Sunday— April 10th, 2011.
SOMEWHERE-SOMEWHERE??
7-O’CLOCK-AM.
What was it like to spawn in a videogame? Peter would know, though he was unsure, but he had the impression he just ‘spawned’ into existence.
Peter sat up, rubbing his eyes in disbelief as he opened his helmet by retracting it via the nanotechnology. He had vivid memories of his death: panicking as his unique spider sense went haywire while his body slowly turned to dust, yet here he was, alive and well in a strange bedroom.
He took in his surroundings: the dim light, the smell of aphrodisiac, and incense filling the air. The room was austere and utilitarian, with a large bed in the center and a bunch of women piled on top of a man who was sound asleep.
Peter's confusion only deepened when he noticed the man's dark hair, oriental features, and lots and lots of tattoo on his body. Who was this guy and why did naked beautiful women surround him? Never did Peter think he was actually inside a bad guy’s bedroom. Who knew, maybe the mysterious Asian was someone like Tony Stark, a charismatic billionaire who had bedded more chicks than Peter could recite the digits of Pi.
Before he could ponder further, the door suddenly swung open and a masked figure entered. The man's eyes widened in shock as he saw Peter in the room, and he immediately took an offensive stance as he drew his sword from his sheathe.
Hopefully, the other guy didn’t get a good look at him.
Peter raised his hands in surrender while he wore back his helm, the nanotech whizzing around his head. Peter was unsure of what was going on. “Hey, relax man. I'm just lost,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation, but he was having no luck as the new arrival wearing a black bodysuit with red trimmings and an Oni mask simply brandished his sword.
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” demanded the man, his sword still pointed at Peter's chest.
“I...I'm lost, okay? And I have no idea how I got here. Last thing I remember, I was fighting a purple alien and then I woke up here,” Peter explained, his mind still reeling from the events. “Who are you anyway?”
Before Peter could say any more excuses and ask more questions, the ninja suddenly teleported, leaving behind multiple clones in his wake. Peter's eyes widened in shock as he dodged the attacks by relying purely on his precognitive-infused reflexes. He had never seen anything like this before.
“Hey, what's the big idea?” Peter exclaimed, ducking as a clone swung its sword at him. Since this had gone down into a fight, Peter didn't hold back and retaliated yet his attacks were proven futile. The clones he had hit turned into ash, missing the ninja entirely.
The ninja’s voice echoed around the room, “You asked for my name, I am Oni Lee, and I am going to kill you, trespasser!”
Peter rolled his eyes, “Kill me? That might be an exaggeration!”
Seven clones simultaneously pounced on Peter, each of them wielding a tanto. Peter dodged to the left and kicked the one nearest to him causing the clone to shatter and turn to ash quickly. This was the second time Peter counter-attacked, and it elicited surprise from Oni Lee who found the hard way that he couldn’t penetrate Peter’s suit.
Peter just stood there, and punched— he erased a second clone this time with much weaker force guaranteeing he wouldn’t accidentally kill One Lee with his superhuman strength.
More steel came at Peter, each was directed at places that would fatally kill just anyone, even a super would feel threatened, but then again, it was useless. Peter understood that his foe was skilled, but not skilled enough to overcome the genius of Tony Stark who designed the Iron Spider suit.
Realizing a pattern among the clones with the help of his suit’s deductions, and his own precognition, Peter struck the ‘real one’ among the clones and finally dished a decisive blow.
Oni Lee recoiled with his bloody nose spraying from the mask.
“Ooops,” Peter grimaced. “I thought I was holding back enough…”
Maybe out of pride or some morbid duty to prove himself, Oni Lee picked up a grenade from his belt, took out the pin, and threw it at Peter. The grenade flew in slow motion in Peter’s perception.
Peter’s danger sense cried at him. He looked at the sleeping girls around the peacefully sleeping Asian and he knew he had to do something. He couldn’t just throw it from the window, what if it exploded to bystanders? He couldn’t just throw it at the roof or some corner and hope for the best— the shrapnel could fly to five to ten meters and in an enclosed room— that would be deadly.
So Peter did what Captain America would do. Trusting his armor, Peter caught the grenade from mid-air and then proceeded to lie prone over the grenade, curling his small frame to ensure that he could fully absorb the concussive blast of the grenade.
Boom!
The blast echoed through the room, rattling the walls and sending debris flying in all directions. As the smoke cleared, Peter remained lying on the ground, his Iron Spider suit absorbing the shock of the explosion. He slowly got up, checking himself for any injuries or armor damage, relieved to find none.
