03x02 - Chapter II: Make a Wish

[bunniefuu]

And this could prove to be one of
the most dramatic developments

in the history of
medical technology.

The Hardy Foundation is
now pleased to present

Dr. Michael Pingree and
his argon matrix laser.

The argon matrix laser works
on a sub-molecular level.

Which allows us to control the type
of atomic nuclei the laser will affect.

In this case, I have designated that
the laser cut only inorganic matter

the metal, leaving the organic
matter, the pumpkin, untouched.

This laser could save
millions of lives,

by targeting certain types
of tumors and tissues.

The laser can be programmed
with pinpoint accuracy.

Fools! You are applauding
the wrong person.

I have a feeling this
isn't going to be termites.

- Doc Oct?
- Not him again.

Got to get out of here.

Not you, Parker.
You stay and get pictures.

I'm staying alright, but I might
be too busy to take pictures.

I can't let you and Mrs. Hardy
take all the credit for my invention.

We both worked on it, Otto.

Pingree, you are
merely my assistant.

And as for Mrs Hardy,

she owes me a debt
that I've come to collect.

Sorry, Oct. This time your
reach exceeds your grasp.

This laser will heal one problem
I had for much too long.

The scourge of Spider-Man.

No!

Huh! Well, what do you know.

I forgot that it was set so it
wouldn't cut organic matter.

Too bad Doc Oct tentacles
are inorganic.

Out of my way!

- Spider-Man!
- Are you alright?

Yes, but he...
he's out of his mind.

Oct, you really made me mad.

You're not getting away,
not this time.

That's the Medical Lab.

If they damage any of the
research material in there,

it will take years to replace!

Why couldn't Spider-Man
just let Octavius escape?

Because Spider-Man's a glory hog

who never thinks of the
consequences of what he's doing.

No! It going to explode.

Great. Now I have to
save this clown and myself.

- Freeze creep!
- Hold it right there, Spider-Man.

Sorry gentlemen, but even
with my present handicap,

I have all the hands I need.

What have I done?

How can I have been
so irresponsible?

I let my temper
get the best of me.

SPIDER-MAN TRASHES MED-LAB
- I didn't consider the risk.

This town is finally going to see

that wall-crawling slime
bucket for what he really is.

A menace!

He's wrecked everything
from sewers to subways

and now a medical facility.

But Jonah, he was only
trying to catch Doc Oct.

And who hired him
to do that Robbie?

You, me, anyone?

It's the job of the police.

I'm going to use all my resources
to ruin Spider-Man for this.

How does this always happen?

I mean well but in the process,
I mess up everything.

The world needs Spider-Man
about as much as I need him.

I'm through. I quit.

- Peter. Peter.
- Huh?

Will you be seeing
Spider-Man soon?

I don't think so, Mr. Robertson.

If I were Spider-Man, I wouldn't
show my face in this town again.

Well if you do see him,
give him this fan letter.

Some little girl's parents
sent it to the paper.

I figured he can use all the
support he can find about now.

"Dear Mr. Robertson"

"your newspaper always prints those
wonderful pictures of Spider-Man."

"Would you please ask him to
come and visit our little daughter?"

"She's his biggest
fan in all the world"

"and we would love for
her to meet... yeah yeah".

I don't need fan mail
at a time like this.

At last. This is it!

My life as Spider-Man is over.

All I need is a superhero
retirement pension,

and everything would be perfect.

- My dear boy.
- What?

Who ever said that everything's
supposed to be perfect?

- Who said that?
- I did.

Who's there? Who are you?

Isn't the real question,
"who you are"?

What's this?
Some phoney fortune teller?

Phoney? Moi? Ha!

You are the phoney.

How did you know
what I was thinking?

I know much more than your
trivial thoughts, Spider-Man.

I'm not Spider-Man.

You are a terrible liar.

Please don't waste my time.

- What?
- I am not your enemy, Peter Parker.

You are.

Isn't it strange that with
all the power you have

you've hurt so many
of those close to you?

Your Uncle Ben,
Felicia Hardy, Mary Jane.

How did you know about them?

Come see me and find out.

My costume.
How did it get on me?

Good going, Spidey.
You walked right into a trap.

You are wrong, Parker. As usual.

How do you know who I am?

