"Ethan, you stole my shirt!"

"I literally did not! This is my orange shirt!"

"Bro, give Julia back her signature top. It doesn't even fit you!"

"Fiiine, Maria," Ethan groans and throws the shirt behind his shoulder and onto Julia's head. "But next time you fold the wash make sure to not give me her clothes!"

The three oldest siblings are together in one room, the living room, sorting through their clothing and putting everything into suitcases. Julia crumbles her shirt up and puts it in her bag saying, "It's a week before we have to leave for our apartments, dude. We are a bit unorganized at the moment."

"You can say that again," a new voice says, making everyone turn their heads to see John walking in from his room. "Julia, are those your shorts on the lamp?"

"I WAS LOOKING FOR THOSE!" she yells and jumps over the couch, landing on the wall. She gently takes her clothes off the lamp and leaps back to her suitcase.

John shakes his head sarcastically and goes to the kitchen to make himself some well deserved cereal. Sitting at the table and slurping his food, he looks at his phone and opens the Notes app, immediately regretting it. "Oh shoot, I was supposed to get my own kit for Physics class this year! I completely forgot."

"I remember when I took that class, I found really good kits at Harley's Science Store," Ethan suggests.

"Don't rush, you have plenty of time before school starts," Maria says, trying to calm him down so he doesn't choke on his food.

"He only has a week, and you don't want all of the good school supplies to be gone. He might already be too late," Julia comments, earning a glare from her sister. She shrugs, not seeing what she said wrong.

"Where is Harley's?" John asks, finishing up his bowl and placing it in the sink quickly. He puts on his shoes and, remembering he's still wearing the shirt he wore last night, he puts on a black tank top.

Ethan thinks for a moment then answers, "Upper East Side, right by the park. All you have to do is corner around 23rd and 5th then turn left to walk a few paces. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!" he says and runs out the front door. The three siblings inside the house take a moment to look at each other and sigh.

Theme song!

"Why does everything have to be in Manhattan?" John asks himself as he jogs across the Koch Bridge into Midtown, then heads in the direction Ethan told him. If only I could swing past the buildings in my suit; it would be so much easier to get around. John keeps shoulder bumping into people, but that's New York for ya. Can't get anywhere without accidentally running into someone- "OOF!"

"Ouch!" a girl yelps as they crash right into each other. She rubs her head, bending her feet inward as if she twisted her ankle.

"I'm so sorry. I must not have been paying attention," John says, offering her a hand. Looking at her, it's hard not to take in her features: platinum blonde, long straight hair, bright blue eyes, glowing skin, and soft pink lips. He blushes when she takes his hand and pulls herself up, getting very close to his face.

"O-oh, no that was my fault..." she says, looking away shyly. The girl backs away a few paces and folds her hands behind her back. "I'm known to be very clumsy."

"Well, I'm glad you're not hurt. Hopefully I'll see you around," he cringes at that last part, wondering why in the world he would say something like that to a girl he just met. John's entire face heats up, but the girl speaks up to save him from embarrassment.

"I like to hang out at Central Park in the afternoons most days. Maybe we can run into each other again." This time, she cringes.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

As he walks away, he puts a hand on his head. That was not like him at all! Usually when John meets a cute girl he is able to retain his "cool guy" demeanor, but for some reason this time was different. She was just so pretty, and he could smell her perfume, too. Maybe that's what clogged his senses to the point where he couldn't think to even introduce himself. Oh, shoot! He didn't even tell her his name! What if he goes to the park and she's not there? Or, what if she goes to the park and forgets what he looks like, falling in love with another guy instead because he never told her his name? "Wow, John, who said anything about falling in love?" he asks himself, shaking his head. School. I have to focus on school supplies.

He starts jogging once again, trying to make up for the lost time. Hopefully there are still more Physics kits at the store. Finally, he finds Harley's and the bell rings as he steps through the door. It's pretty big on the inside, not as vast as Kroger or Walmart, but big enough to fit at least two Office Maxes. Speed walking through the aisles, John eventually comes across the high school science section. He looks through the whole thing three times, but finds no traces of the kits Ethan was talking about. Taking out his phone, he is about to call his older brother and tell him off for sending him to the wrong store when he once again runs right into someone.

"Oh, hey John!" a familiar voice says, making him relax. At least he didn't run into a stranger this time.

