Chapter 12: Party Crasher

Peter didn't show up for the entire week. Flash was convinced it was because of his failed confession at the cafeteria and I agreed to leave it alone on his request. We did both send him a message to come to prom and that if he didn't get a date we were willing to hang out with him instead and hook him up with one of Felicia's or Liz's friends. One of them had to be into nerds. 

And you know what his reply was? The dickhead just responded with a k. Not even a full fucking okay! It was just a k! It was reassuring though. I was worried he'd done himself in or something. But I guess that infamous Parker willpower interfered.

I also swung over to Hanz's house on Friday to pick up my new and improved suit. I basically crawled in through his window without knocking because that's how close we were. I was basically his best friend. 

But here's the thing, as I crawled in my spider-sense went off and a bunch of metal dog things burst in through the door with their eerie red eyes flashing in the darkness. 

I immediately flipped onto the ceiling when it started growling but with like a robot autotune filter. Anyways, I readied myself to fire a web at the stupid mutt when a whistle cut through the air, and the dogs froze before they sat still and stood at attention. 

Hanz stepped forward rubbing his forehead and sighing,"Front doors exist for a reason, Ace. Now, what do I own the pleasure of having you in my home for?'' He asked with a slightly annoyed tone to his voice.

I flip back down to the floor and smirk, "Oh nothing, just wondered if you were done with my new suit now or not?" I saunter over to his robo-dog and look at it close up. Closer up, it looks less scary, even with those sharp claws and canines. Heh. "Nice dog. It got a name?" I ask as I wait for Hanz to answer my earlier question.

''They are called Fright Hounds, specifically N°4 for the one you are looking at now. Thanks to your generous donation of legally found parts, I have managed to finally finish and build their designs.'' He gestured to them with a proud smile, as he puffed his chest out, like a peacock. ''As for your suit it is mostly finished, the only thing missing is a coat of paint but that can be easily added later if you are impatient.'' He questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

I run a hand through my hair as I think. "Hmm, a test run would be good, make sure all of the systems operate and all. And mind elaborating on that Number 4 thing? How many Fright Hounds do you have lying around?" Hanz gave me a smile full of teeth as he happily and quickly replied.

''13 Fright Hounds. 6 of them are in constant patrol of my property, and they are all connected to the security systems, including motion sensors. The remaining ones are standing guard inside my laboratory. Though I predict by the next month I should have 24 of them. Enough of them to perform a few… Material Acquisition missions.'' He said with a deeply satisfied and smug grin on his face.

"Would you have any parts left over after making them? I was thinking about making some drones to spread out throughout the city. Strike crimes before they get reported you know?" I say as I step over to the Fright Hound and run a hand over its sleek metal frame. It was impressive how these metal hydraulics could do so much. At least it looked like it was hydraulics.

''I have enough materials to build simple drones. What I lack is efficient and small electronic components, of which you supplied me with. Drones can be easily cobbled up with some fresh off the street electronics. Unless you want them to be smart enough to keep up with you?'' He asked.

"I don't really need drones at my level. We can upgrade later but for now, some dumb ones to observe and report crimes are good. Especially since we can send any footage they collect to the police to nail the criminals I knock out. Now onto the suit, let's do a test run!" I say pulling my hand away from the robo-dog. 

''That would be illegal, and a quick way for the police to track me down, or at least gain their attention. If you want to record any criminals you catch, I have installed a recording feature in your helmet. Amongst other things.'' He says before gesturing to follow him, the robo-dogs moving in tandem as they follow him.

"Sick. Well so long as you know, these dogs aren't used to… murder people? I won't really try and break 'em. Though I do wonder how durable they are. Like I'm 80% sure a solid hit from me could bend metal." I say as I follow behind him wrapping my arm around his shoulder and grinning.

''They are strong enough to survive a few punches from you, not at full strength mind you, but they are made from a special light-weight alloy. Their alloy is resistant enough to sustain constant high-caliber fire for 15 minutes. You might actually just knock them away with your strength, instead of breaking them from how light they are, and they won't be used for murder, unless it's in self-defense."