And how do you know
so much about me?

I want some answers.

You will get them.
Now sit down.

I'll stand, thanks.

It is usually a good
idea to have a seat

when your world is about
to be turned upside down.

You are about to embark on a
period of training for a mission

I will soon require of you.

The only thing I'm embarking
on is a trip out of here.

Parker! This is one situation
you cannot crawl away from.

In order to succeed
in this mission,

you must first overcome

the self-pity that threatens
to end your career.

What do you need me for?

You obviously have
powers of your own.

Powers are nothing.

More important is your tendency
to question yourself.

That is an interesting quality.

Tedious but interesting.

This is your card.

No thanks. I'm not
what you call a believer.

Not so easy, is it?

It is telling you that you
must believe in me.

And you must have
the faith of a child.

What's that suppose to mean?

No, wait!

Did I just take a trip through
the twilight zone or what?

This kind of weird stuff
is why I'm quitting.

Hey, it's that letter
Robbie gave me.

How did it get here?

Madame Web did say something
about the faith of a child.

There Spider-Man.
This is your best picture ever.

Thank you, Maria Taina Elizando.

Who... who's there?

Just your friendly neighbourhood
Spider-Man.

Spider-Man! Is this a dream?

No. I'm really here.

Just as your parents
asked for in their letter.

They what?
Wow, it really is you.

Can you do something
for me, please?

Sure, Maria. What is it?

Don't call me Maria.

Only my mum calls me Maria.

Everybody else calls me Taina.

Okay, Taina. So now that I'm here,
what did you want to tell me?

That I'm your greatest fan ever.

And I wanted to show you this.

My Spider-Man collection.

Look. I even have the first story
the Bugle ever wrote about you.

You didn't believe it, did you?

Nah, he says a lot of
silly things in there.

But the pictures are good.

Like this one, by
that Peter Parker guy.

- Do you know him?
- Sometimes too well.

I cut this ad for when
you were on TV.

Oh this takes me back.

That's when I thought I could use
my powers to make lots of money.

Where did you get your powers?

Timmy says you're
from a dying planet

and your parents sent you
here in a little spaceship.

I think Timmy has me
confused with someone else.

- I'm actually an accident.
- An accident?

Yes. It all started when
I was in high school.

I was actually kind of a nobody.

Who were you?

I'm going to have to
keep my name to myself.

But I can tell you
what my life was like.

Hi Liz.

I was wondering if you
like to go downtown

to a science
demonstration with me.

Now let me see Peter.

Should I go to the big party
with Flash Thompson

and have a really great time or

go to the science demonstration
with you and be bored to tears?

Oh I just don't know.

Well, actually, this is going
to be a demonstration

of an exciting new technology
called neogenics...

Bookworm, Liz and I
have some partying to do.

See you around, Peter.

But... but...

This is pitiful, Spider-Man.

You really let him
get away with that?

Hey, I wasn't quite as strong
back then as I am now.

The long and irritating saga of
Spider-Man is about to end.

He will meet defeat at the
hands of my new Octobot.

Its arms are powerful, agile and
controlled by my very thoughts.

Two octopii for the price of one!

So, did you go to
the demonstration?

Oh I went alright.

It was at Empire State University.

It was being given by
a famous professor.

Wow, Professor Stillwell,

can you actually
harness radioactivity

for genetic experiments
with this device?

Of course. I'll demonstrate.

But unbeknownst to us,
just as he activated the device,

a small spider drop down right in
the path of the radioactive blast.

Ouch! It bit me.

Why is it glowing that way?

Is it radioactive?

I feel so strange.

Yikes! Did you go
to the hospital?

No. I probably should have,
but I didn't know what to do.

What's the matter, Parker?

Did our little demonstration
upset you?

I ran out as fast as I could.

What happening to me?

I've been poisoned
by that spider!

I'm... I'm turning
into a spider myself!

Oh dear, a spider?

Aunt May, it's me, Peter.

I hate spiders.

Can't you hear me?

I know how to get rid of you.

No!

Where... where am I?

No, you don't understand.

It was just a dream.

A hallucination.

But my head was still throbbing.

So much so that I didn't notice
a car coming right at me.

I jumped out of the way.

I'm sticking to the wall.

I can climb straight up.

