38: New Rules
Lara looked with no small amount of horror at the bright green material that Daniel had begun bringing to the fortress just a few hours ago, interrupting her research on the new and interesting metal called vibranium.
Kryptonite, the most deadly radioactive material from Krypton, here on Earth, on the same planet as her daughter. Sometimes not having a body of flesh and blood was quite useful—the biochemical processes that would have caused her state to alter and panic to begin to fill her were easily thwarted by herself before they could blind her thoughts with unnecessary fear, leaving her free to reflect on how this had happened.
Of course, she and Jor-El knew that some of the material might arrive on the planet along with their daughter. After all, some of Krypton's debris followed the path of the ship when it departed through the hyperspace hole, but the larger the pile of kryptonite that Daniel was bringing, the more horrified she became.
Why was there so much? This wasn't supposed to happen; it wasn't within the calculations. It was clear that something had gone wrong.
Was it Galactus? Did he do something? Lara couldn't think of anyone else capable of causing something like this. Somehow, imagining the purple giant taking parts of her destroyed planet and launching them after her daughter as a form of revenge didn't seem as far-fetched as some might imagine.
After all, she and Jor-El had completely destabilized the planet's core before they died as a final "screw you" to the being who killed their species, accelerating its destruction and preventing the world-devourer from consuming it entirely by blowing it up in his face.
Yeah, that probably made him pretty angry…
"And this is just around this area, Smallville?" she asked her daughter, who was standing beside her, wearing a full-body radiation suit that Lara had given her when her systems began sending red alerts all over the place the moment Daniel brought the first piles of green crystal.
"Yes, Daniel is checking the entire area, taking advantage of the fact that most of the town is asleep, but he probably won't finish soon, so I'm going to go help." Initially, Carol should have stayed behind, but when her mother brought out the radiation suit and explained what it was for, the young Kryptonian didn't hesitate and put it on with the intention of going out to help with the collection task.
Lara nodded. It was better if the two of them worked together and put all the kryptonite in the fortress as quickly as possible—the less of it out there for anyone to use, the better.
"Here, Daniel told me to give you this so you could review his design. He wants you to see if it can be improved further to increase its range globally." Before leaving, Carol took out a USB that contained the data and designs of the detector that Daniel had created.
Lara took the small, primitive object and easily extracted the information from it.
A kryptonite detector… Although primitive in some aspects, it was still quite advanced in others—a design not too different from the one Jor-El had been working on before Galactus arrived.
"I can use this," Lara said as she pulled out her husband's incomplete blueprints and began to work, combining both designs and taking the best of each, but focusing on the use of Earth materials for its creation.
Meanwhile, for the first time since the deployment of the fortress, several androids that had been in standby mode came to life and began constructing containers that would be used to safely isolate the kryptonite once it was all gathered.
Preferably to destroy it afterward.
.
.
.
While Daniel, Carol, and Lara worked through the night until dawn, elsewhere in the United States, in the most dreadful part of Hell's Kitchen…
Antony swallowed hard as sweat dripped from his forehead, fear clear in his eyes. His trembling hands gripped his gun as if his life depended on it, while he forced his eyes to peer into the shadows surrounding him.
He couldn't see anything. The entire warehouse where he and his men had been suddenly fell into darkness, then came the muffled screams and the sounds of struggle.
For brief moments, the place was illuminated by the flash of gunfire, brief moments where Antony was able to glimpse a dark shadow moving like the wind, taking down a dozen armed men as if they were cardboard dolls.
The dark demon, the vigilante, or as most people called him these days:
Daredevil.
Antony hadn't believed in him. He thought they were just absurd tales low-level thugs invented to justify their failures on the job.
Sure, there was a real hero up there in the skies, but everyone knew that as long as you waited long enough and didn't make a scene, you could escape his notice and go about your business once he wasn't around.
You just had to keep an eye on the news, wait for him to be in another country or preferably on another continent to be safer, and then you could act. Of course, you had to be quick and discreet because making too much noise would undoubtedly draw his attention. Weapons needed to be used sparingly these days, and screams were the worst, so taking hostages or kidnapping people was less preferable unless you made sure to seal their mouths pretty well before doing so.
Not everyone could adapt. Some criminals still kept making mistakes, following old habits—fools who didn't understand that the world was now governed by new rules. When a god is watching, ready to judge you with a heavy hand without hesitation, you have to learn your place, stay under the radar, and be obedient until that god gets bored and looks away.
As long as you understood that, you could certainly continue to thrive and forge your path in the shadows.
Or at least that's what Antony thought. Now? Now he knew better. Even if God wasn't watching all the time, that didn't mean there was no one watching.
After all, where God didn't look was where the devil dwelled.
He should never have accepted that offer and come to Hell's Kitchen.
Antony felt his heart skip a beat when all the noise around him suddenly stopped. No more gunshots, screams, or growls, no more fighting—just an absolute silence that reigned over the place, making his legs go weak.
