I was blown back across the ground, skidding across the marble floor as pieces of debris ripped across me. My body slammed against the window frame and it crunched against my back. I gasped, the pain immobilising me as I spun out the empty windowpane. I barely managed to react in time, but I grabbed onto the side of the building, breathing heavily as I held myself there. Smoke wafted out of the window as pieces of hot debris rained onto me. My ears rung but I held the ledge tightly, a wave of emotion washing over me, mostly anguish and disbelief. I’d failed. I’d failed to save Harry. With a grunt of pain I pulled myself up, wincing as I climbed into room. I looked around, the smoke beginning to clear slightly. The sight made me feel sick. Body parts were strewn across the entire room, with some bodies still whole, but charred to a crisp. Electro lay on the floor, his entire body covered in burns and part of his face blown off. Like the rest of the businessmen nearby, he laid there unmoving. The ones next to the explosion were all dead. I stood, taking in the horrific sight. A few of the businessmen closer to my feet gasped in pain barely alive. I spotted Harry laying on the floor a few metres away.

I rushed over to him and fell to my knees, scooping him up into my arms. I turned him over gently, and my heart shattered.

Half of his face had been blown off. The wounds weren’t deep, but the skin had been burnt, charred to a crisp. Blood seeped from his side from the shards of debris that had torn through him.

“Harry?” I said, my voice raw. His still open eyes were unresponsive, but he wheezed, barely breathing. He was alive. He was still alive. I lifted him up as I looked around in a panic. Help. I needed help fast. But where could I go? The nearest hospital was too far for me to carry him like this. Wait- the hospital floor! It was close to Harry’s office right? Shit,

“Please don’t be damaged, please don’t be damaged” I mumbled to myself. I clutched Harry tighter and leapt upwards, shooting through the new hole in the ceiling. I landed and rushed up a set of stairs.

“Help! Somone! Help!” I shouted. I burst onto a floor and came face to face with a confused group of employees.

“Hospital? Where’s the hospital room?” I asked.

“T-two floors up” one of the guy said. I didn’t wait to here what else they said, and dived back into the stairwell, leaping from wall to wall before coming to a familiar corridor. I rushed down it, ignoring confused shouts from some receptionists. I burst into the room and spotted the hospital bed. I rushed forward and put Harry down gently as a bunch of people filed into the room. A few were nurses, one the receptionist and one wore a doctor’s coat.

“Help him. You need to help him” I said, tears in my eyes as I stepped back from the bed. They all rushed into action, the doctor calling out instructions to everyone as I stared at Harry’s near lifeless body. I watched, tears wetting my mask around the lenses. One of the nurses glanced to me, then approached nervously.

“Sorry Spider-Man, but I have to ask you to leave” she said.

“I- yeah. Sorry” I said. I stumbled out of the room and fell to my knees in the hall, holding back tears. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. Electro was still upstairs. And clones were still out there. There was still shit to deal with. Goddammit I just wanted the day to end. I picked myself, struggling to stand as a few people looked at me from, down the hall with worry.

My mind was spinning. Where did I need to go now? Who was closest? who was in the most danger? I couldn’t think. There was too much going on, dammit! I slammed a fist against my head.

“Think you idiot! He’ll be ok!” I said. The pain centred me and I gave myself a second to breath. Grandpa. I needed to get to Grandpa.

I forced myself forward, my slow steps steadily becoming more confident before I broke out into a full run. I sprinted through the corridor, rushing past employees as they moved out the way. Then I dived forwards, smashing through the window and flying into open air. I fell through the air, wind roaring in my ears as I searched the city, trying to place myself. That way. Grandpa was the opposite way. I fired out a web looping around Oscorp tower, before swinging through the skyscrapers and into the city.

Come on. Please. I needed Grandpa to be ok. I needed everyone to be ok. This stupid plan had to work. I swung through the city as fast as I could, ignoring the sounds of sirens throughout the city. Then I spotted it. A clone. He was after Grandpa. It had to be. He climbed up the side of the hospital building, feverishly. He was a floor away from Grandpa’s window. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I roared loudly to grab it’s attention. I glanced at me for a moment, then turned back and jumped towards Grandpa’s window. I was too far to stop him, but I fired a web anyway. He crashed through the glass and landed in the room, but despite the distance, the web latched onto him, and I yanked him back, as he dived forwards again. He flew out the hospital, but latched onto the window frame again, tearing through the wall. He cut at the web, but I’d closed the distance. I landed on a building face and dived, shattering the brick underfoot and tackled him off the face of the building. We flew through the air, pulling at each other. We crashed against the side of the building and spun through the air, picking up speed.

