Spider and Bat (Part 1)

In an alley in Queens, New York, Peter hid behind a dumpster. Pikachu crouched on his shoulder, poking his little head out to look around. Peter asked, "Are you sure those monsters you mentioned are here?"

"Of course. I’ve been following them for days. This is one of their smaller hideouts."

"Okay, so what are you planning to do now?"

"I have to wipe them out. Besides this small hideout, there are two larger ones on the streets next door."

Pikachu jumped onto the dumpster and stared wide-eyed at Peter. "Are you sure you can take them? If it’s really like you said, and there are seven or eight of them, you won’t have the advantage."

"Actually, I’m not sure, but I have to do this." Peter shrugged. The two white eyes on his Spider-Man mask narrowed as he said, "Gwen told me that the New York Police Department has been hunting these monsters, and a lot of officers have been injured. Bullets and tear gas don’t work on them."

"This is probably a pretty tough enemy, but I have to deal with them on my own. Since becoming Spider-Man, I haven’t faced any decent opponent by myself yet."

"You really don’t plan to tell your friends? Aren’t you afraid you’ll run into danger or trouble you can’t handle?"

"No, I’m doing this myself." Peter said firmly, "I’m Spider-Man, not anyone’s sidekick. If I can’t get anything done without other people, what kind of hero would I be?"

Then Peter reached out and rubbed Pikachu’s head. "You have to keep it secret too."

Pikachu waved a paw and flicked his tail. "Don’t worry. Detective Pikachu knows how to keep his mouth shut. We’re good buddies. I’ll keep your secret."

The next morning, Pikachu was wolfing down a sandwich that was enormous compared to his body. Schiller spread a spoonful of jam over a slice of bread and asked, "So what are those monsters? Did you see them?"

"No, but Peter said they seem to drink human blood. That’s why the police are hunting them, though it doesn’t seem to be going very well."

"Drinking blood? Vampires?" Schiller searched his memory for what Marvel comics had said about vampires, only to realize he remembered almost nothing. Earth’s native vampires in Marvel did not seem particularly distinctive. Like most legendary vampires, they feared silver, garlic, holy water, and crosses.

"Do you think they’re within Peter’s ability to handle?"

Pikachu swallowed his mouthful of sandwich and said, "With Spider-Man’s fists and Detective Pikachu’s brains, what enemy can we not handle?"

"Even so, I don’t think Peter has fully matured yet. He may need a little help."

"Help? You’d be that kindhearted?" Pikachu stared at Schiller with his round eyes. Schiller smiled, and Pikachu shuddered. He knew that whenever Schiller wore that kind of smile, someone was about to have a bad time.

Just then, Steve returned from his morning run and pushed open the door right on schedule. "Morning. I should apply to S.H.I.E.L.D. for breakfast reimbursement, considering I eat breakfast here every day."

Schiller did not mind at all. He pointed Steve toward a chair beside him. Western breakfasts were practically self-service anyway: heat your own bread, make your own coffee, and Steve did not eat much.

Unexpectedly, Coulson came in as well, dressed in a suit. He looked rushed as he said, "There’s been some trouble in Queens lately. Captain, I’ll need to work overtime for a while. I’ve arranged for another agent to take care of your meals and daily routine. He’ll come by this afternoon to take over."

"Relax, I’m not a baby. Can’t I take care of myself?" Steve took a bite of his sandwich and asked somewhat indistinctly, "What happened in Queens? The agents have all seemed busy lately. Who are you dealing with?"

Coulson pursed his lips. He clearly knew something, but did not want to say it. Schiller said, "Our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has also been spending a lot of time there lately."

Coulson froze for a moment. "Spider-Man? What is he doing there?"

"I heard he has his eye on a group of monsters over there. He’s still investigating them, but it seems he intends to carry out this operation alone."

After Coulson walked out, he picked up the radio at his waist and said, "Director, good news. Spider-Man intends to take on all the vampires in New York by himself, and he already has a complete battle plan…"

"Yes, I know. Their Shade must be behind this, of course. Without Spider-Man’s friends, how would he dare take on something this big alone?"

"Indeed. The Hand has been unsettled recently too, and we’re short on manpower. I’ll pull back the two teams in Queens now. After all, if Stark and the Captain are helping, even if only in secret, those vampires will learn their lesson."

That night, Spider-Man held Pikachu in his arms and used a web line to stick to the wall, swinging past at high speed. In the middle of it, he turned around and threw two garbage bags behind him. A pack of enormous bats chased after him, their eyes glowing red, huge fangs jutting from their mouths as they let out sharp screeches from time to time. They looked utterly terrifying.

As he ran, Spider-Man shouted, "You flying rats! Think you can catch me? Then come and try!"

With that, he accelerated, leaped onto a tall wall, and the bats howled past behind him.

