We fell through the air, before firing webs and landing against the asphalt softly. The people throughout the street and within their cars looked to us, as we rushed forward to the woman on the ground.

“A-are you okay?” I asked. She didn’t respond, simply staring at the ground

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Spider-Man” she said, turning to me, her eyes distant.

“A-are you okay?” I said, ignoring the strange feeling in my chest.

“…it took my friend” she said. Yu placed a hand on her shoulder and the symbiote around his hand shifted temporarily

“She’s ok” Yu said. “Elevated heartrate, but she should be fine”

“Good” I said, before looking back to the woman “Uh, do you have someone you can call?”

“Yeah”

“L- Spider-Man we need to go” Yu said, loudly.

“I- “A car horn beeped loudly behind us and I looked to see. “Shit. Right. Ok. Uh… you please Call them just in case” I said.

“Spider-Man” Yu said slightly more alarmed as he lifted up the manhole cover.

“Sorry” I said, getting up and rushing over to him.

“Wait!” the woman called out from behind me.

“Sorry, I have to go. We’ll get your friend back”

Then without another word, I rushed forwards, Yu pulling up the manhole cover before both of us dived down into the sewers.

We landed in darkness, my sense quickly working to map out the surroundings as we broke out into a full sprint, chasing the sound of screams. It was chilling. The echoing sound of screams in abject darkness as we rushed through the tunnel, the repugnant smell of the sewer water splashing up as our racing feet kicked through puddles.

Yu started to pull away as we picked up the pace, the monster coming into view for a moment under flickers of sunlight from a grate above.

It was even worse than I’d first thought. With four huge, crooked spider legs, at least eight feet in length, dark leather grey skin, and four hulking arms that all sprouted from a half human half arachnid body. The head that sat atop it had eight neon red eyes and sharp mandibles drenched in grey-white spittle. It was a monster in every regard.

Yu fired a web at it, aiming to pull the woman away, but the web hit the creature’s skin. He skidded to a stop and pulled back, but the monster matched his strength, slowing but still pulling forwards.

Then, with lightning quick speed it snipped the web with its mandibles before screeching at us, loud enough to drown out the woman’s screams, as she struggled desperately in its arms.

My heart thudded heavily in my chest, but I fired webs at the monster’s eyes and charged at it.

It screeched, dropping the woman as it crawled desperately at it’s eyes, and scuttled backwards. I jumped at it and slammed a fist into it’s chest before throwing an uppercut. It skidded backwards, before balancing itself against the walls with its spider legs, reeling.

Then my spider sense blared.

My body moved instinctively, not to dodge, but to block, my arms almost alien to my mind as they flew forwards and grabbed a hold of the Man-spider’s mandibles. My eyes widened as it pushed me to the floor, the monster desperately trying to bite at my neck.

“Shit!” I cried, trying and struggling to force it off myself. Then it went flying, Yu slamming into it from the side. It crashed to wall, and I rolled over in the water, knocking into the woman before grabbing her and flipping away.

I landed opposite the monster and watched as it screeched desperately trying to poke holes in Yu with its legs as it held his arm tightly. He struggled desperately to pull away but was forced to focus his attention on dodging the Man-spider’s legs.

I fired webs at its eyes again and it screeched, letting him go as it scuttled away, disappearing down the tunnel as I rushed over to Yu.

“You okay man?”

“Yeah” he said standing up. “Is she?”

I glanced down at the woman.

“I’m fine” she mumbled. “Just feel a little sick”

“That’s ok, we can get you to the hospital”

“Wait, what about the monster?”

“What about it?”

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“Aren’t we going to chase it?”

“Do we chase that thing?” I said.

“I think so. P- Spider-Man always does”

I glanced down to the woman.

“Are you ok to get out of here? Climb a ladder?”

She hesitated but nodded.

“Don’t let me stop you from getting that thing” she said, standing straighter now.

“You sure?” I asked.

She nodded. I glanced to Yu who shrugged.

“Ok… uh… let’s go” I said. Yu nodded and together we ran in the same direction as the monster.

“Thanks!” she called out from behind us.

“No problem” I said, before she disappeared from view.

We continued running, the occasional flicker of light from grates above us illuminating the sewers for a moment. before we turned a corner,

“What happens when we find it?” I said.

“What’d you mean?”

“It’s really strong. I don’t think we’ll just be able to knock it out. Do we…”

“Kill it? Only if we can’t restrain it” he said.

I nodded, then let out a nervous breath.

I frowned as we continued running, a strange knot forming in my stomach. Did we really just kill it? Was that all it took? Not being able to restrain it and it being dangerous? Didn’t we at least try?

I glanced to Yu as we ran, watching his expression carefully. In the darkness, his eyes of looked like Ricardos. The chill shot down my spine again, but I ignored and turned forwards. Now wasn’t the time for this. Killing it was probably just the final resort.

I slowed slightly as we neared an intersection, but Yu continued onwards, rounding the corner.

“This way” he said. I picked up the pace, catching up to him.

“How’d you know?”

