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The Collected Spider-Man (First Story)
First Story:
‘So that’s the Answer, Robbie! That’s what he called himself, anyway! I’m not sure what the question was!’ Peter Parker jokes as he shows a photograph of Spider-Man battling the mysterious criminal known as the Answer. Peter adds that the Answer seems to be stalking Spider-Man for some reason of his own, and suggests that this could turn into a photo-series. Robbie informs Peter that he told Jonah that, publisher or no, he cannot allow him to use the Bugle as an anti-Spider-Man soap-box, but neither will he provide free ad-space for Spider-Man, either. Pipe in his mouth, Robbie explains to Peter that he should put a voucher in for these pictures, as they are excellent, but next time he needs to find another subject.
Robbie announces that they will run photos of Spider-Man, but only when they are really newsworthy. ‘Don’t count on selling shots of every burglary-in-progress Spider-Man puts a stop to’ Robbie tells Peter. Somewhat dejected, Peter replies that he understands, and begins to walk away, with Robbie telling him that the technical quality of his shots are beginning to match the passion he puts into them, but that there are other heroes around New York. ‘Try to get shots of some of them’ Robbie suggests. ‘Yeah, right’ Peter mutters, before thanking Robbie and telling him he will see him around.
Soon, on a rooftop, Peter is pleased tobe out in the fresh air, and tells him that it is his world up here. ‘Take pictures of somebody else? Easy for Robbie to say! Always seemed simplest to photograph myself’ Peter thinks to himself, before deciding that, somehow, this has to figure, as life has gotten so weird since he quit grad school - which Aunt May has a case of the terminal mads at him for. Peter tells himself that even his costume is weird these days, and with that, his new black costume materializes - transforming from his street clothes at Peter’s merest whim, something which he doesn’t think he will ever get used to.
‘How this happens - just when Robbie was starting to like my shots! Except that his favourites were taken by the Black Car…the woman that I love. Nothing’s rotten about the luck that made her cross my path - for once! It is strange, though, how she can’t stand me as Peter Parker…but she loves her-’ Peter tells himself, when suddenly, ‘Spider!’ exclaims Felicia Hardy a.k.a. the Black Cat calls out as she leaps towards Peter, now covered in his black costume. ‘Hi, handsome! Miss me?’ Felicia asks. ‘Cat!’ Spider-Man gasps.
‘Miss you? C’mere! You would not believe the day I’ve had!’ Spider-Man exclaims as he perches on the edge of the roof, informing Black Cat that Robbie wants him to cut down on the Spidey photos. ‘How am I supposed to pay the rent?…eat?’ Spider-Man asks, but Black Cat tells him to hush, as those are Peter Parker’s dull old worries. ‘My Spider’s problems are the Hobgoblin, Jack O’ Lantern and…me!’ Black Cat calls out, before leaping off the building, telling Spider-Man to catch her if he can. Spider-Man releases some webbing as he follows Felicia, telling her that there is not a practical bone in her slinky body. ‘But you chase away the Peter Parker blues!’ Spider-Man exclaims.
Meanwhile, off the coast of North America, a spacecraft hovers over the water, and inside, the being known as the Collector sits at his console, declaring that he had thought his collection complete - but he has received a reading that hints there is a Plodex existing on Earth. The Collector reminds himself that the Plodex’s heyday was eons ago, so this is certainly a mystery - and an opportunity that he cannot ignore. Various Plodex are kept in tanks throughout the Collector’s vessel, while the Collector tells himself that it should not take long to more carefully scan the planet for life forms that register as alien.
An image flashes up onto the Collector’s monitor - of Warlock! ‘On Earth? I’d better gather my Plodex quickly and be gone’ the Collector tells himself. Another image appears - ‘A cloud-being! Worth investigating - on the return trip, perhaps…if Earth still exists’ the Collector decides. Another image appears - this time of a Dire Wraith. ‘Humph! I have several already. Vile creatures!’ the Collector decides. Another image - this one of Spider-Man. ‘Interesting. Not precisely what I am seeking…’ the Collector tells himself, before recalling that the first rule of collecting states: ‘When chance presents itself, don’t pass it by! It may not come your way again!’
The aged being tells himself that he needs the lamp, and exclaims ‘What luck to own a temporal transporter! I might never have met Ali Baba without it…and observed his childlike glee as he bartered his lamp…and flying carpet...for my broken-down, second-hand robot! The man has no concept of the value of -’ the Collector stops himself when he locates the lamp. ‘Here it is! That being on the screen! I want him!’ the Collector shouts as he rubs the lamp, adding ‘And hurry! The lotus poppy of Sirius 5 is about to blossom! It will mean a millennium’s wait if I miss it!’
Back in New York, ‘My Spider-Sense - tingling like mad! Feels like there’s danger all around me!’ Peter announces. A four-headed genie with several arms appears. ‘To hear…oh, master…is to…obey!’ the genie exclaims. ‘As if I didn’t have enough problems’ Spider-Man remarks as the genie picks him up, while flicking the Black Cat off the rooftop with another hand. ‘My Spider! Let him go you - ooh!’ Felicia exclaims as she falls backwards. ‘Cat!’ Spider-Man exclaims, calling out to Felicia. The Black Cat lands on a nearby roof, and calls out ‘Come back here with my Spider!’, while the genie replies ‘This “Spider” is yours no longer. He has just become the property of…the Collector!’
The Collector watches as Spider-Man is apprehended, and the Collector exclaims ‘A prize indeed - and in prime condition! Welcome to my collection! You are…?’ the Collector calls out as the genie re-materializes in the Collector’s vessel. ‘You’ve “collected” Spider-Man - and you don’t even know who I am?’ Peter exclaims. He mutters that he supposes he is here for some instantly obvious quality. ‘Intelligence? Suave good looks?’ he asks. ‘Perfect recall of every episode of the Twilight Zone?’ Spider-Man adds. ‘Among other assets…’ the Collector begins, before an alarm sounds - and on his monitor the Plodex girl called Marrina appears.
‘Excellent! The Plodex swims nearby! This is my lucky day!’ the Collector exclaims. The Collector remarks that it is disappointing she does not have a tail, before adding that fish are not Earth’s dominant life form. ‘This variant is most bizarre!’ he exclaims. Spider-Man looks at the screen ‘A mer-woman! A mutant? Or one of the Sub-Mariner’s people? She’s like nothing on Earth’ Peter tells himself. ‘Neither are you, lad! Your strength…agility! I regret we lack time for a demonstration’ the Collector remarks, before rubbing the lamp again. ‘Later, perhaps, but for now, we can’t have you hopping about the ship unsupervised, can we?’ the Collector declares, before ordering his genie to incarcerate their guest in the pearl of great price, before informing the genie that he has another mission for him.
‘To do my master’s bidding…is my joy! Open up...pearl!’ the genie exclaims as the pearl opens, and the genie throws Spider-Man into it - ‘Now wait a -’ Spider-Man exclaims, but it’s too late, as the pearl chomps down on him. A hundred meters beneath the frigid North Atlantic, the Plodex called Marrina, a member of Alpha Flight swims, reminding herself that the Sub-Mariner offered to help her unravel the secret of her origin, but his company proved too diverting for her. ‘While frolicking with him - I removed my amulet and thus missed Guardian’s distress call! Soon after, Guardian was slain by a villainous super-group, including my old teammates from Beta Flight - and I was not there!’ Marrina reminds herself.
‘I should never have -’ Marrina begins, before the genie’s hand reaches down into the water and grabs her. Marrina reaches for her amulet, ‘Worthy or not, I must call for help! Though what my teammates can do against this horror, I cannot say…or even if they can locate me here!’ Marrina thinks to herself as a signal is emitted from her amulet which contains her Alpha-signal, and she re-materializes inside the Collector’s vessel. The Collector sits on the magic carpet, and greets Marrina, ‘Welcome, my dear, to my collection! Your beauty almost lulls me against the dangers of your kind!’ he exclaims. ‘What?’ Marrina calls out. The Collector remarks that Marrina seems puzzled, and assures her that he will explain all later, once he has made her more comfortable. He adds that Marrina seems overwrought, and suggests that flute music might calm her jangled nerves.
‘But first, a small pre-caution’ the Collector remarks, before motioning to a trio of strange monkey-like creatures, and he calls out to the one covering its eyes, addressing it as See-No-Evil, he beckons the creature to him. ‘An incredible set, is it not…part of a perfect, if complex, method of sedating my prizes!’ the Collector explains. The creature sits behind the Collector and places its hands over the Collector’s eyes, while the aged being explains that the flutde is in truth a translation / control device, fashioned by Kymellian sorcery, otherwise he would never dare transport a Xanthian Boulder-Crusher like Snake Eyes aboard his ship. ‘You understand my reluctance’ the Collector remarks, before telling Marrina that if she is not yet charmed, she will be, and he begins playing the flute - which causes a large snake to rise.
The snake sways to the music, and stares at Marrina, while the Collector announces that he can tell by See-No-Evil’s stiffened body that Snake Eyes’s hypnotic glance sweeps the room. He declares that Marrina should be instantly susceptible, as are all Plodex, and remarks that he planned to set the genie to indexing and filing his treasures, but now the genie is asleep, and snoring for four, as the four-headed genie falls into slumber. The Collector decides that it is just as well that the genie slumbers, as he has been working him rather hard lately, as the rest will do him good. ‘The triplets are the most resistant creatures in the universe. When See-No-Evil collapses…there! I will pipe the final notes that will return him to his basket’.
The Collector finishes the flute playing, and lifts See-No-Evil over his head, thanks to See-No-Evil, the Collector has not fallen under Snake Eyes’s hypnotic effect. The Collector exclaims that one must stay awake and in charge, and it may as well be him. He adds that now that he has his Plodex, he had best resume his journey to Sirius 5.
At that moment, Spider-Man emerges from the clam, thinking to himself that he has been captured by a galactic-class looney-tune. Peter tells himself that Sirius 5 sounds like outer space to him, and he had planned to keep his adventures non-cosmic, at least for a while. ‘You wanted a demo of spider strength - and agility - you got it!’ Spider-Man exclaims as he leaps from the clam, which slams shut behind him, and Spider-Man slings to the wall overhead.