"Still, I'd like to test them out once. But I understand you get protective over your little robo buddies. So I won't accidentally break them next time I show up." I say as Hanz shakes my arm off and we step into his laboratory. 

''Next time they will ignore you. Now, behold! Your shining armor that you will rescue damsels in distress with!'' He gestured with his hands, full of sarcasm as he pointed at the suit hanging from two hooks. ''I call it the Arach Suit V1, or the ASV1 suit to shorten it."

"So what sort of features does it have?" I ask as I step over to it and pull it off the hooks. I run my hands over the fabric like material with awe. "What material did you use? Some polymer or kevlar?" 

''Leather, actually. Well, not pure leather, but to spare you the details it's basically Kevlar Leather. It isn't bulletproof, though. Though the more armored sections are. The ASV1 suit was made with mobility in mind, instead of protection due to your enhanced senses and speed. It also has inbuilt web-slingers, though they are a prototype and don't shoot up that far as your natural ones, but for short jumps it should work.'' 

He gestured to the sections and grabbed the wrist of the suit as he showed the web launcher, ''Now the real important and useful thing in this suit, is the helmet. The lenses are made from a, in simple terms, titanium-like glass, and are one-sided. Meaning that people can't see your eye color or your eyes in general. Besides that, the helmet also has telescopic vision, Night Vision, Infrared Vision, and an inbuilt air filter. It should work on most harmful gasses, but it isn't foolproof yet. It works against CO2, so you don't have to worry about going into burning buildings to rescue people, except for the fire, of course. But you won't choke to death, at least.'' He said before he took a quick breath, and continued.

''The biggest, and most important thing though, is that it records everything you see with your own eyes. And allows me to directly communicate with you, as well. It also has vital scanners, and an emergency beacon in case you are ever knocked out or something similar, it should allow me to come to your rescue or at least send the Fright Hounds to help you.'' Hanz excitedly explained all the features and functions of the armor in a passionate fevor, he was clearly passionate about the suit, or maybe all the tech he managed to ram inside the helmet.

"Damn, that all sounds awesome. You field test it or am I gonna be the first? Also, how will the web-slingers fire? Like do I press down on something or what? Cause with my organic ones, I just flex an internal muscle and webs fly out. So like what's the mechanism for these ones?" He just gives me a flat look before he waves the arm of the suit in his face.

''You see the tiny button on the palm of the hand? You press it, preferably with your middle and ring fingers, and use your index and pinky fingers as your crosshair. For ammo, it's also easy to reload on the fly, I made it so. You can carry four clips on your belt, which hold around 250 web shots, so ammo is not a concern, and if you do run out, then you either need to run away or use your organic webs."

I step over to the changing room and step out of my normal clothes as I pull on my new and improved costume. While it was unpainted and lacked the iconic coloring of the famous hero, it was still intimidating even if it was black and dark brown. I put it on and it fit snugly. The material didn't chafe or itch anywhere and a quick touch of my hand to the wall ensured that I retained my wallcrawling abilities.

I stepped out and the two of us got right into testing. All in all most of the systems worked pretty well. We only stopped because it was almost an hour before we had to pick up our dates for prom. I decided to wear the costume or the majority of it under my prom suit, which Hanz had an extra one laying around since I didn't have one. Hanz mentioned it belonged to his dad. I shoved the mask, and gloves into my pockets.

The suit was a bit big on my shoulders but otherwise fit perfectly. Hanz had to help me with the tie because I lacked the skill of knowing how to tie knots. It isn't that necessary in life! When will you need to save someone by tying knots? Get fucked boy scouts. Hanz was a nice guy though and actually showed me how to tie it.

If he didn't pull off such a good villainous laugh, I'd almost think he was a nice guy. We spent the time waiting for his date goofing off. Apparently, he was really goth, like his coat was this weird red and black vampire coat. I was worried he was this Earth's Morbius or something. He also had some make-up on. I personally wouldn't wear make-up to impress some goth girl but I guess me and him had different standards. 

