chapter nine!
009. wheels within wheels

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    IT WASN'T too hard. Peter found his way in with just a quick scouting down the side of the building. In a shipyard this old and rundown, there were broken windows and holes in the wall nearly everywhere. But as Spider-Man, he had the advantage of climbing up the walls and crawling through vents. As soon as he found a vent entrance (a vent-rance ... See what he did there?), he was inside. 

    He dropped down from the roof, landing on a long metal support rig. He balanced, glancing around. The inside of the shipyard was depressing. What had once been a place where workers huddled near the middle to repair vessels, using the train tracks to push in materials and push out shipments, was now an empty, wrecked ghost of the past. The lights above were fair and few, most were broken or barely hanging on by a thread. The old elevator was nothing more than an antique, and the upper platform had collapsed at the bridge. But it was clear that it had been occupied. Any debris had been cleaned away, and shipment containers, all with the big white lettering of FISK were compact and stored on both levels. Apart from that, though, there was no life in sight. 

    "Hello?" Spider-Man couldn't help but call out and hear his name echo. He felt like he was stuck in some horror movie, and he hated horror movies. MJ would make him and Harry watch them religiously when they were younger because the Osborn penthouse had in-house speakers. "Any fishermen with a grudge and a hook for a hand?"

    There was no answer, which was probably what Peter Parker wanted. He had yet to fight a fisherman. Or a fisherman with a hook. Or a fisherman with a hook and a grudge. Or just Benjamin Willis. (MJ really liked I Know What You Did Last Summer, for some reason). 

    Spider-Man dropped down in front of the locked entrance where Officer Davis was waiting on the other side. "Jeff, you there?" he called out. He soon frowned when he felt a tickle on the back of his neck and he glanced over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. Spider-Man quickly scanned the ground floor, but the feeling did not return. All this talk about slasher films put him on edge. "I'm doing my best to refrain from knock-knock jokes."

    "Appreciated!" he heard Officer Jefferson Davis, his voice muffled through the thick, metal roller door. "You see a junction box powering the door?"

    Peter stepped back a few steps and glanced around. He noticed one right beside the door▬quickly following the covered wires, he knew he had found the right one. "Yeah, got it."

    "If we can overload it, that should force the door open!"

    "Yeah, maybe," Spider-Man gave the junction box a swift one-over. He fiddled with his webshooters. "But I don't have anything that packs enough current."

    "Try this!"

    He looked back over and saw an object slide through a small hole where some of the metal had cracked away after years at the bottom of the door. Spider-Man blinked, a little surprised when he crouched down and picked up the stun gun. He soon grinned. "Genius, Jeff!" He was glad he was alone in the building at the moment, so his new friend Jeff didn't see him hold up the stun gun as if he was in some spy movie. He aimed it at the junction box, before realising he needed to open it first. It was a little embarrassing moment. 

    Peter pulled the door of the junction box open and aimed the stun gun again. He pulled the trigger and watched as the circuits sparked. He chuckled. "Awesome," he muttered when the red lights turned green, and just like that, the door unlocked. Spider-Man spun the stun gun in his hands as the door opened and Officer Davis stepped inside the warehouse. On his shoulder, a flashlight illuminated a glowing circle in the dark. "Hey, Jeff, would you mind if I ... borrow this stun gun for some gadgeting? I could totally create some electric webs with this thing!"

    "Gadget man, huh?" they met up in the middle. Spider-Man shrugged, not accepting the compliment, but not completely disregarding it. "You remind me of my son. Started taking apart the TV when he was five." Jefferson Davis chuckled softly. "Now, he's unlocking his friends' phones."

    Peter tilted his head, curious as Officer Davis brushed past him. He followed, admittedly impressed by the story he told. His son, whoever he was, seemed like he was going somewhere. "Sounds like he could teach me a few things..." He mused. Spider-Man webbed the stun gun to his hip (for practical purposes, definitely, and not because he looked very Spider-Cop right now). 

    They wandered to the edge of the platform, staring at the old boat that was still here▬left abandoned, and Peter couldn't help but wonder why. He smelt the musty itch of algae and rotting wood. 