Oh shit. With this much force, we were going to slam into the ground and he was going to blow up. He was going to obliterate the side of the hospital. I had to try and disable the bomb. I whirled through the air, bringing my legs above my head, and with as much force as I could muster, kicked him in the centre of the chest, away from the hospital and into the open air. It dented the armour and the clone coughed out blood, spraying it across my face as he flew back. I held my breath, praying as I watched his body contort from the blow. It felt like an eternity, watching, waiting with bated breath as I fell through the air, but eventually then the moment passed. He hadn’t blown up. My relief was short lived. I slammed into the floor, shattering my arm as I cried out in pain. The clone slammed against the ground too, but recovered quickly, charging towards the hospital. I forced myself up, and dived to tackle him, but in one smooth motion he grabbed me and threw me backwards. I flew high, flailing into a building and smashing through the glass. I slammed into desks and chairs, hearing the sickening crunch of bodies before I hit the ground, rolling across the floor. Screams echoed in my head as debris rained down through the office space.

Every fibre of my being cried out in protest, but I ignored it, standing up instantly and rushing forwards. It didn't matter how much pain I was in. Grandpa couldn't die. Not yet. Not like this. I fired webs at the clone's back, as it climbed the face of the hospital. I yanked him away, hard enough to pull him across the street and send him crashing into the floor above. Shit. I couldn't temper my strength when I was tense like this. I needed to calm down. I leapt up, climbing around to face him. I looked around, searching as civilians rushed for the exits, crying out. My spider sense blared but in my delirium, I was slow to react. The clone leapt from beneath a pile of broken desk and debris and we crashed through two floors, before slamming to the ground. I kicked him off, but he grabbed me and lifted me, slamming me into a wall.

“JUST STOP!!” I cried out.

“I’m gonna kill him. I’m gonna fucking kill him! Then I’ll kill you. I’ll take it all back!”

“SHUT UP!!!” I roared. I forced him back, and twisted my body slamming him against glass as I held him. It shattered and we fell out the building, hurtling downwards.

We flew through the air, trading blows even as the ground approached. My brain buzzed and so did his, but neither of us cared enough, focused on the other. He pushed at my arm as his claws grazed my neck, trying relentlessly to pull away from me. But I held him tightly, not daring to let go, even as his fingers dug into my jugular. I headbutted him, but the suit made him tougher, and stronger. He tanked the blow and pushed against me harder, before headbutting back. My grip loosened and he pulled away as fast as lightning. He caught himself on a wall as I descended dazed, and leapt upwards soaring high into the sky, back towards the hospital. My focus returned instantly.

“NO!!” I roared, firing a web at his back. It latched onto him and I pulled him back before slamming an elbow against the side of his head. He grabbed onto me ignorant of the pain, and carrying my momentum, launched me towards the ground whilst he shot towards the hospital building wall. Time seemed to slow down as I flew towards the floor spinning, becoming keenly aware of everything. The ground, flying up at me, the cars below, the people staring up at us. I could sense it all. I had enough time to stop myself from crashing into the ground. Barely. But I could feel it instinctively. The pain was catching up to me. If I saved myself now, I wouldn’t be able to catch up to the clone in time unless somebody else stopped him. Grandpa would die. My body reacted on its own. I fired webs and latched onto the clone, pulling him down towards me. We were going down together. He lashed out, his claws scratching across my face, but I ignored it and grabbed him, flipping us over.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I braced myself and we slammed through the concrete, crashing through layers before falling through empty space and slamming onto the ground. The sound of shouts and cries echoed as rubble cascaded down on top of me. My ears rung as my body shook, the pain overloading my senses. I need to focus. Dammit. Focus! I looked up to see people running as rubble fell. The sight, sound and atmosphere of the place felt familiar. A train station. We were in the subway. I started webbing up the rubble, stopping it from falling when I spotted the clone, parts of his suit damaged. He launched himself upwards, towards the hole, scrambling to get out. I fired webs, latching onto him and slammed him into the ground. He tanked the blow, and stood up shaking his head. I roared and dived, clotheslining him. We slammed through a pillar, but I held him tightly and hit him hard across the face. We skidded across the platform and I whaled on him. I could go all out, now that I knew he wouldn't explode. I just prayed the force would be enough to knock him out. The screams of civilians made me hesitate. I couldn't ignore them when they were so close, when there were so many. People needed my help. He took the opportunity, uppercutting me away from him. I fell back, rolling across the floor, but recovered quickly, firing another web. It caught him and he stumbled, falling as I tried to drag him back. He roared in frustration clawing at the web and cutting through it. I tried to fire at him again. Nothing. I was out. Shit. I glanced up as he broke free, and leapt a way. Fuck that. I grabbed a piece of rubble and launched it at him. It slammed into his back and shattered, sending him flying across the floor. I raced towards him. He spun around and threw part of it back at me. I blew through it with a punch before clotheslining him again as he dived for the hole above us.