The bell eventually rang and Hanz shot up, he walked over to the door and opened it with an excited grin. I'm pretty sure the only other time I saw him smile like that was when I got him those parts from NASA. I get up too and meander my way over to the door and damn am I glad I did. Seriously Hanz had good taste. This was a definitely peak goth girl. "Anna! Glad you could make it, lookin' as beautiful as ever! Are you ready to be crowned as the Queen of Prom Night?'' He asked with a happy smile.

I grin at her as well, "Yo. I'm Ace, not sure if Hanz mentioned it in between the time he was charming you but I'm sort of his best friend. Actually, forget the sort of. I am his best friend." I say as I offer my hand to her before something just clicks in my head. Oh fuck this was an X-Men character! I immediately pull my hand back and grimace, "Sorry I… er heard you didn't like physical contact."

Hanz nods at me in approval as Rogue speaks, a clear southern drawl to her voice, "Yeah, it's a personal thing. Now let's get this show on the road and this rodeo over with already, sugar." She says as she grabs Hanz's arm with her gloved hand. 

''As the Lady says, time to hit the road, Jack!'' Hanz says with a big smile on his face, he's really enjoying this. I grin and smack his back, this time making sure to rein in my strength, "Sure! Go ahead, Remember we gotta go and pick up Felicia first."

Hanz just jingles his car keys, flexing the fact that he has a sick-ass black 1969 Dodge Charger while I have to wait until my 16th birthday to get my own car. Curse my mother for following the law, unlike Hanz's parents! Actually wait scratch that curse, she's already in danger due to being related to me.

I step into the car as Rogue sits in the passenger seat and fiddles with the radio, playing some goth metal music I've never heard. Apparently, it's something called "Over the Top." It might have been something I'd normally never listen to but tonight it was a banger.

We stopped by Felicia's house and after I gave her a white corsage, to match her hair, and met her mother. Something had happened to her father she refused to talk about and I didn't exactly want to pry. Speaking of Felicia, she had made herself look even more beautiful tonight. Her long platinum blonde hair was styled and shined to perfection. I could see some tasteful applications of blush, lipstick, and eyeshadow that all enhanced her features.

Unfortunately, her being so hot meant I was tongue-tied for the whole car ride. Seriously you've never known awkward until your date was making eyes at your friend while he and his goth girl listened to some evil witchcraft music. Yeah, I noticed she had a crush on Hanz. I can in fact notice things when needed to be observant!

Hanz and Anna just talked about occult movies with Felicia chipping in to add her own commentary, of which she was ignored completely as both Hanz and Anna talked to each other, while I tried to figure out what I could even talk to her about. Could I just blurt out I knew she was a cat burglar? That still wouldn't make for a really good conversation topic, unless I also confessed I was a superhero.

I'd hold off on confessing that sort of stuff for now. If Felicia wanted Hanz then that was her choice, though I would loathe his twinkish ass for the rest of his life. He'd be my Harry Osborn, except German and slightly more evil.

We arrived to the school auditorium 15 minutes later. We would've gotten there even faster if I hadn't told Hanz to go slow because I did not want to be thrown out the window of his car. Mostly because it would be hard to explain how I was unscathed.

I being a polite gentleman, opened the door for Felicia and was rewarded with a warm smile. We walked in holding hands through the door trailing behind our local king and queen of goths, Hanz and Rogue/Anna?? Not sure if she's an X-Men now or will become one soon . Would suck if she stole my spider powers though. I just looked around at the various teens, the shitty music playing and the smell of sweaty teenager. 

Seriously, never wish for enhanced senses. Most places smell terrible and disgusting. 

As me and Felicia went around meeting with her friends, I sat down at a table and sipped my punch as she talked to her friends nearby. I had asked her earlier if she wanted to dance but she said that we could do that later. I just accepted it and watched forlornly as Hanz and Anna-Marie got compliments from her various friends. Some were pretty obvious as to who they were.

