Peter replies that it is too weird to talk about it so Aunt May heads downstairs into the kitchen to get breakfast ready. Getting out of bed, Peter opens up the curtains and stares out the window, reminiscing about the recent events in his out-of-normal life. As he washes his face with water, he makes plans to meet with Dr. Curt Connors to enlist his help in finding the whereabouts of Freak's chrysalis and dump quicklime on it to put it in stasis before Freak breaks out of it, more powerful than ever. Joining his aunt for breakfast, Peter delivers the difficult news that he might be moving into the city to be closer to work. Aunt May remains relatively calm and tells Peter that she understands that he needs to move out and that it's probably all for the best. Having said that, she quietly leaves the kitchen, without looking Peter in the eye. Peter feels terrible, as he’s the only remaining family she has and he’s literally walking out on her. Unbeknownst to Peter, Aunt May is shown being completely ecstatic that Peter is finally getting a place of his own.
An hour later, at Dr. Curt Connors' lab, Spider-Man receives the unfortunate news that Doc Connors hasn't been able to locate Freak's chrysalis. Connors blames himself for Freak's creation but Spider-Man quickly points out that he could not have known that a drug addict would break in into his lab and steal serums, which he later injected himself with. Doc Connors momentarily stops blaming himself to tell Spider-Man about his efforts to locate Freak's chrysalis. Had his efforts not been impeded by the recent blizzard that tore through New York City, Doc Connors would have located it by now. Spider-Man reassures him that they will find it, as he’s pretty confident somebody must know where the debris from the burned down building, where Freak was last seen, was dumped. Having said that, Spidey turns his attention to a nearby table, upon which sits maximum PH quicklime. Doc Connors explains that there is sufficient quicklime on the table to keep Freak's chrysalis in stasis; he even has a hired car on standby, ready to go within five minutes, for when they locate the cocoon. Spidey writes his cell phone number down on a piece of paper and hands it to Doc Connors, telling him to call as soon as he finds it, so they can put an end to it. Doc Connors tells Spidey that there is always the possibility that they won’t find it in time. If that happens and Freak emerges from his cocoon stronger than before, Spidey might have to kill him. Spidey replies that he can't do that, as it goes against everything he stands for. Doc Connors argues that Spidey won't technically be killing him; instead, he'll be forcing Freak to return to his chrysalis state. As Freak's been so far shot and burned, making him bulletproof and fireproof, strangulation or suffocation are the only two other options remaining. Spidey is opposed to doing that but Doc Connors reminds him that Freak has already killed one person and sent three others to the hospital; something must be done to stop him. Spidey is speechless at first but then tells Doc Connors to hurry up and find the chrysalis before it hatches. As Doc Connors starts to make phone calls, Spidey swings away to his next destination, the feast center, where Bill Hollister is about to deliver a speech.
On the Upper East Side, J. Jonah Jameson, recently released from the hospital, arrives home, hoping to find his wife Marla waiting there for him. The maid informs Jonah that she's not at home and that she was told to put the video on when he got there. Marla appears on the television screen telling Jonah that she thought it would be best she was not home when he got there, as a result of the recent events, so she decided it would be better to communicate as such. She adds that she's left town and changed her phone numbers so he can't reach her. Having said that, she explains that she sold the Daily Bugle to save him. The daily stress and pressure took their toll and Jonah and, as far as she's concerned, caused him to have a heart attack; not Peter Parker. Marla understands that Jonah may disagree, and even want a divorce, but she won’t discuss anything until he's fully recovered, which means normal blood pressure conversation in a civil tone, and no more temper tantrums. Furious, Jonah yells back at the TV, telling the recorded Marla that he'll be damned if she's going to tell him what to do after what she's already done. Having said that, Jonah grabs the (flat screen) TV off the all and prepares to smash it into pieces. But he calms down and simply lays it on the floor.
