The Sensational Spider-Man (Marvel;Re)/Issue 3

The third issue of Marvel;Re's The Sensational Spider-Man and the third part of the "Sensational" story arc.
==Synopsis==
Spider-Man attempts to find out the reason for Vulture's new upgrades in an attempt to gain an upper hand on him when Vulture takes things too far.
==Plot==
Wilson Fisk walks through a small group of reporters, all of whom are trying to take pictures of him. James Wesley does his best to shoo the people away.
*Wesley: I'm sorry but Mr. Fisk is a very busy man. He can't accept any interview offers at the moment. Please no flash photography, he woke up with a headache this morning. Clear a path for him, please.
Fisk and Wesley walk into Fisk Industries and Fisk enters his office.
*Kingpin: Damned vultures...
*Vulture: Do you have a problem with vultures, Mr. Fisk?
Kingpin looks up and spots the Vulture perched on his open window.
*Kingpin: Toomes!? You scared me half to death! What brings you here, anyway? Did you manage to kill Spider-Man?
*Vulture: No, my sonic vocal cords aren't powerful enough to kill him. I told you I needed a bigger budget, Fisk!
*Kingpin: With all due respect, you were the one who operated on yourself. I was merely the one who gave you the money to do it.
*Vulture: Are you deaf!? I said you didn't give me enough!
*Kingpin: Listen, Adrian, my friend. If you're truly that upset at me then I'll give you as much money as you want after you prove you can successfully kill Spider-Man. Deal?
Vulture lands on Kingpin's table, inches away from his face.
*Kingpin: ...You ripped some of my papers with the talons on your feet.
*Vulture: You know for a fact that I wouldn't bother coming here if my only complaint was that I couldn't make my sonic scream powerful enough.
Vulture tosses a newspaper in Fisk's lap that reveals Fisk is planning on buying Bestman, Inc.
*Kingpin: ...What's your point?
*Vulture: You gave me the money to take my revenge on Bestman's company and then you turn around and decide to absorb it into Fisk Industries!?
*Kingpin: Fisk Industries absorbing Bestman Incorporated would technically be a way of destroying it, am I wrong?
Vulture flies up and lands on a nearby bookshelf.
*Vulture: I'm giving you one last chance here, Fisk... are you my ally or my enemy?
Kingpin looks at Vulture and starts laughing.
*Kingpin: Do you really think that my men would let you kill me, Toomes? I'm the most powerful man in--
*Vulture: Yes, I know for a fact that your army of minions would come after me. But I am a man with nothing to lose now, Fisk. I honestly don't care...
Fisk goes quiet.
*Vulture: No answer? Well, allow me to persuade you!
Vulture flies towards Fisk and grabs him with the talons on his feet, smashing out a window and flying off with him. Later, Peter wakes up in a bed. He attempts to get up but falls back in pain. Aunt May walks into the room and places a tray of food next to him.
*May: Your bruised beyond belief, you should just lie back and relax for now.
Peter sits back and turns around, seeing his Spider-Man costume in a wardrobe. Realizing what he's looking at, May sits on the bed next to him.
*May: ...Why'd you decide to tell me now?
*Peter: What?
*May: You kept this hidden from me for years. Why are you only telling me now that you're Spider-Man?
*Peter: You... you were the closest person I could find. I know you wouldn't just take care of Spider-Man, so I decided to show my face to you so that you'd help me.
*May: I'm sure that's part of the reason, but I know for a fact there's a bigger reason. You could've just went to a hospital but you came to me. And I think that's because you wanted to show your face to me. Right?
Peter doesn't answer.
*May: That's what I thought... Why did you decide now of all times to tell me you were Spider-Man?
*Peter: ...Spider-Man... Spider-Man's getting in the way of Peter Parker's life...
*May: Hm?
*Peter: Harry hates Spider-Man. My best friend since high school and he absolutely hates one half of my personality without even knowing it. And my relationship with MJ fell apart cause she was afraid that I'd get hurt on a mission as Spider-Man. It feels like every time Peter Parker's happy, Spider-Man somehow gets in the way of it. I just thought I'd tell you before... before Spider-Man somehow affected you and me as well...
*May: Oh, Peter... Spider-Man's helped a thousand people and I love you with all my heart. There's absolutely no way you being Spider-Man would get in the way of that.
*Peter: Hehehe...
*May: What's so funny?
*Peter: Nothing. I just wish you'd told me that before I unmasked myself for no reason.
*May: Oh, I wouldn't say you did it for no reason. It's still nice to know the truth, after all.
Peter smiles at May and turns on the TV, which shows a news broadcast at Midtown High, revealing that Wilson Fisk is hanging by his coat on the flagpole on top of the school.