The guy with the red glasses lenses was obviously Scott, just like how the girl with bright red hair was Jean Gray, and that was about as far as my knowledge of X-Men went. It was pretty obvious that Rogue was an X-Men then and had a mutant gene. Good to know. Maybe I could even team up with them sometime.

Nah who am I kidding? The X-Men are dicks! It made sense they were hated when they blamed everything on people being bigoted. Like seriously, get over it and maybe you know, call out the psychopath politicians funding giant robots? Fuck Marvel civilians most of all. Oh yes, let's fucking fund the giant killer robots for a minority.

My head was starting to buzz but I'm just gonna assume it was from the loud music that was blaring next to me. It felt like someone was drilling a fucking music note into my eardrums to fuck my brain with it. Even the fucking punch tasted terrible. I squeezed my eyes shut as my head started to ring.

It was a buzz that spread from the top of my head to the bottom of my soles. My eyes immediately flew open and I felt a cold feeling build up in my body. I took a step back from the wall before I jumped at Felicia as every nerve in my body went haywire. I grabbed her and rolled with her as the wall to the boys' washroom broke open as chunks of debris flew through the air.

A loud thud echoed through the room as the music stopped. I pushed Felicia towards the floor as the dust settled and a giant figure stepped out. A beast more akin to a Tyrannosaurus Rex of old than any other reptile stood in front of us in the flesh.

Unlike a Rex though, it was quadrupedal and far more heavily armored, with spikes upon its back and tail. Its teeth were large and exceptionally sharp, looking similar to my claws but an ivory white instead of the black of my claws. A thin stream of drool leaked from its jaws as I swallowed and let out an ear-piercing wail, shattering the windows.

Have you ever seen a tiny lizard before? A gecko? Anything cold-blooded? Imagine that, but amp the monster factor up to about 1000. Then you get this thing. It's exceptionally strange. Unnatural. 

My spider-sense was burning, tingling, and hurting my head like it had activated some ancient primal instincts.

Getawaygetawaygetaway!RUNRURNRUNRUN! Every sense in my body wanted me to bolt. Its very eyes focused on me for a second and I was moments away from firing a web when its gaze slid off me and focused on two figures huddling together, Gwen and Harry, my eyes picked out.

It snarled again, dripping more saliva onto the floor before stalking forward, hunched on all fours.

I quickly shoved Felicia out the doors to the auditorium and harshly whispered to her, "Get out Felicia! I'll be right behind you! I need to do something first!" And before hearing what she had to say, I ran off into the ruined washroom and sighed in relief when a singular bathroom stall was still standing. The other two looked like they'd had a bomb detonated right next to them with their doors torn off the hinges and bent like pretzels.

I stepped into the stall and shrugged out of my prom suit as I pulled on my Spider-Man costume, alright first supervillain. No need to be nervous. Tons of Spider-Man's beat their first villain ez pz. This shouldn't be anything at all. My mask was on and I controlled my breathing before stepping out.

"I can do this. This lizard guy can't be that tough. I mean this should be done in 10-15 minutes." I hype myself up under my breath as I leap through the opening the Lizard left me. "Well hello there, my scaly companion! You know we're not so different you and I, you have claws, I have claws. You look like some mad scientist's dream project and I am a mad scientist's project. Well, sort of. Semantics."

I shrug my shoulders as I fire a web at a nearby instrument and throw it at the Lizard's back. "Hey Lizzie, I'm talking to you." A deep rumbling growl filled the room as the Lizard turned around and stared me down with hate-filled eyes. It sniffed the air once and quirked it's head for a second before leaping forward at me.

His jaws bit down on nothing but air as I dodged under him and flipped backward. "Missed me missed me! I'd rather not get a kiss though, something tells me you're too cold-blooded for me, plus your breath stinks like a fish factory." I snicker as I fire a web at his face. "Though considering you're a reptile that's probably all you eat." 