    "So," Officer Davis glanced around, the circle of his torch leaving a ring of light around his face, "nothing illegal in plain sight."

    "Kind of anticlimactic, huh?" 

    "At first glance. Let's look closer."

    "Looking for something specific?" Spider-Man watched him walk off towards the ship containers at the left wall. 

    "This yard's been here a long time," answered Officer Davis, walking the length of the container slowly. "Bootleggers used to use it back in the day," he seemed to be focused on the concrete floor at his feet. 

    Spider-Man realised. "Oh ... gotcha. Those guys loved their hidden rooms."

    Officer Davis stopped at the start of the next container. His foot brushed along big white scrapes across the concrete floor. "Check it out." Peter walked over and glanced at the scrapes himself. He brushed them with his foot and they did not disappear. They had engraved themselves into the concrete floor after years of use. 

    Curious, Spider-Man glanced at Officer Jefferson Davis as he turned to the very edge of the container. He felt the side and then suddenly hooked his hands around a handle. "Here. It's a door." He tried to pull, but it didn't budge.

    "Let me try▬" Peter stepped in and grabbed the handle. He gritted his teeth and pulled; the door creaked and strained▬and then it screeched as it dragged along the concrete, slowly opening up wide. Spider-Man continued to pull with his super strength until it could not open anymore. When he glanced down at the scrapes, he noticed the edge of the door had followed them perfectly. 

    Both of them glanced inside. Spider-Man's breath hitched, not sure what he was expecting to see. That anticipation fell when he found nothing except empty shelves and an open safe. He stepped forward and opened the small safe door; empty, too. "And we got a big fat nothing."

    Officer Davis had not given up just yet. He stepped away. "Where there's one secret room, there could be more. See those scrapes on the floor? Take a look around and see if you can find any more."

    Spider-Man had many Spider-Cop jokes he figured he'd best keep to himself. He nodded and leapt upwards, attaching a web to the ceiling and swinging over the abandoned boat to the other side. He took a quick look at the ground floor and found no other scrapes like the one they saw before. He wasn't sure how much time before the Demons eventually made their way to this shipyard. Peter was determined to find what they were looking for first before they even got here. He decided he wasn't going to waste any more time.

    He reached the second level, landing on the platform and tested the weight anxiously under his feet. He heard it creek and felt as if the rotting wood was going to cave under him any second, but it didn't. 

    He continued down the platform where sat another container. It was more sturdy here. Spider-Man glanced down at his feet and then rushed over when he saw the long scratch on the wood. "Up here!"

    "Great!" he heard Officer Davis reply, loud below. "I'll be right there!" He ran across the ground floor towards the elevator cage, though soon stopped and sighed. "Maybe not. The elevator's busted."

    "All good▬" Spider-Man immediately jumped off the edge of the platform and swung towards the elevator. "Sit tight, I can pull you up."

    He landed on the platform and struck two webs on the pulley at the top of the elevator. Grabbing them, he turned around and heaved the elevator up, dragging the webs over his shoulder. He heard it clang as it reached the next level and Officer Davis stepped out. Spider-Man held his arms out. "Welcome to the second floor. Here, we have rusted machine parts and big hokin' rats!"

     Officer Davis chuckled as he broke out into a run. He passed Spider-Man who frowned, watching him head straight for the broken bridge. His eyes widened. "Wait▬Careful, the bridge is out▬!"

    Spider-Man skidded to a stop and watched as Officer Jefferson Davis leapt off the edge of the bridge at a running start. He chuckled, impressed as he landed on the other side. He stumbled slightly but stuck his landing well. 

    "Nice," he joined him on the other side, his grin wide behind his mask. He liked Officer Jefferson Davis more and more by the second. "Stuck the landing and everything."

    "We're not all doughnut eaters!"

    Peter laughed at that. He ran to the ship container and Officer Davis hovered near his shoulder. Spider-Man searched the iron for the slight dent and wrapped his fingers around the edge. With a grunt, he forced the door open.

    He looked inside and ... empty, yet again. More empty shelves. Spider-Man huffed, annoyed. "Nothing. I'm starting to feel like this is Willy's way of messing with me."

