Spider-Man of Earth 65

The ground beneath Manhattan trembled like a drumroll.

A deep seismic warning that Creature Z was about to stir. 

From the helicopter, Captain Samantha Wilson held the support bar with her eyes lock onto the beast's hulking form. Smoke still billowed from the wounds left by Wolverine's detonation. 

Those wounds were healing—closing and knitting as though a nuke had happened detonated from the inside out.

The creature's dorsal fins began to glow an eerie green, the light pulsing faintly at first, then growing brighter and brighter. Sickly shades of emerald. Radiation levels increasing. 

The Lizard's eyes had not yet opened. They were certainly about to.

"Captain, we have movement," SHIELD's voice crackled over the comms.

"I see it," Samantha replied tightly. She clenched on her grip. "Expect its eyes to open anytime soon."

At the SHIELD Helicarrier hovering above New York, Nick Fury tapped a foot on the command deck, his one eye fixed on the massive monitors displaying Creature Z's increasing radiation levels. Around him, the World Security Council—an elite group of global representatives—was barking orders and shouting over each other.

In the middle of the Director of SHIELD, an old woman with dark red hair and wrinkles: Director Carter. She was not here. She was in Washington. 

"This thing is about to vaporize half of New York!" one councilmember yelled. "Nuke it, Fury!"

Nick Fury turned to look at the councilmember. Old and wrinkly as well. All of them, far too old to competently make decision. "Respected Councilmember, if you haven't forgotten, we've already tried that."

"From the inside," said the councilmember. "Drop it right on top of it."

Saying such things without fear...

Only an old man could say it so callously. To disregard the future of the youth and to do in their comfy seats all over the glove.

"This thing eats nukes for breakfast. Feeding it more radiation is like giving it steroids."

"Then what do you propose we do, Vice-Director?" another member snapped.

Fury folded his arms, leaning against the control console. "Wait."

"Wait?!"

"For what?"

"Me to get a goddamn idea, that's what."

"And a miracle," Director Carter spoke at last. Her voice brought the council to silence. "I've been reviewing the reports. Origin: unknown. Have we yet confirmed if this creature is of Earth or an extraterrestrial?"

"What difference does that make?" a councilmember asked, the same who suggested to nuke all of New York.

"Because if it's from Earth, that means it is something somebody created. Something that is tangible. If not, if it comes from a source that we do not understand...the western world may be nearing its end."

Silence.

Director Carter was sharp and experienced. No one disagreed because they could not. The experience of a woman that had lived since War World II, who had befriended Captain America, who witnessed the Super Soldier, who sent SHIELD agents to the moon and encountered aliens. 

She knew so much. She did so much.

This was her conclusion. 

"Sir," Maria Hill called from behind Fury, "we're detecting something rapidly moving at the outskirts of the city."

"What the hell is it now?"

"I don't know but…it is moving at hypersonic speeds. It's...not a jet."

"Then what is it?"

Maria Hill hesitated. "I believe it's...a person." 

*****

Creature Z opened its eyes.

The colossal lizard shifted, a mountain of muscle, bone, and rage dragging itself upright. The glowing green fins on its back now burned with blinding intensity, their light casting an unnatural glow over the ruins of its surroundings. 

From the helicopter, Samantha Wilson glared. The creature's massive head began to rise, its burning yellow eyes snapping open like twin beacons of destruction. Its mouth opened slowly, smoke and fire curling from its maw—a flesh-burning hiss that rattled Samantha to her very core.

"It's charging something!" SHIELD warned over the comms. "Gamma radiation buildup is off the charts!"

The realization hit her like a punch to the gut. "A-already!?" 

Panic surged in her veins. The Gamma Breath. If this thing unleashed its full power, it wouldn't just destroy the helicopter—it would wipe out everything in its path. Brooklyn. Manhattan. Lives in the millions.

"I-it's going to wipe millions!" Captain America exclaimed. "Tell the military! Tell everyone!"

