Tarantula (Spider-Man)

I Just Wanted Them All To See Me

    He turns around, and his expression automatically lights up, "...it's you?"

"Yeah, I know it's me. Who are you?" Spider-Man asks.

Electro takes a step forward, igniting the sewer grates around him with electricity, "You don't remember me?"

Spider-Man watches carefully as the electricity runs its course along the Times Square sidewalk, "No...should I?"

"I...I walked into the street, the car almost hit me, you swooped me up...you saved me...you said, you needed me," he explains.

"The guy...you're the guy with the blueprints," he remembers aloud.

"Yes, blueprints," the hooded man clarifies.

From one of the billboards high above the skyline, Tarantula swoops in, and surveys the situation. She spots the army of police vehicles surrounding Times Square, with Spider-Man and the blue-skinned man right in the center.

"Yes, I remember you. Of course I remember you, you're my eyes and ears," Spider-Man recovers, regaining his confidence as he jumps off of the car and starts walking towards the man. But he suddenly stops again when he realizes something, "Uh, what's...what's your name again?"

In shock, the hooded man asks, "How could you forget me?"

Spider-Man holds his head with both hands, trying to keep his cool, "No, I do. I know it, I know it, don't tell me."

He doesn't bother to wait for him, "It's Max."

"Is it Max?" Spider-Man fake-guesses, after having heard him.

Hearing their conversation from above, Tarantula gasps. It's Max Dillon, the Oscorp engineer who was supposed to have been killed in the power plant explosion.

"Yes," Max responds, seeming to have fallen for Spider-Man's trick.

"I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you with the...you look different. How are you?" Spider-Man apologizes, trying to get back on track.

Out of view of either Spider-Man, Max, or Tarantula, a sniper has climbed up onto a nearby billboard maintenance rig, lying down in order to line up a shot.

His tone shaky, Max explains, "I don't know what's going on with me."

"I can see that. I can...I believe you," Spider-Man's tone suddenly becomes very understanding, the laid back air having disappeared.

"It's strange. The power, that I got so much...I got so much anger," he tells him, as he glances down at his hands where electricity runs through.

"I can see that," Spider-Man repeats, "I can see you don't wanna be here. I can see you're scared. I can see you don't know what's happening to you. I can see that you don't want to hurt anybody. You're gonna be alright."

Tarantula breathes a sigh of relief. Out of the two of them, Spider-Man is the better person of the two to handle this situation. In his words, she senses a little bit of himself implemented there as well, maybe even all three of them. People who were normal one day, and the next, not so much.

The sniper radios in to his superior, his scope aimed right at Max, "I've got a clear shot. Standing by."

"I don't want them shooting me anymore," Max's voice lowers to a growl, as he gestures to the police.

"They're not going to shoot you," Spider-Man points to the police, "you guys! This is my buddy Max! I told you about Max. No one shoots Max!"

From the crowds of people being kept back by the police, Gwen makes her way to the front of the crowd to watch Spider-Man negotiate the situation.