Mha: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol.1

Down Swings The Red Curtain P.2

[Tartarus]

Rai groggily opened his eyes to the smell of smoke and the sight of dwindling flames, covering the foreseeable area around him. A parched throat prevented him from uttering anything louder than a groan. Dizziness began to subside as his eyes adjusted to the broken surroundings of the Tartarus arena. Any attempts to move his body were restricted due to the white silk binding clasped around his body.

The familiar texture alongside the humiliating position of hanging upside down started to return memories of what previously happened. The most annoying voice he'd ever had the displeasure of hearing flowed back into his mind, filling him with sudden emotional distress. The flickering yellow light of electricity covered his body, a sign of his uncontrollable rage.

"Hey look, I caught a Pokémon!"

Those were the last words Rai heard before losing consciousness. Once more his humiliation was followed by endless Quips, which seemed to be the only consistent aspects of his life. "Spider-Man..." Rai growled, gritting his teeth together as his muscles tensed and shook underneath the web binding.

As his electricity continued to surge through his body, he reminded himself of every moment of failure handed to him by Taeko. The sole motivator to uphold this villainous lifestyle rested on the hope that he could retire after taking the life of his most hated enemy. This setting hatred continued to feed off into an overflowing power, illuminating the entire area with a blinding yellow flash.

The webs that imprisoned him were instantly atomized from reality, freeing the most dangerous man on Tartarus Island. He fell toward the ground caught himself with the lifting electrical current and levitated high above the waters. Rai's eyes gleamed with energy that replaced his pupils, showing nothing to the outside world. Not long after, sparks began to engulf his body and replace his flesh and blood with pure energy, just as in his earlier encounter that night. "Spider-Man..."

The lust for vengeance began to replace rational thoughts, prompting Rai to begin flying across the water toward the broken city of Mustafa. With only one goal on his mind, Electro set out to end his enemy once and for all and he was prepared to destroy an entire city with his powers to do so.

[Part four: Separation]

Taeko moved with fatigue and speed, two forces that worked against each other with excruciating pain in his brutalized body. Still, he worked with every ounce of strength left inside of him to save the lives of the villains, even if it left a sour taste in his mouth. Since the bombs targeted the grouped-up crowd, Taeko was forced to push through bursts of flames that tore away at his costume and burnt his skin.

He jumped past two bombs that tried to sandwich him from both sides, using their fast speeds to ram them into each other. Taeko thwipped two webs that pushed a couple of villains away from incoming bombs, successfully saving them from the explosion.

"T-Thankfully he's too distracted to intervene." Taeko thought, glancing over at the cackling Goblin as he kicked another villain out of the blast radius. Unfortunately, Taeko was closest to the bomb and took the brunt of the detonation. This burst of ignition imploded in front of his face, tearing away the part of his shoulder costume.

Before Taeko could recover, another bomb bit into the newly exposed area of skin. Taeko clenched his teeth as he pulled the ravenous creation away, tearing a small chunk of his skin in the process. To conceal his blood and keep the wound from getting worse, Taeko webbed it up, only serving as a temporary solution. The bomb he still held onto continued to laugh as he swallowed the stolen flesh and added an exaggerated burp at the end.

"Nnrgh... get. AWAY!" Taeko shouted before tossing the bomb across the street, this caused it to implode inside a small building but avoided hurting anyone. As he watched the smoke and flames disperse into the night sky, Taeko's legs began to shake. His body screamed to lay down and give up, not wishing to go through any more physical torment in one night.