Shit, shit, ahit...

"Get us out of here!" she shouted to the pilot, but she already knew they wouldn't be fast enough.

Creature Z's mouth began to glow, a swirling vortex of green energy coalescing in its throat. The air grew heavy, vibrating with power as the massive beast tilted its head back.

Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind ripped past the helicopter, and a dark red blur streaked across the sky.

Before Samantha could process what was happening, the blur collided with Creature Z's jaw, sending a thunderous BOOM echoing through the ruins. The impact snapped the creature's head to the side, cutting off the gathering energy in its throat. The Gamma Breath fizzled and then—

HRAAAARRRRRRRR-KZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!

The Gamma Breath tore through the atmosphere. The beam surged upward like a lance of blinding green fire and stopped. A trail of glowing ionized mist painted the sky. 

"What the hell was that?!" Samantha shouted, gripping the edge of her seat as the helicopter rocked from the shockwave.

The blur came into focus, slowing just enough for her to make out the iconic dark red and black suit. A pair of web-gliders unfolded from its sides, catching the wind as the figure flipped through the air and landed on a building. 

Current location: Chinatown.

Through Brooklyn and the waters of Brooklyn Bridge.

Creature Z had not stopped, until now.

Until he arrived.

Spider-Man.

A red electricity crackled from his feet and through his suit. It was different. Red rather than black and green. The bioelectricity was heavy and thick and massive, enough that anybody and everybody in the military jets and journal helicopters could see it.

The world was watching. 

Breaths were held. 

His back was to the monster. He turned. 

Spider-Man launched himself at Creature Z with all the force of a cannonball. His fists slammed into the creature's temple and the building-sized skull cracked like thunder. 

It could not believe it. Nobody could believe it. 

He was so small. All but a blip.

Yet he hurt it in a way nobody else had.

Felix Faeth never thought this day would come. His muscles burned with the proportional strength of a spider, enhanced further by the Extremis coursing through his body. This wasn't a fight to subdue. This was a fight to kill.

Creature Z reeled back, its massive legs smashing into the ground with each step. Entire blocks shook beneath its weight. Creature Z opened its mouth and tried to swallow him. 

Spider-Man would not allow the creature to exist any longer. 

His web-wings deactivated and he dived down. Thwip! The web-wings returned and he zipped past the creature's claws. 

Bam!

He slammed himself into its foot. It actually worked. Creature Z was actually actually hurt.

Missiles and radiation had failed, but blunt force trauma? That worked. 

"I...I don't believe it...!" Christine Everhart was on a building halfway across the city. No longer on a helicopter, her temple wrapped in bandages and her legs having given out, she couldn't stand. "D-does the camera still work? Put it on!"

The cameraman did as he was told and started recording.

"Hello, everyone! People of New York! I-I hope the network is seeing this,." Christine Everhart swallowed thickly. "Please, show them! Show them that the world hasn't ended yet. I-it seems...." She pointed behind her, past the fires and at the colossal creature in the distance. "Spider-Man is fighting it! Spider-Man is fighting the creature! We can't give up hope yet!"

Suddenly, the blonde's bloodied face was plastered all over the world, all over New York.

"Spider-Man is fighting for us!"

Her voice echoed through every street and alleyway. 

Spider-Man went from the foot and blasted him upward. A hundred feet in seconds as he activated his bioelectricity to propel himself faster and webwings to further streamline himself.

His fist met the jaw of the kaiju.

The world saw the punch snap the kaiju's head back for a second time.

First time was luck. Second time was a coincidence, and the third time was a pattern.

The fourth time became hope.

The punch led to kicks. A barrage of kicks that cracked the creature's scales and drew thick, steaming blood. With every strike, Spider-Man let out bursts of red bioelectricity.

It could not regenerate. 

This bioelectricity was ripping apart radiation, scales, and flesh. 