It's his three friends: Alex, Nathan, and Caleb. The first is energetic with short red hair and dazzling eyes, Alex. Nathan has shaggy, dark hair that goes over the top of his eyes, and Caleb is the blonde one competing with John himself. Together, all three of them make the main three flavors of ice cream according to their hair colors.

"You seem really distracted today, man. What's going on?" Alex asks, shoving him on the shoulder playfully.

"I'm in a hurry to get a Physics kit," John explains, deciding to leave out the part where he ran into a very pretty girl and completely botched everything up.

"Oh, those are over here in the advanced section. For some reason our teacher is making us get college level stuff," Caleb says, pointing to the far wall that has a sign reading Wall of College on it. "Nathan and I got our stuff last week, but Alex asked us to come here with him and get all of his crap."

"Sorry I had a date last week, gosh," Alex groans dramatically, slugging over to the college wall in front of everyone else. John chuckles, thinking he must have been teased about his "date" all day today.

"Look, they have three left! Perfect," John says and jumps up, grabbing two kits from the top shelf and handing one to Alex. "I'm going to pay for mine. This is all I need."

"Well, I'm right behind you. I got all my stuff, too," Alex says, holding up his notebooks and piles of sticky notes in his arms.

The four make their way to the register and John jumps in line first. When it's his turn, he hands the kit over to the cashier and says, "That's it."

"$5.80 for ya," the cashier guy says.

John pauses, looking at him and can't shake the feeling that he knows this dude from somewhere. He hums unintentionally, scratching his chin until it clicks. "Don't you work at that ice cream store that just opened in Midtown?"

"Yeah, but I used to work here. Filling in for a buddy. Man, there were some interesting people who would always come into this store, trying to buy crazy stuff we obviously don't sell. I remember this one time, a customer accidentally gave us a bag of weed instead of cash. It was a huge surprise to him when he came back the next day and found out some of our guys used it up. I thought he was going to start throwing hands, but then this hot chick came and slapped him-" John stops his rant.

"Okay, I get it. No need for a monologue." He puts his hands in his pockets, trying to find his wallet but for some reason they turn up empty. "What the... that's weird. I always put my wallet in my right pocket."

"If you need to, I will take weed as payment-"

"Dude, seriously," John says, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "I guess I left it at home?"

"Don't worry, I got it. Just pay me back in ice cream or something," Alex says, putting his stuff on the counter and taking out his own money.

"I know a great place where you can get that sort of stuff," the cashier says, chuckling at his own joke.

John ignores him this time and uses Alex's money to pay for his stuff. This day just keeps getting worse and worse as it continues. First he forgets about his Physics kit, then that whole thing with the girl, this cashier guy is annoying him to no end, and now his wallet is missing. As they leave the store, John sighs heavily and says to his friends, "I need a good night of swinging. Everyone up to helping me navigate?"

"Dude, when aren't we up to it? Let's catch some bad guys!" Nathan yells, earning violent shushes from the other three boys.

Later that night...

Jackal, hiding in the corners where the shadows most obscure his deformed body, slowly creeps his way to an OSCORP building. It's not the main headquarters, but rather a small one that looks way too familiar. "My old lab, couldn't just leave it alone could you, Osborn?"

He wraps his claws around the door, pushing them open and hoping there isn't an alarm system installed just yet. Thankfully, everything stays silent as he makes his way inside. Stretching his neck from side to side in a relaxing way, Jackal crawls over to the back where he kept his old experiments. "You can take the building, but you can't take my ideas."

There are a bunch of old prototypes he was never able to finish because he either lacked materials or help in the lab. Miles Warren was always known for being a lone scientist, as he preferred to keep his experiments as secret as possible. Adding helpers into the mix would raise the chances of his ideas being stolen. "But, there was one option... that spider chemist. He could prove to be useful one day."

He tosses some rejected resumes to the side, not needing them at all. He then pulls open a few more drawers to make sure he isn't forgetting anything, knowing he can't have Osborn gain access to any of his stuff, especially the stuff that turned him into the Jackal.

"Though' we'd find yeh here," a very Southern accent echoes throughout the lab.