Meanwhile at the feast center, Martin Li, a.k.a. Mr. Negative, tells the assembled crowd that he's endorsing Bill Hollister for mayor. Across town, at the private office of opposing candidate Randall Crowne, Crowne is rather displeased to have lost Li's endorsement, especially since they offered him a large "inducement". Crowne's assistant explains that Li is too rich to be interested in bribes, prompting Crowne to instruct his assistant to put Li on the "list", for being a danger to them. Back at the feast center, Peter receives a phone call from Doc Connors, who tells him that he’s found the location of Freak’s chrysalis and is heading there as they speak, with the quicklime in the trunk of his car. Peter answers that he’ll be there soon and ends the call. As Peter realizes that he's not going to get enough pictures of Hollister for the DB, his spider-sense suddenly kicks in, warning him of danger. On cue, Menace appears on his glider, and does a sweep above the crowd. Terrified bystanders start running away while Peter grabs Aunt May – she volunteers at the feast center – and takes her to safety. After making sure she's safe, Peter goes back outside to take pictures for the DB. Unbeknownst to Aunt May, Peter is actually heading back out to change into his Spider-Man costume and confront Menace. Outside Menace delivers a message to Bill Hollister, who defiantly hasn’t moved from behind his podium. Menace's message is clear; either Hollister withdraws from the race by the following day, or else he’ll face the consequences. Boldly, Hollister retorts that he has no intention of dropping out of the race, prompting Menace to reply that perhaps persuasion is in order, along the lines of the kind he showed Lisa Parfrey (see Amazing Spider-Man #551 for additional details). Just then, Spider-Man arrives on the scene and engages Menace into battle. Before either opponent can do much against each other, the NYPD SWAT team leader bellows through a bullhorn for them to surrender or else they'll open fire. Menace soars upward, away from the high-powered rifles, and invites Spider-Man to try and catch him. In normal times, Spidey would go after Menace; however, he is needed in Brooklyn, to put an end to Freak. He therefore leaves the scene and Menace behind, which makes it seem like he's chickening out of fighting his opponent. At ground level, Officer Vincent Gonzales tells his partner Alan O'Neil that Spidey is running away from a fight. O'Neil retorts that Menace was the one that ran away from Spidey; he also rhetorically asks Gonzales why Spidey would be attacking Menace if he's supposedly bad. Gonzales argues that it was all a PR stunt and if Spidey was a real hero, he would go after Menace.
Across town, Randall Crowne watches a news report about the attack on Hollister's life. The newscaster indicates that people's perception is that he may be behind the attacks, since two of his opponents have been attacked in the last few months, one of which has perished. Crowned is ticked off and wants to set the record straight. He thus asks his assistant to set up a press conference later that afternoon to address the current accusatory rumors.
Spidey arrives at the Brooklyn salvage yard, hoping that he’s not too late. As he scours the yard for Freak's chrysalis, his spider-sense suddenly starts tingling, just as the pile of smashed cars below him starts trembling. On cue, a large scaly fist bursts through the pile and the newly reinvigorated Freak emerges from his cocoon. Without any hesitation, he immediately attacks Spidey. The wall-crawler tells nearby workers to get out of there as he dodges a car thrown at him. Trying to disorientate Freak, Spidey covers his opponent’s face with webbing, hoping to buy some time until Doc Connors shows up with the quicklime. Realizing that Freak cannot be shot or burned, and holding his head underwater long enough to drown him is an impossible feat, Spidey notices a large pile of scrap metal dangling from a nearby crane and figures it is most likely heavy enough to crush him. Dodging a large I-beam Freak is swinging at him, Spidey closes in on the crane. Distracting Freak by shooting a large wad of webbing in his face, Spidey turns to the crane and pulls on the boom control lever, which he snagged with a web-line. The pile of scrap metal comes crashing down but it misses its mark, just as a black sedan bursts through the front gate and into the salvage yard. The cavalry has arrived in the form of Doc Connors. The most difficult part now is taking Freak down. Suddenly, however, Spidey gets an idea. Turning to Doc Connors, Spidey yells at him to take the "drugs" to his other hideout. Doc Connors is confused, to say the least. Freak, thinking Doc Connors' car contains drugs, flings himself toward the car and rips the trunk off, exposing two large packages containing a whitish powder. Freak rips the packages open and starts inhaling the powder. He soon realizes, however, that the powder is not drugs, but something else entirely: quicklime. Within seconds, Freak falls to the ground unconscious and a cocoon envelops him once again, causing him to go in stasis. Spidey grabs hold of the leftover quicklime and dumps the rest of it onto Freak, to make sure he never regenerates. He then tells Doc Connors to contact Carlie Cooper at the NYPD, so they can figure out what to do with Freak’s chrysalis. He then swings away.
A short time later, Randall Crowne faces the press and announces that he's offering a fifty thousand dollar reward for any information leading to the capture of Menace. He also dispels any rumors that he’s associated with Menace and that he doesn’t accept any endorsements from anyone who wears a mask, good guy or bad guy. Across town, Bill Hollister is asked by reporters if he thinks Menace is working for someone else, i.e. Randall Crowne. Hollister answers that, as far as he's concerned, his opponent has denied any involvement and he takes him at his word. Standing near her father, Lily Hollister tells reporters that her father is the best man for the job and that he won't be intimidated by anyone, including Menace. At the Coffee Bean, Peter, along with Harry Osborn, watch that exact news report on one of the televisions. Harry is all proud of Lily but Peter is kind of concerned that Menace might try to harm her. Harry answers that he'll take whatever precautions are necessary, because that's what Osborn's do. Peter’s thoughts reveal that he's suspicious of Harry being Menace, because of the similarities between the Green Goblin and Menace. He also thinks about Freak and hopes the police have him in a secure place. Coincidentally, across town, members of the NYPD Hazmat Unit are picking up the cocoon and shoving it in the back of a large transport truck. It turns out, however, that the truck actually belongs to Oscorp Industries.
To be continued.
)