Suddenly, he was high above it. Before the creature could recover, he launched himself again, using a webline to slingshot around its massive neck. His fists crashed into its thick scales, bioelectricity crackling across its flesh like lightning. The intense heat of his venom blasts and the anti-regen factor scorched the monster's armored hide.

Creature Z lashed out. Suddenly, its claws were up and its mouth breathed out fire.

His gliders folded, allowing him to freefall and scoop under the fire before snapping open again to sweep him beneath the creature's swinging arm. Fluid, precise, and impossibly fast.

He turned and flicked a wrist. Thwip! Then he continued flying at hypersonic speeds and crashed into a building, rolling smoothly and running across it.

The world witnessed their hero go blow for blow with a skyscraper kaiju. The world witnessed more than hope; they witnessed victory.

In his head, as he ran, that was all he was calculating.

'Intense radiation has successfully been adapted to. I latched nanotech onto its leg to scan for its biology.'

On the interface of his lens, a schematic and heat map of Creature Z loaded up. It was all over the place. Its organs matched the shape and expected proportional size. The locations made no sense. In particular, the brain was no where to be found.

He jumped from the building and activated his web-wings. 

Creature Z was charging at him. Literally running, its feet smashing and rumbling the city.

He went right ahead and charged without fear.

'Heart located. It is on the right side, near the shoulder.'

That was his next target. He knew exactly what he was doing as he deactivated the web-wings at the last second and ran up the beefy, scaly arm. His feet hissed as radiation stuck to him. He decided to jump rather than run. 

He jumped, climbing, and struck. His fist pierced the scales and—

ZZZZZZZT-THRRAKKKK!!!

The air snapped and hissed. He did a second attempt, a stronger attempt. His fist was tiny while the scales were worth too thick for five spears to penetrate in length.

The red bioelectricity changed all that. Depth no longer mattered.

Creature sincerely screamed the moment its heart was electrocuted.

He leapt off when his Spider-Sense went off and his ears heard the air whipping. The Lizard was smacking him like a spider. Like that would happen.

The creature's glowing eyes tracked his every movement. He climbed altitude and that gave confidence. The higher Spidey was, the closer he became to being food. The Lizard lunged, its jaws snapping shut mere inches from his legs. Spider-Man arced upward, twisting his body with inhuman agility as he planted his feet on the creature's snout and leapt again. He landed on its shoulder and looked at its curved lizard back.

'Dorsal fins…I saw them blow and regen faster than anything else.'

***

"H-he's doing it," Maria murmured. "He's actually doing it…"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Come on, Spider-Man—"

"Have same damn decorum," Fury snapped. "In case you think this television, it's not. This is real and we're the ones that gotta do shit."

"What's our plan?" Maria asked. "With Spider-Man here…"

Nick Fury eyed the live footage. Spider-Man…he just started destroying the dorsal fins. Punching them one after the other.

"Well, I'll be damned." Fury let out a sound that was the closest to a laugh in a situation like this. "That creature isn't healing properly. Tell the military to hurry up! Make sure the people get the fuck away from all that."

While all of SHIELD dealt with Creature Z, half of the military was sent for aid down below and the other half was acting as support for the battle. 

"Is something the matter, sir?"

"Look at him fight. Don't you see?"

"I don't. Sorry."

Fury put his hands in his pockets. "He's analyzing. He's holding back. He has a trump card up his sleeve. Our job, then, is get the fuck away when he pulls that card out."

****

Creature Z was reeling now. Punch after punch struck its face. Never had the Lizard faced somebody so dextrous. There was great strength in nukes but this…this was different l.

Spider-Man pressed the attack, using every ounce of his strength and speed to stay one step ahead. He darted around its body, striking at its legs, its tail, its glowing fins—any weak spot he could find.

But the creature was learning.

