The
Astonishing Spiderman
Vol. 1, No. 5
"Confrontations"
Written by: Ryan Jent

* * *

Liz Osborn slams her fist onto the table she sits at, glaring at the two men across from her, “I want my son, DAMMIT!”
“And if you behave, Ms. Osborn, You shall receive him.” One of them spoke. Both wearing black suits and sunglasses, they reminded her of the movie Men in Black.
Laying her head down on the table, she sighs. “Please.”
“This child is the grandson of Norman Osborn. As we see it, each of the Osborn’s, Your deceased husband Harry, as well as Norman himself, have became the Green Goblin. This is a threat to us.”
“Harry was brainwashed by that maniac! Where is Norman, anyway? Last I heard he was locked up! He has no influence over my son!”
The second man spoke up, “Is it not true you agreed to work with Osborn to retrieve your son from us?* [[See Issue 3. -Ry.]]
“I just wanted my son.”
“We assure you, Ms. Osborn, If you cooperate with us.. Your son will be yours once more.”
“What..” She paused, “..Do you want?”
The first man grinned, “You shall know soon enough.”

Liberty High School.

“I’m telling you,” The boy grinned to his girlfriend, “Everything will be fine. This weekend will be great. Me. You. An empty house.”
“Brian,” Kari smiled weakly, “I can’t.”
Rolling his eyes and throwing his head back, Brian whined. “Why not?! I think it’s about time we--”
“We what?” She gave him the evil eye. “Is that all you jocks think about?”
“Kar, I..”
“I’ll call you later, If you’re lucky. I have to get to class.” She slammed her locker closed and walked in the opposite direction of him.
As Kari Kline walks down the long, empty hallway, her thoughts are her own. “What a jerk. I should’ve taken Jen’s advice and never went out with him. I wonder what he’d think if he knew about the other night? He wouldn’t have a girlfriend if not for Spiderman. I would’ve died.* [[*You read issue 3, didn’t you?! -Ry.]] What was that thing, anyway? Crazy for one. Calling me a mutie.”
Turning to her right, she soon found herself at room 329, her French class. “Here goes explaining why I’m late again to Mr. Beau,” She mumbled, turning the doorknob and walking in. She sighed as the teacher stared at her. “Ms. Kline. You’re late. That’s the fifth time this week!!”
Sighing, Kari took her seat. “It won’t happen again, Mr. Beau.”
“We’ll discuss that after class.”

* * *

As all the students leave the room save for Kari, Mr. Beau shakes his head, “Perhaps a phone call home, Ms. Kline?”
“I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“I can’t keep disciplining you through school. It’s not working.”
“I said it won’t happen again,” Kari sighed.
Extending his hand, Mr. Beau smiled, “Is that a deal, then?”
Looking him in the eye, Kari smiled. “Deal.”
Shaking his hand, she found a small shock, “Sorry,” She could only mouth the words, as the sight before her was unbelievable. “Oh my god!” She shrieked, stepping back at the sight of the man. It looked as if he’d been burnt . . . fried . . . electrocuted. Looking down at her hand, she noticed a white blue energy swarming about it.

High atop a building.

Spiderman examines his surroundings carefully. He’d come to the assumption this place Madame Web had teleported him was the place Venom was keeping his wife.*[[*See Last issue. -Astonishing Ry.]] “Don’t worry MJ. I’m coming,” He thought, crawling to a glass dome. It was dusty, and hard to see through, but it obviously led inside. To his wife.
Running his finger along it, a layer of dust formed on his costume. Standing up to think of a plan of attack, Spiderman found a suprise. “Spidersense?!” Turning, he saw Eddie Brock in nothing but his boxers.
“Parker..” He moaned out before collapsing onto our Astonishing hero, sending the two flying through the glass dome.
Reacting as he would in any situation, he went to fire his webbing. “Of all times to run out of web fluid!” He scolded himself, holding onto the now unconscious Brock. “Hold on..” He winced underneath his mask.
Moments later, a loud SLAM! was heard all throughout the building, alerting the other occupant. Dust flew up violently from the impact of the two men, and Peter Parker, The Astonishing Spiderman would feel the effect of the hit for quite some time. “Nngh..” He spat out, laying Brock aside “I don’t get it.. Why is Eddie..”
“Because there is a new Symbiote in town, Spiderman!” The creature hissed from the darkness.
“No..”
“Peter..” Mary Jane fell to the ground, encased with skin-tight black symbiote up to her neck.
“MJ! NO!” He ran forward, pulling her up.
With a slight hiss, the symbiote slides over her face, devouring any trace of the woman he loves. “Fool!” The creature shouts, slamming into him, sending the two crashing in the ground. Flipping over him quickly, the symbiote looks down victorious.
“Mary.. Jane..” The man squeals out pathetically.
It’s right hand taking the shape of a blade, the symbiote brings it down towards Spiderman. Without hesitating, Parker dodges with a quick jump.
“Got too.. get.. away,” Spiderman thought, running through the enormous empty building. “She’s too strong.. Don’t want to.. hurt her..”
Ting..

Ting..