We crashed to the floor, and traded blows again, fists of fury raining down onto one another. We came to a standstill locked in a battle of strength, our arms locked as we eyed each other.

“LET ME GO!!!” he shouted, feigning weakness for a moment to throw me over his back and slam me to the ground. I coughed out in pain but grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him to the floor. I clambered on top of him as I slammed his face with my fists repeatedly. Suddenly my body slowed down, the scratches on my face stinging. He had poison on his claws. Shit. He stabbed me in the gut with his gauntlet and I let out a gasp. Instinctively I grabbed his glove as he tried to rake it through my body and held it tightly. He hit me with his other fist, but I held on, sticking to the floor as I exerted more force on his hand. With a creak and a hiss, I crushed the gauntlet and pulled the claws out of me. The glove disengaged as he pulled back, his hand a bloody mess. He grabbed me, trying to push me off to the side. I held him through the pain, and we rolled before falling onto the tracks. I continued to clutch him tightly as he alternated between punching and pushing me away.

The screech of a train alerted me. It was on the tracks. Our tracks. The floor began to vibrate as it drew closer. Shit. If I let go now, the clone would have a chance to get away from me. I was in a worse state than he was, and consciousness was already slipping. The pain from the fact he’d stabbed me in the gut, was the only thing keeping me awake. But if I didn’t let go then we’d both die, along with a lot of people on the train. His exoskeleton was enough to derail it. The tracks began to rattle. Shit. I didn't have time to think.

“Stop!” I shouted desperate.

“GIVE IT BACK!” he screamed, tearing the spider off my chest as he tried to pull away. Dammit, this one was more insane than the others. He wasn’t listening. Something. I needed something. I shifted on my back, moving us between the tracks as he beat my face bloody. We could stay under the train. If I held him close, we could stay under. He slammed an elbow into my face, but I held him firmly, pulling him closer. He carried on slamming his elbows against my face, slamming my head against the ground repeatedly. My grip only grew stronger as I grit my teeth and bared it. He stopped and started pushing against the ground, the concrete cracking beneath his hands as he tried to pull away from me. He craned his neck upwards, trying to pull away.

“NO! ST-!“

The train slammed into his head carrying him and me along underneath the train. The screech of wheels, sparks and the low rumble of the train echoed through my head, accompanied by the buzz of my spider sense. My body moved on it’s own as I skidded across the ground, contorting and controlling itself, as scrapes burned themselves into my body. The darkness brought with it a serenity, an almost silence, that existed between my thoughts. An answer to my anguish. A peace in the presence of death. It was almost welcoming. But still, I avoided it. I still had lives to save.

Everything came crashing back down as I slammed against something, jolting my whole body as fear shot through me. Then suddenly, I was bathed in the light of the subway again. Waves of pain washed over me as I writhed in agony, unable to escape it. The panicked shouts of civilians centred me and I pulled myself up, forcing myself to stand. I stumbled, my entire body shaking with shock. I looked around, there was blood underneath the train tracks, leading all the way underneath the stopped train. I heard shouts and cries then the sound of glass smashing. I threw myself towards the commotion, spotting the clone covered in blood as he climbed out the window of the train car. I grabbed him as he tried to leap for the hole above us and he threw an elbow back into my chest, sending me crashing to the ground.

