."
"I get what you mean, Blitz but…" The female Imp added. Dusting herself off as she got up onto her feet. "What do you think we can do now? The guy's gone off somewhere and we have no idea where he could be! And the client is still at our office! I'd hate to say it Blitz but we gotta retreat for now."
"Millie's right, sir." The short Imp said, pulling himself off the ground and dusting himself. "This target's unlike any of our previous ones. It'd be reckless to just go after him without any preparations. It's best if we do our research first even if it means delaying our pay."
"Ugh, fine!" Blitzo stated, disliking the notion of letting an assassination target (which he doesn't relate to) go for once. "But we gotta do this quickly. Anyone got ideas? Mox? Mills?"
The three sat in silence for a bit before an idea popped in Moxxie's head and he snapped his fingers. "Ooh! What about this 'ESU' place?"
"'ESU'?" Millie repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"The fuck is an 'ESU'?" Blitzo exclaimed.
"Don't you remember, sir?" Moxxie replied. "Right before we made our move, Spider-Man mentioned something about his first day at ESU! If we infiltrate and stake out the area, there may be a possibility that he would show up and we can take him out from there!" The Imp explained to the other two demons.
Millie placed a hand on her chin in thought. "That sounds like a mighty swell idea! What do you think, Blitz?"
"Sounds kinda tricky but if it means that I can put a bullet through that spider-asshole's skull sooner than let's FUCKIN' DO IT!" Blitzo exclaimed with excitement, he rubbed on the Asmodean Crystal in his gauntlet which conjured up a portal to which he and the others went through.
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Meanwhile, in a small house in the suburbs, a timid old woman could be seen washing used plates and listening to music on the radio. Eventually, she heard what sounded like the front door opening. The old lady went over to see a young man who looked exhausted and bruised.
The young man waved shyly at her. "Hey, Aunt May. Sorry, I'm-"
"Peter! I was worried sick! It was getting dark and you were still not here! Where were you?" Aunt May exclaimed worriedly before heading over to embrace Peter in relief.
"I'm so sorry I made you worry, Aunt May. Something came up and I just… I wish I could've gotten here sooner." Peter apologized, as he hugged his elderly aunt back.
"Well, all that matters now is that you're here safe and sound." Aunt May eventually broke the hug and took a good look at Peter to notice his slight bruising. "Oh my… Peter? What happened? You look awful…?"
Peter rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "I… Uh. Went to the gym."
Aunt May sighs and looks at Peter with worry. "Peter. I know you're a growing boy but sometimes, you need to figure out when you have reached your limit. If you put too much pressure on yourself, you'll shut down! Learn to take things slow! That's what your Uncle Ben always taught me!" Aunt May teased which caused her and Peter to share a brief chuckle together.
Aunt May then placed a hand on Peter's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Peter. If your Uncle Ben were still here with us, he would be so proud of the man you've become. Of the man you will soon be. But despite whatever changes you'll end up with. You will always be our little Peter."
"Thanks, Aunt May." Peter replied, he stared back into his aunt. "I don't want to let Uncle Ben or you down. I won't."
Aunt May then let go of Peter's shoulder and gave him the brightest smile she could muster. "Then enough sulking over the past! We must prepare for the future! And your future, young man, is your first day in University!"
Peter gave a warm smile back to his aunt and chuckled. "Yeah. You're right, Aunt May."
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Meanwhile, in literal Hell. A portal from the other side opens up and the battered up Imp assassins come through it. Their appearance was immediately caught on by the Hellhound accountant by the desk. "Damn. You guys look like shit." Was all she could really comment on.
"Sooo, didja get 'im?" A voice called out to the Imps as their client approached them. The client was a Sinner who looked like a stereotypical street thug with a buff upper body with a lean lower half. He wore a brown overcoat with a green sweater and black plants. He also had a dark blue balaclava on his head at all times. "Didja get that spider-freak?"
Moxxie sighs and shakes his head. "My apologies Mr. Carradine but I'm afraid that your request may have to be delayed a bit."
The client's eyes widened in disbelief and anger. "What do you mean?! Didja forget about the payment I promised? Don't tell me you're givin' up already?"
