Marvel's Spider-Man Season 2

Christmas Vacation Part 3: Isn't It a Little Late for Halloween?

"So what was that about?"

"Huh?" Scott turned to Gwen, curious as to what she was asking. For the last fifteen minutes, the four friends had walked around the partying area, trying to avoid the roving groups of dancers who seemed to absorb people like players in Agar.io. At the moment, Liz and Anya had gone to grab more snacks while Scott and Gwen held their places at one of the few tables scattered around the gym.

"You and Anya were talking about something which you quickly stopped talking about as soon as Liz and I arrived," Gwen elaborated. Sighing resignedly, Scott looked upwards as if asking, 'Why me, God?' before explaining, "I've been having nightmares recently and Anya was making sure I'm okay."

Gwen raised an eyebrow and asked, "How recently?"

"Oh..." Scott tried to think of a way to change the topic, but couldn't, so he answered truthfully, rubbing the back of his neck, "only the last seven months or so."

Gwen's eyes widened, the only sign of her surprise. As slight tones of anger entered her voice, the girl continued, "So ever since my uncle took over the city with spider-monsters?"

"Pretty much."

"Is it him?"

"Not always. It's him sometimes, but the usual topic is you guys or my family dying. And it's my fault. Either I can't save you or," Scott thought back to his dream the night before, "I'm what's killing you."

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Shock Spider, Spider-Man, and Kid Arachnid swung through the city, dodging the webs that coated most buildings and were strung across streets while trying to reach Horizon High.

"C'mon!" Spider-Man yelled, "Just a few more blocks and we should be safe!"

"'Should' being the operative word there," Shock Spider muttered. Below them hundreds, if not thousands, of spider-monsters roamed the streets, looking for victims to devour. The whole of Manhattan had become genetic monsters, and it was spreading to the rest of NYC. Anya, Harry Osborn, and Mr. Osborn seemed to be the exception, and they were all holed up at the school. The three heroes had been out on a scouting mission, and were returning to the (relative) safety of Horizon.

"Oh, come on!" Kid Arachnid yelled over the wind, "Be positive!"

"The city is overrun with monsters that are at least as strong as us, obey Jackal's every command, and are actual people so we can't use lethal force. The only people unaffected are us three, Anya for some reason, and the two Osborns, both of who don't have powers and one of whom is in a coma. So, yeah, I'm positive we're all dead."

The other two arachnid-themed heroes avoided replying, both silently agreeing that it was a worrisome, yet accurate, summation of things. Thankfully, the three friends made it into Horizon without being spotted by anything or anyone and snuck through the vents until they reached the hidden room where Anya and Harry were watching over the older Osborn. Releasing his grip on the ceiling, Shock Spider landed on the floor with barely a sound and proceeded to check in on his friends, "How's it going?"

"Good," Anya responded, "Norman's vitals are consistent. He should wake up soon."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "Did you guys find Jackal?"

"Nope," Spider-Man shook his head, "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"At least we've got a color to look for," Kid Arachnid noted, grabbing a cookie from one of the tables, "Green kinda stands out in New York, especially with the webs covering everything."