I lay there for a few seconds dazed as spots danced across my vision. My body fought against me as I tried to move it, my sense of balance gone. Get up. Grandpa’s in danger you idiot. Get up! With a gasp I rolled over, onto my hands and knees. I looked up to see the clone stumbling as he tried to climb over the train, eyes focused on the hole in the ceiling. I forced myself up. to continue fighting. I stood up and against my body’s protests rushed forward. I grabbed the clown and pulled him off the train car. We fell to the ground and I got on top of him. I tried to hit him but grabbed at me holding me back. Half of his face was exposed now; part of the exoskeleton having been torn off on impact with the train. I could see my eyes staring back at me, filled with the same determination.

“I have to kill Grandpa! Let me kill him!” he roared.

“No!” I shouted back. “Just, just stop!”

He smiled grimly, his teeth lined with blood.

“You can’t stop me. I won’t stop till I die. You know that best. The only problem is you’re too weak to kill. That’s why I’ll kill Grandpa. Then you, then Aunt May and the rest of our loved ones. I think once I’ve killed you, I’ll start with Liz. Or maybe MJ. Or Harry, Grady, Bella, and Sajani. Oh, I think the trip to England would be fun too. Weather’s a bit temperamental, but I Ned would probably love the company. I really can’t decide. They’re so close their basically family!” he said, grinning maniacally.

“No! Stop! Stop it!” I said, slamming him against the concrete again. His grip only grew stronger, and his smile disappeared as he started to overwhelm me, his face growing serious.

“Stop? Why the hell would I stop?! Cutting out the weakness will only make me stronger! How can’t you see that! It’s my responsibility to be a better Spider-Man! It’s the only thing that matters!!” he said.

“No!” roared slamming him back into the ground. “Don’t do that! Don’t you dare twist his words!!”

“If you hate it so much, kill me!!” he roared. He let his grip slacken as I pushed him to the floor. He was wide open. His face was exposed. If I hit him hard enough I could do it. I could end this. I drew my fist back but paused, staring into his eyes. I couldn’t.

He kneed me in the stomach and flung me against the train car. I slammed into it then slumped to the floor. My body refused to listen to me as I pleaded with it to get up, to stop the monster in front of me. He got up breathing slowly.

“Pathetic” he spat. He stepped towards me but paused, stumbling as he reached for his neck. An opening. With all the willpower I had left I swung my leg around, sweeping his feet out from under him. He crashed to the floor, his head hitting the deck. He lay on the ground for a second and didn’t get back up. I forced myself up, propping myself against the train. I glanced at the clone. He lay still on the floor unmoving. He was out cold. Thank God. But now what? He had my face. I couldn’t just leave him here. That would cause so much trouble.

Dammit. I was wasting time. I could think about this later. I needed to hide him.

“Y-you okay Spider-man?” someone asked on the train. I feebly flashed a thumbs up, not trusting myself to speak and stumbled forwards to the clone. I knelt over him and turned him over. As I did he reached out and grabbed me tightly. Shit. But nothing happened. Instead, he just looked up at me in fear, his eyes shaking. I could tell instantly, he was dying. Why? Had the hit to the head done it. No, tendrils of black and green spread through his veins and across his face. His poison supply must’ve leaked and gotten into him. He was overdosing. With what I had on me, there was nothing I could do.

He moved his mouth as he tried to speak, tried to say something, but no words came out. I held him, and slowly the light faded from his eyes. I stared at a twisted reflection of my own face, a feeling of hollowness settling in my heart. As I reached over to close his eyes, my spider sense buzzed. The bomb mechanism had activated. I flung him away from the train and the civilians.

“GET DOWN!” I shouted.

A flash of light and heat engulfed the far side of the station, shattering any windows nearby and knocking passengers back onto the floor. I pulled myself up in the smoke, looking around to see if anyone was injured. Everybody looked okay, just afraid. I slumped to my knees having a second of relief, before an emptiness washed over me. It was over. I’d gotten lucky, but it was finally over. I breathed heavily, my ribs on fire. I’d skidded across the ground fast enough to burn holes in my costume and leave read marks on my skin, but I was alive. I was tired too. Really tired. The cries of the civilians focused me yet again. May, MJ and Liz. I needed to help them first. Then I could rest.