*Reporter: How exactly Mr. Fisk was placed on top of the flagpole is unknown, but police have just arrived on the scene to get him down. He--
A loud bang is heard off-screen.
*Reporter: Wha-- Get the camera on him!
The camera turns, revealing Vulture has landed and perched on top of a police car. Several officers crowd around Vultur, who removes his beak and screams at the officers, launching them, the cameraman, and the reporter through the air. Vulture then grabs the camera and speaks into it.
*Vulture: Spider-Man! If you are watching this then I have taken Wilson Fisk and the entirety of Midtown High hostage! Show up and face me and I will only take the lives of you and Fisk. If you don't show up within five hours then I will topple this high school with my scream! While I'm certain some of the people inside will survive, I can not confirm all of them will. Get here fast!
Peter stares at the TV before getting up and grabbing his suit, gritting his teeth through the pain of moving.
*May: Peter, you're still healing, you can't go face him!
*Peter: I can if I find a way of beating him. All I need to do is drop down at Bar With No Name and interrogate some people and they'll spill the beans on someone who knows how he got those new powers and how to take him down.
*May: Peter, interrogating them won't do anything!
*Peter: Of course it will. The Bar With No Name's full of supervillains, they'd be terrified if I walked into the place. All I'd need to do is walk up to one of them, ask them about Vulture, and they'd--
*May: That's not you, Peter!
*Peter: ...What do you mean?
*May: I've been keeping up with the news, you've been letting your ego control you. You mocked those terrorists at the Spider-Man parade and people who saw your fight with Vulture said you made fun of him before he fought you.
*Peter: But that's what I do, I'm Spider-Man.
*May: But it was a different kind of mocking. You weren't just trying to get them angry so they'd fight poorer, you were claiming that they could never hurt you ever again! You never got that egotistical with your enemies before, why did you suddenly start?
*Peter: Because I...
*May: I know why, you're letting all this fame get to your head. You had a parade thrown in your honor, everybody's telling you how much they love you, and you're letting it all fuel you. I've known you your whole life so I know I can't stop you from going to visit those criminals but when you do, don't greet them with threats or quips. Do the responsible thing. Greet them with kindness...
Peter thinks about it and nods at May. At the Bar With No Name, lesser-known Spider-Man villains (such as Swarm, Mirage, Big Wheel, Kangaroo, etc) are all hanging out together. Big Wheel eats something out of a small jar with his finger.
*Big Wheel: Aw man, I love this stuff! I found it at the supermarket the other day and it tastes amazing, you gotta try it, Des!
*Mirage: ...That stuff?
*Big Wheel: Yeah!
*Mirage: That's baby food.
*Big Wheel: Okay, you could've just said you didn't want to...
*Mirage: No, that's literally baby food.
*Big Wheel: ...What?
*Mirage: It's the food that people give to babies.
*Big Wheel: ...Oh... oh no...
The door of the Bar With No Name flies open and Spider-Man walks into the room. Every single criminal in the place turns to face him.
*Peter: ...Hi.
Everybody gets up and gets ready for a fight. However, Peter walks past all of them and attacks no one, sitting down next to White Rabbit, who is quite obviously terrified of him.
*Peter: Nice to see you again, Lori. Two of us haven't met since the Menagerie bank robbery a few weeks back.
*White Rabbit: You can't arrest me, I was let out on good behavior!
*Peter: Don't worry, I'm not here to arrest anybody. I'll only arrest you guys when you force me to.
*White Rabbit: Then... what're you here for?
*Peter: Barkeep!
The Walrus walks up to them.
*Peter: Two, please. I'll pay for both.
Walrus hands the two drinks. White Rabbit picks hers up and looks at Spider-Man in confusion.
*Peter: So... tell me about yourself.
*White Rabbit: ...Well...
Sometime later, White Rabbit is laughing after telling a story to Spider-Man.
*White Rabbit: Heh... so yeah, that's about everything new in my life. Oh, wait! Oh god, I'm such an idiot, I almost forgot!
*Peter: Yeah?
*White Rabbit: You know Percy Grimes?
*Peter: The Brother Grimm?
White Rabbit removes her glove, revealing a wedding ring, which she shows off to Peter.
*Peter: Wha... no way!
*White Rabbit: That's right! We met in prison and he apparently started crushing on me. I wasn't sure at first, but I gave it a shot and a few months later we were married!
*Peter: Months?
*White Rabbit: Well, when you know, you know. You know?
*Peter: Uh... yes?
*White Rabbit: So, what brought you here anyway?
*Peter: ...Truth be told, I need information. You were Vulture's cellmate at The Vault, right?
