As they departed, Spider-Man debated entering the building and talking to D-Man...before changing his mind and heading to the wrestling arena. Crusher Hogan and Bonesaw McGraw were scheduled to face a pair of jobbers, but as the lights went out for their entrance, Spider-Man zipped in and replaced their opponents. McGraw and Hogan were stunned to see the black-garbed Spider-Man in the middle of their ring! Spider-Man went after both men but were shocked to find that they were both a bit stronger than he remembered, and Crusher Hogan clamped him down in a bearhug! Spider-Man twisted free and used his Spider-Sense and agility to keep his stronger-than-expected opponents off-guard. When sheer brute force wasn't working, Spider-Man started using trickery to get the upperhand, sending Hogan tumbling over the top rope after dodging a charge, and hurling McGraw into the cheap seats.
The mysterious third man ordered Hogan and McGraw to stand down, and the crowd ooohed at his arrival in full armor, wielding a large chain...for the third man was Ares, God of War! Spider-Man webbed him, but Ares ripped free and smashed him with the chain, knocking him completely unconscious!
Peter Parker snapped his head up at his desk, staring at a math test, when a voice from under the desk kept calling to him: "Parker...Parker..." Peter looked under the desk and saw his black mask with a large, snarling mouth on it! The Spider-Mask was telling him to let go, join him and that Peter only needed the costume, not his friends and aunt...the mask kept saying that, together they could be the Spider-Man...
...when Spider-Man came to, chain wrapped around him, as Ares - McGraw and Hogan flanking him - was announcing to the crowd that tonight, he would unmask the Spider-Man! A loud voice demanded that Ares back off, and Spider-Man looked up to see D-Man standing in the entranceway of the arena! He told Ares that they would only unmask Spider-Man over D-Man's dead body! D-Man stormed the ring and Ares braced himself...as Spider-Man broke free from the chains, drawing a huge chant from the crowd! The brawl was on, three on two, and Spider-Man used some trickery to wear Ares down. D-Man took a beating, but Hogan and McGraw couldn't hold up to the onslaught of the heroes, leaving it two on one. As Ares had Spider-Man on the defensive, Spidey began to grow...and a snarling tongue erupted from his mask! D-Man smashed Ares' head, crushing his helmet and staggering the War God! Ares, enraged, batted D-Man down attacked Spider-Man...and Spidey sent him hurling end over end into the back of the arena!
Ares told Spider-Man and D-Man that they won this day...but that Ares would be back, and back for BLOOD. Ares disappeared in a flash of light...and Hogan and McGraw were covered in a light of their own for a moment...then looked at D-Man and Spider-Man in horror as they lost their enhanced power! D-Man tried to celebrate with Spider-Man, who was reverting back to normal, but Spidey zipped off out of the arena.
Spidey, adrenaline fueled, spotted Slyde and new partner Stilt-Man hard at work on yet another robbery...but slapped past Stilt-Man. Slyde never saw Spider-Man coming and Spider-Man tapped him on the shoulder, then knocked him across the building! Outside, as Stilt-Man began to react, he came crashing to the ground...with D-Man holding one of the mechanical legs! D-Man gave Spider-Man a wink and a thumbs up! Spidey dumped Slyde in the bank vault until the police could show, and D-Man told Spidey that maybe they could do that tag team partner thing for real someday.
Late that night, Spidey slipped into his bedroom window and Peter Parker collapsed in the bed, fast asleep. Late in the night, through the open window, screams of help drifted in...and the black suit slithered up on Peter's body...and Spider-Man burst out into the night once more...
Notes: This session didn't go nearly as well as the last one, presumably due to how sick I had been during the week between. I also grossly misjudged just what a rookie Spider-Man could handle, as McGraw and Hogan were each very much a match for him (though he was the one that opted to go after them two on one). I was actually going to milk the Slyde thing for a while, but my son got the idea to hunt him down and just try to knock him out, and when the cardplay went his way at the end, that seemed like a nice way to wrap things up (complete with the surprise D-Man assistance at the end). Not sure what'll be next on the docket...other than a face to face with Aunt May over his grades...but we're clearly building to a Peter-Symbiote stand-off.
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