Chapter 28 : Frightful Four

Hello, everyone ! Hope you're having a good day ! I'm having a pretty good one myself. Just chilling, reading and watching stuff… That's the life ! Gotta write more though…

As always, most of you already know but I'll still repeat it :

You can find more of this story on my Patréon page and other stories besides. I'll probably start posting about my other original story sometimes soon. Don't know when since I want to have at least ten chapters in the bank before I start.

You can find my page by searching for Cathbel on their search engine using this link and replacing * by o : https://www.patre*n.com/user?u=66371596

Please review, comment or send stones my way. Enjoy the read !

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As Spider-Man experiences a few difficulties dealing with the coordinated attacks of his four enemies, his situation suddenly, drastically changes. For the better !

Out of nowhere, a dark, almost black bubble of liquid pushes Thundra back from him : she had been pressing on his chest with her foot a little earlier, so that was a welcome reprieve. And then… Peter isn't sure about what he's seeing right now. A girl, looking like a nuclear mutated humanoid squirrel also barges in on the battle, acting like Zhuge Liang or General McCarthy, directing an army of rodents - Normal sized ones.

Soon, The fake Wizard is overwhelmed, his tech short-circuiting as the squirrels jump him, his anti-gravity disks and start to gnaw at… Everything. Even Klaw was having difficulty fighting the swarm. Still, his sonic equipment and the nature of his body made it slightly easier for him to deal with the rodents problem. Except… For the giant one ! After she - because Peter figured she is female - sees her 'friends' as she calls them, get hit, she rushes at him and starts fighting him like a raging beast.

As for the dark blob of water… It turns out to be concealing a humanoid octopus which controls his… Ink in order to fight against Thundra and Trapster.

Spider-Man shakes his head to focus back on the battle at hand.

« A spider, a squirrel and an octopus… Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. » Peter mutters before firing a web at the ceiling and jumping into the fight.

After a couple of exchanges where it became quite clear that the four villains didn't hold any advantage, they back off and regroup. The Wizard, now completely unarmed and powerless, curses and asks :

« Who the hell are you supposed to be ? »

« We are the… T-Tearful Trio. » Spider-Man starts off proudly, then he realizes that he hasn't actually thought the name through as he hesitates and settles for this pitiful name.

I say while shaking my head :

« Terrible… »

« No. Terrible Trio is not a good Super-hero team name ! » Doreen admonishes gently. « Neither is Tearful Trio. How about… Terrific Trio ? »

« I meant the name was terri… Oh, forget it ! » I turn back toward the group of villains and tell them : « Not to toot my horn, but it's obvious you won't be winning this fight. What are you guys even doing attacking a high school of all places, anyway ? Not enough bank to rob in the city ? »

« Our objective is… none of your business ! » The wizard says and fires off an energy blast from his hi-tech looking baton. I think it's supposed to be a wand. Maybe. A drop of my ink separates from the rest and intercepts it before I will another part of it to slither on the ground, heading for their blind spot. Spider-Man and Squirrel Girl get back in the melee while I fulfill my role of crowd control. Just as Klaw charges up a powerful sonic attack he intends to unleash on the squirrel swarm, a black chain flies and rolls around his cannon hand. I mentally pull, directing the blast away from the rodents who jump over him, burying him.

It's both cute and disturbing. I mean, squirrels are cute. From afar. When up close, though they can be quite vicious. Especially when they're listening to Doreen's chittering. Oh, yeah, cause that's a thing : she talks squirrel ! I might have already said that in the past, didn't I ? But… I mean, that's crazy !

« Marvel, I guess. » I mutter as I grab a tray off the ground, spitting a glob of ink on it before throwing it like a frisbee at Thundra… It explodes and throws her back through the hole the villains made in the wall.

From the wall where he's clinging, I hear Peter exclaim :

« Oh, man ! Ye're a wizard, Harry ! »

I can't help it : I chuckle. It's good to see this Peter's got a sense of humor. It makes me glad I saved his uncle.