Quickly, Jackal turns around to make sure Osborn isn't there, and is relieved to see it's only three strangers. One is very skinny and nimble looking with thick, black hair in an Elvis style and a pointed beard. He has a belt that holds four guns, two on each side, and wears a pair of worn out boots that clash with the rest of his outfit. The second one is the complete opposite of the first. He is big and menacing, looking more like muscle than anything else, and is able to cross his arms over his chest. He wears some brass knuckles and has no hair on top of his head, allowing it to shine like the rest of his darker skin tone. The final guy is the most out-of-place looking person Jackal has seen other than himself. This guy has one gun on his belt and is dressed in a cowboy getup, not even forgetting the main details like an off-white rodeo hat and the lasso hanging from his waist. As a finishing touch, there's a piece of straw hanging out of the corner of his mouth. His hat keeps his eyes hidden, which makes him look all the more mysterious. He must have been the one who spoke.

"He's not worth the time, Montana," the skinny guy says, crossing his arms and spitting to the side. "Tell me why we need him again?"

"He's got something we don't, Fancy Dan," Montana, the guy with the lasso says sternly.

"Is it a name that isn't ridiculous?" Jackal asks, growling slightly out of annoyance.

"Hmph," the big guy says, or rather, grumbles. "He's got smarts, you idiot."

"It's not just that, Ox. We need 'em to hold off a few pests so we can steal some records and clear our names," Montana explains. "Whaddya say, Mr. Jackal? Care to join the Enforcers and keep the Spiders off our tail long enough for us?"

"The Enforcers? You're just full of surprises," Jackal says, rolling his eyes. "I'm not an idiot. There's three of you, enough to hold off the Spiderlings on your own. Even though you're outnumbered, it's not like you're trying to take them down. You're not telling me something."

"I'm telling you all you need to know. We can make you join peacefully or painfully," Montana threatens, taking off his lasso and rubbing it between his fingers. "It's just for a couple of hours, partner."

"Look, I'm not going back to prison. He gave me one chance and I'm not going to screw it up helping some Southern pansies," the green creature hisses.

"Fine by me. Boys, looks like we have to take out the trash after all." Montana whips his lasso to the side, making it grow to its full length while Ox cracks his knuckles and Fancy Dan twirls two guns insanely well between his fingers.

Shadow Spider breathes in the night air, finally out of the chains of the ground. He loves swinging at night because it gives him more freedom than during the day. Something about being able to blend in with the dark corners of the city makes him feel unstoppable. "Got anything for me, Alex?"

"Not yet. The city seems pretty quiet today, which is unusual for New York," Alex says through his earpiece speaker.

"That's fine, just keep me posted," John responds, zooming through a tight spot between two buildings.

He wasn't wrong about the city being quiet tonight. Even the volume of the traffic seems to have been turned down a notch, and it's more creepy than relaxing to Shadow Spider. New York is supposed to be noisy and messy, hence the city that never sleeps. So, why is there something off about tonight? What's giving him such a bad feeling?

John almost misses the next swing and falls to the ground when Alex interrupts his thoughts, "I'm seeing a lot of ruckus in an old Warren Industries lab. You think it could be-"

"Jackal. I'm not letting him get away after what he did to my brother," Shadow says, determined and swinging quickly in the direction Alex navigates him.

The spider lands on the ceiling, looking through the skylight into the main lab area. His eyes widen slightly and he puts his hand on his chin as he mutters, "Looks like I was right. Jackal is here and a pile of his old stuff is in the corner, but before he could get out of there some group came in and intervened..."

"Really? You think they're heroes like you?" Alex asks, hopeful that John might get some backup tonight.

"Not sure, but I have a feeling I'm not getting the whole story. I'm going in to hear what they're saying," Shadow informs, silently opening the skylight and jumping into the lab.

Alex sighs and mumbles, "You're the one with the spider sense. Good luck down there."

Shadow lands on a beam without making a sound thanks to his extra power of silent footsteps. He quickly runs over the fighters, leaping to the other side and making sure not to clang the metal of his suit against the wall when he sticks to it. Slowly, he lowers himself to the ground and hides behind the stack of supplies Jackal was gathering before he had to start fighting for his life.

The green creature jumps high into the air and slashes Ox across the face as he lands, growling when he turns around and hears gunshots being fired by Fancy Dan. He goes to attack him next, but rope loops around his arms and binds them in place. Montana continues to tie the lasso around him before whipping the rope in a circle, sending Jackal up and crashing down into the concrete. "You putin' up quite a fight there, hoss, but the Enforcers always get what they want. You ready to join us yet?"