Its claws tore the web off its face with ease as it grabbed a table and flung it at me. I had already reacted though, firing a web and grabbing the table mid-air before swinging it onto its face. As it closed its eyes in reaction, I grabbed onto its neck and swung myself over to the top of its scaly head.

Then I started slashing at its neck with my claws, going ham on the hide, tearing out spikes, and throwing them to the floor. I was distracted though and a large scaly hand grabbed me before the Lizard flung me out one of the shattered windows.

I reacted immediately and fired webs onto the sides of the buildings, before slingshotting myself back inside the auditorium, slamming down. The Lizard had already switched its focus and had extended its tongue to lick the air? I fired a web at a nearby sound system and smashed it into the Lizard's back, taking advantage of it not paying attention to me.

Then I yell at it, "Hey you big stupid Anaconda! Hope you're ready to eat a knuckle sandwich!" I charged at him before his tail came out of nowhere, blurring at how fast it moved I couldn't dodge it, not even with the spider-sense, as I was in the air, and smashed me into the wall. I coughed out some air for a bit, "Oh… fuck… That hurts…" I get back up with a groan. "Alright, keep some distance and throw stuff to distract him. That works."

I grabbed a nearby table filled with goodies and launched it at the Lizard's back. "I'm still here you oversized gecko! Come get me!" I taunted as I fired webs at its eyes. Giving me time to reload, as it had to pull the webs off its eyes. While refilling my webshooters was easy, doing so was definitely harder when in the middle of fighting, but it gave me enough time to do just that. The Lizard finally tears off the web and hisses, nostrils flaring, and spittle flying out of its mouth but it turns its attention to Gwen.

I fired a web at the wall nearby and used it to pull myself closer, before leaping onto his back, with a grunt I tore out a particularly sharp spike before rearing back and stabbing it into the Lizard's back causing it to screech in pain, and viciously claw at its back. It then wisens up and rolls itself onto the floor to knock me off, thanks to my spider-sense, I managed to jump off before it could squash me.

It screeches and twitches for a bit before a scaled-clawed hand grabs the spike on its back and rips it out, small bits of flesh still attached to it, before sending it flying into the air, slamming into the floor with a loud bang. It rapidly turned to stare me down, and in a quick motion, its tail smacked into Gwen's leg as it turned around, sending her into the air. 

I'm in the air immediately but as I leap my spider-sense buzzes again.

This time its hands grab me and slam me into the floor, forming a crater onto it, as it builds up some air in its lungs before roaring into my face filling my nose with the scent of unwashed lizard stink. Then it raises its fists again to slam them back down but I fire a web into its face and flip away to Gwen. 

She seemed fine besides her leg being bent out of place, bone grisly poking through it, I don't wanna risk making it worse so I grab her and leap over to Hanz and Rogue, careful to not move her leg, as the two of them were making their own way towards her. I dump Gwen in front of them and after a nod at Hanz, and a loud curse from him in German, I taunt the Lizard again.

"What's the matter you fish-eating freak? Can't handle fighting someone on your level so you gotta pick on girls?" The Lizard roars at this and leaps forward, my webs already attached to the roof as I pull myself forward to slam into his stomach slamming us both into the floor. Before I can recover, his arm grabs me and winds up his throw before flinging me through the wall, bursting through it, and sending me out onto the football field. 

I coughed a bit, rubbing my face to make sure I've got all of the important parts still attached, and got back up as the Lizard stalked out of the building, its cruel reptilian eyes were devoid of mercy. The clouds darkened, and I could hear distant rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning as it slowly began to rain before turning into a fierce downpour as I raised my fists into a boxing stance.

"Round two motherfucker." The Lizard roars in response as lightning flashes through the sky illuminating him before thunder echoes behind him, amplifying its bestial roar.

The roar was so deep and loud that I could feel the very sound of it echo through my very bones. Every instinct I've gained, enhanced or not, wants me to run from it. 

But I know I can't, my friends were still inside so I had no choice. I checked my webshooters one last time, before reloading them, and then flipping the Lizard off.