*White Rabbit: Yuh-huh.
*Peter: What do you know about his sonic scream power?
*White Rabbit: Hm... The last time I saw him, this weird guy in a suit walked into our cell and offered him some money. They thought I was asleep, but I overheard them talk about how he needed money to get revenge on a ton of people. I guess that scream's what he used the money for.
*Peter: Do you remember the guy's name?
*White Rabbit: Uh... James Wesley?
*Peter: What? How does that make...
Peter finds a newspaper once again saying that Fisk is attempting to buy Bestman, Inc.
*Peter: Oh my god... Oh my god, everything makes sense now!
Peter runs out of the building. Walrus cleans a cup and walks over to White Rabbit.
*Walrus: Why did you tell him everything...?
*White Rabbit: I don't know. He was nice to me so I was nice back, I guess.
At Midtown High, Kingpin is still hanging from the school's flagpole. Vulture perches on top of it, carrying a man in a bulletproof vest and holding a gun in the other hand.
*Vulture: You weren't kidding, Fisk. Your men won't stop trying to assassinate me. Luckily, my upgraded suit allows me to move faster than their bullets can fire. A suit that, may I remind you, you gave me the money to build.
Vulture drops the assassin and he hits the ground, falling unconscious.
*Vulture: You should have thought your actions out more thoroughly, Mr. Fisk. You've managed to create your own worst enemy!
*Kingpin: You've gone crazy, Toomes!
*Vulture: Oh, shut up. You're nowhere near the first person to say that to me!
Vulture spots Spider-Man swinging towards them and landing on a police car.
*Vulture: Well, better late than never, I suppose...
Yuri leans against the car Peter is crouched on.
*Yuri: You doing alright? Vulture looked like he really did a number on you from those videos of the fight online.
*Peter: I woke up with some pretty bad bruises but I think the healing factor's mostly fixed that.
*Yuri: Thank god you showed up when you did. I know he said five hours but he was getting pretty impatient... So, you gonna march up there and--
Yuri notices a file in Peter's hand.
*Yuri: What's that?
*Peter: Something that'll really come in handy.
Peter swings off and lands on the roof of Midtown High, Vulture floating down to confront him.
*Vulture: Finally ready to face me, I see...
*Peter: Wilson Fisk is the one who gave you the money to experiment on yourself.
*Vulture: Hm?
*Peter: He gave you the money to give yourself your sonic scream. In reality, he knew you had a grudge against the Bestman company and would kill their CEO if you got the chance. You killed John Bestman and Fisk instantly got to work trying to buy his company. That's why you kidnapped him.
Peter hands Vulture the file.
*Peter: And this is why you out of nowhere decided to kill John and why you tried extra hard to kill me.
Vulture reads the file and his eyes widen.
*Vulture: Where did you get this!?
*Peter: I stopped by the Vault on my way here. They had all of your medical files. And that reaction tells me that files aren't wrong... your cancer's back, isn't it, Adrian?
*Vulture: ...What's your point?
*Peter: The doctors gave you a year to live. That's why you're doing everything you can to destroy Bestman's company and kill everyone who you've ever been enemies with. You want to get everybody on your hit list before you die.
Vulture angrily looks around.
*Peter: If the courts found out that Fisk funded a supervillain attack then they'd have no choice but to arrest him. And even if somehow Fisk got off, there'd be protests in the streets and he'd be under constant surveillance by the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D. You'd be able to topple Fisk's criminal empire and his company. You'd also redeem yourself in the eyes of the public and even if chemo doesn't work you'd go out a hero. What do you say Toomes?
Vulture thinks about it for a minute.
*Vulture: I have a better idea...
Vulture grabs Peter and flies into the air with him.
*Vulture: I'll kill you and Fisk and the fear I invoke afterward will force the best criminal doctors to find a cure for me. How about that, spider!?
*Peter: I'm trying to help you!
*Vulture: I don't need your help and I'll be damned if I ever do!
Peter looks down and realizes how high they're flying.
*Peter (narration): I really don't want to do this... but I can't really think of any other option...
Peter winds his fist back and starts punching Vulture repeatedly until Vulture lets him go. He manages to save himself by instantly rolling once he hits the ground. However, Vulture swoops down and the fight continues, though Peter throws no punches during it, instead dodging Vulture's attacks until Vulture removes his beak and screams at Peter, sending him flying into a police car. Yuri runs over to Peter.
*Yuri: Spidey, what the hell're you doing!? You're barely hitting the guy!
*Peter: He has cancer, Yuri...
*Yuri: What...?
*Peter: Vulture. He has cancer. I know I can help him if he just listens to me, but I won't be able to get through to him if I hit him.