    Officer Davis stepped in beside him. He quickly noticed something Spider-Man did not. "Maybe, but look at the walls." He fixed his torchlight onto the shelves and Peter quickly realised they weren't just shelves, but racks. "They kept guns here. They wouldn't've moved 'em through the front door. There's gotta be a passageway we're missing."

    A thought struck Spider-Man and he stepped back, glancing out at the shipyard. "Fisk's men were talking about a vault," he remembered, his mask lenses narrowing. "Maybe we're close?"

    "Bet on it," Officer Davis stepped into the crate and towards the single junction box on the back inside wall. "This looks like a dual circuit, I'm wondering ..."

    "That there's a second junction box somewhere?" Spider-Man nodded, already walking backwards down the platform. "They might open up a trapdoor. I'm on it!"

    (And this is where electric webs would come in handy). 

    The enclosed wires were harder to follow this time. Spider-Man crawled along the old brick walls, using the technology inside his lenses to help him keep track of the pathway of the circuit. He couldn't help but think of Octavius whenever he used something of his creation inside this suit. Dr. Octavius was one of the smartest people Peter knew▬if not the smartest, and he was sure he had said that to many people, but that never stopped it from being true. Otto Octavius found Peter Parker, struggling with his rent and his study; nearly falling behind all of his classes in college, and called lazy despite having a brilliant mind (little did they know that lazy, brilliant mind was also juggling the entire city of New York on his shoulders every day). Instead of passing him by and moving to another promising student, Otto Octavius saw Peter's potential. He saw all he could do before Peter could see it himself and took him under his wing for an internship straight out of college. Now, Peter was his research assistant, seeing Otto's legacy be built right in front of him and helping. He was a mentor and a friend. And he was helping Peter, even when he didn't realise it. Octavius could have fled and he could have told anyone the little lie Peter managed about being the one to create Spider-Man's suits when he found him after hours in the lab. Instead, he helped. 

    And now, Dr. Octavius had been given no choice but to let Peter go. Peter wasn't sure what was worse, having to watch from a distance or watch at his side as Otto's life of research and work was stamped to nothing at Mayor Osborn's feet. Octavius's job was one of the things Peter wished he could save, but he couldn't. He couldn't fight Harry's father as Spider-Man and send him to the RAFT. No matter the skeletons he was sure to have in his closet, he wasn't a supervillain. 

    But there had to be a way Peter could help. There needed to be. He couldn't just stand back and watch Otto fall and not try and help his mentor get back up onto his feet. But what could he do? 

    Peter found the junction box and triggered the circuit with the stun gun. There was an echoing thud followed by a long, dragging scrape on the ground level. He glanced over his shoulder from the wall and saw a section of the concrete floor split, and then lift▬A trapdoor. 

    He held Officer Davis down to the ground floor. The both of them landed right in front of the trapdoor, coughing away some of the remaining dust that billowed upwards. 

     "And here I thought Fisk hiding things away in his paintings was impressive," muttered Spider-Man as he inched his hands under the gaps of the trapdoor and pulled. He gritted his teeth and even though he may not need the help, Officer Davis stepped in and pulled as well. Together, they pulled open the trapdoor, revealing a brick staircase leading deep down beneath the streets of Hell's Kitchen.

    More dust billowed out. The tunnel had the same smell as the shipyard▬musty, old and rotting away from the water surrounding it. Spider-Man saw old support beams and panels keeping the tunnel from collapsing. He knew it was on its final threads. Already he could see dirt and crumbled paving covering any glimpse of a floor. Low-hanging dim lights glowed around the corner as the tunnel took a left turn. 

    "Well," he sighed, swinging his arms and taking a step down, "that isn't spooky at all."

    "Probably an old bootlegger's tunnel," murmured Officer Davis, following Spider-Man into the tunnel. His torchlight on his shoulder shone through a layer of dust hovering in the air. 