He tried not to move, not to make a sound, but as the seconds passed, feeling like hours, he couldn't help but take a step forward—a step that made him step on something that let out a groan. With his nerves on edge, that simple sound made him jump back and pull the trigger of his gun in a panic.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A hand shot out, deflecting Antony's aim upward and preventing him from shooting one of his own men, who had fallen to the ground in front of him and whom he had accidentally stepped on, causing the groan.
Antony only felt an iron grip on his hand, and in the next instant, a fist like a sledgehammer struck him in the face with such force that his nose crunched, his lip split, and his brain rattled inside his head, making him see stars.
His body crumpled to the ground, unable to get up again anytime soon.
Matt wiped the blood from his gloved fist and "looked" around. All the criminals had been dealt with easily, the ninth place he had swept through that night.
You'd think they'd learn to stay obedient once you beat them down enough, but like vermin, there were always more of them coming from somewhere.
It was both annoying and strange. Where were they coming from? Who was calling them? As a native of Hell's Kitchen, Matt could recognize the tourists, and lately, he had been dealing with a lot of them.
It seemed he needed to do more than just beat them up. He needed to start digging deeper, to find out who or what was commanding these criminals and destroy everything from the core. That was going to require more effort than usual, but it was good that he no longer came home with bruises and could therefore rest better.
"This suit is amazing," he couldn't help but think, even as he frowned.
He had been struggling with a moral dilemma that he still hadn't fully resolved, one that began with Defiant's involvement in the Ten Rings conflict in the Middle East and their press conference days later.
Killing—something he was against for different reasons, whether ethical, moral, or religious.
He would never kill; he didn't want to cross a line like that. But… what about those who did?
Matt knew the world wasn't black and white, that his morals weren't the same as others', and that he wasn't in a position to impose his ideals on others. Each person had their own way of dealing with injustice.
His visit to the church a few days ago had helped clarify some things. His own methods… weren't entirely right either. Sure, he didn't kill, but… looking at the dozen men writhing on the ground, some with more than one broken bone and severe injuries, if someone else saw this, how would they judge him?
Was killing for true justice really worse than what he did? After all, it wasn't simple justice he was after but also venting his anger, sometimes in ways much crueler than some of these criminals deserved.
What was the right thing? Where was the breaking point? What would happen if one day he went too far? If he killed someone by mistake? If he couldn't control his anger?
If the devil won?
How did he want to be judged?
It seemed there were many questions and few answers, a dilemma that plagued him and one he couldn't clearly resolve.
Until he could, he decided to keep himself busy cleaning the streets of Hell's Kitchen from the criminal scum. His personal problems could wait; they were less important than the safety of innocent people, after all.
Besides, he felt he would find the answer he was looking for sooner or later, preferably sooner.
.
.
.
Later that day, in another part of New York, Queens.
Peter Parker couldn't believe this was happening to him again. Okay, it was his fault for oversleeping, but shouldn't the school bus wait a little longer for its students?
It was good that his trusty skateboard was with him; at least that way, he avoided having to run and instead enjoyed a fun ride through the streets of his neighborhood, chasing after a speeding school bus.
For his good and seldom seen luck, the bus had to stop to let a sweet and adorable old lady cross the street. Peter sent her a big, grateful wave for her existence and hurriedly knocked on the bus door, the driver noticed him and gave him an annoyed look.
For a moment, he thought the man wouldn't open the door, but his luck hadn't abandoned him completely this day, as the door swung open, and without hesitation, Peter jumped on, almost tripping.
The inside of the bus was its usual chaotic self, with teenagers way too excited for this early in the morning. Peter carefully made his way to the back, trying not to draw attention, but his luck had run out as a foot shot out, almost making him fall flat on his face.
"Whoa, careful, Parker, almost took a tumble! Hahaha!" There were mocking laughs, and Peter gritted his teeth, quickly getting up and continuing his way without looking at the culprit, already knowing who it likely was.
"Peter!" A different voice called out to him, though not too loudly. Peter looked up and smiled when he saw his good friend Ned Leeds, a boy with light brown hair who was a bit chubby—though Peter would never say that to his face.
He sat down next to him in the seat that Ned had been saving and greeted him with a fist bump.
"Wow, when I saw you missed the bus, I almost thought you'd miss the trip, buddy," he said, causing Peter to grimace.
"Don't even mention it. I couldn't sleep well because of the excitement, and when I realized it, I was already late. It would have sucked to ask Uncle Ben to drive me." The man would have done it, but he'd also have scolded him the entire way, giving a serious and long lecture about responsibility, commitments, and punctuality.
Peter preferred not to start the morning with something like that, thanks.
"Don't worry, my parents told me they'd buy me a used car if I managed to keep up my grades at the end of the year. I'll pick you up then," Ned patted him on the back.
Peter was surprised—a car? Even if it was used, it was still incredible. He felt a bit envious for a moment but quickly squashed it. Feeling jealous of your best friend was pretty pathetic, after all. Still, he couldn't get the idea out of his head—a car of his own, how amazing would that be?
"What's up, losers? Still chatting about your science project?" A female voice interrupted them, and Peter snapped out of his thoughts to see Jessica Jones approaching them.