"Join?" Shadow accidentally whispers out loud. Luckily, no one was paying attention, everyone focused on Jackal and his response.

Opening one eye and looking straight at Montana, Jackal opens his mouth to say something. The leader of the Enforcers smiles, the straw in his mouth sliding to the corner, but he takes a fearful step back when Jackal lets out the loudest and longest roar he has ever heard. Gathering his composure, Montana readjusts his hat and takes out a small knife while saying, "Fine, if that's how ya wanna go out."

"I think I've heard quite enough," Shadow says as he swoops in on his black webs, kicking the knife out of the cowboy's hand and landing between him and Jackal.

"My hero," Jackal says with a laugh.

"You wish. I'm just not letting you turn into Jackal Paste tonight. Consider yourself lucky," Shadow responds sternly without turning his head. He clenches his fists at his side and bends his head forward as if he is going to start fighting, his next comment directed at Montana, "You need a better recruitment system. Ever hear of job interviews?"

"Just what we wanted to avoid," Montana says under his breath, yet John can still hear it. He says more clearly, "Been hard tryin' to find able men lately. No one seems to apply."

Shadow grabs Jackal, seeing that he was able to free himself of the rope, and jumps to the ceiling as Montana tries to capture them both in one throw. He holds him up by his ear, making Jackal screech in pain, and asks in a demanding voice, "Who had the nerve to buy you from prison? You were safe behind Rykers bars for mere hours before someone busted you out."

Jackal only chuckles, not taking his eyes off Shadow's lenses. "So that's why you came to my rescue? And here I thought you actually cared."

"I wouldn't care for you even if you did apologize to Nitro. Stop avoiding the question, who bailed you out?" His grip gets slightly tighter on his ear.

"I don't know. You just gotta believe me!" Jackal says sarcastically, letting him know that he's lying.

Shadow's spider sense goes off, but he can't pinpoint the direction until it's too late. The lasso wraps around his neck, and the next thing he knows is that he's being pulled from the ceiling, crashing onto the ground and making a huge dent in the floor. His grip on Jackal immediately slips once he's yanked from the ceiling. Blinking away the pain, Shadow looks up to see Jackal gone, all of his stuff that he was trying to steal is gone as well, and some guy pointing two guns at his face. "Uuuggghhhh... I h-had him!"

"So did we," Montana says with a tad of anger, tugging slightly on his end of the rope which causes John to wheeze.

His hands go to try and get the lasso off from around his neck, but he screams when he hears bones crack and feels his foot go sideways. Ox hovers into his view and says, "Now we have to find him again?"

Fancy Dan crosses his arms and scoffs, but Montana is the one to speak, "Nah, we don't need him. If we can take on one Spider, we can handle the others. Let's get what we need, boys."

"Wait-" Shadow yelps, raising his hand and shooting webs at the silent one, but it only hits his shoulder. Fancy Dan looks at the ceiling and shoots twice, cutting the hinges off from a light on the roof. It crashes down on Shadow, and the Enforcers make their escape.

"Sh... Shad... Shadow Spider... SHADOW?! JOHN!" The spider wakes up to someone yelling in his ear. He gasps, feeling cuts on his stomach and legs from the broken glass of the fallen light. However, he notices that there is no pressure from it, meaning someone must have taken it off him. His vision becoming clearer, he looks to the side and sees two of his friends.

"N-Nathan? Caleb?" he asks, not believing it to be real.

"Yes, now hold still. I don't want you to break your foot again," Caleb says, holding up a pair of tweezers.

John starts to breathe even heavier in fear, but Nathan puts a hand on his shoulder to steady himself and says calmly, "Relax. There's just a few more pieces of glass stuck in your rock-hard abs." He adds a small sense of humor to the end of his comment to lighten the mood.

"What... happened?" Shadow asks, resting his head back on the floor.

"Alex started freaking out when he saw you getting beat up by those Enforcer guys. He called us and we came as fast as we could," Caleb explains, getting the last piece of glass out and placing it in a bin. "We managed to straighten your ankle and your super healing started to take over, but it might be a bit sensitive to walk on for the rest of the night. Thank goodness your chest and shoulders are covered in armor or the glass of the light could have punctured your lungs!"

"The Enforcers... where-"

"Alex has been tracking them using the device you planted when you shot Fancy Dan with your webs. Pretty smart move, dude," Nathan compliments.