    "And it looks like no one's cleared it since Al Capone," Spider-Man glanced around the corner, his lenses narrowing as he took in the rest of the tunnel. It had been boarded up but after years of disuse, the lengths of timber were chipping and breaking away. Some had already collapsed, leaving spaces big enough to crawl through. It didn't look anywhere near stable. Peter wondered how Fisk's men managed to cart weapons through here, which meant they didn't. There had to be another room with another entrance, but right now, for Spider-Man and Officer Davis, this tunnel will have to do. 

    Officer Jefferson Davis crouched by the crawling space, peering through the dust and the rubble. He hummed with interest, then shook his head. "Big chunk of concrete in the way, I can't get through."

    Spider-Man glanced at the gap near the wall. It was big enough for him to crawl through. He climbed up the brick and heard Jeff chuckle. He glanced over his shoulder just as he was about to enter the maze of fallen timber and rubble. "What?"

    Officer Davis shrugged and shook his head with a chuckle. "I still don't get how you can do that. I don't know whether it's incredible, or a little weird."

    Peter laughed softly. "That's my life in a single sentence, Jeff."

    He crawled along the brick wall, following Officer Davis as he squeezed through the space beneath. Spider-Man tried to see up ahead. There seemed to be a light, which meant there was a room, but they were too far away for him to see anything else. Once he reached the rubble, he pulled it out of Jeff's way with his webs. It shouldn't have done much to the tunnel's structure, but the moment it rolled to the side, the entire corridor around them shook. 

    Spider-Man was so surprised, that he nearly lost his concentration to stay sticking to the wall. The whole room shuddered. The wood creaked and tilted. Dust and small specs of debris from the concrete and bricks fell. For a moment, the lights flickered. "What was that?" 

    He pushed on, not liking the way the tunnel moved. Nothing here was stable. Officer Davis did the same, dragging himself along underneath the wood, and showering dust. "Subway, maybe?" he coughed. "Let's hustle▬place is unstable."

    "Don't need to tell me twice▬" the room rumbled and shook again. Spider-Man crawled to the ceiling to continue his way through. He felt the plaster shudder under his hands and feet. His spider-sense grew sharp and stiff; pricking at him like pins and needles. "Okay, that definitely wasn't a subway."

    "No," agreed Officer Davis from below as he tried to pick up his speed. His voice grew low and worried. "It sounded like explosives."

    Spider-Man knew. He knew before he heard the voices. He cursed and stared onward to the room at the end of the tunnel. There was shouting▬urgent orders and commands. Peter felt a twist in his stomach. "Demons," he realised. They were here already. He had been too slow.

    Peter overtook Officer Davis, crawling along the ceiling and around the broken pipes and wood. The vault was getting closer▬he could see the sharp lighting and the grey walls. But the voices were getting further away. The Demons had already found what they were looking for, and they were making their escape. 

    Spider-Man gritted his teeth and struck two webs through the final gap in the wood, propelling himself forward. He landed at the entrance of the vault, and his tongue was dry to find not a room, but another corridor. 

    Officer Davis wasn't far behind him. "Come on!" he shouted as they took off running through the concrete hallway, skidding past storage boxes and discarded papers. Spider-Man pushed through the door to the vault, his strength knocking it crooked on its hinges.

    His heart raced as they finally made it inside, only for it to sink into his stomach where it drowned in a churning sea of dread. The vault was empty. It was entirely ransacked. He stopped at the centre of the room, glancing around at the shattered glass cases, the tossed chairs and the broken fenced doors. Shelves were void of weaponry, boxes were open and left in a hurry▬all of Fisk's guns, ammunition and explosives were gone. 

    Spider-Man took a deep breath to keep his frustration and anger down. How could he let them do this▬how could he let them slip through his fingers like that? "They're already gone," he clenched his hands. "Dammit. How'd they beat us here?"

    "There must be a back door," said Officer Davis, peering at the broken glass and discarded boxes. "Have a look around." He sighed and looked at the lockers forced open by crowbars. "This place is one hell of an armoury. Or was."

    Peter frowned when he noticed the boxes left untouched. He walked up to them and picked up one of the items inside. He gritted his teeth. "They left smoke grenades and flash bags▬all the none-lethal stuff."

    "They were in a hurry," muttered Officer Davis, nodding to the broken glass. 