Beyond the wall was a dump, where a huge garbage truck stood parked. Peter moved nimbly, reaching the back of the truck in just a few steps. The heaps of trash rose and fell unevenly here, making it difficult for bats to fly. The bats transformed into humanoid forms, pale-faced and red-eyed, with sharp claws on their hands.

Peter and Pikachu crouched beside the garbage truck. Pikachu said, "Listen, you really need to seize the right moment later. If they catch us, our two fists won’t be enough against so many hands."

"Don’t worry. I’ve never felt this clear-headed before." Spider-Man said, "Dr. Connors was right. People need to use their brains more. That’s how they get smarter."

"You think you got smarter?"

"Of course. My thoughts are crystal clear right now. You go into the garbage truck’s cab, and I’ll lure them over. Then I’ll lead them around in a circle. Once they get close to the back of the truck…"

Very soon, the vampires saw Peter standing atop the garbage truck. He waved at them while taunting, "Hey! You flying stink-rats! You’re nothing like the rat friends I know! Want me to get you some peanut butter?"

There were about a dozen vampires. They were not originally New York vampires, but had only recently been transferred here. Upon arriving in New York, they found the defenses lax, with not even a Vampire Hunter in sight. Naturally, they feasted to their hearts’ content, even draining two young police officers dry.

This strange man in a skintight suit dared mock the noble vampire race so brazenly. The lead vampire transformed into a bat and lunged at him almost instantly.

The vampire’s bat form had a wingspan of roughly two meters, and its diving charge from the sky was imposing. Yet Peter was not the least bit afraid. He deftly rolled aside and jumped down from the garbage truck.

The vampires flying overhead followed him without a second thought, swooping down near the truck. Then Peter took advantage of his speed. When the bats lunged toward the truck’s left side, Peter rolled around to the front. When they rushed to the right, he led them toward the back.

Sure enough, after a few exchanges, the bats lost patience first. They split into two groups, trying to flank Spider-Man, but that was exactly what Peter wanted. Several bats circled around the left while several more moved in from the right, and Peter swiftly rolled to the back of the truck. The bats gathered behind it as well.

Peter shouted, "Pikachu! Do it!"

As soon as he shouted, a web line stuck to a mountain of trash and carried him swiftly away. Before the bats could react, the truck’s rear gate opened, and a mountain of garbage instantly buried them all.

The bats were large, but there was even more garbage. And while bats had wings, they did not have strong limbs to break free. Since they had failed to escape the instant the trash came down, they were buried alive on the spot.

Peter leaped through the air again and landed on the front of the truck, high-fiving Pikachu as he jumped out of the cab. Peter said, "They should just be minor grunts. Gwen told me these monsters can probably use magic."

Before Peter could pull the vampires out of the garbage heap and beat them up, police sirens sounded outside the dump. The police had clearly been watching that hideout too and had caught up.

Peter jumped onto the hood and took a look. Pikachu said, "We need to go. This isn’t a good time to deal with the police. Besides, you don’t look much better than those monsters in that outfit."

"I’m doing a good deed!" Peter said.

But after hesitating for a moment, he still followed Pikachu’s plan, sticking a web line to a nearby building and quickly leaving.

In midair, Peter said excitedly, "I don’t know why, but it feels like everything went especially smoothly today."

"Did you see that? When they were trying to surround me before, I might have rushed in and knocked down one side first. Then I might really have been trapped in their encirclement. But today was different. Did you see that cool roll I did? I gathered them all together in one move…"

"You really do seem a little different today. You used to love throwing punches too much. Today, you actually used your brain to defeat the enemy. I have to say, that’s a huge improvement. Congratulations."

Peter swung onto the rooftop of a building and set Pikachu down before sitting on the edge himself. He was very happy. Peter said, "Now I understand that my friends were right. Only wisdom combined with force can defeat enemies better. Using your brain isn’t shameful."

"And don’t forget something Detective Pikachu taught you."

"What?"

"Reconnaissance and preparation. Without staking them out for the past two days, could you have figured out their speed and mobility in bat form?"

"That wasn’t something you taught me. That was Doctor Schiller. If you ask me, the only thing you taught me is that some rats are good and some are bad."

Pikachu spun around and smacked Peter hard on the shoulder with his tail. Peter yelped in pain, rubbed his shoulder, and said, "What did I say wrong? Aren’t you a rat?"

"But they’re bats, not rats."

Peter pouted, clutching his shoulder. "Come to think of it, it’s strange. Where did these monsters come from? Why can they turn into bats, and why do they drink human blood?"

"Gwen has been worried sick lately, because the two officers attacked by the vampires are still being treated. She’s very worried that her father might be attacked too." Peter lowered his arm and looked into the distance. "What’s worse is that they seem to possess some strange power that can turn ordinary people into their offspring."

"So you’d better be careful. I think your suit has pretty decent defense, but if you really take two claw swipes, you’ll turn into a rat too."