"His name is Fancy Dan?" Shadow asks, starting to regain his strength.

"Yeah, I looked them up," Alex starts speaking through his earpiece. "He's the guy with the guns and apparently he has a huge skill in martial arts or something. Montana is the leader with the lasso and dressed for Texas comic-con. The big one is Ox. They make up the Enforcers, a group of hitmen usually hired by mob bosses to take care of people in their way."

"Why did they want the Jackal on their team? They kept giving him chances like they were desperate for more muscle," Shadow asks.

"I can't be one-hundred percent certain on that just yet, but from the looks of things they're heading to the records station in the Financial District. That's where the police keep records of-"

"Criminal activity. Are you saying they're going to clear their history?" he asks urgently, sitting up despite the pain. "If they can get into the database and erase everything, we will have no proof that they committed any crimes while they were the Enforcers."

"Yeah, it looks like they got sloppy over the years. I can look up any incidents they were part of with one click of a button," Alex says, agreeing with the spider.

"I have to go stop them before they can hack the system. Thanks for everything, Nathan, Caleb," John replies quickly, standing up and instantly regretting it. He hops on his right foot since his left one still aches.

"You have to rest! One of your siblings can get them, can't they?" Nathan asks, urging him to sit back down.

"No, I got it. Everyone is sleeping and I don't want them getting involved with my problems. Besides, I don't have to worry about Jackal this time," John reassures his friends. "It's not like I have to walk there either."

That's the last thing he says before shooting a web at the ceiling and jumping through the skylight. He can imagine Alex rolling his eyes behind the computer screen and chuckles at the thought. Hey, in my defense, I need to settle the score. No one gets to toss me around like a sack of potatoes without getting a broken jaw in return.

Swinging to the Financial District, he finds the records building on the eastern end. He sticks to the side of the building once he finds it, only cringing slightly as he lands on his bad leg. They must already be inside. Hopefully they haven't tapped into the security cameras at all... Hey, that's not a bad idea. "Alex, can you deal with the cameras on your end?"

"I can try, but it's a police-operated facility. I don't want to do anything illegal-"

"You won't. If they catch us, I'll be the one to take the blame. It's not like they can do anything," John says, not seeming to care about the consequences.

"Is that really how it goes with your being a Spiderling and all?" Alex asks, his tone telling John that he doesn't fully believe him.

"Think what you want, man. It's just how it is," he responds with a heavy sigh, swinging through the front automatic doors.

After a few moments of spider-sensing which hallways to run down, Alex finally says over the earpiece, "Alright, I have control of the cams. The Enforcers seemed to not care about them, and I didn't have to break through their firewall, just the polices'."

"Great. Stand by, I'm going to show these phonies they messed with the wrong spider," Shadow orders, relieved that he doesn't need to worry about the police showing up anytime soon thanks to his guy in the chair. Now, all he has to do is pay the group of three gentlemen a visit.

"This place is a maze," he mutters under his breath. "All hallways with a tile floor. Kinda looks like a doctor's office if I didn't know any better."

It's dark, too, but that gives him an advantage. Shadow is free to run as quickly as he likes because his feet make no sound when they land on the tile. No matter what type of floor there is, my feet are perfectly silent. I'd have to be wearing heavy diving boots if I wanted to make a sound. Just have to find the room they're in...

"Woah-" John breathes, cutting himself and hiding behind the wall. He almost blew his cover and ran straight inside the room that held the Enforcers, but luckily none of them seemed to notice. He rounds his head and peeks inside, trying to find out if they were able to finish their mission yet. Montana is at a computer right across the room on the other side, the light of the screen being the only thing keeping the room from being pitch black. Ox and Fancy Dan are nowhere to be found, but he can hear them as clear as day.

"Why can't we just burn everything and leave?" Ox's voice resonates throughout the room.

"Because computers can be replaced, partner," Montana answers, still typing away. He smirks a bit, however. "We have to get into the system itself and erase us from the grid. That way, even if they look us up from across the country we'll be good as ghosts."

"Don't you mean, good as gone?" Fancy Dan asks, making John freeze internally. That's the first time he's ever heard him speak.

"Nah, I know I got it right," Montana dismisses.

"Where do you want me to put this lighter fluid?" Ox asks, coming into view and holding up a huge gasoline container.