"You know, if you call us losers, that means you're one too. After all, you hang out with us," Ned couldn't help but say as he saw her sit one seat ahead of them.
In response, she looked at him like he was stupid.
"That's not true; you guys hang out with me." Ned blinked, confused... What was the difference?
"The science project is on hold for now. In the end, the Baxter Institute didn't change its rule, and 18 is still the minimum age to participate," Peter said, somewhat disappointed. There had been rumors that the Baxter Institute would change its age requirement, and he and Ned had been working on something to participate. But in the end, the rumors were just rumors, and the Institute came out to clarify that the minimum age was still 18.
Which sucked because they had just turned 17.
"Uh, that sucks, but look on the bright side, you have an extra year to prepare."
"Us and all the other guys who thought they could enter this year too," Ned said, somewhat annoyed. After all, he had been one of the first to hear the rumor and thought he had some sort of advantage over the others, which, of course, wasn't the case.
"Don't be so pessimistic. Look at Peter—he looks confident." Huh? Peter glanced at Jessica in confusion. The dark-haired girl met his gaze for a moment but quickly looked away, a hidden blush on her cheeks.
"Bah! Let's stop talking about that and focus on the trip to Oscorp! I heard that there will be some big-name scientists present, like Dr. Curt Connors and Professor Otto Octavius. They say we'll even get to ask them questions! Can you believe that?!" Where did Ned get his rumors? Neither Peter nor Jessica knew, but the guy tended to be right most of the time. Of course, there were also days when he was wrong.
As they talked, something caught Peter's attention out of the corner of his eye—a flash of yellow that made him turn, only to find himself looking at a beautiful girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and a black headband entering the bus.
Peter stared at her, completely unaware of anything else, until a pair of fingers pinched his cheek.
"If you keep staring at her like that, her dad might throw you in his police car," Jessica's flat and joyless voice brought him back to reality, causing Peter to blush.
"Ahem, I don't know what you're talking about," he tried to play it off, but neither of his friends bought it.
"Gwen Stacy, huh? Come on, Peter, I know you're a big dreamer, but you need to remember your limits," Ned said wisely, looking at the blonde girl his friend had spotted first.
"That's not it," Peter grumbled, embarrassed. He had no ideas about Gwen; she was so out of his league that it wasn't even funny. He just got a little distracted, that's all.
"Hey, if Peter wanted to, she'd probably go out with him," Jessica said, causing both boys to turn and look at her with confusion and disbelief. Feeling their gazes, the girl felt a bit embarrassed.
"I'm just saying, she's smart and into science too, right? I heard she's doing an internship at Oscorp, so they'd have things in common."
"She's also one of the most beautiful and popular girls in school, and her dad is the head of the New York police," Ned countered.
"Can we stop talking about this?" Peter quickly interrupted. Only God knew how much it would suck if someone else overheard and rumors started spreading around the school.
"Don't worry peter, someday you'll get a girl, probably after college but hey, that's something."
"Ha ha, very funny..." Peter gave Ned a flat look.
Meanwhile, Jessica stayed silent, watching Gwen with a well-disguised hint of annoyance.
.
.
.
"We have to cancel! We can't have kids here! We need to shut down the entire area and quarantine the whole building!" Connors nearly shouted in urgency, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Norman Osborn, who stared back at him with an apathetic expression.
"Do you know what you're asking? What kind of scandal would that cause if we warned people about something like this?" Norman could already imagine some of the headlines the news outlets would run.
What Dr. Connors was asking for wasn't something that could be kept under wraps, especially if it meant canceling a visit from one of New York's most prestigious schools, Midtown High.
Oscorp was already on a tightrope; ever since that bastard Tony Stark revealed he was Iron Man and owned such advanced military technology, investors had been demanding results as quickly as possible. Quarantining the entire building would delay and disrupt countless projects being conducted in their labs.
No, Norman couldn't let something like that happen.
"I know, but—" Connors was cut off by Norman, who placed a hand on his shoulder with a vise-like grip.
"I don't care! I don't care what kind of monstrosity you let loose; you are responsible for this, and you will fix it without compromising the work of my other scientists, understand?"
Connors winced at the pain in his shoulder, staring in disbelief at Norman, who seemed increasingly furious.
"Do you understand!?"
"Y-yes!" the doctor finally responded, causing Norman to snort and release his shoulder.
"I want that damn spider in a cage before the day is over, doctor. I don't care how you do it," Norman said, walking away angrily and leaving Dr. Connors defeated.
The one-armed man felt his strength drain away as he stared into nothingness, unsure of how he was going to fix this.
.
.
.
Note:
Being an enemy of Spider-Man sucks—everyone ends up losing their jobs.
In case anyone's wondering, this Peter is primarily based on The Amazing Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) with some elements from MCU Spider-Man, as well as Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, plus some things from the comics and series. In short, it's a mix of various mediums.
Remember to comment, like, and if you notice any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out—I'll fix them as quickly as I can.
Finally remember that You can already find the next chapter (and several more chapters) of this story on Patreon ( patreon.com/EmmaCruzader ) All the support received is appreciated ;D