Meanwhile, off the coast of Canada, the strange assemblage known as Alpha Flight confer in mid air. Jean-Marie Beaubier a.k.a. Aurora soars through the air, carrying the handsome Dr Walter Langkowski - who is only wearing skimpy briefs, ready for when he transforms into Sasquatch. Jean-Paul “Northstar” Beaubier flies alongside them, carrying Eugene “Puck” Judd on his back. Walter announces that Marrina’s distress signal originates to the East, and motions to its location. Puck declares that it is good Shaman remained with Heather, for with Guardian’s death so recent, Heather needs Shaman’s comfort now more than the rest of them need his magic. ‘But I wish I could shake the feeling that we’ll soon sorely need his help’ Judd adds.
Aurora adds that it is as well that Snowbird did not join them, as they have already flown beyond the range of her powers. Aurora adds that their battle with Omega Flight in New York was a tragic time to discover Snowbird’s limitations. Northstar exclaims that it is up to the four of them to save Marrina, and asks his sister if perhaps it is time she forgave his insult and they began to work together again. But Aurora replies that she and Walter work much better together. ‘That, sister, is a matter of opinion!’ Northstar replies. ‘Lugging King Kong all over the North Atlantic has to slow you down’ Jean-Paul declares, to which Aurora shouts that at least Walter, orange ape though he can become, remains all man.
Northstar remarks that he begins to dislike Aurora heartedly, and almost longs for her Jeanne-Marie alter-ego to return. ‘The nuns raised her to be timid and shy…but they also instilled in her the principles of Christian forgiveness, did they not?’ Northstar adds. Aurora is annoyed: ‘That he should wish for Jeanne-Marie’s return! That whiney little bore!’ she exclaims, while Walter tells Aurora that Northstar wants her for himself. ‘You may not be his soul mate, but you also have no powers, and he does not have to share her with anyone - particularly with “King Kong”!’ Walter points out.
‘Walter!’ Aurora scolds her lover as Northstar speeds off ahead of them. Walter apologizes and tells Aurora that Jean-Paul’s jibes cut closer than he realized, and points out that until recently he had two shapes - Sasquatch and Walter Langkowski - but one mind, only that seems to be changing. Walter explains that Sasquatch’s bestial nature grows more dominant with each transformation, and it frightens everyone, he knows. ‘But even more, it frightens me’ Walter declares. Puck clings to Northstar and remarks that Guardian’s death did not heal Alpha Flight’s petty squabbles - if anything, it made them worse. Judd tells himself that Northstar spoke in anger, but recalls that once before, Aurora’s Jeanne-Marie persona emerged in the midst of battle, so with their numbers cut almost in half, Jeanne-Marie’s return at the wrong moment could mean disaster for Alpha Flight!
Back inside the Collector’s vessel, ‘Yes, indeed my boy! A demonstration of your strength and agility would be most enjoyable!’ the Collector declares. ‘To say nothing of my speed ‘Peter remarks. ‘Excellent’ the Collector adds, before warning Spider-Man that his magic carpet is endowed with a similar quickness. ‘Pearl - take him!’ the Collector shouts as he swoops up and slams himself against Spider-Man, who falls towards the pearl, which has grown legs and opens its mouth up to catch Spider-Man, who exclaims ‘I don’t believe it! Somewhere out there…clams actually got legs!’, but Peter declares that spiders have webbing, and unleashes a web into the clam’s mouth, causing it to close its mouth, Peter then uses a webbing to wrap around the clams’s legs.
‘Guaranteed to last an hour or your money back!’ Spider-Man jokes, before asking where that lamp is. He finds the lamp and begins rubbing it, but nothing happens - the genie is fast asleep. The Collector holds a container in his hand and pulls the lid from it, exclaiming ‘A game try, lad, but the Djinn’s nap will last even longer than your webbing! Yet, undaunted, you snatch the Plodex from Djinn’s claws!’ the Collector declares as Spider-Man grabs the still sleeping Marrina. The Collector declares that he likes initiative in a specimen, but within reason, and fears that this demonstration must come to an end - courtesy of the Venusian shock-flies. And from the container, a swarm of flies soars after Spider-Man , who cannot move, as they are so fast - the flies then eat through his webbing, and he cries out in pain as he drops Marrina.
Moments later, the four members of Alpha Flight descend upon the collector’s ship. ‘Marrina’s signal’s coming from there!’ Walter announces. Aurora points out that the ship is so huge, and asks how they will get inside. The heroes land on the ship and Walter leans into Aurora, telling her to give him a kiss and he will give her one guess. ‘It’s easy, eh, Northstar? For the orange ape called Sasquatch?’ Walter exclaims as his form shifts from human to beast. Northstar frowns as he watches and admits that Sasquatch is strong, but that Aurora fears his bestial rages. ‘If he could be provoked into one of them - perhaps my sister would see that thing…for the monster he truly is’ Jean-Paul decides.
Back inside, Marrina is now being held inside a large circular tank of water. ‘Ah, Plodex! You’ve awakened!’ the Collector exclaims. Marrina reveals her name and asks why she is here, to which the Collector explains that she is in his sound-permeable aquarium, of course because she is a creature of the sea, and though her fully developed lungs make her also an air breather, the reinforced aquarium seemed the safest medium through which to hold a conversation with a Plodex. ‘You keep saying that! What’s a Plodex?’ Marrina asks. ‘As you may have gathered, your origin is not of this Earth…’ the Collector begins, before explaining that the Plodex were an extraterrestrial race bent on conquest long ages past, and to this end, ships were sent to locate primitive worlds, carrying eggs to be programmed to mimic the planet’s dominant life form and eventually replace it.
The Collector hovers over the tank on his magic carpet and informs her that she is the product of this process, that she mimics the humans, but with odd aquatic variations. Marrina reminds herself that she was told by the Master, the villain who gained control of her people’s ship, that humanity survived this vicious assault only because the eggs were prematurely released into the sea. The Collector tells Marrina that her people are among the most dangerous and violent in the galaxy, and points out that she seems quite sane compared to the others. ‘Others?’ Marrina asks. The Collector tells her to examine carefully the tanks lining the room, as the hold the frozen fuits of his most recent labors.
The Collector tells Marrina that he has been to many other worlds, to collect and preserve as many Plodex variations, who slumber in suspended animation. ‘Soon you will join them’ the Collector announces, as the tank of water begins to fill with a cooling gas, and ice crystals begin to form. Marrina does her best to swim from the crystals, while the Collector tells her to sleep now. ‘And may the Plodex slumber peacefully forever!’
Back outside, ‘Ready?’ Sasquatch asks his teammates as he prepares to pull the outer of the vessel.
And back inside, ‘So why me, Collector? I’m no Plodex!’ Spider-Man exclaims, the flies still surrounding him. ‘Ah! Spider-Man! No! But you are remarkable in other ways…the strength that allows you to resist the energy-sapping shock-flies, for instance. You are in fact, a double prize…’ the Collector remarks, but suddenly, he looks upwards as he hears some loud crashing noises. ‘Ah, guests! Collectible guests! I shall loose my boxers upon them…while I slip into something a bit less comfortable’ the Collector announces.
‘Surrender, alien! Release Marrina - or face the wrath of Alpha Flight!’ Sasquatch orders as he lumbers into the ship, while Puck bounds in, and looks around, announcing that it doesn’t seem that anybody is home. ‘Except for him! Creepy looking beggar, isn’t he?’ Judd remarks as he sees Spider-Man on the floor below. ‘Doesn’t Sasquatch recognize me? We met at the Hulk amnesty! I may have a different costume now…but I’m still the same lovable Spider-Man!’ Peter exclaims. But as Northstar and Aurora swoop down with Puck, Sasquatch approaches Spider-Man and assures him that he has heard about the new costume, before introducing the rest of Alpha Flight to Spider-Man.
As Walter reaches out to help Spider-Man up, Peter warns him not to touch, as the Venusian shock-flies form an energy sapping force field. ‘They won’t let me out - and believe me, you don’t want to get in!’ Peter adds. Suddenly, several glowing boxes materalize above the heroes, and the Collector’s voice exclaims ‘Greetings, earthlings! I am the Collector! You have entered my ship unbidden - nevertheless, I welcome you!’ The Collector explains that Marrina in the aquarium behind them has already joined his collection, and he now invites them to participate as well. The Collector explains that the devices are called “boxers”, that they are ten inter-dimensional traps from the Vegan timeline, and while Spider-Man’s trap saps his strength, the boxers will sap Alpha Flight’s sanity. ‘Boxers - take them!’ the Collector booms.
Aurora takes flight as two of the middle-sized ones chase her. Aurora darts about, and they follow her path. She notices that they appear to be crystalline in structure, and wonders whether she lures them against a console whether they will shatter.  Aurora flies close to the console, and one of the boxers smashes against it. ‘One destroyed, one to go!’ Aurora announces as she swerves, asking the Collector why he hides. ‘Show your face!’ she exclaims. The Collector watches from the shadows, now wearing some sort of armor, he thinks that Aurora made a lucky dodge, but that she will not evade the other, that it will continue to chase her. The Collector tells himself that he, on the other hand, he will be safe, for once he is vested in his Etherion-made armor, camouflaging transmissions from its outer shell will protect him from pursuit. ‘I will be a match for any super-being!’ he boasts.
Suddenly, the Collector notices that down below, more boxers are being destroyed. ‘But how?’ he wonders, while Judd laughs as he runs from one of the boxers, recalling how he had three of them chasing him from different angels, then ducked, so all three crashed into each other, destroyed with a single blow. ‘They may be fast but they sure are stupid’ Judd tells himself, when suddenly, another of the boxers engulfs him. ‘Eh? Count again, Puck!’ Judd tells himself. Trapped within the boxer, Judd is engulfed by its mind-numbing blackness. But years of mediation, born of the drive to discipline a body stunted by nature and beset of pain…enable Judd to triumph now, as he does a handstand, and kicks the boxer off of him, forcing it against the wall, where it smashes. Judd’s concern turns to Marrina, deciding that as she is being frozen, he has to help her before it is too late.
Sasquatch holds up the shards of one of the boxers that he destroyed, and swings it like a baseball bat. Northstar flies nearby and notices Walter has destroyed one of the boxers, and that the man seems to still be in charge. Jean-Paul decides to anger Walter with taunts to bring forth the beast. Jean-Paul quickly dodges one of the boxers, and exclaims that crashing the boxers is no problem for him, and calling Sasquatch an ape tells him to be glad that he did not do the same to his monstrous face. But Jean-Paul sees that despite his taunts, Walter desperately retains control. ‘Poor ape! My jest distracted him! He does not see the boxer descend’ Jean-Paul suddenly realizes.
