𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮, peter parker

lxii. the formidable doc ock

chapter sixty-two
the formidable doc ock

"HELLO, PETER."

Peter froze on the top of the car, frowning. He shifted uneasily in his suit as he continued to stare at this man in his long trenchcoat and glasses that loomed over him with four metal arms. Everyone in the world knew who Spider-Man was▬that it was Peter Parker underneath the mask. But there was something about the way this stranger said it and that malicious grin, that made it seem like he knew Peter personally. As if something between them was left unfinished, and that made Spider-Man grow hesitant and wary. "Uh ... Hi?" he waved at the man with metal tentacles. "Do we▬? Do I know you?"

The man's top two arms reared back over his head and the pointed edges snapped open to reveal three sharp pincers each. "What have you done with my machine?" He snarled furiously.

Peter had no idea what he was talking about. He tried to think back to the many villains he has fought in the previous years (and the many machines he has destroyed)▬there were so many to count. But never once has he ever seen a guy like this. Peter Parker was sure he'd remember those arms. "Uh ..." he glanced around and noticed some people were still in the cars and he resisted the urge to curse. Spider-Man turned back to the stranger. "Your ... your machine▬I don't know what you're talking about. I don't▬What machine?"

Those metal talons spun with precision, leering over the man's shoulders like the Devil and the Angel▬except he only had two red devils whispering in his ear. "The power of the sun in the palm of my hand..." he muttered, almost wistful. The fires glinted something more than malice in those dark glasses. "It's gone!"

Spider-Man held his hands up, trying to calm him down. His heart was starting to race. This guy obviously thought he was someone else▬and yet, he had said 'Peter'. This stranger knew exactly who he was talking to. "L▬Listen," tried Spider-Man, "if you stop smashing cars, we can work together and I can help you find your machine."

The stranger was not pleased. He scoffed a dubious chuckle and tilted his head▬Peter could see a glimpse of his eyes behind those glasses, and they were manic. The two metal arms hovering over his shoulders seemed to slither forward, menacing, like snakes. "You want to play games?" sneered the villain.

The two top arms circled downwards and pierced through the roofs of two cars. The people still stuck inside them threw themselves out of their doors onto the tarmac just before the cars began to lift. They ran for their lives down the bridge.

Spider-Man grew tense as he watched the cars get higher and higher.

"Catch!" shouted the villain and Peter gasped.

He somersaulted out of the way of the first car and heard it crumple against the side of the bridge▬thrown with such force that it folded in and its windows shattered.

Spider-Man had no time to dodge the next, so he threw his hands up, catching the vehicle by its bonnet. He gritted his teeth as his feet skidded across the tarmac, digging into it as he desperately tried to stop the car before it would hit the car with the assistant vice chancellor inside.

The momentum was too much and his back hit the black car. He yelled out as the vehicle he caught spun over and took Peter with it. His fingers stuck on as he and the car were thrown over the bridge and down the side. He saw the family inside, a mother and father and their screaming daughter▬Spider-Man gritted his teeth and climbed up the bonnet and on top of the car. As it continued to spin around, falling closer and closer to the tracks below, Spider-Man threw up his arm. A long, thick web attached to the bridge above and he latched his fingers around the bumper. He held on for dear life, pulling the car upwards until he could stick the other end of the web onto the bonnet. Breathing heavily, he threw the car doors open and helped the passengers out.