Spider-Man Mayhem

[Third Person's PoV] 

Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider arrived near the prison, where a shootout was already underway. Police officers were taking cover behind their cruisers, occasionally popping out to return fire.

The prison alarm blared across the facility as inmates fired back using weapons they had either found inside or taken from overpowered guards.

Scarlet Spider broke off from Spider-Man, swinging down to intervene, with Spider-Man following close behind, letting her take the lead.

As soon as they jumped into the crossfire, they began webbing up inmates and disarming them.

"Haven't you learned not to take what isn't yours?!" Scarlet Spider quipped as one of her psionic eyes flashed froze a group of prisoners in her line of sight in place. 

Spider-Man zipped in and webbed them up, gathering them all in one spot before running rapid circles around them, wrapping them tightly in webbing. "Snuggle up! You guys are gonna be roomies, after all," he said, dusting off his hands.

"Damn it!" one of the tied-up prisoners yelled as the others cursed at them.

MJ spotted a rocket flying toward the police cruisers and quickly shot a web at it, yanking it off course just in time. She then swung toward the inmate who fired it, smashing the launcher to pieces. "That's a lot of firepower for one man to handle, don't you think?" she said before knocking him out.

A massive prisoner, nearly three meters tall, charged at Spider-Man, metal chains wrapped around his fists.

"Jesus, what are they feeding you in there?!" Spider-Man said, leaning back as the chain lashed past his face. Before it could be swung again, he caught it effortlessly with one hand.

The inmate yanked on the chain, expecting to send Spider-Man flying toward his fist. Instead, Spider-Man stood firm, looking amused. Raising an eyebrow, he gave the chain a sharp tug, sending the massive man hurtling toward him. As the prisoner flew forward, Spider-Man twirled, wrapping the chain around the man's neck.

"Who's a good dog? Who's a good pitbull? You are!" Spider-Man teased, pulling down hard and slamming the prisoner's face into his knee, knocking him unconscious.

Spider-Man glanced over at MJ, who was spinning in place with a psionic chain wrapped around an inmate, using him as a makeshift weapon to knock out others.

He let out a chuckle before turning into a streak of lightning, and within seconds, he and MJ had cleared out all the inmates outside the prison.

"Spider-Man!"

Peter turned to see Captain George Stacy waving him over.

Surprised, Spider-Man appeared before George with a military salute. "Captain!"

He then spotted Yuri peeking out from behind a police car. "Yuri," he greeted.

"Spider-Man," she replied. "I'm an officer of the law I'll have you know …"

"What, do you want me to call you 'Lieutenant' or something?" Spider-Man teased.

"At least regard me with some respect. I'm still a detective, you know," Yuri scoffed.

"Captain Stacy!" MJ saluted, completely ignoring Yuri since she didn't know her.

"Seriously? What am I, chopped liver?" Yuri muttered.

"We've handled the ones outside. We're about to head inside and deal with the rest," Spider-Man said, motioning toward the unconscious prisoners.

"Wait," George interjected. "Before you go in, you should know—they've taken the warden hostage. Their demands are a helicopter and a couple of escape vehicles and $100,000 ransome"

Spider-Man chuckled. "Seriously?"

George's expression remained serious. "Yes. And they said if we don't comply, they'll execute a guard every hour until they run out… then kill the warden last."

Meanwhile, Yuri was already giving orders to the other officers. "Round them up! Take the prisoners into custody, but don't go inside just yet!"

MJ nodded. "We'll make sure to secure the warden so you guys don't have to worry."

George nodded, then asked, "Where are the others? Shouldn't they be helping with something this big?" He was particularly curious about Gwen's whereabouts, not having seen her around.

"They're dealing with the one responsible for the earthquake," Spider-Man informed him.

"The earthquake was man-made?!" George asked in surprise, stroking his chin. "I see… I suppose that makes sense. New York doesn't really get earthquakes."

As Spider-Man and MJ started turning invisible, Spider-Man reassured him, "We'll handle getting the warden out safely, so don't worry."

"And the other guards," MJ added faintly as they moved toward the prison.

One of the officers hesitated before speaking. "Sir…?"

"Hm?" George turned toward him as prisoners were being lined up and placed in police cruisers.

"Is it wise to leave this job to them? They're vigilantes, aren't they? Shouldn't we be arresting them?" the officer asked warily. 

"No, it isn't wise in the slightest," George replied, closing his eyes and frowning.