Sasquatch is covered by the large boxer, ‘No!’ Walter calls out, but for him, it is a mere annoyance, for nothing that shatters so easily can contain Sasquatch. But inside the boxer, Sasquatch is assaulted by mind-stealing darkness, until what humanity he has retained flees before it. But when the man-mind has fled, Sasquatch the beast remains, and his animal rage will not be denied - he smashes the boxer apart with ease, and throws a shard of the boxer at Northstar, who swiftly dodges the crystalline, shard. ‘So the ape returns…in spirit as well as body! How delightful!’ Jean-Paul exclaims. ‘What will my sister think of her playmate now?’ he asks.
Sasquatch continues to hurl the crystalline shards at Northstar, but Aurora flies into range, and is also forced to dodge the deadly objects, while another boxer pursues her. ‘She sees what a saddened beast you’ve become!’ Jean-Paul declares, adding ‘You’ve lost her, Sasquatch! She is mine!’ One of the crystalline shards has a positive effect however as it strikes the force-field surrounding Spider-Man, sending the flies reeling. Spider-Man wonders what is with Sasquatch, as he remembers the Alphan as a soft-spoken, mellow guy, but now he is acting almost as crazed as the Hulk used to.
‘No! A boxer’s gaining on Aurora!’ Peter gasps. But even as Spider-Man leaps to save Aurora, ‘No!’ the young woman gasps as the Collector, wearing his battle armor, leaps into view, ‘Mere seconds ago, you requested my presence! And now, my dear…here I am - suitably attired for the occasion!’ the Collector exclaims. Aurora hesitates for the slightest moment - but that instant was enough, as the boxer traps her. ‘The girl, at least, is mine!’ the Collector exclaims. Suddenly, the Collector sees Sasquatch grab a large boxer and uses his formidable strength to wrestle the boxer to a halt. The Collector is pleased that Sasquatch is occupied by that impossible feat, and unlikely to cause further damage.
At that moment, ‘Aurora did you see what your lover tried to do?’ Jean-Paul laughs, before suddenly realizing that his sister is trapped in the boxer. Jean-Paul tells himself that it is his own fault, as he enraged Sasquatch, while dodging the debris Walter hurled at him, slowed Aurora, set her up to be captured. Suddenly, ‘No, it’s your fault, Sasquatch - your animal nature! Your bestial rage!’ Jean-Paul decides as he flies around the ship. Jean-Paul decides that he must rescue his sister, as she is terrified, but turns his attention to the boxer that is pursuing him. ‘Luckily I am the faster twin’ Northstar boasts. ‘But not fast enough, Northstar!’ Sasquatch exclaims as he hurls the large boxer he trapped towards Northstar. But Northstar is swift, and he dodges the boxer, which smashes against some glass cages, which also break as well.
Near by, Judd doges shards of crystalline, and exclaims that freeing Marrina would be hard enough without facing a rain of glass, so he has got to move fast. He leaps over the pump which pours in the freezing agent to the tank, where Marrina continues to flee from the freezing agent, thinking to herself that Puck is risking his life to save her. She recalls that under the Master’s call, her Plodex identity asserted itself and she almost killed Puck. Marrina thinks that Puck has no idea of what he is doing, what kind of being he is trying to save - nor what monsters may be released now that their retaining glass is shattered.
Trapped inside the boxer, Aurora has been fighting off the all-encompassing darkness. ‘Cannot get out! Not strong enough! So dark! So dark…’ Aurora tells herself. Though she wonders how this can be, how the box can contain Aurora, as Aurora is a child of light and laughter, while Jeanne-Marie is the child of darkness, the one to be locked in closets, to pray there and beg pardon for her sins. Aurora - Jeanne-Marie - drops to her knees, ‘Sister Rose…I am sorry…let me out…please…let me out…’ Jeanne-Marie utters.
At that moment, Sasquatch begins tearing at the wall, ripping shards of it off, declaring that there are no more boxers to throw at Northstar, but that will not stop him - behind the wall panel however, Sasquatch uncovers more hard and sharp crystals. ‘Deadly’ he exclaims. Spider-Man swings down, exclaiming that Sasquatch is totally berzerk - peppering the room with missiles - forcing Northstar away from Aurora. Peter tells himself that it is up to him to save Aurora, if he can make it through the deadly barrage. The Collector calls out to Sasquatch, telling him to stop, as the crystals he has found power the ship, and without them, it will crash into the sea. ‘Not only that, but you’ve smashed the chambers in which the Plodex slumber! You cannot being to understand what horrors you have released!’ he adds.
A series of crystals suddenly strikes the pipe propelling the freezing agent into the tank, cutting the pipe. Judd manages to grab the crystals and realizes that they are harder than glass. ‘And I considered my stint as a catcher for the Flying Zambinis a waste of time’ Judd exclaims, while suggesting that the Collector surrender. ‘Never! This debacle has gone too far! There are no boxers left!’ the Collector exclaims as he releases some of the heavy armor he is attached to, revealing a sleeker design. He remarks that the Kymellians warned him that overusing the flute may damage its delicate porcelain, but he is left with no choice.
Below, Puck shoves the crystal against the glass tank, which begins to crack. ‘So far, so good!’ Judd thinks to himself. But back above, the Collector uses the flute to raise Snake Eyes. The Collector hopes that his shielded visor will protect his eyes, while nearby, Spider-Man is making his way through the barrage of crystals that Sasquatch continues to hurl. ‘That guy’s got a big mad on!’ Peter tells himself, before seeing the boxer up ahead where Aurora is trapped, he notices that she seems withdrawn. ‘What alien horrors…’ Spider-Man begins, before he hears the flute music. ‘That sound! My incarceration in the clam spared me the full visuals…but the Collector thoroughly narrated the soporific effect of Snake Eyes!’ Peter exclaims.
Spider-Man decides that he has to stop the Collector from playing the flute before he finishes the wake-up call and puts everyone else to sleep. With spectacular speed, Spider-Man leaps for the Collector, who zooms aside, to all eyes, a blinding blur of motion. In this armor, he has outflown the fastest beings on a dozen worlds. ‘Native ability versus Etherion armor, eh, Spider-Man? Talented as you are, you haven’t got a -’ the Collector begins, but Spider-Man suddenly swings by an knocks flute from the Collector’s hand - as never has the Collector encountered the speed and agility of the Amazing Spider-Man!
But the flute falls to the floor - and shatters into dozens of small pieces. ‘Whew! That should take care of old Snake Eyes!’ Peter tells himself. But suddenly, he looks worried: ‘Drat!’ he exclaims as the large serpent wakes, but with his hypnotic eyes still half closed. Spider-Man anticipates that he only has one second to make sure the snake’s eyes stay that way, and fires some webbing at the giant serpent, before spinning a web around the serpent’s mouth. ‘Now put your little head down and go back to sleep’ Spider-Man urges the snake - but Snake Eyes has other ideas, and lurches upwards, causing more crystals to smash.
The Collector calls Spider-Man a fool, and explains that without the flute, Snake Eyes is uncontrollable. ‘Between you and Alpha Flight, my entire ship is being destroyed!’ the Collector laments, before remarking that since they have repeatedly refused to surrender, he will take advantage of his temporal transporter to go elsewhere and leave them alone to deal with the havoc their awakening of the Plodex will cause upon the Earth.
‘Humph! You collectors love your specimens when they’re quiet and well-behaved…but at the tiniest hint of trouble…you plan to run away!’ Spider-Man exclaims as he stands on the boxer which still houses Jeanne-Marie, and pulls a piece of pipe from the roof of the vessel, using it to shatter the boxer, he swings down and grabs Jeanne-Marie as she begins to fall. ‘No! What is happening!?’ Jeanne-Marie asks. As crystalline shards fall around them, Spider-Man tells her that it may seem bad here, but that is nothing compared to what is going on below.
‘P-Puck…’ the freezing Marrina calls out, while Judd finally manages to break the tank. ‘Scratch one aquarium, Marrina!’ the diminutive Alphan calls out to his friend. Judd picks Marrina up as the rest of the aquarium freezes. As Snake Eyes crashes into the frozen tank, Judd exclaims ‘Oops! Watch out for rampaging giant snakes! Reminds me of that time in Afghanistan I played chicken with the Orient Express!’ Marrina wearily says to Judd ‘Within the glass…monsters!’ The Collector watches as the ship’s warmth revives the unleashed Plodex, and announces that with Snake Eyes blinded, he cannot restrain the Plodex using hypnosis. He adds that there is such havoc that his transporter, though it lies in a crate, is beyond his reach. ‘A terrible quandary…and a terrible waste of the finest Plodex collection in this galaxy!’
Suddenly, the savage and frightful Plodex gather around Marrina. They are scions of her most terrifying nightmares - hideous, bestial and deadly. ‘These are my people, Puck! Finally! The only ones of my flesh and blood I may ever know! They terrify and disgust me…but, Lord help me, can I help Alpha Flight destroy them?’ the confused girl exclaims.
Nearby, despite the careening snake and the awakening monsters, the deadly rain of crystal missiles continues, as Sasquatch continues to throw them at Jean-Paul. ‘You are so filled with blood-lust, animal, you ignore the looming snake that attacks from behind - or are your maddened eyes blinded beyond the object of your rage?’ Northstar calls out, as Snake Eyes suddenly slams against Sasquatch. Walter becomes entangled in the snake’s long body, and Jean-Paul exclaims ‘Let the snake’s rage be visited upon you!’ as he speeds away to join his sister.
Northstar finds Spider-Man holding onto Aurora, who is trying to free herself. ‘Why are you squirming around like that? What’s come over you?’ Peter asks. ‘No! You must not call me by the foul name…of she who delights in abandoning poor Jeanne-Marie in frightening places…in the arms of dangerous men…surrounded by monsters!’ Jeanne-Marie declares. ‘What?’ Spider-Man exclaims, confused. ‘Spider-Man! Give me my sister!’ Jean-Paul demands, before informing his sister that she will have to calm down her hair orange lover, as he, with the help of the snake that her gallant rescuer set loose, is destroying the ship. ‘What do you mean, Jean-Paul? You, of all people, should know that Jeanne-Marie has no lover!’ the timid Jeanne-Marie replies.
