Believer

2. Octopi

"...but the true ones stay, like an octopus on your face."

Training with Natasha had been an excersise in pain. She was like a ninja, and even when his spidey senses caught on that she was an enemy at the moment, they didn't help much. He was covered in bruises by the time they finished, but he smiled knowing they would heal in no time. His metabolism was slowing down back to normal, but it still was way faster than a normal human, and his healing factor was still amazing.

Now he swung through the city with Iron Man on his right and Cap below them on a motorcycle.

"Rule one of mission safety; stay together!" Tony growled as Peter shot ahead, laughing at them trying to keep up. "Come on, we aren't even on a mission!" He laughed, not watching where he was going. He yelped when he smashed into a billboard and fell down onto the rooftop.

"Rule two; pay attention." Tony told him, and Peter could hear the laugh he was stifling through the comms. Dr. Strange hovered near him, and Peter rolled his eyes at the man's concern. "I'm not going to be killed by a space-age billboard." Peter scoffed at him, swinging off the building on another web.

"Any rule three?" He asked sarcastically. "Yes, watch out!" Cap yelled the same time Peter's spidey sense went off. He jumped just in time to avoid a sonic shot that cut his web and left him free falling as he shot another one.

"What the heck?" Peter yelped, dodging another shot from an unknown location. "Peter!" Tony called, flying over and grabbing him out of the air. "Woah, Mr. Stark! What...!" Peter was cut off as a blast hit Tony in the back, sending them both plummeting. The shock traveled through Tony's suit and fried Peter's web blasters, seperating them both into a freefall.

"No, no, no!" Tony scrambled, not being able to move. He knew the landing wouldn't do much more to him than bruise a few ribs, but Peter still hadn't reset his parachute. Dr. Strange rushed to catch him, but before she could, a shot hit Peter as he tried to block it and slammed him into the window of a nearby building, smashing him through.

"Peter!" Dr. Strange, Cap and Iron Man yelled at the same time. Tony landed with a teeth-jarring crash, the wind being knocked out of him. That didn't stop him from disengaging his suit and scrambling out of it. He pulled out his communicator as Steve and Strange chased after Peter into the building.

Tony scanned the roofs; where were those shots coming from?

Then Tony saw a man in a yellow quilted jacket with a high-tech gun on his arm. He was running down off the roof across from the building Peter had been smashed into. This wasn't good.

Peter groaned and rolled onto his stomach, his back aching from the glass he'd just been thrown through. The technology for a gun that could produce that kind of shot was suspiciously familiar. Did Shocker get an upgrade?

He didn't realize he'd said that outloud until he recieved a response. "He wasn't the only one." Ox growled, him and the human basketball stepping into the room. Peter scrambled to his feet as he took in their new tech with wide eyes.

"Right. Ok." He backed up, before remembering his web shooters were fried. No going out the window then.

"Spiderman!" Dr. Strange called, appearing in the hole of a window behind Peter. Ox and Ricochet's eyes went wide, before setting in determination. "This is our last chance, we have to catch the bug!" Peter heard Shocker saying in Ox's comms thanks to his heightened hearing.

"Yeah, no thanks!" Peter scoffed, jumping out of the window and aiming for the wall to stick to. However, a ring of fire opened beneath him and he screamed as he fell through, coming out three feet from the ground and landing heavily on his side.

"Peter!" Tony hissed, closing the distance between them in record time. Tony helped Peter sit up, wincing when he saw the boys back. "I am going to kill those sons of..."

"Mr. Stark!" Peter cut him off, pointing at Shocker running towards them. "Up, up, up!" Tony stammered, yanking Peter to his feet and breaking into a run. "I can't web him up!" Peter told Tony hysterically, fiddling with his fried shooters.

"Then we keep running until Cap or Strange comes to help us!" Tony insists, but Peter had already stopped and turned to face Shocker. "Dammit kid!" Tony growled, running to his suit and trying to do anything to reboot the hunk of junk. "Screw it!" He yelled finally, ripping out the pulsor hand in his suit and carefully extracting the reactor core so as to not destroy it and blow up the entire city block.

Peter dodged another blast from Shocker, cringing as it took out a lamp post behind him. All the people had already fled the scene after Tony fell, but Peter still didn't like damaging city property. Unfortunately, those thoughts distracted him, and Shocker managed to hit him in the side. He went rolling across the pavement, slamming into a car and flinching went it beeped at him.

Jumping back to his feet, Peter ran at Shocker, ducking and spinning to avoid any attacks, and actually managed to punch him. Shocker was knocked to the ground, and Peter quickly pinned him, panting. "Well, I won, you're going to prison now." Peter smirked, but then blinked. "Wait, you were just in prison!" He exclaimed, remembering that the Enforcers had been 'webbed' up by Dr. Strange and the Avengers had them transported to a super secure prison that... also held Scorpio. Well then.

Shocker laughed. "You have no idea what you've done. We were going to go easy on you." He sighed, and Peter reered back. "More will come." Shocker rambled. "Faster than us. Stronger than us. Smarter than us."

"That's not really that hard." Peter interjected, and Shocker glared. "Just you wait." He hissed. Peter was about to ask him a question when Tony came up behind him and jabbed Shocker with his makeshift tazer. Peter leapt off him as he convulsed, before being knocked out cold.

"Come on, Peter. Cap and Strange might need our help." Tony stated, grabbing a pair of cuffs he always kept in his suit and latching them onto Shocker. Peter nodded and ran towards the building, but was stopped by Dr. Strange, Cap, and Ox and Ricochet coming out of a portal. Ox and Ricochet were bound and snarling.

Peter couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding in his gut. What had Shocker meant? Who was after him now?

oOo

"It is time, Doctor." Drawled the man in the suit, hands clasped behind his back. He was well known in the underworld and in the city, but in completely different ways. Now, however, he wanted the arachnid. And he knew how to get him.

"Schultz and the rest had been a mistake." He continued, turning to the small shivering man in his office. "They were too weak and stupid. But you..." he broke in a maniacal laugh. "You will be perfect, my eight legged friend."

MOOHOOHAWHAWHAW
Well? What do you think?

I know, I felt bad for always bringing back the same villains, like, why is Shocker back again? He's so annoying! Honestly! But do not fear! That is the last we will be seeing of him!

Sooo there will be tons of Avengers fluff but there's still going to be that drama because... well, because I'm a little bit evil. A tad.

Who do you think 'the man' is? I know most of you are thinking Norman Osborn yaaasss but no. You're wrong. This is still at the point where Norman hasn't been introduced, nor has Harry. (Originally, they didn't meet until college)

So who is this? You'll have to wait and see!

~Meow