Spiderman Prime by Sorcerer Prime
Chapter 13. Damien's Whim
(Damien's POV)
With both 'ion-fishing' and a 'gajillion megahertz of electricity', Hydro Man was out of trump cards. Despite his remarkable resistance, he was no longer immune to the electric effect that weakened the bonds between his water molecules, thus causing him to splatter and splash like a water bomb.
Once he had exploded, Hydro Man's crackling cries died down, leaving only the stilling sounds of the water waves in the streets of the flooded city.
"He just had to die from that, right?" I was more hopeful than curious.
"No, he's merely incapacitated, but it'll take a lot of time for him to recover and reestablish his broken molecules." Spiderman explained while swinging to intercept one of Hydro Man's splashes.
"In the meantime, this is all that remains of our dear friend," Spiderman said as he collected a drop of water in a thick web. "There's a side effect to resisting too much electricity. You get reduced to nothing but a water molecule trying its best to restore itself."
Spiderman's webbed it up further to fully engulf the water. Hydro Man's cohesive forces (and will to continue existing) kept it together, and the web's adhesion kept it from dripping, it's increasing thickness stopping it from leaking.
To me, it looked like regular water, but it must have been past experience that guided Spiderman's judgement for him to detect the remaining piece of Hydro Man.
"So, what do we do to finish him off for good?" No, it wasn't an intrusive thought that had led me to say that. I meant every word, especially after seeing water Hydro Man was capable of.
I mean, just by looking at the city, you could understand my judgement. Buildings and vehicles had been wrecked, a lot of people had been injured in the process, and the city would malnourished in the weeks to follow.
People would lose jobs as a consequences for the smashed buildings, infrastructure would have to be redeveloped by money that could otherwise be put to better use...
And there was always the possibility that some people had died in the process, but only after the news could someone really know that.
Honestly, I'm not one to genuinely sympathize with casualties of chaos, but I felt like clearing Hydro Man from a list of potential problems could give everyone a good night's sleep. And now that I was thinking about it, basically all villains needed to be CLEARED if this was going to be my world.
At some point, maybe I'd end up developing meaningful relations with the mundane people. What would happen if they ended up suffering at the hands of a maniac like Hydro Man trying to drive his sinister agenda. I may not be one to break in times of loss, but it doesn't mean that I wouldn't feel bad if something terrible happened.
"No." Spiderman replied.
"What?" I asked for confirmation as my train of thought had carried me away from the moment.
"I said, No. Hydro Man has been stopped and he will soon face his consequences under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s containment. There is no reason for any bloodshed." Spiderman elaborated, and I understood his point of view.
I knew Spiderman's morals, and understood why he didn't value unnecessary killing. As long as the situation was resolved, the day was as good as saved to him. However, that wasn't enough to sway me.
"Okay then, Hydro Man lives on so that he can terrorize the world another day," I said with disdain at the thought, not at Spiderman.
"Killing a subdued enemy is not a heroic thing to do, Lucky Spider," Spiderman lectured, with Hydro Man fully wrapped up in a spider-ball, like a cocoon. "I get why you'd see that it's necessary, but killing corrupts. One spider to another - don't go down that dark path."
"Fine," I replied calmly while assessing the best move. I did want Hydro Man off the list, but that didn't mean I wanted to make spiderman a non-friend.
"Maybe Hydro Man won't die tonight, but it doesn't mean that he is fated to live," I found a better way to argue. "After he is executed and found to be a mass murderer, that should automatically lead to a death penalty."
"Even with Hydro Man flooding the city, people were saved," Spiderman reminded. "We both swung around to ensure that there were no casualties. We saved people from drowning while guiding Hydro Man away from populated ares."
"Call me being hopeful, but I like to look at the bright side," Spiderman continued. "Our collaborated efforts, together with the authorities and others made sure that no one would be killed by Hydro Man's flood."
"Not trying to undermine our efforts, but when tomorrow comes and the water has subsided, can you still be a hundred percent sure that no one drowned?" I asked, a hopeful tone escaping with my words.
"It almost sounds like you want it to happen," Spiderman observed. "But yes. I have never let Hydro Man kill anyone before, and I'm sure that remains the case."
"If you say so then," I replied. "All I want, is for everyone to be safer,"
"I'm getting attached to being in this world, and I'd like for it to be more accommodating." I said to myself.