Ugh. Now that he mentions it, the place does smell strongly of gasoline and fumes, but Shadow thought it was just because his senses are still coming back online from being smashed between the floor and a ceiling light. Montana looks up from the screen for the first time and says, "Throw it outside so we can catch this whole place aflame. Can't have any hard copies of the files gettin' loose."

The container is tossed into the hallway, missing Shadow by millimeters. He makes sure to not step in the liquid as he climbs on the wall and into the record room. Finding the ceiling to be a good place to hide, he stays out of the screen's light and sprays webbing onto the ceiling so he can lower himself upside down.

His spider sense goes off, but he doesn't have to turn around to know what's happening because Fancy Dan gasps and says, "You've got to be kidding me."

Shadow hears the cocking sound of two guns, letting him know the barrels are being pointed at the back of his head by his least favorite Enforcer. He slightly smiles as he says, "I was going to say the same thing. Don't you guys have hobbies to fill your free time? Like gardening?"

"I'll stuff you in the ground again if that gives ya any consultation," Montana says angrily, spinning around before he could finish his work. "Thankfully, I won't have to. We got better help than the Jackal."

"Better help?" Shadow asks, not understanding what he means.

"Shadow Spider..." Alex's voice comes over the earpiece too late; his spider sense goes off and he turns around just before he is slammed against a wrecking ball.

"Yeah, you read that right. A flipping wrecking ball, " John groans to no one in particular.

Out of the shadows, four new faces appear, each with their own devilish grins. The first is blonde, his hair showing through his red and white mask, and his cold blue eyes somehow compliment his spandex outfit. The next one is wearing a heavy looking metal helmet and dressed all in orange, muscles protruding out of his sleeves. The wrecking ball's chain leads to the hands of a muscular man in green and yellow with a ridiculous looking old-timey comic mask, his dark skin and hair showing through the top and he wears no gloves to get a better grip on his weapon. The last guy has to be the leader. Dressed in a purple robbers mask and a green suit, he takes the front stage as the guy-who-brought-a-crowbar-to-a-fistfight.

"Don't tell me I have to memorize more stupid names," Shadow sighs, shifting the wrecking ball off his chest and standing up slowly. "I already have a hard time remembering Fancy Doofus and Cowboy Pants over here."

"It's Montana-"

"I'm the Wrecker," the main guy says, slamming the end of his crowbar into his palm. "This is Piledriver," he gestures to the blonde, "Bulldozer," the guy with the metal helmet, "and Thunderball," the guy with the hideous wrecking ball.

Shadow pauses, feeling his stomach tingle in laughter. "You did not just say Thunderball, right?"

"Dude, I told you to call me Demolisher!" Thunderball/Demolisher says under his breath, turning to the Wrecker.

"That's what you get for changing your name every week," Wrecker says with a laugh. "I can't remember them all, so your new permanent name is Thunderball."

"Yeah, first it was Plunderer, but that was apparently too hard to say," Piledriver teases.

"Can't it be Wreckingball? Because that's kind of my thing," Not Thunderball but also Not Demolisher whines.

"No, you dunder head! I'm the Wrecker, it would just get too confusing!"

"This is hurting my brain. What is your name again?" Bulldozer speaks up for the first time, rubbing the top of his metal helmet. He looks at Not Thunderball for an answer.

"You guys can argue about this in prison for all I care," Shadow says, sighing in annoyance. He shoots black webbing at Piledriver, pulling himself to his chest and kneeing him in the chin.

"Right, talk later, fight now. Let's do this!" Bulldozer yells. He slides one of his feet backwards and charges, lowering his head so he can try and ram right into Shadow. The spider jumps out of the way just in time, making him run right into the shelves of files that were once organized so neatly.

"That takes care of our hard copies," Ox says, coming out of nowhere and catching Shadow off guard with a swing to the side with his fist.

"My spider sense..." he gasps, sticking to the ground with one hand to keep himself from crashing into the wall. Placing the other hand on his head, he shakily opens his eyes and looks at all the dangerous guys surrounding him, or rather backing him into a corner. There are too many threats coming from all over, and there is no way his spider sense can be accurate for this fight. "Too much input... I can't tell what's an immediate threat and what's potential danger..."

"Spider sense? What's that, like a warning?" Wrecker takes this opportunity to run up and swing his crowbar diagonally across his cheek. "Like a sixth sense sort of thing?"

