Peter fell to his knees as the alarm went off. Behind him, he heard a female voice.
"Bang. You're dead."
Peter put his hands in the air. "Yes, I know." He stood up, and turned around, facing the girl. "But, so are you."
Mary Jane came up behind Peter's attacker and unloaded all of the charges into her.
The alarm started going off on the attacker's vest.
"Nice move, Natalie," Peter said. "Almost woulda worked."
Natalie smiled. "Well, I didn't expect Mary Jane to be so close to me."
"Guess that leaves only Victor," MJ said. She lifted her gun in the air. "Hope I have enough left in this before it runs out." She ran off to find Victor.
"Gee, Peter, I would have imagined you be better at lasertag," Natalie said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, well, I'm used to webs," Peter replied. "Guns aren't really my thing."
"Sure, whatever you say . . . "
Peter smiled. "Okay, you did catch me by surprise. And the reloading is a bitch. I mean, if Victor and I hadn't had that showdown right before, I would have been able to take you."
"More excuses."
Just then, Victor and Mary Jane walked up. The look on MJ's face clearly showed that she had lost.
"Great game, guys," Victor said. "Shall we go another round?"
"Eh, I'd love to," MJ replied. "But Peter and I have something to do."
"We do?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, we have that thing."
"What thing?"
"You know, that thing."
"Oh, that thing. Yeah, MJ and I have a thing to do."
"Okay," Victor said. "Then I guess we're done. See you two later?"
"Yeah," Peter replied. "Tomorrow, perhaps?"
"Okay, just give me a call or stop by. Business, I presume?"
"You would be correct," Peter answered.
Peter and MJ left, stopping to turn in their lasertag equipment, and then walked out.
"So, what exactly is it that you are so anxious to do this late on a Friday night?" Peter asked.
"Well, it's been a busy week, and we haven't spent much time together, alone. And, our aunts went out for a night on the town, and won't be back for a couple of hours."
"You want to go back to your place and make out."
"Well . . . yeah . . . I mean, if you're . . . "
"Why are we still standing here?" Peter interrupted.
MJ smiled.
The next morning, Peter woke up to the phone ringing. "Oh," he moaned.
He let the phone ring a couple of times, expecting Aunt May to pick it up. After the fourth ring, he realized that he would have to answer.
"Hello?"
"Peter, it's Victor."
"I thought I was going to call you."
"You were supposed to, but it's almost noon, and I have some other stuff to get done today, too."
"Sorry," Peter said.
"Late night?"
"I think I got to bed around 3, I'm not sure."
"What in the world were you and MJ doing all night?"
"We had a house to ourselves."
"Oh . . . oh . . . "
"Vic, we didn't do that. We just . . . made out, and some . . . other stuff. Not exactly stuff you talk about on the phone."
"Which base?"
"Excuse me?"
"You know, which base? First, second?"
"I'd rather not say."
"Oh, I gotcha. So, what did you want?"
"I was thinking. Ezekiel was trying to get me to question my origin. The only real way to prove anything is to test my blood."
"But it was altered by the radiation anyway. There would be no way to tell."
"Actually, he got me thinking. What if I was a guinea pig for my parents?"
"You mean you think that they injected you with Scarecrow?"
"Or Oz, or whatever drug they had at the time."
"So how are you going to be able to find out?" Victor asked.
"I need to test my blood. See if there are any traces of the drug in it."
"But what if it was altered by the radiation?"
"That's a chance I'm going to take," Peter replied.
"You'll need a sample to compare it to."
"I've been thinking about that too. There is a sample somewhere. Harry."
"He's not going to willingly give up a sample of blood unless you tell him why."
"I know, but there is a easier way of obtaining a sample. I'm sure he stayed at a hospital at some point while he was missing. It's just a matter of figuring out which one. They must have a sample of his blood left. After all, he is an interesting case, and they may want to do further tests on him."
"You can't be serious. You want to break into a hospital?"
"Is there any other way of getting that sample?"
Victor sighed. "Okay. I don't like the idea, but I'll go with you. You need someone covering your back."
"Good. We'll go tonight after we figure out which hospital it is. I figure that will be a nice slow time."
"Assuming everyone doesn't go stupid and crash their cars or nearly kill each other. It is Saturday."