“What?” Spiderman gazed up at the enormous bells atop him. How ironic.. Venom would choose an old bell tower for a hide out? This, he could use. Leaping onto the wall, he began to climb up.
“Got to.. keep.. going.” He thought, continuing his climb. Leaping onto a board which ran across the entire length of the building, from side to side, he walked forward slowly.
“We know your plans, Spiderman. You can’t execute them if you are dead, however!” The symbiote barked, appearing from nowhere before him.
“Mary Jane..”
“Peter..” It fell to it’s knees, revealing Mary Jane’s face once more.
Flipping over her, knowing it to be best, he slammed into the bell, rocking it slightly.
Tinggg..
..Tinnngg..

“NO!” The symbiote’s long arm stretched outward, the shape of an ax slicing into the old wood. “We won’t allow it!” It leapt forward towards Spiderman.
Using his spider like agility, Spiderman slammed into the bell once more.. so hard, it slammed into the next.. and the next. A domino effect. “NO!” The Creature shrieked once more, stumbling slightly. It’s ax hand slammed into more of the rotting wood, until a bell fell from it’s holding place in the roof.. tearing the building apart. The hole the bell had tore in the roof was only the beginning. The rest of the roof began to crumble, the hole growing larger. The beams they stood on collapsed at the weight of the falling bells.
“MARY JANE!” Spiderman shrieked as he fell, hardly caring about the damage that would be done to himself. Clinging to a bell as it plummeted, he eventually slammed into the ground, underneath rubble. He had been lucky enough to have been missed by any of the massive pieces.. Could he say the same for his wife?
Pulling himself up slowly, he began to throw rubble about, “MJ! MJ?!” He found nothing. Never giving up, he shifted through anything and everything. “MJ..”

..Forty-Five Minutes Later..

Not even noticing his mask had been ripped off, and a long slash ran across his face, Peter continued to ramble on, searching through the remains of the old building. “She has to be here somewhere.. Has to.” He cried out, continuing his search. The uncanny silence of the place save for Peter’s babbling was interrupted by sirens. He then turned to find a woman, The Marksman.* [[*You didn’t miss her debut last issue, Did you? -Ry.]]
“Mary Jane?!” He fell into the Marksman’s arms.
“I-I don’t believe it. Spiderman.. unmasked?!” The hero was a little star-struck. “Don’t worry dude, I’ll get you out of here before the cops can make it through.” She vowed, running out, Spiderman over her shoulder.

Some time later.

Peter Parker awakens to find a woman staring down at him. Dressed nearly exactly like the Avenger Hawkeye, he nearly jumps. “Wha-What’s going.. Who are..”
“Take it easy big guy,” She smiled down at him, “You’ve got a pretty nasty scrape there.” She spoke of the now bandaged scrape across his face. “You’re lucky you pulled through.”
“Mary Jane!!” Parker leapt up, revealing himself to be only half dressed. His shirt was gone. The Marksman had obviously been treating a wound on his stomach, a cut. Parker felt it the moment he had taken off. “NNGH!” He doubled over, landing on the ground.
“Even Spidermen can get hurt, I guess,” She lifted him back onto the table he’d been on before.
“I..”
“Relax, Your secret’s safe. Who’s.. Mary Jane?”
“Someone I,” He winced in pain, “Have to get to. Before she..”
“The Police were at the scene. If she’s there, they’ll find her. I figured it best to pull the maskless Spiderman outt’ve the area.”
“Spiderman..” The mystic voice of Madame Web came.
With an amazing array of pinks and yellows, Spiderman finds himself in the lair of Madame Web. “Web?! What do you want?!”
“To warn you, of course.”
“Warn me?!”
“Your wife is gone, Spiderman. You must continue your role as Spiderman, no matter what.”
“No.”
“It will be hard, Boy, but you must.”
“I said.. No.”
“Believe me when I say this, Spiderman,” Madame Web began, “Without Spiderman, others you love shall fall to the same.. threat.”

The Next Morning.

After his chat with Madame Web, Peter found himself back at his home, a great void in his heart. Standing, he could only sigh. And in a moment of rage, a scream erupted from the man as he charged forward, tears streaming from his eyes. Kicking over a stand, throwing a chair, smashing a table, and even shattering windows were in his arsenal.
Taking the moment in, Parker fell to his knees, and was interrupted in his moment of solitude as the door bell rang. Convincing himself to open it, he reached the door, pulling it open.
“Here’s yer paper,” The Marksman walked in, throwing it to the ground. “What? No dog to bring it to you? Get dressed half-clothed wonder, Spiderman’s needed downtown.”
“Who.. are you?”
“Oh come on. How many fully-spandexed heroes come walkin’ into your house?”
“How did you find me?” He wiped his face.
She bent down, tearing off one of his own Spider tracers off of his leg. “I wondered what these were. It kinda clicked. I’d suggest you get downtown, though. If you value it. I figured, I already knew where you were, and you have experience fighting the Green Goblin..”
“The Green Goblin?!”
“Yup.”
“That’s impossible.”
The Marksman shrugged, “You game?”
“I.. Yes.” His eyes narrowed, “I’ll suit up.”

Moments Later.

As Peter walks out the door, Spiderman costume underneath his clothes, the Daily Bugle lay on the ground. The workers of the Bugle had put out some special stories this issue. Including?

Legacy Virus Claims it’s first human life! Moira MacTaggert DEAD!

Teacher found electrocuted at Liberty High School

Norman Osborn sentenced to life

Old Bell Tower Destroyed, Spiderman involved?

The Chameleon seen exiting a local morgue!

Next Issue:

The Marksman and Spidey team up to defeat.. the Green Goblin?! Hey, I thought Norman got life?