Then, I look back and see the villain ready for yet another bout. The cafeteria's a complete mess and there are still kids trying to hide, while filming all the chaotic fight happening. I'm flabbergasted… People don't value their lives, do they ? They'd rather go through something traumatic and boast about it to their friends ! We've really lost our survival instincts.

Time to relocate the fight elsewhere :

« You guys are after us, right ? Or rather, after the Spider… Man ? Or it Pajama-man ? Pajaman ? »

« No, you had it right the first time. Come on, the suit isn't that bad ! »

I shrug as I direct my ink to form an man-sized oval next to me :

« It's not bad… considering you obviously sewed it yourself. » I change the topic and order the hero : « Now jump through this ! »

The dark oval takes on colors. More than that, the blurry shapes clears and become the scenery of a park. It was my alternative to portals, a spell I designed to take me to a few prepared locations. In this case, central park.

Seeing this, he jumps over and looks at it from different angles. Then he looks back at me and asks :

« Are you really a wizard ? I can't believe you created a stable wormhole from… It's ink, isn't it ? You're a squid, so… »

« Octopus, actually. And just jump through, alright ? »

« Alright ! I just hope I don't end up naked on the other side… or worse ! »

And then, he was through.

* * * * *

The battle resumes as soon as all fighters passed through the portal. I could have just sent them to another country, or a prison, if I had planned for it. But I don't plan for supervillains' attack on my school. Shows what I know, huh ? I'm the guy with the knowledge and yet I don't prepare ! It's not the lack of knowledge that's the problem, it's the lack of brain cells !

I notice something as we fought the four villains : Squirrel Girl seems even stronger here, in the park, than she was at school. Whether it's because we're in nature - as carefully controlled and arranged as it was - and it's her element, and that of her 'friends, or simply because we're in an open space and she can really lash out, I'm not sure.

Spider-Man has a more difficult time. I mean, he still has his super-strength, agility and reflexes, so he can move around well enough. The problem is… He's too reliant on his web-slinging and doing that in a park is a little more difficult that in the middle of skyscrapers. Branches break if exposed to too much weight or traction, after all.

It's almost funny seeing his mask's eyes expressing surprise. Though it also makes me wonder how it works…

Thundra rushes at me with a roar. The woman, despite all her power and beauty isn't very bright. Too bad, really. How should I deal with her ? Up close and personal ? With my tattoos, I can probably equal her in power. For a moment, I imagine myself wrestling with the scantily clad woman… Why does it look like a scene straight out of a eroge movie or game ? A tentacle monster, even if partly humanoid, and a beautiful woman… Yeah, you can't help your mind getting into the gutter, really…

So… Shall I still do it ? Some part of me wants to, regardless of how it'll look. I mean… It's all to help this young woman reform, of course ! Not because of any perverted ulterior motive… Ah, who am I kidding ? I'm fourteen, of course I have perverted thoughts. It's just that beautiful villains aren't always part of my fantasies. I won't say never, 'cause I ain't no liar !

« Okay, let's stop this train of thought, right here… » I mutter to myself as I duck under her punch and use my ink to draw me backward quickly. Instead of trying to go physical against a brawler, let's play it smart, shall I ? I flick a drop of ink in the air, followed by a much bigger one. As expected, Thundra avoids the second while the first lands on her skin without trouble.

« And now… Sleep ! » I order as I will the ink to change form to shape my sleeping symbol. As long as there'll be this mark anywhere on her skin, she won't be able to wake up.

I look around and see… Doreen's been much more effective than Peter and I : she took down Klaw and Wizard. Or rather, her squirrel friends took down the wizard, who was twitching and muttering fearfully to 'get them off', while she focused on the sound using villain.

As for Peter, as a sticky stuff user, he faced another sticky stuff user : Trapster, with his stupid glue gun. I shake my head thinking of this and wonder :

« Now, what do we do ? »

Suddenly, an assured and authoritative voice resounded not far from me :

« You could let the professional handle the situation from here… »

A bald, black man with an eyepatch and a love for black leather trench-coat… If that's not Nick Fury, I'm ready to eat my own tentacle raw !