Back down below, ‘Well, Northstar, you got what you wanted! Much good may it do you’ Judd thinks to himself. ‘Much good may it do us all’. Spider-Man drops Jeanne-Marie into Northstar’s arms, exclaiming ‘You want her? Take her! You people all belong in a looney-bin!’ Spider-Man reminds the twins that they have all been collected by an obsessed alien, surrounded by monsters, and points out that it does not seem to bother them. ‘Nooo! Can’t let a little thing like the ship being torn apart distract you from your full-time soap operate! Sasquatch turns into a raging psychotic! Aurora turns into somebody else! And you, Northstar, old pal, haven’t behaved rationally from the beginning!’ Spider-Man declares. Spider-Man begins to swing about the ship, remarking that the only sane - and he uses the word advisedly - members of Alpha Flight are about to be monster bait unless he helps them. Peter tells himself that if they turn out like the rest of Alpha Flight, they may not be worth saving. Marrina is grabbed by a tentacled Plodex, while Judd finds himself nabbed by a rather bulky Plodex.
Northstar begins yelling at his sister, ‘Jeanne-Marie! Aurora! You must listen to me! You must stop -’ he exclaims, but Jeanne-Mar goes wide-eyed and tells Northstar that he must take her away from this place, as there are monsters. Suddenly, one of thhe Plodex grabs Aurora, who screams. The Plodex shocks Northstar with some sort of energy, causing him to stumble backwards through the air. Jean-Paul begins to black out, but he tells himself that he must not, as Jeanne-Marie is helpless in the grasp of that monstrosity. ‘No! Return her monster! She is mine!’ Jean-Paul commands.
As Northstar begins to give chase, Sasquatch lifts the thrashing Snake Eyes in a bear hug, while the Plodex begin to surround him as well. With gargantuan strength, Sasquatch hurls the blinded Snake Eyes into the Plodex creatures. ‘Enough! Ha! Many are crushed beneath the snake’s giant bulk!’ Sasquatch exclaims, before telling the Plodex that soon they will all learn that nothing can distract him from getting to Northstar. v
Nearby, Marrina and Puck discuss the situation, with Judd free from his Plodex captor, he exclaims that Spider-Man has joined the battle, but all alone, he is not enough. Judd urges Marrina to pitch in, otherwise the murderous aliens will destroy them all. ‘Murderous…aliens…yes! They and I are one! But if to save us, I must release the monster within my soul…so be it!’ Marrina exclaims as she lashes out at her captor, slashing the Plodex apart with her powerful claws.
Meanwhile, ‘Foolish mortals! As if the effort of one Plodex can stem that overwhelming tide! You demolish my ship - limit my freedom to escape into space! So be it! Within this crate is the means by which, if necessary, I will escape through time!’ the Collector exclaims as he attempts to open the crate.
As he has claimed, nothing can distract the enraged Sasquatch, But Sasquatch is two beings…monster and man…and it is the man who at last hears Jeanne-Marie’s terrified wailing, as the Plodex carries her into the air. ‘Help me!’ Jeanne-Marie shrieks. ‘Aurora!’ Sasquatch exclaims, as he grabs one of the Plodex, ‘Ugly and useless - you’ll make a great club!’ he tells the creature as he swings the centipede-like creature upwards, using it to knock Aurora from the grasp of the flying Plodex. ‘And safely into my arms!’ Sasquatch exclaims as he grabs Aurora, while Northstar speeds towards them. But Jeanne-Marie panics: ‘No! Another monster! Poor Jeanne-Marie cannot escape - can never -’ she then passes out.
‘Aurora! Are you all right?’ Sasquatch calls out, before suddenly grabbing Jean-Paul, and angrily declares that this is his doing. ‘Perhaps, ape! But mine was a small transgression’ Northstar replies. ‘But yours - once you gripped that snake as firmly as now you hold me…yet you hurled it away, annoyed…freeing it to rip apart the ship - thanks to your senseless act, we will all be destroyed!’ Northstar speaks the truth, as Snake Eyes forces itself through the bottom of the ship - and plunges to the water below, with several Plodex falling after it.
Sasquatch shakes Northstar and calls him a jealous little weasel, exclaiming that Jean-Paul knew his weakness and taunted him. ‘You did everything within your power to force me to lose control!’ Sasquatch exclaims. ‘You deliberately endangered your sister…all of us! I ought to throttle -’ Walter begins, but Aurora regains consciousness and tells Walter that Jean-Paul may be insufferable, and she may never speak to him again, but he is still her brother.
Across the room, the Collector admits that his cause is lost, that the ship has been damaged beyond its ability to maintain sufficient altitude, and holding a device in his hand, he bids the heroes a fond farewell. Still battling the Plodex, Spider-Man tells Puck that the Collector will use that device to escape, and that he cannot break free of the Plodex in time to reach him. ‘Maybe you can’t…but what’s stopping me, eh?’ Judd remarks as he somersaults towards the Collector, and kicks the device from the villain’s hand. ‘My transporter!’ the Collector shouts. ‘Forget it, Collector! You’re not going anywhere!’ Peter declares as he fires some webbing at the Collector.
But suddenly, outside, the ship lands in the ocean, creating a massive wave. Inside, water fills the ship. ‘Nothing will stop my people once they escape into the sea…primed for conquest!’ Marrina exclaims as she dives into the water flooding around her, and spins rapidly, creating a water-spout that begins to wash the Plodex who escaped, back into the ship. ‘Its force will…must subdue them…or the Earth, my foster home, will fall hapless victim to their deadly rampage!’ Marrina exclaims.
The Collector hovers nearby and observes Marrina, ‘Incredible! The Plodex are unconscious! And at least half my collection is still intact!’ he declares. The Collector wonders if it is a blessing that he did not escape, but Puck tells him that he will not think that once they are through with him. ‘No! You do not understand! This battle must end now! The sea water will endanger some of the specimens…and place in jeopardy the survival of the entire universe!’ the Collector exclaims. ‘The universe? What are you talking about?’ Judd asks him.
The Collector explains that he is one of the elders of the universe, an immortal race of extra-terrestrials - the oldest sentient beings alive. The Collector claims that he is prone to apocalyptic visions, a distressing number of which come true. He reveals that his most recent vision was of a being - a horned demon - with a Sword of Twilight - setting flame to a doomed universe. The Collector declares that he can do nothing to prevent such events from occurring, but for almost forever he has collected prime objects and beings that could be used to repopulate the universe should it be decimated.
‘Sort of the cosmic Noah, eh?’ Judd asks. ‘Exactly!’ the Collector boasts, pointing out that the Plodex seemed particularly well suited to his benevolent purpose, since there is such a variety of them. ‘They’re so…aggressive and adaptable’ he adds. The Collector continues, remarking that the Plodex are among the fiercest people in the universe, that they are nothing to Earth’s super heroes. The Collector claims that he has tried to collect the Avengers numerous times - prime specimens all - but they have heartily resisted, and now Alpha Flight has defeated him as well.
‘Might as well try flattery if appeals to good citizenship don’t work, eh, Collector?’ Judd remarks. Sasquatch returns to his human form as he, the twins, Marrina and Spider-Man gather around. Spider-Man points out that it may not have occurred to the Collector that humans have an aversion to being flash-frozen, and declares that they cannot do anything about the fate of the universe, but they can worry about the Earth. Northstar agrees, and declares that allowing the Collector’s monsters to remain here is impossible.
Walter remarks that the aliens will soon all wake, ready and primed to take over. ‘Then maybe we better get them out of here while we can!’ Spider-Man exclaims. Walter agrees, and asks the Collector if he has a pump somewhere in this huge ship. ‘You do? Good! How soon can you get this vessel repaired and away from Earth?’ Walter asks.
Several hours later, the Collector’s ship takes off for the skies, while Northstar hovers over the ocean, holding up Puck and Spider-Man, and Aurora holds up Walter, while Marrina bobs up in down in the water. ‘Well, there he goes!’ Judd exclaims. Northstar asks Spider-Man if the Collector really planned to use he and Marrina to help reseed a doomed universe, but Spider-Man replies that he doubts it, as the Collector seemed to be having too much fun collecting them for him to believe that he is a being with a somber and serious purpose.
Northstar agrees, and remarks that he was collecting for its own sake, most likely, while wondering if the Collector is honorable enough to keep his word. ‘And consider Earth off limits from now on? I doubt it! He’d say anything to get his collection back, eh?’ Judd remarks. Walter points out that at least the ship full of monsters will not be around to wreak havoc on Earth. ‘For now! But I suspect that the Collector will be back some day with some new horror!’ Aurora declares. Tears form in Marrina’s eyes, ‘Monsters…horrors! That is what my people are…what I am! Perhaps I should have gone off in that ship with them. Some day I may prove just as deadly…’ Marrina suddenly farewells her teammates, announcing that she must be alone, and dives under the water, speeding away ‘Marrina!’ Judd calls out, but it is no use.
Northstar remarks that it was hard on Marrina, discovering her people like that. Judd tells Northstar that Marrina will get over it, as Earth is her home now, and Alpha Flight are her people. ‘She proved that today, eh?’. Aurora asks Walter if he noticed all the wonderful things the Collector had in his ship. She remarks that she believes the Collector’s cosmic Noah act was not entirely a pose, that he really feels he is preserving things beautiful and special, before wondering why he was in such a hurry to get out of here. ‘Something about barely having enough time to reach Sirius 5 and collect some poppy!’ Walter declares. ‘Well, better a poppy than us! He may not mean it maliciously, but he’d just as soon freeze us as look at any of us!’ Aurora exclaims as she turns in one direction, while Northstar speeds away in the other, as Puck tells Spider-Man that they will drop him in New York. ‘It’s the least we can do, Northstar, eh?’ Judd remarks.
Soon, ‘Here’s where I get off!’ Peter calls out as they approach the sprawling city, and he swings down to a building as Judd and Jean-Paul bid him farewell. ‘It’s been fun’ Spider-Man calls out. ‘Sort of’ he thinks to himself, suggesting to Puck and Jean-Paul that next time they meet under pleasanter circumstances.
Below, ‘Spider…my Spider…where can he have gone?’ the Black Cat wonders as she crouches on a sofa. ‘Anybody home?’ a voice calls out, before Spider-Man swings into the apartment room. ‘Spider!’ Felicia exclaims. ‘Oh, Spider! I didn’t go looking for you! I didn’t ask at the Bugle or at your apartment or anywhere! I knew you’d be mad at me if I did! But it was so hard not doing anything! I just sat here and worried…the whole time you were going!’ the Black Cat exclaims. ‘The best thing you could have done’ Peter tells her.
‘Where were you, lover? Off on some new Secret War?’ the Black Cat asks. Spider-Man assures Felicia that he will tell her later, as she will never believe it. Peter gets back onto the window opening and tells Black Cat that he wanted to let her know he was okay before he headed home for some rest. ‘Lover, why don’t I -’ Black Cat begins, but Spider-Man tells her to stay here and reminds her that he said rest. He assures her that they will meet later tonight for a first class prowl, and kisses the Black Cat before departing.