After things cooled off, I decided to bring up a different conversation.
"So, are we gonna talk about the fact that I know your secret identity?" Knowing Spiderman, I knew that he'd defend against that claim.
"It's only fair, since I already know yours," Not the typical reply I was expecting, but it wasn't that astonishing. "I guess it's time for a more formal introduction."
"I'm Peter Parker," We were out of earshot as he extended his hand to shake mine. "And I guess you already know how I look, Damien."
With him saying my name, I was certain he wasn't bluffing about knowing my name - and probably face too. But secret identities are overrated when you really don't have anything to hide.
"And I'm Damien Dark. Nice to meet you Peter," I shook his hand. "It really is nice getting to know you."
"Yeah, you have no idea." Spiderman replied, and something about his tone spooked me, but not for long, and I chose to let it slide.
"So, do I get to meet the other spider-guys?" I asked, genuinely excited to meet Jess, wondering what she was like in person.
"Spider-woman is off-world with the Avengers, but I'm sure you'll bump with the others in good time, just like you did with me." Spiderman's reply left my mind running with questions.
"Dial back a sec." I was dissecting his statement. First, it was as if he had read my mind for him to know I was thinking about Jessica Drew (Spider Woman). But I wasn't thinking about that Jessica Drew (story for another time).
"The Avengers are off-world?!" Now that's something I wanted to be sure about. What if things with Hydro Man had gotten a little more dramatic?
"Well, most of them.. But not just them," Spiderman continued. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is also currently preoccupied with protecting Earth from an invasion."
"So, if you think about it, I'm currently Earth's last defense, as the only remaining Avenger." Spiderman added.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I knew he wasn't obliged to divulge into all those details, but the question just had to be asked.
"I know you are relatively knew to this. And since I didn't want to spook you..." Spiderman left for me to fill in. His statement showed that he had been following my movements, and it made sense if he was the only remaining Avenger on Earth.
Not to mention that him coming to investigate me in the atmosphere, was because there was no one else to send. That, and the fact he was receiving updates from Jarvis. But I didn't get why...
"Don't you have access to cool Avenger gadgets?" I asked. " I mean, it's easier to fly in high altitudes than swing there."
"I do, actually. But just like I told Tony before the Avengers left, I like my role as the friendly neighborhood -" Spiderman explained, and I completed his statement.
"Spiderman."
"How do you know my real identity by the way?" Spiderman asked, while continuing to explain how he knew mine. "I mean, I know yours because Jarvis happened to bring it up while tracking potential threats. It was a total accident. But how do you know mine?"
"I was bitten by a magical spider," I answered cryptically. Seeing his 'so what' look made me get into the details of my lie. "So, Spider-guys are connected to this great Web of Life and Destiny that allows me to know the secret identities of spider-guys."
Yeah... the Web of Destiny does no such thing. I just knew the names from comics, movies and animations. But using the Web of Life and Destiny to explain it felt like a solid explanation that I was even buying into it. But it also made me wonder if I was connected to it, and whether I was in danger because of it.
"Web of Life and Destiny..--" Spiderman seemed to wonder.
"Don't read too much into it. You'll know all about it soon enough." I refused to tell him the details, because I knew that in the end, things would play out like they should.
"And about those drawing lessons, I wasn't sure before, but after the whole thing with Hydro Man, I've realized that I'm not really poor at science as I thought." I added, referring to my request for assistance earlier. "I just have a disorganized brain that I need to train to use the information I already know."
"You do seem like a smart guy. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Spiderman assured, and I nodded in agreement.
"I'll have to take care of Hydro Man now, before we find out Doc Ock had something more sinister in the solution," Spiderman said while preparing to swing away with the web-ball containing Hydro Man.
"Where will you take him?" I wondered.
"To a discreet location." Spiderman answered with a leap.
"But feel free to ask for assistance, if you need any." Spiderman remembered to say while swinging away.
"We all need Doctor Strange when the demon and vampires are too hot to handle." He referenced from further away.
"Strange voice of reference." I wondered while intending to swing away myself. But I had no plan of getting home just yet.
"Don't let killing consume you..." My aura shifted in an instance. "We'll see about that."
~Prime
As usual, hanging chapter 14 in Patreon.com/sorcererprime for everyone.