"Lucky for us, it doesn't seem to be working," Fancy Dan says from the top of a shelf that was spared from Bulldozer's rampage. He aims his guns at Shadow's head, but thankfully he is able to web the bottom of the shelf before he can fire. John yanks on his webs, making the stacks of files flutter to the ground and soak in some of the gasoline they drenched all over the place. Fancy Dan falls with it, landing hard on his side. His guns fire when he lands, but it misses Shadow by a long shot, making a hole into the wall behind him.

"I got him!" Thunderball, yes we are keeping the name for the sake of our sanity, yells and spins his wrecking ball above his head. He twirls it a few times before pulling back on the chain, aiming it horizontally at John's head. Hearing someone running up from behind him, Shadow jumps and sticks to the ceiling, making the weapon slam into Bulldozer instead.

"Where's your grace, Dozer?" Piledriver asks as he jumps into the air, wrapping his arms around Shadow and pulling him off the ceiling. "You gotta go for his weaknesses!"

"What weaknesses?" Shadow asks sarcastically, rolling his eyes behind the mask. As they fall, he sprays webbing around his opponent and shoots one last string up onto the ceiling, attaching it to the now cocooned Piledriver. "You seem to have plenty of them yourself."

"How am I going to take these guys on at the same time? I'm already getting wiped out. Gotta find a solution to this," John mutters to himself as he lands, slipping on the gasoline a bit. Hmm... if I can use this to my advantage then maybe-

He turns around, but instantly gets punched full force in the nose. Wrecker chuckles darkly, raising his crowbar over his shoulder and chucking it at the spider. Shadow gains enough mobility to dodge just in time, and the next thing he hears is Montana's southern accent screaming, "YOU DAGNABBIN-!"

Everyone turns to see the crowbar was stabbed right through the computer screen, and even John admits that he gets a slight tang of fear after hearing his voice get so loud, it makes the glass vibrate.

"I-it wasn't me, Montana!" Wrecker stutters. "H-he dodged!"

"As long as I get to strangle somethin', I don't care who it is," Montana says, turning to the fight. He unhooks his lasso, whipping it out to the side so it grows once more. He spits out the straw in his mouth and says through his teeth, "Why not start with you?"

The leader of the Enforcers tosses his lasso to tie up the spider like he did before, but he attempts to swat it away. Instead, neither of their plans work correctly and his wrists end up getting caught in the rope. Montana's façade doesn't alter, and his hat shadows his eyes as he says, "Aight, I can improvise."

He pulls the lasso toward the floor, making Shadow lose his footing just slightly. However, this time John is able to stay on his two feet and stick to the ground. "Not this time," he says, wrapping his fingers around what little rope he can grasp. "I'm playing my reverse card."

Shadow spins in a circle, taking the lasso with him. Montana's grip on it slides away, rendering burn marks on his palms because he was holding on so tightly. A noise of frustration escapes his throat that is replaced with pain when the spider swipes his feet out from under him, webbing him to the ground. His spider sense goes off behind him, but Fancy Dan doesn't even get to fire his guns because he webs the barrels, clogging them up. "Not on my watch," he comments triumphantly.

The only other one standing is Wrecker, but one look into his eyes makes him shiver and back away, putting his hands into the air. Shadow sighs, relieved that it's all over... until his spider sense goes off once again. "Wha-"

BOOM!

Sparks from the broken computer land on the spilled gasoline, starting a hot fire throughout the entire room. The alarm blares, but there is no easy way out as the beams on the ceiling melt and fall in front of the door. Shadow starts to sweat, looking around for an escape route and sees a window near the ceiling, small enough for him to slide through. Perfect, I'll just get out of here that way.

A sound makes his skin crawl: Montana's voice. "Yeh gonna leave me stranded here?!"

He would have said yes, but something makes him look back despite his best interests. A memory of an explosion passes through his mind, and Shadow groans loudly, "Guuuuuuhhhh, you better not try anything funny."

He rips the webs off, making sure to keep his hands bound, and also snatches Piledriver from the roof where he left him. Hearing a crash, he sees that Bulldozer must have made an alternate escape route, with the help of Ox, and the two bust down the wall. Shadow follows the criminals through there, escaping with burning lungs just as he starts to cough up a storm.

"Sh... you there?" a voice asks over his earpiece.