Minutes later, Spider-Man leaps in through the sky light of Peter Parker’s Chelsea apartment. ‘Finally! Bed, here I come!’ Peter thinks to himself. ‘And I thought I had problems! Rarely have I spent such an insane time with a bunch of lunatics! Poor Sasquatch! Poor Northstar! And here I thought the Cat was making me crazy!’ Peter decides that the Black Cat may prefer to ignore her civilian identity, and his, but she is no Aurora, at least she knows who she is. Peter recalls that Aunt May is angry at him. ‘What’s she - compared to a horde of rampaging aliens?’ he wonders. ‘At least I can talk to her…if I can get her to make up and talk to me’ he decides.
The costume begins to remove itself from Peter’s body, as he tells himself that Robbie is a little neurotic about being the Bugle’s editor, and is a little picky about Peter’s work right now, but he is no Collector. ‘And this alien-made costume - weird…but at least it seems to be on my side! It even puts itself away!’ Peter tells himself that the costume falls to the floor - and the moves itself onto a chair, while Peter climbs into bed. ‘So what if the public’s getting bored with pictures of Spidey? So what if I need a whole new array of photo subjects? Great! Wonderful! These are the kinds of problems I’m used to…the kind I can deal with! Now I know just how Dorothy felt, only - oh no!’ Peter thinks to himself, before slapping his forehead, annoyed, as he shouts ‘I forgot to take any pictures!’…


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Incandescent Man
Nighttime. A ferry boat makes a tour of Manhattan. A young couple is on the deck, admiring the view. Sue tells her boyfriend, Steve, that from way out here, with the dusk all around them and the city lights shining, Manhattan seems so peaceful and safe. Not at all the stories they get back home in Tulsa! Steve replies that’s why them New Yorkers keep the Staten Island around – so they can ride out in the ferry and impress their girls! “Us New Yorkers?” Sue exclaims. Is he planning to stay? Steve insists he’s got to. If he’s going to be an illustrator, this is where he’s got to be. He was kind of hoping she’d be here with him. Out of breath, Sue admits it is beautiful. Steve corrects her: not near as beautiful as she is.
As the ferry approaches the port, Steve explains to her it’s about to dock; this is the best part! He urges her to lean way over the rail and look down. Some guys bungle the docking but some guys slide in real smooth! Sue suddenly tells him to look: something’s floating down there in the water. She suddenly screeches as she discerns a human body!
Minutes later, two crewmen carry the man on board. They are both astonished to see how inhuman the being they carry is. One of them gasps that from the top deck it looked like a body. “It is a body… isn’t it?” his colleague exclaims, equally perplexed. The other man admits he doesn’t know… and then, the man they retrieved from the water suddenly burns up, becomes red-hot and incinerates them both! A woman screams that this thing is staggering up! She realizes it’s reaching out. It’s draining out all the electricity in the dock into itself!
As the passengers flee, overwhelmed with panic, Steve, equally horrified, tells Sue that this thing is glowing now, like an… incandescent man! And it’s blacked out the whole darn dock!
Meanwhile, along Fifth Avenue, Cannonball is shopping hats for his mom in Saks. He knows she likes pink and flowers and feathers. As he tries on a rather garish hat with flowers, he contemplates that, even though his hair is shorter than hers, it seems near perfect! The hat is promptly packed as a gift and the saleswoman assures him it’s lovely. Sam explains it’s for his mom. She came here once from Kentucky when she was young and she always said Saks had beautiful things. However, she was too poor then to do more than look. Sam figures she deserves it. The saleswoman informs him that’s 54 dollars and 11 cents. Sam cries out that it said 49 dollars and 99 cents! Sales tax, the woman explains. Cannonball hesitantly pays. Leaving with the much coveted hat, he ponders that even, though it cleaned him out, it’s worth every hour it took to earn the money. Mom always fancied hats but, ever since Dad died, there hasn’t been much money for luxuries.
“Golly! Would you look at that!” Cannonball spontaneously exclaims as he exits Saks and watches Spider-Man doing his acrobatic skills overhead, moving from one building to the next. Sam thinks he’s a great guy, the way he helped the New Mutants back when Bobby and Rahne were kidnapped. It makes Sam nervous to be in an elegant store like Saks, to be even in Manhattan… but Spider-Man acts like he owns the whole town! Sam assumes he sort of does. His pictures are in the Bugle all the time. He’s famous and glamorous and agile and everything Sam will never be! He bets Spider-Man never has to worry about mundane stuff like school and sales tax.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man thinks that maybe he shouldn’t have quit school; he loved biophysics. But a guy has to earn a living and he couldn’t be a grad student and Spider-Man and a photographer! It was too much; he had to choose! If only he could explain that to Aunt May. But it’d kill her to learn he’s Spider-Man. And right now, she’s so mad that he quit grad school, she’s not speaking to him, anyway!
Taking some pictures with his camera, he realizes May’s birthday is coming up. Maybe if he got her a really spectacular present… But who’s he kidding? Unless he sells his latest shots of himself stopping some muggers, he’ll be eating peanut butter and saltines for a week. He considers he might as well finish off the roll. On a clear night like this, with the city lights blazing, New York is his kind of town.
Seeing it’s eight’ o’clock in the big tower clock, he realizes he’s going to be late. He promised to Robbie he’d be at the Bugle at eight sharp. It’s not a good policy for a freelancer to keep his editor-in-chief waiting! Changing clothes, he realizes that his black costume sure made it easier to change from Spidey to Peter Parker but the thought that it was a sentient alien parasite that was trying to take him over still gives him the shudders. At least, it’s safely imprisoned in the Baxter Building now – and if anyone can handle it, Reed Richards can.
Soon, he enters Robbie’s office in the Daily Bugle and cheerfully greets him. Robbie sternly notices he’s late. Peter advises him to cheer up. “Wait’ll you see these shots,” he tries to whet his appetite. Robbie, however, reminds him that, if they’re Spider-Man pix, unless they’re really spectacular, he’s probably not going to be interested. The public’s bored with Spider-Man, unless he’s fighting someone really dangerous like the Scorpion. Peter intends to get them developed before the lecture!
Shortly afterwards, Peter hands him the photographs. What a grouch, he contemplates, although he notices the photos are a little fuzzy. Robbie scrutinizes them: Spider-Man fighting muggers? “Sorry, but no thanks!” he rejects Peter’s work. Besides, they’re out of focus. He really ought to sharpen his technique. He advises Peter to find new subjects. Like he told him before, he can try shooting some other heroes. The city shots are better, though. All the passion of the others but great technique! It’s almost like they were taken by someone else.
Agonizing minutes later, an angry Peter, again dressed up as Spider-Man, soars above the city. Of course the city shots were better. He took those. It’s a miracle any of his Spidey shots came out, with his camera webbed to a wall clicking away on automatic!
Suddenly, he notices that a chunk of Chelsea – his neighborhood – blacked out. There could be looting. Still, he wonders: why should he care? The public’s bored with Spidey! He suddenly gets himself together: he’s a hero, not an entertainer. He ignored trouble once, let a burglar escape and his Uncle Ben died because of it. He can’t let that happen again – ever.
In the streets underneath, Chelsea, in lower Manhattan, has shut down. Lights from neon signs, from lofts and street lamps and traffic lights punctuate the darkness and pulse with electricity, providing a rare feast for… the Incandescent Man! And while the horribly glowing creature gloats gleefully, in the Catskill Mountains, a mysterious woman can feel he’s out there somewhere – awake again. Awake, alive… and hungry. But not strong enough for her instruments to locate him – yet. She realizes that in Manhattan, there’s more electricity than in any other city in the world. Her hovercraft and equipment is all ready. She’s got to get there – fast – before he slips from my grasp again, she decides and departs with her ship.
Meanwhile, Cannonball takes a stroll down the streets of New York, thinking that he’d get lost for sure, if he rode the subway. He’s halfway there, already. Still, his city shoes are killing him. He wishes he could just blast off and fly to Port Authority but that would reveal his secret identity. Besides, he can’t turn too well. He’d probably crash into something and give mutants a worse name than they already… Suddenly, he sees several people running to his direction, all of them in panic. Sam wonders what’s going on. He’s heard New Yorkers are pushy, but this is ridiculous!
Above, the mysterious helicopter pilot, dressed in a full body suit, observes that the lights are out all in a line down Broadway. Just then, another block flickers and dies. The Incandescent Man seems to be moving in a straight line towards Times Square. The woman hopes she will have plenty of maneuvering room there. He will soon be hers. And when he is, Project Pegasus will regret they ever created him!
En route to Chelsea, Spider-Man ponders that maybe Robbie’s right. Maybe he should take photos of another guy in action. For sure he’ll get better shots. He might as well admit it; it’s become kind of a challenge. As he approaches the streets, he realizes this blackout really did set off a riot. He hopes he can take pictures that will show up.
“Golly, Spider-Man!” Cannonball exclaims as he spots him. Sam realizes that maybe this is more than ordinary rush-hour jostling! He asks one of the fleeing men what’s going on up there. The man replies that some sort of monster is heading into Times Square. Probably one of those mutant menaces he’s been reading about in the papers! A monster, Sam contemplates. Folks might get hurt! “Thanks, sir! Nice talkin’ to you!” Sam politely replies and then, much to everyone’s surprise, ignites the thermo-chemical reaction that transforms him into an invulnerable living Cannonball and rockets him toward Times Square.
“Holy cow!” Sam cries out as he flies above the gigantic Incandescent Man. Two police officers ask the villain to halt otherwise they will shoot. Sam knows Professor X is really disappointed in him. The other New Mutants can mostly control their powers but he can barely turn. But maybe, this time, a turn will be all he needs. The policemen shoot at the Incandescent Man, until one of them tells his colleague, Casey, that these bullets are doing nothing, except making him madder! Just then, the Incandescent Man whips out a glowing hand and lightning lashes out toward the police officers. Sam intervenes and shoves the officers aside, barely saving their lives. Cannonball explains he was scared they would be fried, just as he clumsily crashes onto a hydrant on the pavement. A sprout of water relentlessly engulfs the villain and Cannonball notices he’s shrinking!
Suddenly, he sees the package has fallen off his hands and a dog snatches his mom’s gift and runs off. Turning back to the Incandescent Man, he realizes this guy may be shrinking like the Wicked Witch of the West, but that’s not stopping him. It seems like he knows who caused all his troubles.
