Arachnophobia ⇒ Peter Parker

one: scorpion bite

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ THIS CHAPTER AND THEN WATCH THE NEW MARVEL LOGO ABOVE. This chapter serves as the pre-movie scene.

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      "This is last time I'll ask you..." He yelled, his voice echoing through the prison cell. His neck pulsated, his scorpion tattoo almost crawling between his bulging veins. A trail of drool escaping his mouth through his enraged commands.

     Adrian Toomes coughed up blood, not able to handle the numerous punches being thrown his way. He was defeated; all he could think about was returning to his wife and daughter. How he missed his wife's smiles that accompanied his bad jokes and rubbing away Liz, his daughter's, tears as she whined about her high school problems. He stared down at his hands, a tear cascading down his gashed cheek.

     Greed. The entity he single-handedly hated the most and the vice that had gotten him here. He couldn't blame Peter for turning him in. After all, he had attempted to kill the boy multiple times and failed. All to be repaid by Peter ultimately saving his life. Adrian vowed to never do anything along those lines again. He promised himself that he would never lay eyes on his Vulture suit if he ever got out. But now, he had to deal with what was in front of him.

     He lay defensively, weak at the arms of MacDonald Gargan: the Scorpion. His frame shaking, he stared up at the man, unable to comprehend how someone could foster sheer misery.

     One of the men standing behind Gargan sneered, "What are we wasting our time for? The man says he doesn't know."

     Scorpion bent down to Toomes's level so they met eye to eye, the only audible noise was the shifting of his orange jumpsuit.

     "Are you sure about that? He may have a reason to protect the boy."

     "One last chance, Toomes," He whispered quietly. So quiet, in fact, that it tantalized Adrian's ear with its hymn. It then shook through his brain down to the pit of his heart. Before he had time to process it, one last sentence purred at his ear, "I assure you that what's awaiting you is worse than death."

     Gargan was unfazed by this interrogation. Terrify someone beyond their wits, pull at their last string of sanity, and then once they give you the answer, cut it off. Maybe the first time he did this, he would have felt guilty. But not anymore. Any attempt at sparking emotion in this man was like beating a dead horse; it was useless. He had learned the correct way to slit someone's throat before he went to his first school dance.

     Toomes felt this with every brutal strike. Gargan's vehement animosity for Adrian had only increased with time. Toomes was a man who voluntarily chose the life of a villain. He had a window to escape, but he was so hung up about protecting this boy that it convoluted his once lucid judgement. Two words and Toomes was liberated. That was something Gargan resented.

     And now, MacDonald wasn't going to scaunder his position. Time went on without further hopes of redemption. To be a master at your craft, you must dedicate your whole life to what you do. Gargan wasn't going to give up all his work for some pitiful dream to escape his gloomy life. Practice makes permanent, and he was permanently in this position. Before he had a chance to contemplate the thought over any longer, he blinked. The idea left his mind as quickly as it had come.

     In this time, Toomes had done some thinking himself. He shut his eyes. All he could envision was his body being slammed to the ground under the Scorpion's grasp. The residue of flesh marks serving as the last palpable traces of a concluded fight. This event reminded him all too much of the situation he had put Peter Parker in a few days ago. He couldn't help but imagine his limp body being slammed into the fiery sand beneath him, unable to escape the Vulture's grasp, and the tears running down Parker's face as he prepared to witness his own death at age fifteen. Lastly, he imagined the same tear running down his daughter's cheek as she stared at his glistening, alabaster tombstone. Her glazed over eyes that would be filled with tears would numbly read his epitaph.

     He couldn't do that, not to Liz. Adrian glanced up one last time, eyes meeting those of Gargan.

     "The boy who you're looking for is." He choked back a sob. "Peter Parker."

     With that, he realized that he would be the first signature imprinted on Parker's death wish.

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I know, I know. This was a short chapter. If you think about it, this writing is a heck of a lot for three sentences. I'm so happy to be back! Like, vote, and share if you enjoyed!!