"Huh? But—"

"It's a risk," George continued before the officer could express his confusion. "A risk I'm willing to take based on what I've seen of their performance. I'm putting my position and job on the line by placing my trust in them—the ones who have taken up the mantle of hero. Either it works out in our favor, or it doesn't. It all depends on them."

The officer merely blinked in surprise and disbelief.

---

Spider-Man and MJ sneaked their way inside, only to be met with utter chaos. The prisoners had taken complete control of the prison in a shockingly short amount of time.

The guards had been thrown into jail cells, now locked inside, while the inmates stood guard outside, armed with guns and other heavy weaponry.

"What day is it? Opposite day?" Spider-Man whispered to MJ, who had an amused smile.

She then connected them telepathically.

*"Why are they standing guard? Shouldn't they be trying to escape? It's almost like they're following orders."*

*"My best guess? They are,"* Spider-Man replied. *"And if I had to guess who's in charge, it's probably Herman. He's the one with the most firepower. The Tinkerer made those gauntlets for him, and I bet he put on a show to make himself king of the prison."*

*"That makes the most logical sense, I suppose,"* MJ nodded before whispering, "Aria, can you show us where Herman is?"

"He's in the cafeteria," Aria whispered back. She didn't need to whisper, but it added to the mission's ambiance.

Their HUD flashed as the security cameras switched feeds, revealing a young man in his twenties wearing padded orange prison garb. His hands were encased in large metal gauntlets. The video came with audio.

Herman stood before a table lined with bottles and cans.

"Hahaha! Man, I love these things!" he cheered, thrusting his fist forward. A yellow wave of vibrations erupted from his gauntlet, shattering the bottles into tiny shards. He increased the power, and the entire table was sent flying, splintering into pieces against the wall.

"Ohohohoho! Christmas came early for Uncle Herman! And you, old man, are Saint Nick!" he laughed, pointing at the elderly man working on a device along the table.

The old man—the Tinkerer—ducked and shouted, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE POINTING THAT THING, YOU IDIOT!"

"Oh, right," Herman mused before smirking. "Now that makes me wonder… what do these bad boys do to a human body?"

"Depends on the range and power," the Tinkerer replied, not looking up. "From a distance, it'll send someone flying. Up close and at full power? They'd be splattered against the wall—mincemeat."

"Ew." Herman grimaced before grinning again. "I wanna see. Who should I try it on?"

Spider-Man's eyes widened. "That idiot," he muttered, anger flaring as he sprinted toward the cafeteria.

"What about you, Warden?" Herman asked, pointing at a handcuffed man sitting on the floor, surrounded by inmates wielding guns.

"He's our way out of here, so no. He could still be useful," the Tinkerer replied, still focused on his work.

"Oh, you're right… Smart man, Saint Nick, smart man," Herman nodded. "Then I'll just use one of the guards. Let's see… You."

He pointed at one of the guards near the Warden.

"We said we'd wait an hour, but I'm an impatient man. Put him front and center!"

The inmates obeyed, dragging a trembling guard forward. Tears welled in his eyes as he struggled in vain, his legs bound.

"Now, let's see~" Herman sang as his gauntlets glowed, shaking with power.

Before he could fire, the door exploded open. A red-and-blue blur shot into the room as Spider-Man tackled the guard away, narrowly dodging the concussive blast that erupted from Herman's fist.

Spider-Man skidded to a stop, cradling the guard, then rose to his feet, voice dark with anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Herman?"

The shockwave slammed into the kitchen, sending food and debris flying. Chunks of the kitchen crumbled into rubble.

"What?" Herman blinked in disbelief.

"And who the hell are you?!" he growled.

"SPIDER-MAN!!" the Tinkerer spat with venom.

Spider-Man scoffed. "Still kicking, huh? I hope the prisoners were nice to their senior citizens."

Then, turning back to Herman, his tone sharpened. "I'll ask again. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Herman scoffed, cracking his knuckles. "Pfft. So you're the bug-man Saint Nick told me about? You look just as ridiculous as your name sounds."

His gauntlets hummed, glowing a bright yellow. "If you want an alias, it needs to strike fear into people, to tell them what you're really about. Like… THE SHOCKER!!"

With that, he swung his fist toward Spider-Man.

Spider-Man leapt out of the way as tables shattered and flew across the room. He quickly freed the guard, motioning for him to run to safety.

Meanwhile, MJ had slipped in unnoticed. She immediately started untying the Warden and the remaining guards while all eyes remained locked on Spider-Man.

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