"Yeah, ugh, I'm here," John answers Alex.

"The police are on their way. I called after the fight started going south and I saw the computer get smashed," he explains. Just as he finishes, Shadow hears the sirens of the police and fire department.

He drops both criminals to the ground, knowing he doesn't need to carry them anymore and they don't deserve a peaceful landing. Both Montana and Piledriver groan when they thud to the ground, which makes Shadow roll his eyes yet again. "Quit complaining. I could have left you in there, you babies."

"Shadow Spider," one officer yells, running up to him. Shadow crosses his arms and cocks a hip to the side while placing all of his attention on her. "How did this fire start?"

"I was fighting these seven jerks when I had to dodge an attack and broke a computer instead of my face. It must have sparked and set the room on fire since the Enforcers poured flammable gas all over it," he explains simply.

A few officers look at each other skeptically. The woman asks another question, "What were they doing in there? Couldn't you stop the computer from breaking and putting the neighborhood at risk?"

"I, uh," Shadow starts, but then thinks about it. He was going to use the gas as his own tool to win, but luckily the Wrecker was the one to start the fire before he had to. "Hey, I took down the bad guys and no one was hurt. Sorry one half of your records building had to take the damage, but at least it wasn't collateral."

Not giving her the chance to respond or bombard him with more questions, Shadow shoots webs at a skyscraper and swings away. He leaves with the police confused, and seven more inmates to deal with.

Somewhere in Hell's Kitchen...

Jackal enters a huge office, keeping his posture up despite the fact that he knows the power residing in the chair across the desk. He can't see the man as he approaches except for his bald head, his entire body obstructed by the chair as he has his back turned, looking out the window. Jackal clears his throat and says, "My apologies, sir. There was a setback to getting the supplies I needed from my lab. The Enforcers tried to recruit me, but I did manage to escape with a few plans for some questionable experiments." He holds out a few vials containing liquids of different colors including yellow, blue, and green.

The man in the chair doesn't turn around, but his deep voice responds, "Your transformation changed things, Warren. People are envious of your power since you were almost able to take down a Spiderling." He presses a button on his desk, a projector lighting up next to it and showing how Jackal almost had Nitro Spider in his grasp. "This can be solved. I will put my best bodyguards on you at all times while you're out collecting data. With my help, you will produce what you promised."

"A being strong enough to take down the Spiderlings, freeing us from their shackles once and for all," Jackal recounts what he said to the man. "As long as you provide me with the resources, I will surely be able to produce the results."

"Very good, Warren. It's time we leveled the playing field enough for my empire to prosper."

Back in Queens...

"Ey, bro, where have you been?" Maria asks as she finishes up her dinner of spaghetti. She watches him run down the stairs and grab his own plate, his hair matted which means he was out doing Shadow Spider business.

"You know, out and about. Had a very long day. Wait... it's midnight so why are you guys eating?" John asks, pausing when he looks at the microwave clock.

"We've been packing all day, dude. All day," Julia says dramatically.

John shrugs, filling his plate with noodles when their mother comes into the room and says, "There's John! You missed all the fun tonight. Your father, Andrew, and I went to southern Manhattan to see the meteor shower!"

"Too bad the view was obstructed by some police building fire halfway into the show. I saw a Spiderling there and I swear, he's the one who started it!" their dad's voice gets louder the more he talks about what happened.

"No, the reports say that the Wrecking Crew and the Enforcers started the fire, Don," their mom corrects.

Maria and Julia look at John questionably, but he gives them a not now face. Ethan saves the conversation by saying, "I heard the entire city couldn't see the shower anyway once the clouds started gathering. Maybe that's what you saw, Dad."

Their father shakes his head in irritation and climbs the stairs to go to bed since it's so late, and Elena does the same after giving her kids a comforting smile goodnight. John waits a few minutes before asking quietly, "I take it Andrew is asleep?"

"Yeah. Man, what happened to you? Your nose is crooked, and you are lucky Mom and Dad are too tired to notice!" Ethan whispers.

"I'll tell you in the morning. For now, I'm going to bed so I can try to heal from fighting both the Wrecking Crew and the flipping Enforcers."

"I knew that was you! I called it!" Julia says happily. John walks up the stairs with a slight smile on his face, and he rubs the growing bruise on his cheek as he falls into bed, not bothering to change into his pajamas.