    Spider-Man tried to think of all the places they had hit tonight▬all of the weapons they grabbed from Fisk's warehouses, and it only made him feel worse. What were they going to use them for? They took explosives ... his stomach twisted. A gang war caused enough trouble, but a gang war with bombs as their main offence? This was already turning into something far worse than Peter expected.

    And yet, it still didn't explain the file or OSCORP. None of it did.

    His hair on the back of his neck stood on end. In the distance, he heard faint voices and the hum of a vehicle. Spider-Man walked to the very end of the vault and noticed a door with the locks blown off. "Here▬" he whispered to Officer Davis and carefully pushed the door ajar. 

    He glanced out into the night and felt his breath hitch. He saw two trucks. Groups of the same mask guys from the estate sale▬the Demons▬were still loading them up with the weapons they stole. 

    Maybe Spider-Man wasn't going to let them all slip away tonight. 

    At his shoulder, he felt Officer Davis hover, gently clicking the safety off of his gun and peering out into the night as well. 

    Spider-Man glanced at him. He remembered the strange powers the Demons seemed to possess and realised the danger he was putting Officer Davis in right now, just being here. He pursed his lips. "Stay here," he told Jeff, squaring his shoulders as he prepared to take the entire group on by himself. 

    "Hell no," whispered Officer Davis in a harsh whisper, stubborn and determined. "It'll take both of us to stop 'em." He then reached back around towards the open crates, grabbing a few stun grenades. He showed them to Spider-Man with a smirk. "And some of these."

    Peter didn't have time to express any appreciation for Jeff. He just clasped his hand on his shoulder and nodded. Outside, they heard the slam of roller doors and the rev of engines. Officer Davis stiffened. "They're moving. Let's go."

    Spider-Man nodded one last time before he burst out into the open. "Hey!" he shouted to the Demons who were still closing one of the truck doors, sitting inside amongst boxes of weapons. "Do you think any of you could give me a ride back to my apartment?" They slammed the roller door down. "No? Well, it was worth a try!"

    When the trucks began to move, Spider-Man thrust out his hands and two strong webs latched onto the underside of both trailers. "Hey! Where are you guys going? I haven't even said my best joke yet!" He grabbed the end of the webbing with both hands and pulled with all his might over his shoulder. Wheels screeched and smoke curled. The drivers were flooring the accelerator, but neither truck moved. 

    At his side, Officer Davis skidded to a stop and held up his firearm. "Freeze!" he shouted. "Stop the trucks! You're all under arrest▬!" 

    His words were cut off by a shrill sound. The air twisted and shifted; as if it were warping like a whirlpool in the ocean. From the right trunk, the door flung upwards and Spider-Man's lenses widened at the blinding light; like flames made of dark matter twisting around the blade of a sword. The Demon wielding it flung it down and sliced right through his webs. 

    The webbing broke and Spider-Man lost his grip in his surprise. 

    The Demon pointed his sword at them, the energy sending an eerie glow to his mask and for a moment, he looked as if he were possessed by a vicious ghost. He shouted a single order in Mandarin, and Peter didn't need to speak the language to know what the command was. As the right truck sped off back towards the road, the roller door of the left flung upwards and the Demons inside leapt out. 

    Spider-Man couldn't leave Officer Davis to these masked men and go after the first truck. He cursed, realising he just let a vehicle full of weapons and explosives get away. 

    "Find cover!" he told Jeff and faced the growing group of Demons. Spider-Man took a deep breath, his heart pounding. As Officer Davis ran for the shadows of the metal rigging and piles of strapped steel, Spider-Man charged.

    Gunfire echoed in his ears as he twisted his body, dodging in split-second timing the moment his hair stood on end. Spider-Man landed a kick to the first Demon on his right, webbing him forward and thwipping another to block the barrel of the gun of another. Yanking the one behind him off balance, he let the first masked criminal trip and Spider-Man skidded underneath the legs of the next. The world around him was strange and muffled as he passed beneath the edge of a shield surrounded with mysterious energy. It was hot, like fire, and yet cold at the very same time. Leaping back onto his feet, he kicked the Demon forward with enough strength he fell forward and hit the ground, unconscious. 