“I can smell it”

“Oh” I said. “Cool”

We continued running together, the sewer a lot darker here without the occasional flash of light from drains or grates. My spider sense gradually expanded out again, replacing my sight as the premiere sense. We continued running, turning corner after corner but the monster stayed ahead. It was faster without the woman in its grasp.

We turned another corner, and I frowned, sniffling.

“Geez” Yu muttered.

“You can smell it too?” I asked.

“Yeah. What the hell is that?”

We started to slow slightly as the smell grew, overpowering the smell of the sewage water. Up ahead I could hear the skittering of the spider, it’s mandibles clicking together as it hissed.

I frowned. Something was terribly wrong. I couldn’t see it, but I could definitely fell it. There was something covering the walls. Like web, but different. And the smell here was much worse, growing in magnitudes by the second as we made our way forward.

The more overpowering it became, the more it felt familiar, but in a twisted sense. Like the lingering smell of rotting flesh. I took a step forward and felt my foot squelch in the water. I skidded and steadied myself with a hand against the wall. But instead meeting concrete, my hand squelched against something soft. I froze instantly, skidding to a complete stop.

I pulled my hand away from the wall, the smell carried along with it.

“What the hell?” I muttered. I looked at my hand, barely able to make out with my spider sense and sight, spiders skittering across my costume, parts of the suit covered in red goo.

“Don’t stop. There’s some light up ahead” Yu said. “Around the corner”

“S-sorry” I said wiping my hand against my leg before quickly taking off. We jogged forwards now nearing corner, the sound of the Man-spider growing louder. But as we turned around, both of us froze in our tracks, eyes widening.

The tunnel had led to an opening in which. In the middle, a layer of thick grey-white covered the opening beneath, the only gaps allowing water to flow from some tunnels down below.

All around, hanging from the walls were cocoons of web, with people in them, and atop them hundreds of thousands of spiders skittering around. Most of the cocoons looked deformed, the web-stained red. But closer to the top, two wriggled desperately, those bound still alive.

The Man-Spider clambered across the walls, stringing web along as it skittered over and around the mess of spiders. I looked down at my hand, and instantly felt sick, realising the red goo was blood.

“Holy shit” I muttered.

“W-what do we do?”

“I... free the two that’re still alive” I said. “Then we… call Peter”

“I already did”

I nodded.

“I’ll distract it. Fight it head on. You get in and out with those two” I said. Yu nodded, and then together we leapt into action.

I landed on an empty part of the wall and looked up, watching as Yu sped up the wall face, avoiding the multiple red stained cocoons. The creature was still oblivious. Good.

“HEY!” I roared, at the creature as it clambered around it’s cave. “I’M OVER HERE EIGHT EYES!”

The creature instantly turned to me and screeched loudly, opening its mandibles wide before leaping at me. I dived away, but it crashed against the wall, it’s legs piercing the concrete as it chased desperately after me. I clambered forwards before leaping off the wall and swinging away as it reached and stabbed at me with it’s hands and feet, screeching the entire time.

With my heart in my mouth, I turned back and dived over it, keeping the creature away from Yu.

But as it turned chunks of concrete dislodged from the wall face, rotting bodies and debris falling down and slamming into the web. A loud ringing sound echoed though the space as chunks of rebar slammed into the web, poking holes in it, revealing some of the metal grate beneath the web.

But as the ringing sound echoed through the space, Yu cried out. He fell from wall face as the symbiote squirmed, practically writhing in agony. From above him fell two teens, one unconscious and the other screaming, broken free from their cocoons. I leapt across and grabbed them mid air before dodging the Man-spider and grabbing Yu with a web.

But the monster was relentless. It attacked again, missing me and the teens, but snipping the web I held in half. Yu fell, along with more debris and crashed against the metal grate, the metal ring reverberating through the space again.

He writhed in pain, releasing an agonised cry as the sound echoed through the tunnel. The monster let out a shriek of glee as it landed on the wall above him and raised its sharpened leg to finish the job.

“NO!” I roared, leaping forwards. I slashed at the monster, cutting it across the chest. It shrieked loudly, it’s blood spraying across the wall of the sewer. It fell to then cried out, clawing at its wounds as legs flailed uselessly. I froze eyes wide as I stared at it. Then I fired two webs, grabbing Yu and the teens.

The monster screeched one last time, then it was gone, trapped in the tangle of grey-white web as it fell down the tunnel, disappearing into the water beneath.

I stayed silent for a moment, breathing heavily then gradually pulled the three up towards me, before slowly clambering back towards the tunnel we’d come from.

I set everyone down and slumped to the ground breathing heavily. Yu shifted groaning as he sat up.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah” he mumbled, holding a hand to his head. “What about them?”

I looked to the two teens

“Crap. They’re unconscious” I said. Yu reached out and touched her, the symbiote briefly leaving his hand as it pooled over the boys’ skin.

“They ok?”

“Yeah, one just passed out from shock, the other is just sleep deprived, and dehydrated. They can’t have been here for that long. Probably got taken last night”

“Ok” I said relieved. “Let’s get them to a hospital”