Sting of the Scorpion!

By Ralph L. Angelo Jr.

Amazing Spider-Man #443

The Calm of the summer morning was abruptly shattered by nine little words: "Freeze! Everyone on the floor! This is a robbery!" The patrons of the First bank of NYC’s hearts stopped almost immediately at those bone chilling words.

Boom! Boom!

The horrific sound of the shot gun blowing twin holes in the ceiling reinforced the feeling of sheer terror the people felt as they dropped to prone positions on the carpet, as one, fearing this was their end of days.

"Alla ya take yer wallets an’ toss ‘em on da floor, now!" The lead ski masked thief shouted as he leaped behind the banks counter and grabbed a young teller by the hair, forcing her roughly to open her drawer. "Get outta here ya witch." He growled as he kicked her across the room, where she landed in a sobbing heap.

Another thief, wearing the exact same outfit, Military drab and a ski mask, shouted from the floor, "C’mon number one, let’s move it, the cops‘ll be here any minute."

Number one grimaced from behind the counter, "Let ‘em come, I could care less. If they do show up, I’ll blow this building sky high, and kill everyone in a two block radius." For emphasis he opens his jacket and reveals his body ringed with explosives.

"Yo Rodney man, whatta you nuts? That wasn’t in the deal!"

"No names idiot! Code names only! Change a plan, number two. I’m gettin’ the goods an gettin’ outta here, one way or another."

"Your crazy man, I want to no part of this." Number two stammers suddenly

"You ain’t got no choice, number two. You’re either with me, or you’re against me." For emphasis, number one points his AK 47 at number two, who gulps hard, fearfully.

Ca-RASH!

The window of the bank shatters loudly, as a red and blue blur kicks through it to spin through the air and land on his feet in a very spider-like crouch!

"Hello boys, Spidey’s back in town, let’s start the party!"

"Kill ‘im!" Screams Number one at the top of his lungs, as he fires his gun.

"Up, up and away!" Shouts Spidey jubilantly as he leaps upwards, and away from the horrified people, the machine gun in number ones hand spraying the room after Spidey in a trail of loud death.

"Hey guys, what’s up with that? First you don’t get my ‘Silverado’ reference, then no one mentions my stealing that other guys line? Heck, even I gotta admit it works better for him."

As he Speaks, Spider-Man fires both web shooters. Out of his left wrist a ball of hard webbing impacts with the shooters jaw, knocking teeth and saliva out of the mans mouth, then out of his right wrist the webbing immediately wraps around the thugs face, binding him up in wide eyed fear. Spidey drops from the ceiling and bounces towards the thug, and then uncorks a powerful right haymaker knocking the gunman unconscious in a heap, the gun rattling as it drops to the ground..

"Wow, if that guys jaw was made of anymore glass, there’d be pieces all over the room. Oh wait, there already are from the window. Well, bunky," Spidey adds as he leaps over towards the stunned number two gunman, "think like double that amount."

Suddenly, Spidey ducks down as the gunman fires a shot from his pistol where Spidey’s head was a nano second before. ‘Uh, uh, uh cuddles, don’t shoot the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" As he speaks, Spidey rises up from the floor with a stunning uppercut that tosses the thug ten feet, to then land perfectly atop the other gunmen, also unconscious.

"Time to wrap things up, folks!" The web slinger yells as a familiar "Thwip, thwip" sound fills the bank, and an instant later, both crooks are bound up tightly in webbing.

"No applause folks, but feel free to throw dollar bills, if you must!" He bows at the waist, as the people in the bank begin to get up and rush towards him.

Wack!

An old lady hits Spider-Man with her purse, "You maniac! You coulda killed us all!"

"Hey!" Spidey shouts as he covers his head, as others join in throwing things at him.

"Jamesons right, You ARE a menace." A man yells as he tries to kick at Spidey, a kick easily avoided by the web slinger.

He leaps out the window as the angry crowd inside almost becomes a full-fledged lynch mob.

‘Sheesh’ he thinks to himself as he swings into the morning sky, towards the Daily Bugle, ‘A super hero can’t even save the day right any more. Ah face it Petey, no matter what you do, you’ll never be appreciated. Hhhmm, just had a mild Spider-sense buzz, like someone was not wishing me well. It could be those people from the bank yet for all I know’

He swings past an ominous office building, as his mind settles onto other things. Inside the building a huge man with a white suit and a diamond handled walking stick stares angrily as Spidey swings by. "Soon, you’ll be out of my hair for good, wall crawler."

"If you had any, you mean." A voice behind the Kingpin sarcastically laughs.

The Kingpin turns towards the mocking sound ."Do not over estimate your use to me, Scorpion. As many times as you’ve battled Spider-Man are the times he’s beaten you. Why should I believe you can beat him, even kill him now?"

Mac Gargan, the Scorpion laughs as he shifts on the leather couch he’s sitting on. "Cause I changed my outlooks Kingpin, that’s why. I’ve always been faster, an’ stronger then the bug, but he’s always lucked out."

"If you believe he has beaten you by sheer luck alone, Gargan, then you have learned nothing, and will be returned to prison by the wall crawler this time tomorrow. Leave now Mr. Gargan, you are merely wasting my time."