"Point. Still, we do have stealth on our side."
Eighteen years ago, January
"Bridge, are you sure?" Richard Parker asked.
"I just got the intel from headquarters. They thought you would like to know right way."
"Thank you. What is the mission right now?"
"There is none, yet. We just intercepted a Russian transmission. We're not even sure how far they've developed the weapon."
"Keep me informed."
"Of course. However, there is no guarantee that you'll be involved."
"What the hell? Some Russian son of a bitch shot me -- "
"And you want revenge," Bridge interrupted. "I know. I've seen that happen with many agents, myself included. But trust me on this one, you have to be calm. If you go charging headfirst into a mission wanting revenge, you'll just end up dead."
"I know," Parker said. "Still . . . " He trailed off as he remembered something the Russian said before he shot him. "Say, did we ever find out who the boss was?"
"Sadly, no."
"Damn. I have this strange feeling that I might know him."
"Where did you get that idea?"
"I don't know. Something about the way he said making us understand what the boss meant . . . Strange."
"Well, I don't have time to stand and ponder such things, as much as I would like. As it is, I leave on a mission of my own in an hour. I'll be seeing you."
"Yes," Parker replied. "Thanks, Bridge."
"Mercy General. I wouldn't have suspected it," Spider-Man said, looking up at the hospital. "I mean, it seems too public."
"Hey," the Shadow replied, "Harry's name showed up in the database. He was here."
"All right. Time to go invisible," Spidey said. As the Shadow's cloak of invisibility spread over him, Spider-Man activated the stealth mode of his costume.
"We get in, we get the blood, we get out, okay?" the Shadow asked.
"I got that. Let's go."
"How are we getting in?"
"The front door," Spidey replied. "I need you to do a telepathic sweep. The only way we're going to be able to find out where they're keeping the blood samples is by you getting the information from their brains."
The two heroes walked in. The Shadow immediately doing a quick telepathic scan of all who worked at the hospital.
{Let's keep moving up. I doubt too many people in the lobby will know where that stuff is.}
The Shadow and Spider-Man entered the stairwell, and headed toward the second floor. Spidey jumped up on the ceiling and began crawling. Just as the Shadow was ready to open the door, he stopped.
{It's in a lab on the seventh floor. Meet me there.}
{Where are you going?} Spidey asked.
{It would be best if we split up, in case something unfortunate happened to one of us.}
{Makes sense.}
Five minutes later, the two heroes found each other on the seventh floor. Spidey jumpped down off the ceiling.
"Why is it darker on this floor?" he whispered.
"I'm pretty sure this floor is just labs and stuff. So, at night, they usually cut the lights off, since they don't do that much work down here."
"Gotcha," Spidey said, putting his hand on the doorknob. "This is the place, right?"
"I think so."
Spidey turned the doorknob. Nothing happened. It was locked.
"I'll solve that problem," he whispered, pointing at the lock. Instantly, a small device protruded from his finger. He inserted it in the lock, and within seconds had the door open.
The two crept into the room.
{Over there,} the Shadow said, pointing to the refrigerator on the opposite wall. The door was transparent, and the vials were easily seen.
Spider-Man opened the door. He quickly glanced over the vials, looking for the one with Harry's name. It was on the third shelf. Spidey quickly grabbed it, removed the label, and placed the vial in a special compartment of his suit.
{Wait a minute, what if someone notices it's missing?} the Shadow wondered.
"They won't," Spidey whispered, pulling another vial out of his costume. He applied the label to it, and placed it in the empty slot.
{Who's blood is that?}
{Pig's blood.}
{Ah. Shoulda figured, with you being a science geek and all.} The Shadow looked up at the other vials in the refrigerator.
{What the hell . . . ? Peter, this vial up here, it's got my dad's name on it!}
{You have to be kidding.}
The Shadow took the vial down. {Nope. Lamont Cranston, Jr. It's right there.}
{You can't just take it, they'll be coming to you.}
The Shadow grabbed another vial, and swapped labels, placing the other vial in the spot he found his father's blood in. {That should delay them for a while.}
{All right, let's get out of here!}
"Stop right there!" a commanding voice boomed from behind them. "I can't see you, but I know you're there."
"Vic, go! I'll cover!" Spidey whispered.