    Behind him, something blinding and loud exploded. Spider-Man glanced around and grinned to see Officer Jefferson Davis ducking for cover once again after throwing a stun grenade at the group of Demons who had raised their guns at Spider-Man without him realising. 

    "Yeah!" Spider-Man shouted, quickly fiddling with his web shooters before aiming. He pressed the trigger and watched as an impact web shot forward. It lightly struck the chest of the Demon▬until it burst at contact. He heard their shouts of alarm as the first Demon and his friends all were covered in sticky webs, struggling on the ground. "I've got friends, too!"

     He was rushing, he knew. He wasn't sure whether he could catch up with the first truck, but Spider-Man knew he had to try. But first, he needed to take care of all of these Demons. But just as he took out one, only more seemed to arrive from the cars parked on the streets. Spider-Man couldn't believe his eyes. The strange energy powers they all seemed to manipulate blanketed weapons straight out of some fantasy game. As if guns wouldn't do enough damage, these Demons also had shields, swords and even scythes. And if they didn't have those, they used their bare hands and the mystical powers that warped around their fists were enough to send Spider-Man into a daze after just one hit. 

    But Spider-Man wasn't alone. Officer Jefferson Davis wasn't about to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. When he could, he threw flash grenades and took Demons by surprise with a well-aimed jab from his stun gun. These masked guys had powers, and crazy weapons and weren't afraid of firing in a small space▬and yet Officer Jefferson Davis did not care. 

    Yes, Spider-Man knew very well. The greatest heroes were more often than not people without any powers or any metal armour. They were just normal people who did not let their fear overwhelm them. They had a responsibility, and they were prepared to shoulder that responsibility and do something about the adversity they faced. 

    Spider-Man webbed one of the Demon's guns right back at him and it smacked him right in the face, knocking him back. He was breathing heavily. It looked as though he was finally getting through the mob of them, but he was sure that first truck was long gone by now. 

    Gunfire behind him made him jump. He spun on his feet and watched one of the Demons duck as he clambered into the driver's seat of the remaining truck. The bullet smashed the door window. 

    Spider-Man ran forwards. He saw Officer Davis tackle one of the last Demons to the ground while the others climbed into the back of the truck. "You okay?!"

    "Go!" Officer Davis ordered as he handcuffed the Demon he tackled. "I'll catch up!"

    As the truck sped out onto the road, Spider-Man pushed his legs into a sprint. He pulled himself up to the tall street lamps nearby with his webs and pushed off the edge, diving into the street. 

    The Demons took a hard left and Spider-Man followed, swinging low and gathering as much speed as he could. If he lost this truck, too, that was it. Losing two trucks full of gunmen in one day was enough for him to hang up the webs.  

    But he was tired. God, was he tired. He was exhausted. 

    Peter gasped when his limbs buzzed and he flung himself sideways to avoid a round of sharp bullets that split the air from the back of the truck. The wheels squealed as the truck sped through a red light, swerving down 11th Avenue. He forced himself to tug himself forward with a web on the corner of the next building, swooping low. He heard screams and car horns. Drivers slammed their feet on the brakes and swerved in their best attempt to avoid colliding with the truck head-on. 

    He followed it left and right▬taking jarring turns between buildings and propelling himself as far forward as he could with every web. Spider-Man felt his heart jolt when he noticed them heading towards Midtown. Even at this hour, the traffic was going to be a nightmare. With a speeding truck and open gunfire▬Spider-Man had to stop these Demons now before anyone else got hurt. 

    Catching up just as the truck skidded down 9th Avenue, Spider-Man landed on the back of the trailer. He darted out of range, feeling the wind part like they were splitting waves at sea, the truck was going so fast. 

    He climbed up onto the top and peered down at the men inside the trailer. "Hey, guys!" Spider-Man shouted over the revving engine, car horns and distant sirens. "Room for one more?"

    When one Demon tried to fire, Spider-Man dodged to the side and crawled up to the edge. His webs snatched the gun out of his hands. He then swooped around and grabbed the back of the masked guy's shirt. His shouts as he struggled to get out of the webs that kept him pinned to a nearby street lamp were distant in Spider-Man's ears as he launched himself back towards the truck. 

