A Tale of Two Spiders [BEING REWRITTEN ELSEWHERE]

Part 25

"Are you sure? Or are you jealous?" I teased, poking her shoulder.

"I-what? No, I'm not jealous of you and her, I'm just curious."

"I didn't think you cared about me that much, Spider-Woman."

"You'd be surprised," she said in almost a whisper, her eyes indicating she was smiling.

"Oh?"

She blinked and seemed to be back to earth once again, exclaiming, "Nothing!" Before walking away.

I raised an eyebrow before hearing a call from behind me.

"Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Over here," A voice hissed.

I turned around to see Doctor Connors limping out of the building, clearly hurt.

"Dr. Connors! I am so sorry..." I apologized profusely as I looked him over, checking for any injuries.

He dismissed my worries with a wave of his hand, seemingly unbothered by the whole interaction.

"Don't worry, I've had much worse injuries than a mere sprain."

"Still, I shouldn't have let you run out on your own."

"And what? Let the Oscorp building come down on everyone else's heads just to save one man? I think not," he scoffed.

"I can get you to the hospital, it's just a swing away-"

"No." He said firmly.

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"The walls have ears, Spider-Man. If you would be so kind as to call your partner over here, then we could move to a safer spot to talk than here."

The lenses of my mask narrowed, and I glanced at Spider-Woman. We made eye-contact and I nudged my head in Dr. Connors's direction, hinting at what I wanted her to do.

Interesting.

Later

"The cross-species genetics - everything about it - is a facade; merely made to cover up Norman's true intentions."

"He craves power. He's ruthless and will use anything and anyone to get to his goals. And if you get in his way? Well..." He gave us a knowing look and I frowned.

"Why? He's already one of the most powerful businessmen in New York!" I exclaimed.

"Simple." Dr. Connors's voice trembled. "Greed. Norman thinks that a life built on lies isn't giving him enough; he wants more. Which is why he picked me to do his dirty work."

I shared a look with Spider-Woman before facing Dr. Curtis Connors again.

"Then why did he get rid of you?" Spider-Woman asked.

guess I didn't deliver the desired results in time. He now believes that Alchemax is his best bet."

"Isn't Alchemax, like, super shady?" Spider-Woman asked again.

"They are." His eyes darted around the room before facing us again and hunching over slightly.

"What I'm about to tell you stays here, do you understand? Not a word to anyone else about this, both of you." We nodded in agreement.

"A few years ago, a relatively unheard-of organization by the name of Alchemax had the idea of building a super-collider – something that could bring other dimensions to us. However, they were missing two key components: faith and money. No one believed that this project would come to fruition, and as a result, it was almost scrapped..."

"Until one man came."

"Wilson Fisk, the most powerful businessman in all of New York, began funding the project – and it was completed in under a year."

"Unfortunately, the skeptics were right; the whole project was a bust as it caused earthquakes that ravaged Brooklyn, bringing down houses and killing hundreds."

"The project was shut down and Alchemax retreated back into the shadows, and they haven't been heard from since."

"Until now."

"That damn collider..." I muttered, standing up.

"Will you be okay here on your own?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe. But you know where to find me if you need anything."

"Alright, thanks, Doc," I said, opening a window and swinging away.

Outside

"So, when were you planning to tell me about that super-collider?" Spider-Woman asked as we swung through the city.

I mentally facepalmed. "Sorry, there's just been so much going on that it completely slipped my mind.

She landed on a building. "It's fine. Is there anything else I need to know about?" She asked, facing me.

I opened my mouth and closed it. There were so many things I wanted to tell her, but I just couldn't.

"No, that's it."

We stood in comfortable silence as we watched the sun set. The adrenaline from the day began to wear off – very quickly. I could feel my eyes closing, and I stumbled forward before Spider-Woman caught me from behind and turned me around to face her.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, her voice sounding far away.

I blinked, and it was becoming increasingly harder to open my eyes after I shut them.

"Spider-Man! Hey," she gently tapped my cheek.

"Wake up!"

"Wake up..."

I slumped in her armsand was out like a light.

Word Count: 1872