Chapter 24: BAT IN A MAZE
The next day, both Peter and Felicia walk towards Harry's hospital room in silence.
"You know he's not going to be the same, right? Not after what happened." Felicia says.
A somber expression appears on Peter's face.
"...I know..." Peter says.
He then let's out a sigh.
"Mayor Osborne. I wanted Harry to win, but... not like this."
"Won by default. He's probably gonna be pissed he didn't get his landslide victory fair and square."
Peter smirks as they approach the door. He puts his hand on the doorknob but notices Felicia not making a move.
"I don't know if I can do this?" Felicia says
Peter is confused.
"What do you mean?"
Felicia stays silent for a moment.
"I don't want to see- I just can't, ok? Not right now. I have to go."
Peter puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Talk to me." Peter says.
Felicia looks at Peter.
"I feel... guilty. Harry was self-absorbed, but he was a good guy. I just can't see him like this." Felicia says.
Peter looks at her with understanding.
"I get it. I won't tell him you were here."
Felicia nods and she walks away. Peter sighs and walks into the room to see Harry watching the news report about the murder of Mayor Hill, how Harry was sworn in from his hospital bed after his injury, and how multiple men dressed as owls raided City Hall. Harry then sees Peter and turns off the TV.
"Hey Pete." Harry says, exhausted.
"Hey buddy, how are you?" Peter asks.
Harry sighs.
"It still hurts. But the medication makes it easier. I still haven't seen it yet. They've had me wrapped up this whole time. Maybe it's not that bad." Harry says with a hopeful smile.
Peter smiles back at his friend.
"It's what's on the inside that counts, right?" Peter says.
Harry sighs, slowly sitting up.
"Come on, that's what they tell the girl who doesn't get asked to prom. I appreciate the effort though." Harry says.
Harry then thinks about something.
"You... didn't happen to see Felicia here, did you?"
Peter stays silent for a moment.
"No, sorry." Peter replies.
Harry is visibly disappointed.
"Oh. I mean we're not dating or anything, but I thought she'd at least come by to congratulate me, if nothing else. Guess we weren't as close as I thought."
"Can you blame her? Look at you now." A voice says.
Harry is surprised by this.
"What?" Harry asks.
Peter is confused.
"I didn't say anything." Peter says.
"Right sorry, I've been pretty stressed lately, guess I'm just hearing things. I'm really glad you're here, Peter... God it's been- infuriating. Just sitting here and having nothing but time to think about what happened. I keep replaying it over, and over in my head."
"Don't do that to yourself. There's nothing you can do to change what happened." Peter says.
"I know that. But here I am."
"Trust me. You'll drive yourself crazy doing that."
Harry clenches his fists.
"I was helpless, Peter. Couldn't do a damn thing. That... pycho would have just beaten me to death. Right there in front of everyone. He wanted to! What he did to Hill. What they did to those innocent people. I have to live with that... this isn't over. They'll be back."
Peter soon realizes that nothing he says will help his friend.
"I think I need sometime to myself right now, Pete. You know, to clear my head. I do appreciate you coming by though, seriously man."
Peter smiles and pats Harry's shoulder.
"No problem. You get some sleep."
When Peter leaves the room, Harry lays back in bed, staring at the news on TV. As Peter walks down the hall, he sees the morgue and secretly walks in to run his own tests on a body from last night.
Later, the young hero is hanging upside-down in the cave, looking over forensic report on one of the dead Talons. Ben walks into the cave with a plate of food.
"Parker Mansion has seven bedrooms, two kitchens, a library, a gymnasium, a basketball court, and a movie theater... and yet I always find you here. In a dark, damp cave." Ben says.
Peter smirks.
"I'm working, Ben. Most people can do their work anywhere, but for me... this is my office."
"Well most people also don't hang upside-down in their office either, sir. What have you found?"
"One of the dead Talons the NYPD brought in last night... There's a compound I've isolated in his cells. Something the Court of Owls must have managed to synthesize. It's capable of reanimating dead tissue."
Ben is shocked
"Bringing bodies back from the dead, sir?"
Peter drops down to the ground.
"Only bodies specifically prepared."
"Prepared how?"
"The court has an affinity for classical antiquity. In ancient Greece, there was a tradition of placing coins Beneath the corpses tongue before burial. Supposedly to pay for passage into Hades. The rich sometimes had their coins made from a metal called electrum. A highly conductive alloy of silver and copper. In the man's body, I found a significant amount of electrum. Not just in his blood, but in his cells. The alloy seeped down over years and years, from a deposit embodied in his tooth. In the shape of a tiny owl."
"So they used the compound to bring him, and others, back from the dead to kill for them. Despicable." Ben says.
Peter nods.
"Once the compound is bonded with the cells, they're capable of reactivating and healing over and over again. Which is why the Talons could shrug off bullets until they got shot in the head."
"And why he was technically still alive today. How do you stop people like these?" Ben asks.
"The cold. The compound turns the body into a kind of heat powered factory for cell regrowth. The way to shut it down is to lower the hosts core body temperature. That or a shot to the head, but that's not my style."
Peter then walks over and starts to put on his suit.
"Where are you going, master Parker?"
"The sewers."
"Pardon, Sir?"
"There was residue on his suit that can only be found in the sewers. If I go there, I might find some answers."
"Well, I guess I should prepare to wash your suit tonight. The souvenirs of the New York City sewers are best left under the streets. Good luck, master Parker."
Peter nods, putting on his mask, and swings out of the cave.
Back at the hospital, as Harry is still watching the news reports about his injury, he throws the remote against the TV. At that moment Lincoln Smythe peaks into the room.
"Hey, Mr. Osborne. Is this a bad time?" He asks.
"No, not at all. Come on in."
Lincoln walks into the room and closes the door.
"I just wanted to come by and tell you how sorry I am for... what happened to you."
Harry sighs.
"I swear, I'm sick of people feeling sorry for me. It's all so- frustrating." Harry says.
Lincoln stares at the mayor for a moment.
"Well- that's not the only reason I'm here. I'm also here to tell you... that I know who's responsible for your attack."
Harry looks at Lincoln in shock.
"What!?"
"I was hoping Peter was here, he should know this too. But when I was a kid, my father told me a story. A folktale that fits the men that attacked you at the press event, and at city hall."
Harry thinks for a moment then realizes where Lincoln is going with this as a an intense scowl appears on his face.
"The Court of Owls- are real." He says, filled with determination and anger.
Meanwhile Peter drops down to the sewers, shining a lot from his utility belt as he walks through the dark. While he walks, a pair of glowing yellow eyes follows him. He sees dust from a metamorphic rock, similar to marble.
At that moment Peter's Spider-Senses goes off. He looks around, seeing no danger around him. A Talon then bursts through the wall behind him, grabbing his head, ripping off his utility belt, and drags him down.
Soon Peter looks up to a bright white light, surrounded by white walls, realizing that he's not in the sewers anymore. A TV screen above his head displays three people in owl masks.
"Welcome to the Labyrinth, Spider-Bat." All three of them say.
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