    "Long time, no see!" he touched the top edge of the trailer and yanked the second Demon forward. "Here's your stop▬!" 

    Their strangled yell was cut off when Spider-Man pulled them up into the air, their gun dropping to the road. Soon, they were snug and trapped in a spider web against a passing building's brick wall. Peter clung onto the top of the speeding truck. He glanced around, seeing a blur of lights, flying trashcans and parked car side mirrors. Crawling to the front, his breath hitched▬Getting dangerously close were the lights of Madison Square Garden.

    "Whoa▬!" Spider-Man went sideways as the driver swerved to narrowly avoid cars as he rampaged down the wrong side of the road. Planting his hands on the very edge, Peter barely stuck to the surface. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself along, dragging himself closer and closer to the front of the truck. "You know, this is what they mean when they say 'do not try this at home' in video games!"

    The truck continued to rampage. Every time Spider-Man got closer to stopping the driver, he was distracted by trying to catch a flying broken lamp post from landing on screaming pedestrians or desperately yanking people (and cars) just enough out of the way with his webs right before they'd be plundered over. 

    He gritted his teeth and managed to make it to the front of the truck just as it took a sharp turn at Madison Square Garden, speeding around it and almost tipping each time its wheels squealed and it titled sideways at every corner. 

    Spider-Man leapt away from the wayward gunshots outside the driver's seat window. He grabbed the edge of the trailer once more and aimed▬his webs grasped the barrel and he pulled. The gun went flying, webbed to the side of a nearby building. 

    They screeched into the next street. Spider-Man clambered to stay on, pressing his fingers and feet against the driver's door when his spider-sense flared▬followed by two blinding headlights and a loud, thunderous horn. 

    He gasped and glanced up. His eyes widened. 

    The large truck tried to veer out of the way, but with his long trailer, he couldn't move as swiftly▬Spider-Man couldn't do anything when both vehicles struck each other at the corners of their seats, sending both skidding at opposite angles. Spider-Man went flying, his stomach feeling as though it was left behind. 

    He forced himself to twist mid-air and his heart dropped to see the tanker truck skid to the fencing at the side of the road, its wheels squealing as the driver desperately tried to break. But it wasn't stopping. As soon as that truck hit that fence, it would fall onto the train tracks below.

    Spider-Man gritted his teeth and threw out his hand. His webs went flying and only just attached to the back of the tanker before the head struck the fence and went crashing downwards. He yelled when he was pulled along. Spider-Man planted his feet onto the road and pulled. He felt his heels dig into the tarmac. But even with his strength, the momentum was too much. His feet skidded like the truck's wheels, leaving long dragging marks behind him. 

    Road burn was a feeling Spider-Man was all too familiar with. It was like getting a rug burn, except it hurt on a much larger scale. (He does not recommend). 

    He heard a mighty thud as the head of the truck hit the train tracks below. Sparks shot upwards from its wheels, followed by smoke. Spider-Man coughed and pulled himself to a stop right at the edge. He breathed heavily, feeling his muscles burn and tremble from exhaustion. 

    He needed sleep. But he never got it. 

    A train horn echoed from the tunnel.

    "Oh, great!" Peter couldn't imagine his bad luck. His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Now the Three decides to run on time."

    Spider-Man took a deep breath and pulled. He pulled even though he was ready to drop. 

     He cried out and forced his webs over his shoulder, feeling the tanker truck inch upwards and away from the rails. He dragged it with each step he took, his breathing laboured. 

    Spider-Man heaved the truck with him, feeling his heart pound▬and the feeling surged him with the adrenalin that pushed him onwards. The train was getting closer▬seconds away. He could hear the railway tremble and the wheels screech on the tracks. Spider-Man pulled the truck with one last, mighty burst of strength.

    The tanker truck head lifted up and away from the railway. Its wheels dragged against the broken concrete, and the train passed underneath with a ferocious splitting call▬just inches below the truck's broken headlights. 

    Peter let out a long sigh of relief, hanging his head. He continued to drag the truck back out onto the road, noticing a growing number of spectators. 