Nearby, Spider-Man is satisfied: he’s taken some great angles of the kid saving the cops and with that monstrous figure chasing him. Robbie’s going to plotz when he sees these shots! Maybe Peter will make it as a photographer, after all. He sees the monster running past him and following the kid and decides to take one more shot. Below, on the run by the Incandescent Man, Sam realizes the villain’s gaining on him. In pursuit of the dog who stole the gift meant for his mother, Sam hopes he can reach the hat before the Incandescent Man reaches him!
Suddenly, Spider-Man ensnares the villain in a web-net and grabs Cannonball, as he shoots another web and flees upwards. “My hat!” Sam cries out. Thanks to Spidey’s maneuvers, he manages to snatch it from the dog just before they both land on a movie marquee. Peter addresses Cannonball with his codename and argues they’ll be safe up here, at least for a while. Sam realizes he remembers him! Spider-Man reminds him he’s met all New Mutants… and how many guys are there who can become a human rocket, anyway? Not many that are as bad at it as he is, Sam admits. He sure made a botch of things, not being able to turn that well and smashing the hydrant and all. He’s always doing things like that. At this rate, he won’t be a New Mutant for long. Professor Xavier is going to flunk him out – Sam just knows it.
Peter asks him about the hat. Sam explains it’s a present for his momma. Peter tries to inspirit him and argues that to him, Sam was doing okay. Sam demurely thanks him for saving the hat – and him. Peter then points him at the Incandescent Man on the street below. Sam confirms that the villain is getting smaller. Peter realizes he seems to be made of electricity and city water – with its high mineral content – is a great conductor. It looks like it’s draining the electricity from him.
The Incandescent Man is little more than a shadow when, finally, he staggers from the spray of water, hungering… starving for power! Times Square blazes before him… an electronic banquet… and the Incandescent Man gorges himself! Cannonball realizes he’s calling the electricity to him – and he absorbed it, all of it! In all Times Square, he’s the only light left blazing – and he’s biggest than ever. Cannonball wonders how they are going to stop him!
Suddenly, they hear a helicopter overhead. Peter remarks it may be wishful thinking, but maybe the cavalry has arrived! Sam wonders what a helicopter pilot can do. Use the wind from his blades to blow that guy out like a candle? The pilot lowers something – a net. The damped net is constructed of heat-resistant, non-conducting fibers but for all their toughness, they may not be enough. Slowly, bit by bit, the fibers melt until the Incandescent Man hangs suspended by several melting, tenuous threads.
Just then, a gust of wind blows and takes away Cannonball’s hat. “Aw geez, not again!” Sam whimpers and blasts off. He succeeds in grabbing the hat, but suddenly he sees he’s running into a building; that’s valuable property! He urges himself to turn! Ultimately, he manages to turn – barely – but then crashes into a statue instead. He hopes it wasn’t an antique! At least, his force-field makes whatever he’s carrying as invulnerable as it makes him or his momma’s hat would be a goner! He realizes he’s got to straighten out. The subways are down below; if he smashes into them, people might get hurt. He wonders what he’s going to do.
He suddenly sees the monster below in the street: the helicopter got him but he’s pretty near melted his way out of that net. Spider-Man alerts Sam to the water and urges him to remember what happened with that hydrant. He asks him to tackle that monster before he falls and get him into the Hudson. The river water will drain his power. “Uh… right!” Sam mutters. He tosses the hat to Spidey and tells him that, if this doesn’t work out like they hope, he sees that his mama gets the hat!
Peter realizes that’s a shot Robbie will pay him big bucks for. He’d better grab his camera… fast. “Gotcha!” Cannonball exclaims and hits the Incandescent Man, making him lose a barrage of lightning so spectacular that the hovercraft’s shielding cannot withstand it. It spirals down – motor burning, threatening to spin out of control – while its pilot fights it every inch of the way.
Below, Spider-Man is exhilarated: he’s getting some spectacular shots! Just then, Cannonball, practically pushing the Incandescent Man, asks Peter to tell him which way the Hudson is! Spidey points him at the way, while realizing that shooting pix of Cannonball wasn’t such a hot idea. He got so involved in recording it all, that he almost forgot to do anything. He realizes that chopper pilot made a game try at stopping the monster. He deserves better than to crash into Times Square while the would-be-rescuer records his descent! He wonders how Cannonball is making out.
Meanwhile, Sam violently shoves the monster all across the city, in effect crashing through several buildings. Sam hopes that’s the river up ahead. He doesn’t know if Manhattan can take much more of his rescuing!
Up above, Spidey leaps to the wobbling hovercraft. The pilot wonders what he’s doing; trying to get killed to? He should get away! Peter asks her how they can get this crate down safely. The occupant of the chopper insists they can’t. The lightning shorted out the ship’s electrical system and the stabilizer’s shot. The doors are stuck shut, manual override’s out, too. She is trying to get this thing to crash where it won’t kill anyone… and Spider-Man is not helping so he should get off!
Spider-Man replies he’s getting off all right… and she is coming with him! Has he never heard the fabled strength of the spectacular…“You idiot! Don’t!” she screams, seeing Peter tearing off part of the ship to provide her with an escape. She shrieks it’s unstable! It’ll roll! And just then, she is hurled out of the falling helicopter.
Meanwhile, Cannonball finally gets the Incandescent Man above the Hudson River and tosses him there, joking that it’s the end of the line; everybody out! With a spectacular flash, the power drains from him and the Incandescent Man is no more! Holy cow! Not again! Sam ponders, as he realizes that now he’s rocketing straight into stuff on the Jersey side of the river. What would Spidey tell him to do now? Professor X and the Nightcrawler have both been trying to get him to practice his power and flipping and that move he saw Spidey making back in town… if he can copy it… just a little… it just might do the trick! Struggling, Sam manages to turn before crashing onto the building. Exhilarated, he realizes it worked; he did it!
Back in Times Square, Spider-Man sees the pilot wobbling like mad and losing altitude. He immediately aims his web right and eases her down gently. Panting, the woman thanks him. Spider-Man sees the ship veered over the center of Times Square. The pilot’s out of harm’s way now. Nobody and nothing but a statue directly below them… and Cannonball’s already smashed that. There’ll never be a better time to try this than now. Peter shoots his webs on the helicopter’s propeller, thinking that this ought to stop the blades from spinning… and make that copter drop like a stone!
Indeed, the helicopter crash-lands and explodes. The explosion knocks loose the movie marquee. Spidey realizes he left Cannonball’s hat there! He’ll never reach it in time. Suddenly, the woman springs to the hat and rescues it from the flames. Her face now revealed – that of a beautiful, blond woman – she asks Peter if this is what he was worried about. Pretty – but she’d never have guessed pink was his color!
Later, at the pier, Spider-Man and the woman see Cannonball swimming to their way. Peter wonders what Sam is doing in there. He urges him to come on out. Sam explains he dropped the glowing guy in here somewhere… and now he can’t find him! What if he drowned or… The woman tells Spider-Man that his friend is stubborn. She tells Cannonball that it’s no use: he’s gone. That “glowing man” was transformed as a result of an experiment with bio-conductors by a government research facility called Project Pegasus. They were trying to give him the power to draw electricity to himself, to channel it through his body and by virtue of his human intellect, use it directly as a tool. They called him the Incandescent Man.
At first he was okay, but eventually all that electricity coursing through his system drove him mad. He escaped by shutting down all of Pegasus’ power as he almost shut down Manhattan’s and disappeared into one of the rivers upstate – which drained his body out of his electrons as his maneuver did a little while ago. She knew he wasn’t dead then – as she knows it now. She’s been tracking him for months… and she knows he’ll never find him. She urges him to come on out; he’s done all he can do.
Spider-Man wonders: what’s her interest on the Incandescent Man? Sam remarks it sounds like she’s looking for him a good long while. She explains he is her brother. Her twin brother! She’ll continue to track him and one day, when he’s not as powerful as he was today, she’ll capture him and somehow she’ll harness all his power to destroy the place that created him!
Sometime later, after the woman leaves, Sam admits that was some lady; really determined. Spider-Man explains she saved Sam’s hat, while Peter grabbed his clothes. Sam thanks him. All that’s happened here makes him want to go back to the school and try again. He didn’t ask to be born a mutant, but he’s one anyhow, so maybe he’d better just be the best one he can be and stop worrying about the competition. He tried a move he saw Spider-Man do earlier. He was pretty clumsy but it gave him the idea that maybe if he just practices some more he can make it… and he has to thank Peter for it! Spider-Man assures him that after tonight Sam’s going to be a star. Some reporter’s bound to have gotten pictures of him saving New York.
Enthused, Sam asks him if he really thinks so. His mom would love it and it’d prove to the Professor that he can do something right! But Lord, he sure hopes not! He might get recognized as one of Xavier’s students and with all the anti-mutant feeling in the air now that could endanger the New Mutants and the X-Men alike. Spider-Man argues that Professor Xavier should be proud to have a student like him. If he’s dumb enough to kick him out, he can work with Spider-Man any time! “Really? Golly! Okay!” Sam exclaims and shakes hands with him.
As Sam takes leave, Peter tells him it’s a great hat. He knows a lady who’d like one just like it. He knows Sam got it at Saks; it looks pretty expensive. Fifty four dollars and eleven cents, Sam clarifies. Not enough to bother a guy like Spider-Man though. Sam himself worked weeks and barely had enough money to cover it!
Sam leaves. Peter thinks that maybe he was right. If you decide to be something, it makes sense to be the best you can be. Peter decided to be a photographer and, for once, he knows these shots are good – really good. But before being a photographer, he can work on being a human being. That’d be a better present for Aunt May than the hat these shots would have bought her, he decides and tosses the camera film into the Hudson River.


[User]
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[Assistant]
'Tis Better To Give !
As Spider-Man enters his appartment through the skylight, he hears his landlady, Mrs. Muggins, pounding on the door. He tries to leave again through the skylight, but Bambi, Randi, and Candi are spreading their towels on the roof to sunbathe. Just as Mrs. Muggins enters his appartment, he takes off his Spider-Man shirt and wraps himself in a towel, explaining that he was taking a shower and couldn’t hear her above the water. He then tries to avoid talking about the rent, and complains about the girls sunbathing on the roof, Mrs Muggins says that Candi is her niece, and that at least Candi pays the rent, unlike Parker. Peter promises to pay her the rent on Thursday.