The Asian man who had been peacefully sleeping sat up, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. "What's all the racket about?" he grumbled, his voice thick with sleep. “The fuck?”
Oni Lee was still recovering from the blow Peter had dealt him, but he quickly stabilized himself. Without a word, he lunged at Peter once more, his sword flashing in the dim light of the room.
Peter, ever agile and quick-witted, dodged the attack at the last second with a smirk playing on his lips. "You really don't give up, do you?" he taunted, his voice laced with amusement.
Oni Lee didn't respond verbally, but his determination spoke volumes as he continued his relentless assault.
Amid the chaos, Oni Lee's boss, Lung, stirred from his slumber, lazily assessing the situation. In fluent Japanese, Oni Lee informed him of the intruder. “Lung-shujin, I shall deal with him shortly, so I ask for your patience.”
“Ah, fuck’n just do it… I’ll sleep more…” Lung, seemingly unfazed, instructed him to deal with the situation before returning to his interrupted rest, his hands wandering over the women in his bed.
Peter understood their exchange thanks to his suit's translation capabilities, quickly piecing together the dynamics at play. It seemed he had stumbled into gang territory, and was now under attack by none other than the gang’s no.2 who was Oni Lee.
It worried Peter that Oni Lee could masterfully exhibit his powers like this, and if he was only no. 2, then what was the Asian dude capable of? There was a reason why Peter was confused. But Peter had no time to think. Oni Lee clung to him with his steel, not giving any chance for Peter to escape.
Peter observed that Oni Lee had a lot of grenades on his person but he wouldn’t use them so willy-nilly. The last one was a strategic move clearly catered to work against a hero which was concerning.
“Hey, I see you have lots of grenades. Why? I mean why not just throw all of them at me, maybe even get your boss in the crossfire? Maybe you are actually a good guy inside, you know, like not wanting to accidentally kill those girls?” Peter asked curiously, half a jest, and half hoping.
It was a stupid question though.
Oni Lee glanced at Peter, his expression was inscrutable behind his mask as he replied, "I wouldn't want to disturb the boss, which was all. Moreover, I wouldn’t want to spook you too much either.”
Peter raised an eyebrow, dodging another strike from Oni Lee's sword. "That sounds easy enough. So why are we even fighting?" he questioned, his tone tinged with frustration. He shot a web for the first time at his foe’s wrists binding them together, surprising Oni Lee.
With a shift of his weight, Peter closed in and threw a punch at Oni Lee’s abdomen causing the latter to retch and fall to his knees. While at it, Peter shot another webbing at Oni Lee's foot, binding it to the floor.
“So what now? Hey, I will ask it straight. Are you a bad guy?” Peter watched Oni Lee cough violently.
"What kind of stupid question is that? Rejoice while you can," Oni Lee responded cryptically. "You see, a healthy amount of rage was what made our boss continue going. I hope I have kept you entertained."
Peter sighed shooting more web at Oni Lee ensuring he was glued to the ground, which should work… Teleportation should follow at least physics, right? There was no way Oni Lee would be able to teleport if he was weighed by more than he could handle.
“A different question then… It is true I am lost, and I accidentally found myself here. So who is that guy then?” He pointed at the dark-haired guy piled up with his harem.
“You are a new cape then,” Oni Lee sounded ‘too cheerful’ behind his mask. “Strangely, you are a very ignorant one… That man is my master, my liege, my boss— he is Lung, the Dragon of Kyushu, and the future ruler of the city.”
“Boss? As in like a gang?” Peter was weirded out by the intensity of Oni Lee.
As the conversation came to a stilting halt, an alarm clock suddenly rang, cutting through the tension in the room. Lung stirred from his slumber, grumbling irritably as he picked up a mask resembling a dragon's face from a nearby drawer. Towering over six feet tall, Lung's muscular frame exuded a menacing presence as he approached Peter.
"Shut up, fucking shit…" Lung muttered, rubbing his eyes and checking the time on the alarm clock. "I guess it is breakfast now, huh? It is a good day to have an intruder during Mondays, but fuck, it was still Sunday." With a yawn, he glanced at Peter, his eyes suddenly narrowing with intensity.
Peter couldn't help but feel the intense heat emanating from Lung, his flames threatening to engulf everything in their path. As the women in the room scattered away, Lung slowly advanced toward Peter, his gaze fixed on him with predatory intent.
"You are not a cannibal, right?" Peter quipped nervously, trying to diffuse the tension as Lung closed in on him.
Lung's attack was swift and brutal, catching Peter off guard as he was tackled with tremendous force, sending them both crashing out of the building. They fell from the seventh floor, but rather than plummeting into the depths, they found themselves in a dockyard, surrounded by the absence of water from the bay.