     Their attention was soon grabbed by something else. Peter frowned and then his ears began to ring in warning. An engine revved. He glanced over, and his lenses widened. A spider stuck in headlights, he couldn't move as the Demon spiralled the stolen truck right towards him at growing speed. 

    A swirling siren of red and blue came out of nowhere. In a blur of lights and screeching wheels▬from the side street, a police car rammed itself right into the side of the truck. Spider-Man ducked his head. The car went spinning, and the trailer skidded off course. 

    For a moment, there was nothing but screams, showing sparks, shattering glass and ripping metal. The police car landed on its roof a few feet away from Spider-Man, and miraculously, someone from inside forced the door open. 

    Officer Jefferson Davis crawled his way out onto the road amongst glass shards and broken side mirrors. Bruised and battered, he stumbled onto his feet and charged the Demon as he grappled for his gun, dazed and confused outside the broken truck door. 

    He raised his firearm at Spider-Man and Officer Davis leapt forward. Gunfire ricocheted upwards and both of them went crashing to the sidewalk. 

    Spider-Man finally managed to pull the rest of the tanker truck onto the street. He glanced over and he was struck with awe to see the Demon sprawled out on the sidewalk, unconscious. Officer Davis groaned nearby, breathing heavily and clutching his side▬but he was alive. He was alive, and he had just saved Peter Parker's life. 

    The growing group of spectators soon circled the commotion, raising their phones to take photos and videos. Spider-Man rushed over, breaking through them and dropping to Officer Davis's side. He checked him over, and couldn't help but chuckle at the heroism of a man without any powers, but merely a determination to never give up. 

    Spider-Man held out his hand and helped Officer Davis back onto his feet. Peter Parker met his gaze from behind his mask and wondered▬no, hoped▬that Officer Jefferson Davis could see the gratitude and admiration not from a superhero, but from the eyes of a tired young man who almost lost it all. 

    "Thank you," whispered Peter, grasping Jeff's hand and shaking it▬firm but gentle. "I owe you one."

    There was applause and there were cheers. The people of New York celebrated the act of the everyday hero▬and it was they who mattered the most, not heroes hiding behind their masks and their metal suits. 

    Spider-Man stepped aside once Officer Davis could stand on his own and gestured to him, a bright grin behind his mask. 

    And from the sidelines, Peter Parker applauded him, too. 

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    a/n: another peter focused chapter. sorry, but like i said, we gotta have peter chapters for the plot to make sure y'all understand what's happening and the flow of the game storyline is translated well into a fanfic. 

     'a hero is just someone who doesn't give up, miles' *sobs*. iykyk.

     nina's back next chapter!! dw. 

     this mission was pretty awesome. but omg the one with the crane coming up gah that was intense i was holding my breath the entire time-

    the hardest thing about this book honestly is trying to figure out my geography of new york from google maps and the game alone *cries*. like the shipyard is in hell's kitchen, or the west side of manhattan, but the place yuri tells spider-man in the game is actually a shipyard in brooklyn and i was like bro?

    and then the landmark the truck chases around is Madison Square Garden (i think - i literally did a huge search just to find out what this building was. it was round, it had billboards and it looked like a stadium). but like, madison square is like on the east side, right? so why would they name-? bro, i'm so confused) which is like i think blocks away from where i imagined the shipyard to be, and i was like fuk how fast are they travelling in New York? surely the traffic wouldn't let them get that far.

    but they would have to because the game mentions the 3 train which is a train that goes down 7th Avenue?? i think?? and so i followed that train's pathway and its like pen station?? near madison square garden which is like near where the truck would've fallen onto the train tracks like after that station on the line (that doesn't make sense but like whatever) and i was like AHHHHHHHHHHH. 

    IM FROM RURAL NSW IN AUSTRALIA. I CAN'T DO NEW YORK. I CAN BARELY MAKE SENSE OF MELBOURNE AND THATS BUILT ON A GRID ITS SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE.

    we don't even try to understand sydney. sydney makes no sense its all over the place. 

    i put way to much effort into my fics but its rewarding in a way. i just love writng sm. 

    (limited editing).