Yuri stares at Peter and slaps him.
*Peter: Ow! What the hell was--
*Yuri: Spidey, there's a time and a place for stuff like that! This man is threatening to hurt children. Do you really think people would think you're the bad guy if you punched him!?
*Peter: Yuri, you don't understand. Someone I know told me I need to not let my ego get in the way of things and treat my enemies with kindness. So--
*Yuri: Yeah, I totally agree. Treat people with kindness. Now do the kindest thing you can and save all those kids by punching that guy in the face! I feel like you've gotten so caught up with the responsibility thing that you forgot that you have to use your power to be responsible!
Peter looks at Yuri and a determined expression crosses his face. He gets up and waits. Vulture attempts to fly into him but Peter jumps up and grabs on to Vulture's back, flying off with him. Yuri watches him fly off and smiles. Vulture repeatedly slams into buildings across the city, attempting to get Peter off of him.
*Vulture: Why won't you just let go!?
*Peter: You forget about the sticky fingers, Vulchy?
Peter repeatedly punches one of Vulture's jetpack wings until it shatters. He then grabs Vulture and swings to the roof of a nearby building, tossing him on it and landing a few feet away from him.
*Peter: You know, Vulchy. I've realized two things today: Sometimes you need to be responsible. Sometimes you need to be powerful. And I feel like I need to be pretty powerful right now...
Vulture removes his beak and attempts to scream but Peter webs his mouth shut.
*Peter: Little hard to scream without a mouth, isn't it?
Vulture pops his claws and starts slashing at Peter. Peter dodges each slash before grabbing Vulture's claws and shattering them, revealing regular gloved hands beneath them. Vulture then removes the webs from his mouth and once again attempts to scream but Peter throws his beak back into his face and webs it on.
*Peter: Man, you just can't stop trying to scream! Librarians must hate you!
*Vulture: Maybe I should've taken you up on your offer. At least then I wouldn't have had to listen to your idiotic quips!
*Peter: Oh, come on, I'm Spider-Man! Quipping's what I do!
Vulture activates his single jetpack wing and spirals towards Peter, who simply steps to the side and allows Vulture to fly face-first through a glass window. Vulture then proceeds to smash straight through a wooden table and lands on the ground. As the nail in his coffin, Peter walks over to him and rips off his other jetpack wing.
*Peter: We done here?
Sometime later, Vulture is being taken away by police. Yuri writes in a notebook, taking Peter's testimony.
*Yuri: ...At which point, you ripped off his other wing and asked someone in the building to call the police. That everything?
*Peter: Yep, that's about it.
Peter hears Vulture coughing from inside his police car. Feeling bad for him, Peter turns to Yuri.
*Peter: Hey, can you do me a favor?
*Yuri: Yeah?
*Peter: Can you call up The Vault's warden and ask if his doctors can give Toomes special treatment? He's pretty sick and I don't wanna see him die even if he is one of the bad guys...
*Yuri: You've got it.
*Peter: Thanks, Yuri. I'll call up some heroes and see what they can do for him as well.
*Yuri: Well, since I'm doing a favor for you how about you do one for me?
*Peter: Whatever it is, I'll do it.
Cut to Peter helping Kingpin off of the flagpole.
*Peter: Christ, he's so heavy! Do I really have to do this!?
*Yuri: Well, I sure as hell aren't going to! Do you see how massive that guy is?!
*Kingpin: I can still hear you, you know...
Peter returns home to his apartment shortly after this.
*Peter (narration): Well, I learned two very different lessons today. I learned I both have to check my ego and be kind to my enemies and I also learned that it's sometimes okay to have an ego and you can't avoid every fight. Still wish I got a chance at talking to Harry, but I was pretty busy during all of this, so maybe I'll talk to him tomorrow. I would visit him today, but this whole day's been way too emotionally draining... I really need a quick break or, like, just a nice thing to happen today...
*Cindy: Hey, Petey! We got a surprise for you!
*Peter: Ooo, a surprise? I love surprises!
Peter walks into the apartment's living room but sees nothing.
*Peter: ...I don't get it, where's the surprise?
*Cindy: It's coming in now.
*Peter: Huh?
Someone enters the room and Peter is shocked at who it is.
*Cindy: Yeah, she got kicked out of her apartment and we decided to let her move in. I know it's an extra mouth to feed, but it should be easy to handle. I mean, we all get paid pretty well. So... thoughts?
*Peter (narration): Huh... guess karma also thought I needed something nice...
*Unknown Person: I know I've said this a lot to you but I feel like it's appropriate right now...
Peter's new roommate is revealed to be Mary Jane Watson.
*Mary Jane: Face it, tiger! You just hit the jackpot!
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