The Kingpin turns his back on the Scorpion, as the powerful green suited villain stands up, his massive tail swishing the air powerfully.

"I bring you web heads body, you pay up like you said?"

The Kingpin looks over his shoulder as he speaks, staring at the Scorpion out of the corner of his eye. "I am a man of my word Mr.Gargan, do not seek to impugn my reputation. If you somehow succeed in this endeavor, I will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams."

"Well expect ta be surprised Fisk. I got a new method of takin’ down the bug, and this time he’s gonna get squashed."

As he speaks, the Scorpion walks towards an open window and throws himself out it.

"Fool." Wilson Fisk grunts as he closes the window behind the Scorpion, shaking his head ruefully.

At the Daily Bugles offices, a subdued Peter Parker enters the city room proper, to the usual mayhem.

J. Jonah Jameson roars out of his office, chasing a writer from his path like Moses parting the Red Sea! "And don’t bring that trash back to me until you learn how to spell ‘Serendipity’, Cartwright!" He then turns and sees Peter. "Parker? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out earning your keep with some new photo’s of that wall crawling menace? Or better yet, someone actually news worthy?"

"G’morning JJJ. I have a roll of film from a bank robbery that happened not a half hour ago. I was passing by, heading here when I heard a window break, and saw Spidey leaping through it."

Jameson grunts "He was robbing a bank? I KNEW he’d slip up someday and show his true colors. Give me that film, m’boy." He practically yanks the roll of film from Peter’s hand.

"Well, not exactly Jonah. Spidey broke up the robbery and saved the people inside. As usual, he was the hero."

"Pfeh." Jameson scowls as walks away briskly. "One day he’ll screw up and show the world what he’s really like, and then I’ll have him where I want him. Mark my words, Parker." He disappears into his office, only to pop his head back out almost immediately, "Where’s your wife? She was supposed to be here this morning and hasn’t show up yet."

"Oh she’ll be along soon enough Jonah. She had some errands to run before coming in."

"You tell her to run her errands on her time, not mine Parker. I have half a mind to cut her pay for this.!"

Robbie Robertson walks over to Peter as he exits an elevator from the hallway behind Pete. "Can’t take nothing from nothing, right Pete?"

Peter grins at Robbie and shakes his hand.

"How are you Robbie? Everything good today?"

"As good as can be expected, Peter. Which is not to say to bad. You give Jonah another roll of film?"

"Yep, sure did, Robbie."

"Let me guess, Spider-Man thwarting that bank robbery on 48^th?"

Pete grins, "You developing mutant powers of telepathy Robbie? Or am I just that predictable?"

"Haha, no, not really Peter, I saw a clip of Spidey swinging away from that bank less then five minutes ago on a diamond vision screen in midtown. I figured you’d have some film of that. Somehow, you always get those pics of Spider-Man in action. You keep telling me there’s no deal between you two, but sometimes I have my doubts." Robbie congenially ribs as he strokes his jaw as if in somber thought.

"Well Robbie, I hope Spidey and I can keep you guessing for a good long time yet."

"You can try Mr. Parker, but this old newshound someday will figure it out, mark my words."

Peter smiles, but thinks to himself ‘Wonderful, Robbies back on that kick again. Just what I needed. NOT’

"Okay Pete, I’ve got work to do, and you should be back out there looking for something newsworthy to photograph."

"Will do Robbie, great talking to you, see you later. Say Hi to Randy and Martha for me."

"Will do Pete, take care."

Peter turns to exit the Bugle city room, as he stops at a pay secrateries desk to get his check, when suddenly his Spider-Sense begins to go off like a bomb! His head pounds as he feels his vision pulled towards the window!

Ka-Rash!

Suddenly the window shatters, as a huge green figure leaps through, with a struggling woman in his arms!

"The Scorpion!" Ben Urich yells from across the room, echoing exactly what was on Peter’s mind!

And then Peter’s heart stops, as he realizes who is in the Scorpions arms. ‘M J ! He’s got M J !’

"Listen up you mooks." The Scorpion begins, as Mary Jane struggles in his arms. "If you people don’t bring me Spider-Man, I’m gonna snap this celebrity writer chicks neck. So get your feet movin’ and tell the wall crawler to meet me by the ‘Intrepid’ museum in a half-hour. Or this chickie dies!"

"Let her go Scorpion!" Peter blurts out, as he throws himself through the air at the powerful figure.

"Get outta here, kid!" The villain shouts, as with a powerful, air shaking snap of his tail, he smashes Peter from mid leap, to send him sprawling into a wall with a sickly thud.

"Peter!" Mary Jane shouts painfully. "Let me go you maniac, that’s my husband!"

The Scorpion laughs in a low, dull way. "You mean WAS your husband, cutie. That guy looks dead to me." Then he turns back to the Bugle city room, as Mary Jane continues to struggle futilely. "She’s got a half hour to live, or she gets to join her hubby in never, never land. You tell the bug that."

Then he leaps back out the window, practically running down the walls facade and into the street, disappearing into a manhole cover he effortlessly throws at a nearby cop car, slicing it practically in half.

Back inside the city room, everyone is huddled around Peter’s prone body.

Robbie shouts "Someone call an ambulance! He’s not breathing!"

To be continued!

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