The Shadow ran for the door. The security guard lifted his gun. Spidey ran up and decked him. The guard began firing. "I got an intruder in lab 7," he shouted into his radio.
Spider-Man ran for the large window on the far side of the room, and jumped through it. The glass shattered, and Spidey immediately fired a web to prevent him from colliding with the ground from seven stories up.
He landed on the ground and began running.
Soon, Victor Cranston and Peter Parker were sitting on a bench several blocks from the hospital.
"That wasn't cool," Victor said.
"I know," Peter replied. "Well, now they know someone invisible was there."
"I hope I have a low public image," Victor commented. He then added, "No pun intended."
"I know what you mean."
"So, what's next?" Victor asked.
"I take this sample along with one of mine to get tested. What are you going to do with your father's?"
"I . . . I don't know. But it raises more questions. Like, why the hell is his blood kept in a refrigerator in a New York hospital?"
"Perhaps he was brought there for emergency treatment."
Victor shook his head. "As family, we are to be notified when he is taken to any medical center, for whatever reason. We haven't heard a thing."
"Are you going to ask your grandfather?"
"I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. Probably nothing yet."
"Well, take care. And hopefully it will provide some answers."
"Maybe for the both of us."
The two were silent for a moment. Finally, Peter thought of something. "I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but we could be missing a big part of the picture."
"What do you mean?"
"Oz. What is the first thing you think of when you hear that word?"
"The Wizard of Oz."
"Exactly," Peter replied. "Our parents were involved with something called Scarecrow, which we know has something to do with Oz."
"Which means that there could be other components, or something - "
"With names of the main characters of the story," Peter finished.
"The question is, how many other parts are there? It could be argued as to how many main characters there are."
"But who would name a drug and virus after characters in an old book and movie? And why?" Peter asked.
"Since when did the bad guys ever make any sense?" Victor asked.
Peter had no answer.
Emil Hamilton was working in his lab when he heard a tapping on his window. He turned and saw Spider-Man standing there.
"Spider-Man!" he exclaimed, opening the window. "Come in!"
"I don't have time. Look, I need some tests done."
"What kind of tests?"
Spidey held out the vials. "Blood tests. One of these is a sample of my blood. The other is a sample of someone who has been infected with a new drug called Oz. I need to know if there are any similarities."
Emil looked at the vials. "How much are you hoping that you'll get results you'll like?"
"I'm not really hoping for anything. I just want to know if there is a visible similiarity."
"Any time you want this done by?"
"There's no rush," Spidey replied.
"How can I contact you?"
Spidey handed him a modified spider tracer. "This spider tracer has been modified. Just press this button. I'll receive a signal to know to come see you. I'll come as soon as I can. But it might be a while."
"Okay," Emil said, taking the tracer.
"Thank you, professor."
"I'll understand if you can't come right away. But what if it is an absolute emergency?"
"Hit the button twice."
"So, at least part of you believes me."
Spidey let go of his webline and jumped onto the side of the nearest building. He turned to see Ezekiel leaping over him to the roof. Spidey climbed up.
"Not necessarily," Spidey replied.
"I saw you coming from the professor's lab. I can only assume that you took blood samples in."
"I just want to know if I was an experiment."
"Do you really expect to find anything?"
"Of course not, but that is the only way I can get any facts."
Ezekiel shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm sure I would have done the same thing."
"So, what's your story? How do you know who I am, and how the hell do you have my powers?"
"You desire answers. You shall get them, but now is not the time."
"Why the hell not?"
"You are not ready."
"Don't give me that crap. I have enough mysteries in my life!"
"I understand. But you will have to trust me on this one."
"How can I trust you if you don't tell me anything?!" Spidey yelled.
"Because I don't really know myself!" Ezekiel shouted back.
Spidey backed off. "What do you mean?"
"I still have questions about my origins that I am trying to figure out, and I think that when your questions are answered, mine will be too."
Spidey took a deep breath. "Look, I gotta get home. I don't have time for this. But, if you do get any answers, please let me know."
"Of course."
As Spidey swung away, all he could think of was that he needed answers.
There are too many questions here, he thought. I'm trying to solve a puzzle, and I only have a few pieces.
It's about time I started putting those pieces together.
Next issue: The Prom!