"Die, you fucker!" Lung snarled as he pressed Peter down with his weight, his fiery aura pulsating with rage.
"Chill the f, bro!" Peter grunted, struggling against Lung's grip as they tumbled onto the hard ground.
"This is for disturbing my morning, you fucker!" Lung roared, his flames erupting in a blinding burst of heat and light, engulfing Peter in searing fire. The man exploded, and it was powerful.
The impact of the flames flung Peter away, crashing into several nearby houses, while Lung crashed into the concrete with a bloody squelch. Peter groaned in pain, feeling the weight of the damage inflicted upon his armored suit.
"That hurt…" Peter wheezed, struggling to stand amidst the wreckage, his armor warning him of the numerous damages sustained during the intense encounter. His armor was charred in some places, but it remained intact. The nanotech had self-repair functions, but he wouldn’t want to rely too much about it since its ‘self-repair’ wasn’t so strong it could be used while in combat. Standing up, he quickly shot up a web, pulled, and dodged the blur of orange and red.
“Cannibal? No, I feed on rage!” Lung maniacally grinned while he roared with his mangled voice, already transformed into a hot piping mess of a monster. He stood over 7 feet tall, with scales growing from his back with a lizard like tail behind him.
Peter observed his adversary’s healing… The drop from the seventh floor didn’t leave any injuries to Lung. To be precise, Lung was hurt, but healed it quickly. Peter exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You are breaking the laws of physics!”
It felt wrong to Peter, seeing a man with such extraordinary healing factor with fire powers, and still have flesh in him. He could see bones jutting out from Lung, transforming into different contours as if to affirm an image more dragon-like than before. It was like combining an Extremis terrorist and a Hulk.
Peter sighed heavily and placed his hands on his hips. “Look, man, I am not in the mood,” he said, frustration lacing his voice. “I just got 'dusted' by a purple alien on another planet, and my mind is not in the right place. So please, cooperate with me. Put your hands behind your back, get down on the ground, and turn off your fire. I will come with you to the nearest police station.”
Lung's expression turned sour, and he let out a scoff. “Are you kidding me?” he said, his voice laced with anger. “If you want a throw down, we throw down, not yap. You got me excited for no reason.”
And with that, Lung's body began to change. His muscles bulged and his body grew more in bulk, flames rising from his body. Peter watched in awe as Lung transformed into a massive, fire-wielding beast.
But Peter was not one to back down from a challenge. He stood his ground, four sharp spider legs jutting out from his back.
With a burst of energy, Peter launched himself at Lung, knocking him to the ground. He pinned him down, using his webs to neutralize Lung's flames. But it was more difficult than he thought considering that his webs were not fire resistant. Left with no choice, Peter used his arachnid appendages from his back to pincushion Lung.
Peter grabbed Lung’s wrists with a firm grip ensuring he remained in place.
Lung struggled against Peter's grip, but he was no match for Peter's strength and determination. Looks of surprise became apparent in Lung’s eyes as he realized he was outmatched in strength by the spider.
For Peter, this was natural considering he had a multiplier in the form of his armor on top of his already incredible superhuman strength. It was getting sweaty inside the armor, but he could endure.
Lung unleashed a gout of flames right on Peter’s face.
For the next two hours, it became a battle of wills and no one was giving up. Peter had pinned Lung on the ground steadily without moving an inch. It was an incredible feat, but the mental exhaustion was slowly getting to Peter.
The annoying thing though was few parts of Peter’s armor were melted… He only had half from when he started. The only reason he was yet to be turned to ash was that Lung’s flames were also getting weaker over time without any ‘healing’ or ‘adrenaline’ to fuel him. It was a weird mechanism, but that was how Lung’s powers worked, so Peter took it with a grain of salt.
It didn’t mean Peter was left unscathed though… Some parts of his suit, the one under the Iron Spider, was burned through and it reached his skin. It felt terrible.
Peter sensed danger as he felt the familiar tingling sensation of his spider-sense. Reacting instinctively, he leaped away from Lung, leaving the fiery gangster to his own devices for the moment. But his respite was short-lived as Oni Lee reappeared on the battlefield, summoning more clones to attack Peter.
"It's like fighting a never-ending army of you," Peter quipped as he dodged the attacks, his mind racing with strategies to counter the relentless assault. “I give up…”
Peter Parker made the sensible choice and finally retreated.
There was something wrong going on, but first… Where in the world was he?
#Lung Having a Kaido moment #Spidey being confused #Oni Lee being an Ass