The Lizard's massive head turned with unnerving precision, its slitted eyes locking onto Spider-Man's trajectory. He was going in circles, observing for that brain. He suspected that was what forced it into hibernation after the nuke. He decided to go right foe it. He launched himself upward for another strike, Creature Z's claws lashed out with shocking speed...

'Spider-Sense was too slow...!?'

...clipping his gliders and sending him spiraling toward the ground.

Spider-Man caught himself with a webline, swinging wide to avoid the creature's follow-up whip of its tail. The pause had cost him. He landed hard on a crumbling rooftop, his breath ragged, and for the first time, he hesitated.

Creature Z's dorsal fins began to glow brighter, the green light intensifying as the lizard's body hummed. Its wounds did not heal save for the dorsal fins. That led to agony. Agony led to hate. Hate led to water. The monster roared, a sound that seemed to shake the entire city, and charged with those dorsals fullt returned and operatational.

Spider-Man moved, just as the Lizard's claws smashed into the building, reducing it to rubble.

Spider-Man himself? Gone.

He had gone invisible.

Landing silently on its tail, he sprinted up its back, his bioelectricity sparking to life once more. He leapt high, driving both fists into the base of its neck with enough force to shatter any metal in the world. The creature roared in pain, its body convulsing as the electricity coursed through its spine.

For a moment, it seemed to falter.

Spider-Man didn't waste the opportunity. He plunged his second fist and doubled the strength of his bioelectricity.

'Die, die, die, die...!'

CRACK!

That was not Kazi. That was the supersonic tail snapping upward and caught Spider-Man square in the shoulder. The force of the impact sent him hurtling through the air, slamming into a skyscraper with a deafening crash.

Spider-Man recovered quickly, shaking off the rubble as he prepared to launch another attack. But then he saw it.

The beast's dorsal fins were glowing brighter than ever, the green light radiating outward in pulsating waves. The Lizard's massive head tilted upward, its glowing eyes narrowing as it opened its jaws wide.

Spider-Man froze, his sixth sense screaming a warning. He knew what was coming.

The Gamma Breath.

A swirling vortex of green energy began to coalesce in the creature's throat, the sheer intensity of the radiation warping the air around it.

Spider-Man moved, his body a blur as he sprinted across the ruins. He fired a webline.

Too fucking late.

Everybody went down.

Except one.

The Gamma Breath erupted from the monster's jaws, a massive beam of green energy that tore through the city with unstoppable force. Spider-Man barely avoided the initial blast, the searing heat singeing his suit as he dived through the air.

The beam tracked him, the creature's glowing eyes following his every move. He zigzagged through the ruins, his gliders folding and unfolding in rapid succession. He had no choice but to dodge the onslaught.

Behind him, trailing oh-so behind him!

The heat was unbearable, the radiation seeping through his suit despite its advanced shielding. His muscles burned, his bioelectricity flaring.

He had been collecting. He had been saving from Morlun till now for the sake of supercharging his palms and attack.

Finally, he turned.

Launching himself directly into the beam, Spider-Man unleashed the full force of his venom blasts, the electricity colliding with the Gamma energy in a dazzling explosion of light and sound. The clash lit up the night sky, a battle of raw power against raw power.

But the beam was too strong.

Spider-Man's body strained against the force, his electricity faltering as the Gamma energy pushed him back. He fought with everything he had, his palms open wide, his muscles screaming, but the beam overwhelmed him.

With a final surge of energy, the Gamma Breath struck him full force, sending him hurtling backward.

"Spider-Man is fighting!"

The news witnessed none of the clash. The world was limited to technology.

Good thing it was. To see their hero lose was not an easy sight.

Spider-Man crashed into Oscorp Tower. Glass and steel shattered around him as he slammed through floor after floor, his body finally coming to rest in the crumbling remains of the lobby. The tower groaned, its structural integrity failing.

Spider-Man struggled to rise, his body battered and broken. He reached out weakly, firing a webline to catch a falling beam, but his strength gave out.

And then, with a groaning wail, the tower collapsed.