"Don't worry, mister!" Millie chirped. "We ain't givin' up! We just need more time and I promise we'll have your vengeance satiated in no time!"
The client narrowed his eyes at the Imps. He then crossed his arms. "Hmph. Fine. I'll give y'all a chance. But if you don't get that spider-freak then consider that sweet, sweet payment goodbye!" He exclaimed before marching out of the office through the door and slammed it shut.
Moxxie then approached the Hellhound then spoke up. "Um, excuse me? Loona?"
"What is it, fatty?" The Hellhound responded with a subtle smirk on her face.
Moxxie slightly growled before calming down. Getting the job done was more important right now. "I need you to get on the internet and search up 'ESU'."
"ESU? The fuck is that supposed to be?" Loona asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We believe it's a location. A location that could help us track down the target. If we can do research on it then stake the area out, then there could be a chance where we would be more prepared for our next encounter with him." Moxxie explained the situation in full detail.
The look on Loona's face didn't even change. Still holding that skeptical look she gave Moxxie earlier before turning to the computer and sighing. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
The Hellhound typed away at the keyboard while Blitzo and Millie approached the desk in anticipation. After a few moments of silence sans the clacking of the keyboard, Loona's ears shot up when she heard the computer beeping.
"I got it." Loona stated. She stared into the screen carefully, studying its contents. "The ESU or the Empire State University located in New York City."
"University?" Millie questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Ain't that a kind of school?"
"But why would Spider-Man need to go to a school?" Moxxie asked himself, a hand on his chin.
"Eh, who cares about that horseshit!" Blitzo interjected. "We just got our first lead! That spider-bitch is as good as dead now! I volunteer as the stake out spy!"
Moxxie and Millie glanced at each other before shaking their heads. "I'm sorry, sir but. You shouldn't do it."
"What the fuck? What's this betrayal I'm experiencing right now?" Blitzo asked, deeply offended and placing his hands on his hips.
Moxxie hissed and spoke up. "Not to be mean or anything, sir but your disguises, how do I put this, suck."
"That's not true!" Blitzo shouted back. "In case you forgot, my disguises are capital P, Perfect! Remember how I was able to trick a bunch of dumbass humans that I was some lowlife celebrity?"
"Yeah, but those were Hollywood fans that live in L.A." Moxxie added. "We're dealing with college educated kids here."
… Blitzo puts his arms down. "Touché." The Boss Imp then pointed at the married Imps. "Then what about you two?"
Moxxie shuddered. "To be honest, sir. After that incident at camp. I don't think I could handle being surrounded by human youths again."
"Same here." Millie added.
Blitzo groaned in annoyance. "Well if I can't go and you two can't either then who will?!"
… Silence. Silence filled the room for a brief moment.
The three Imps slowly turned to the desk.
The Hellhound behind the desk looked up from her phone to see Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie staring right up at her. Connecting two and two together regarding the topic of conversation, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over Loona. Her eyes widened in panic at the implications. "Oh, no."
"Loona."
"No, no, no, no, no…!"
"Pack your bags, Loony!" Blitzo exclaimed.
"NO!"
The Hellhound's foster father gave a toothy grin. "You're going to school!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO-"
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After cleaning himself up after a long day, young adult Peter Parker walked into his room rubbing his face with a towel. Peter wore his pajamas and a sleeveless shirt. The young man walked over to the mirror to examine the area where the bullet from earlier grazed him. The wound was still fresh but it was already healing up. Peter cringed at the sight. "That's definitely gonna leave a mark."
Yawning, Peter decided to end the day and flop down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling. His mind empty. His room messy. Silence overtook the area. Eventually, Peter looked over to the side. There, he saw a nightstand that had a framed photo of his late Uncle Ben. Peter stared at the photo for a moment. Not even saying anything. Eventually, a small smile graced his lips. He knew that no matter where he goes, what happens or if things get rough, his uncle would always be there to cheer him on. What a pleasant thought to fall asleep to.
"Goodnight, Uncle Ben."
And with that, Peter drifts into sleep. Ready to face the unknown that was tomorrow.