Above an Asian jungle, Juggernaut leaps out of a plane without a parachut. He lands in the middle of the Korean army, which is practicing battle maneuvers. After slapping around a few soldiers like rag dolls and smashing one tank into another, Juggernaut leaves and goes into the ruins of the temple of Cyttorak. He digs himself through the ruins and debris and once inside the temple, he takes the Ruby of Cyttorak, which is where he got his powers from. He plans to take it to Black Tom Cassidy’s birthday party in two days, as a gift to his friend.
Back in New York, Peter Parker runs into Bambi, Randi and Candi in the hallway. When they find out that he is a photographer, they ask if he would photograph them sunbathing. They offer him food, as well. When Candi mentions chocolate cake, Peter takes the offer.
Meanwhile, Rogue and Colossus are battling guided missles in the Danger Room. When they’re finished, they eat supper with Nightcrawler and Rachel. On television, they see the news about Juggernaut’s attack on the Korean army, and Nightcrawler notices that he is carrying the Ruby of Cyttorak. Colossus wonders why he would need the Ruby, as he already possesses the Juggernaut power, but Rachel suspects that he wants to share it. At least that is what Juggernaut did in her future timeline, and she is uncertain because the Juggernaut and Black Tom she remembers from the Days of Future Past were heroes.
Peter Parker is also watching TV and reads the newspaper at the same time. He sees an ad for a hat, and decides he’d like to buy it for his Aunt May for her birthday. But, he has no cash. Then he sees the story about Juggernaut. He changes into his classic red-and-blue costume and heads to where he encased Juggernaut in a block of cement several weeks before. He also prepares his camera, hoping that he can sell some photos of him fighting the Juggernaut to the Bugle.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive hotel at Black Tom’s birthday party, Juggernaut shows up in his costume. He gives Tom a present. Unsuspecting Tom opens the box, and is amazed by the big ruby inside. As soon as Tom touches it, he gets so huge that his shirt rips off.
At Xavier’s mansion, Nightcrawler uses Cerebro to locate Black Tom, and he registers his signal in Manhattan. The X-Men immediately depart.
Black Tom is so infuriated with Juggernaut’s surprise that he punches him out the window. Juggernaut notices that he felt the punch, although he usually is invulnerable. He climbs up the building and punches Tom out the window. Then he jumps down after him. They begin to fight, and a gas truck explodes near them. Both are unharmed, Black Tom is shocked that he survived at all, while Juggernaut complains that he can feel the flames. Also Tom recognizes that the Juggernaut seems smaller than usual.
Spider-Man, attracted by sounds of the battle, begins to photograph them fighting. Black Tom realizes that Juggernaut’s gift did not work as he thought it would. Instead of bestowing Tom with the same abilities, it shared the Juggernaut power between them, now each having half of the Juggernaut’s full might and invulnerability. Juggernaut then notices Spider-Man, and the two villians settle their arguement to team up against him. They fight for a while, and just as they are about to kill Spidey, the X-Men arrive.
They attack Juugernaut and Black Tom. During the battle, Rogue absorbs Black Tom. She is now as big as Juggernaut, while Black Tom faints and is his usual size once more. Juggernaut then attacks Rogue and the two fight for a while. Meanwhile the X-Men have cleared the area, and Colossus tells Rogue to try and remove Juggernaut’s helmet so that Rachel could attack him telepathically. However, it is too late, as Rogue’s absorbed power already wears off. Strangely Colossus and Spider-Man realize that the power doesn’t go back to Black Tom, and also it doesn’t flow into Juggernaut, who still is only half strong as usual. They wonder where the other half of the Juggernaut power might be.
Rogue is now no match for the Juggernaut, who attempts to crush her. Colossus jumps in to help and manages to rip of Juggernaut’s helmet, revealing a second helmet underneath. Rachel tries to attack his mind, but the smaller helmet shields his head as good as the big one. While he taunts Rachel, Rogue absorbs him and grows big again, while the Juggernaut reverts to the size of an ordinary person.
Rogue’s mind is overwhelmed by Juggernaut’s memories, and confused she attacks Spider-Man, but she runs into a wall when Spider-Man leaps out of the way. Then the power leaves her and goes back into the Ruby. While the heroes tend to Rogue, Juggernaut grabs the Ruby, which restores him to his usual strength and size. He hurls the Ruby into space so that never again somebody can sap away some of his strength, and grabbing Black Tom’s unconcious body, he escapes into the sewer. Spider-Man and the X-Men decide not to follow as a battle would destroy the sewers of New York. As the police arrive at the scene of the battle, Spider-Man and the X-Men go their separate ways.
Somewhat later, in the sewers, Black Tom comes around and is happy to be back to normal. However, he thought that the fight was awesome, and he thinks he now understands the Juggernaut better after having had the power for a short time. And that, he says, is the best present he could have been given.
At the Daily Bugle, Peter angrily discovers that his pictures taken of the battle with the Juggernaut were ruined. When he hears Joe Robertson complain that the Bathing Beauty Page negatives have been damaged, Peter shows Robertson the pictures he took of Bambi, Randi, and Candi, an Joe loves them. He takes all of the pictures, leaving Peter with money and a goofy smile.


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[Assistant]
untitled (Golden Child - part 1)
(New York, present)
Wolverine finds himself webbed up between two buildings. His wrists are facing the sides of his head, and he is pretty much immobile. He’s going to kill Spidey for this. Unfortunately for Wolverine, the webbing is showing no signs of dissolving, and he doesn’t even know how long the stuff lasts.
(New York, earlier that day)
Spider-Man is hanging outside a building in New York, eating doughnuts, whilst Wolverine is across town, speaking to Scott Summers on the phone. He is on the trail of a mutant that has been picked up by the X-Men’s locating devices. He is at their house, and knows he’s on the case, as he has the mutant’s scent. He assures Scott he’ll deliver, and check back with him later. As he wanders off, he thinks that at least Xavier had an excuse for sitting on his rear all day.
Spider-Man, meanwhile, spots some action below. An armored vehicle has been knocked out by what appears to have been an explosion in the street. Several armed goons surround the driver and his partner, and warn them to get themselves out. Spidey webs his briefcase to a streetlight and lands with a thump on the van’s roof. Three goons are disarmed in no time, and Spidey pops his head over the windscreen to let the driver know that he’ll be finished in a couple of minutes. He then swings around and fells two goons; a surprisingly painless exercise for a change. He grabs his case and swings away at speed, as he’s late for a class. The goons lay unconscious, waiting for the cops to arrive.
He quickly changes back into his civvies and sprints into the building. He arrives and apologizes to his class for being late, but then finds his boss is already there taking roll. He takes Peter into the hall and asks him to get a handle on this scheduling situation. He doesn’t want to see him coming in late again. Peter apologizes, and promises it won’t happen again.
A few hours later, Peter hits the cafeteria and sits down with Kyle and Miss Bradley. He tells a little white lie; informing them that his wife forgot to turn the alarm back on. It happens more times than he cares to admit. He clearly cannot reveal that he stopped an armed gang before breakfast. His companions tease him about his wife being a supermodel actress, but Peter takes it well. Kyle asks how he managed to land such a fine woman, and hopes they aren’t paying him more that he gets. He’s got tenure. Miss Bradley replies that he’s quite handsome. When he came to school with bandages on recently, she had trouble concentrating on class that day. She’d have renovated the janitor’s closet with him in a second. Peter is a little taken aback, but Miss Bradley soon assures him that she just likes to see him squirm.
As they eat, a fight breaks out in the cafeteria, and Peter jumps in to try and break it up. Before he can do much, though, the guy being jumped by several other students stands and, with his fists glowing, he throws the lot of them off him. Peter is speechless. He tells the kids to finish their lunches, and chastises the four aggressors for their actions. They’re gonna have to see the principal for this. One of the guys says it’s not fair. Paul has to be a mutant, he insists, or something, with powers like that. Peter replies that all he saw was a boy defend himself. They shouldn’t blame getting beaten on magic. It seems to him like they just picked the wrong guy to mess with. As he ushers them away, he offers an inquisitive backwards glance to Paul.
That afternoon, after school, Paul Patterson is walking home, listening to some music with his Walkman. Parker catches up with him, only this time he’s in costume. He asks if he has a minute. He heard about the incident at school and wonders if he wants to talk about it. “You’re him aren’t you? That teacher from lunch… Mr. Parker.” Spidey quickly denies this, but Paul appears to be sure, as Spidey sounds just like him. Spidey decides to take this conversation elsewhere before he draws a crowd. He grabs Paul and uses his webbing to lift him high onto a nearby building.
He tells Paul that he isn’t going to lie to him, but he and Parker are related, but he’s not him. They just sound alike, and have done for years. Paul replies that this is the problem with adults. They think kids are stupid, but he’s not fooling him. Just because he was born way after him, doesn’t mean he was born yesterday. He then asks Spidey when he first got his powers. Peter tells him that he was in high school, and was just a little older than Paul. Paul wishes he didn’t have powers. He’s always hurting people. Peter tells him that the way he handled himself today, kinda makes him wish he had his powers when he was Paul’s age. He then remembers he’s in character, and adds discretely that Parker told him about it.
Behind Spider-Man, a familiar snikt breaks up the conversation. Before Spider-Man can turn, Paul places his hands together and creates a blast that knocks Wolverine clean off his feet. He flies all the way across the gap between that building and the next, and crashes into the roof access, partially demolishing it. Spidey asks Paul why he did that. Wolverine’s one of the good guys… he thinks, though sometimes it’s hard to tell.
Wolverine picks himself up and assures Paul that he’s not here to hurt him, but if he wants to play rough, he can play rough. Spidey whispers to Paul that it wouldn’t hurt to apologize. Wolverine leaps back towards them. “Any time now Paul,” Spidey adds. As Wolverine lands, Spidey tries to keep him at bay, telling him to give the kid a minute. This is all just a big misunderstanding. Unfortunately, Paul blasts Wolverine again, sending him rolling over and over to the edge of the roof.
Spidey turns and asks why he keeps doing that. Paul replies that he was going to attack them. Spidey tries to say he wasn’t, but is rather unclear himself. Wolverine has had enough. His short fuse has burnt out and he leaps at Paul with claws extended. Spidey whisks the kid out of danger and leaps off the building with him. “This can only get worse from here. Berserker rage with a side order of blind fury coming right up. We’re in big trouble here, kid.” Wolverine leaps from the building in pursuit. Spidey asks Paul to stand back, and not to zap Wolverine again until he’s got the situation under control. Wolverine lands, and warns the wall-crawler to back off. He doesn’t have any idea what this kid’s about, and he’s coming with him one way or another. He tried to be nice and didn’t come looking for a fight, but if Spidey doesn’t get out of his way, he’s going to have more than he can handle.