Somehow, when that
radioactive spider bit me

it must have transferred
it's powers to me.

I gained a whole new equilibrium.

The agility of a spider.
And strength too.

And a spider's craving for
dark corners and new heights.

Too cool. Is that
spider still around?

No, and it's just as well.

That spider also caused
me a lot of grief.

- Impressive.
- Is that all you have to say?

I shall reserve further judgement
until I see results.

And you shall see them soon.

When the spider is directed,

my Octobot will find and crush Spider-
Man and anything else in it's way.

When that spider bit you, did it
give you powers to make webs too?

No. I did that myself.

I make web fluid and store in
small pressurized containers,

that load into these
web shooters I built.

Wow! You must be super
smart to think this stuff up.

I think when I was bitten,

the spider passed on an
instinctive knowledge

of how to combine certain enzymes
to make this strong sticky webbing.

The trigger is this sensitive
electrode located here in my palm.

It requires exact pressure
from these two fingers

so that I don't accidentally activate it
when I make a fist or grab something.

By adjusting pressure at the nozzle,
I can fire a thin strong web line, see,

or a fine wide spread.

This is great!
Think they'll let me keep it?

I'm sorry, but like real spider
webbing, it's biodegradable.

It dissolves in about
an hour or so.

No wonder I've never
been able to find any.

So you made your web sh**ter

and then went out and started
catching bad guys, right?

Not exactly.
First, I tried show biz.

Show biz?

Yeah.

I made this very costume
so I wouldn't be recognized,

and I went on a television show.

Even though I was
wearing my costume,

I felt like I was showing off to all
those creeps in my high school

who thought I was just a nerd.

Then I met an agent who made
me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Hey help! Get him.
Don't let him get away.

Hey, sorry pal.
I'm a wrestler, not a cop.

Figured why should I get involved?

All I cared about back then was
taking care of number one, me.

The police were at Aunt May's.

Aunt May, where's Uncle Ben?
What's happened?

I have bad news for you, son.

Your uncle tried to stop
him, but he was armed.

No, not Uncle Ben!
Who did this?

The punk who did this has
been chased to a warehouse.

We'll get him.

Whoever it is, I want him first.

And nothing's going
to stop Spider Man.

No, not you.

It was the crook from the arena

the one I should have stopped.

I've never forgiven myself for
letting my Uncle Ben down.

I had no idea.

And now I've done
something just as bad.

You heard about that
medical building?

That was an accident.

You'll be more careful next time.

There won't be a
next time, Taina.

I'm not going to be
Spider-Man anymore.

No, you can't quit.

Just be more careful.

You can do that.
You can do anything.

I wish I could do anything.

Like rebuild the Medical Center
or cure people's diseases.

I wish you could too.

But you can't quit just
because you did one bad thing.

You never quit.
That's why you're my hero.

It's the difficult choices I'm
always having to make.

I just can't handle it anymore.

You're not going now, are you?

No. I just need to clear my head,
do some web slinging.

Not without me you're not.

No Taina, I couldn't.

Please?

Just once, I'd like to see
the world like you see it.

Just once before...

Alright. I suppose it won't hurt for
you to come along on a quick trip.

- But you have to dress warmly.
- Alright!

Wow. I'm a hundred stories high!

Hang on.

Now, my pet.

Go to your prey.

I want to show you something.

Remember I told you
about my spider agility?

Watch this.

Tada!

Spider sense?

Oct's tentacles moving
by themselves?

Taina, hide.

Do you like my newest
design, Spider-Man?

Autonomous telepathic tentacles.

I call it the Octobots.

What's the matter Oct?

Afraid to face me alone?

You had to call in
second stringers?

You brought a little friend.
Where is she?

Let's just make this
one-on-one okay?

Delighted. Crush him.

Did he say telepathic?

As in controlled by his thoughts?

It's too much for me Doc.

Did you steal this
from Pingree too?

Pingree? He had nothing
to do with this! Nothing!

It working. He's
losing his concentration.

They're loosening!

Nobody can give my due.

- I give you your due.
- What?

- You never learn, do you?
- On the contrary.

I have learned a great
deal from our encounters.

Sleep well, Spider-Man.

It's your reward for
underestimating my power.

This time you lose.

Spiderman, no!

TO BE CONTINUED...