Spider-Man takes the initiative. Without response, he leaps over Wolverine and fires webs at both his hands. He then continues to pour on the webbing before Wolverine can get a handle on what he’s up to. As he creates a web between two buildings, he asks Wolverine, rhetorically, when he’s going to get it through his thick, indestructible, adamantium skull of his. He’s not letting him hurt the kid - no matter how many times Paul blasts him for no good reason. Spidey leaves Logan webbed up, off the ground and with his wrists facing his skull, in order to prevent him from slicing the webbing and escaping. That pretty much brings us up to speed.
(present)
Wolverine thinks Spider-Man is being stupid, as he has no idea what’s going on. He may have lost his temper, but being stuck there isn’t helping anyone. The kid is dangerous. He can’t budge the webbing, which seals him in place like concrete. He knows that what he will do next will hurt, but he has little option. Slowly, he extends the claws of his right hand. The adamantium blades pierce the skin on the side of his head, but stop when they reach his adamantium skull. Slowly, he extends the claws further, and his arm begins to move away from his head. Eventually, his blades are at full length, and he has enough leeway to slash at the web holding him in place. He is soon free, and knows that all he has to do to get on Spidey’s trail is to follow the scent of bad jokes.
Meanwhile, Paul takes Spider-Man back to his house; the one where Logan was earlier. He asks if he wants to go inside, and Spidey replies that he’s sure Wolverine is on his way, so it’ll probably be better if he’s around when he arrives. As they enter, he informs Paul that, most of the time, Wolverine’s a nice guy. He was probably sent here by the X-Men to recruit him or something. “Really?” replies Paul. Spidey tells him that they might enroll him at their school. They train mutants to use their powers. They have some computers there that can detect mutants. It’s all a bit over his head, and he’s a whiz at science.
The place is a tip, and rubbish is strewn across the floor. Paul seats himself on the couch and says it sounds pretty cool. Spidey asks if his parents are home. Paul informs him that his mom left a while ago. He lives there with his dad. He’s in the bedroom down the hall. Spidey heads in that direction. He thinks he should probably let him know they’re here, especially with Wolverine coming. Paul grabs a soda and tells him not to worry about it. He’s not going to care.
Spidey knocks regardless and doesn’t get any response. He pushes the door open, despite Paul telling him he ought not to. As the door opens, he is greeted by the sight of Paul’s father who is in an advanced state of decomposition. Flies are all around, despite the flypaper on the ceiling. “Um… is he dead?” Spidey asks. Behind him, Paul’s eyes begin to glow. “Well… yeah.”


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[Assistant]
Golden Child - part 2
(New York City)
As Nova the Human Rocket tears between the buildings of New York, Wolverine is more than a little disgruntled. He’s aboard a city bus, in costume, and shows his frustration to the gaping passengers, who can do nothing but stare at him. Spider-Man, meanwhile, is more than surprised at discovering the dead body of Paul Patterson’s father.
Paul is rather blasé about having a rotting corpse in the house, and Spidey soon pops the question. “Paul, how did he die? You didn’t…” Paul replies that he killed him. It was the first thing he did with his powers. He manifests a ball of energy from his palms, and explains that he didn’t do it on purpose. He didn’t even know what he was doing. All he knew was that he could shoot light from his hands. He didn’t know he could hurt people, and was just trying to show his father.
Spidey informs him that he can’t just keep a dead body in the house. He’s too young to be living there by himself, and he asks where his mother is. Paul says he was going to call, but didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, his forlorn expression becomes something more sinister. His eyes glow, and he grins. The thing is, he explains, he kinda liked it. He wanted to try it again, and tells Spidey that he should look in the other rooms. “Y’know what? I’ve never killed a super hero before.” The spider-sense kicks into overtime.
Meanwhile, the bus stops and Wolverine gets off, shouting back at the nosey passengers, “Take a picture, why don’t you!” He can’t believe they act like they haven’t seen a super hero before. He saw Nova fly by twice while they were on the bus. In New York you can’t buy a bagel without bumping into Speedball or Darkhawk. He blames Cyclops for having to wear the costume. “We have to astonish them. Give me a break.” He arrives at Paul’s house, after hoping he wouldn’t have to see the place again.
Suddenly, an explosion from within sends Spider-Man crashing through the wooden outer wall and straight into Wolverine, who in turn crashes against a parked car. His adamantium-laced skeleton makes a real mess of the bodywork. As they regain their senses, Spidey tells Logan he’s glad to see him. He apologizes for the whole webbing thing, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Logan, too, apologizes for letting his berserker rage get the better of him, but at least Spidey now knows what they’re up against.
They both look at the house, just as the whole place explodes. Through the smoke and debris stands the naked stocky figure of Paul Patterson. Wolverine points out that Paul’s over there, and Spidey sarcastically replies that he’s so observant; no wonder he’s on so many teams. Paul tells them it’s good that Wolverine’s appeared. He wasn’t looking forward to having to track him down. He explains that he’s learned something over the last few months. While testing his powers, he’s learned that the more he uses his powers, the more powerful he becomes. Now, he can control them much better. He can use them a little, like he did at school earlier today, or a lot, like when he destroyed the house. He hasn’t had much target practice, so he asks them to jump around a little.
He opens fire, expelling energy from his hands at both his opponents. As Spidey leaps, he asks Logan if he has a game plan. Logan uses the car door to shield himself from the blast, and replies that when Cerebra first detected the kid, he appeared as a massive concentration of mutant energy. At first they thought it was a glitch, but Emma isn’t quite as good with Cerebra as Charles or Jean were. Spidey fires some webbing, telling Paul he doesn’t have to do this. Paul certainly thinks he does. The webbing hits a wall behind him, which Spidey pulls onto Paul. Unfortunately, he smiles and tells Spidey that it’ll take a lot more than that to bring him down.
Avoiding another blast, Spidey again leaps away from danger. Logan continues to tell Spidey that Paul’s signature would spike every time he used his powers. The car beside them explodes, as Spidey pulls Logan clear of the blast. Logan finishes off his explanation by adding that, after seeing that a few times, they knew he would have to be investigated. All they really know is that Paul is extremely powerful. Spidey remarks that he thought Wolverine knew more than him.
Despite the two heroes being incredibly experienced, they struggle against Paul’s ferocious onslaught. Time after time, they manage to evade his energy blasts, before settling to discuss their options. Logan says he knew that, when he saw what was inside the house, it wasn’t going to be a recruitment mission.
(at that very moment)
The peace of Latveria’s countryside is broken by a fizzle of energy, followed by an enormous release of lightning. Dr. Doom lands on the ground in a heap. As he looks up, he whispers the name, “Richards!”
(New York City)
The heroes are tossed about like rag dolls, as Paul continues to unleash his aggression in the form of bigger and bigger blasts. Logan theorizes that, if Spidey can distract Paul long enough, he might be able to get close enough to stab him. His adamantium claws might disrupt the current flowing through his body long enough for him to take the kid out. “Flesh wound only?” asks Spidey. “Scout’s honor,” comes the reply. Logan doesn’t know if it’ll work; he isn’t Hank McCoy.
Paul decides that this is becoming dull, and turns his attention towards his neighbor’s house. He levels the front wall with a single blast, forcing the two heroes to look after the innocents who come rushing outside. Paul’s plan works, and he catches Logan squarely with a beam of energy. Spidey asks if he’s okay, but Logan’s adamantium skeleton protects him okay.
Paul informs them that he’s not even breaking a sweat, and could do this all night long. He doesn’t think Wolverine can last that long. Angry, but determined, Wolverine replies that if the kid can dish it out, he can take it. Paul concentrates, and summons a larger amount of energy, unleashing it at Spider-Man, who leaps acrobatically to avoid being caught. Paul’s attention is diverted away from Wolverine as he dismisses the threat that his two opponents pose. “So is this what we’re left with after the Avengers disbanded? Thor must be rolling in his grave.”
Suddenly, he turns and sees Wolverine standing right next to him. He apologizes to Paul for giving him no choice, before extending a claw straight through his forearm. Paul screams and, in a blinding flash of light, Paul explodes, as his entire body is short-circuited. The two heroes are thrown to the ground and, as they recover, Spidey can’t get his brain around it.
He asks if Wolverine’s crew can handle things from here. “The X-Men are used to dealing with stuff like this…right?” Logan stands, and decides not to bother Cyclops with this. He’ll just call S.H.I.E.L D and let them deal with it. Spidey asks if he’s got their number. Logan replies that he has Nick on speed dial. Spidey’s impressed, and replies that he always has to go through his secretary. He didn’t even think Captain America had a direct line. He asks for the number, but Logan refuses to hand it over.
As they survey the scene of devastation, they are watched from afar by a small flying drone with a camera. Logan has forgotten where he left his street clothes, and is annoyed that he’s lost what was a new jacket. Suddenly, several S.H.I.E.L.D craft arrive, and Dum Dum Dugan asks what they’ve got. Spidey asks Wolverine to take things from there. His wife is probably worried sick as it’s almost morning. “You’re married?” asks Logan. Spidey asks if he finds it hard to believe. He’s seen him without the mask. “I’m totally hot!”
(later)
Wolverine returns to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and is greeted by Jubilee. She’s glad she caught him, as she has to inform him that she’s moving to L.A. When he asks why, she replies that her aunt is letting her stay. It’s kind of a long story. She’s waiting for Hank to take her to the airport, and wanted to see him before she left. He replies that it was good to see her, says good night and asks her to keep in touch. “Good night?” she wonders, “It’s 8 a.m.”
(the next day)
Peter Parker returns to his day job at Midtown High. Kyle and Miss Bradley are telling him about Paul Patterson’s rampage the night before, but Peter is very tired and falls asleep in his food. Even his face hitting the plate doesn’t wake him. Only Kyle’s voice manages to raise him from the dead.
(elsewhere)
The drone whizzes through the air, and comes to land on an alien spacecraft, which appears to have crash-landed. Several other drones are circling the craft. On board, Titannus watches footage from the drone’s camera of Spider-Man and Wolverine. He doesn’t think they’ll do for his needs. He looks at his beloved, who looks like she is in stasis. He promises her that he will never give up. Their bond will never be broken, and they’ve come too far, sacrificed too much. He’ll do whatever it takes, and will search the entire planet if he needs to. He’ll rally the world to their cause, and turn the entire population into an army with which to achieve their goal. For their love, and their future, he will not fail.