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Sat within a dark apartment was a man hunched over his computer, vigilantly watching the latest news footage of the web slinging hero Spider-Man. Earlier that day, the vigilante and his team had fought the mutant Juggernaut, and some reporter had gotten good footage of the fight. He frowned, rubbing his chin as he analyzed the red-and-blue-clad hero.
The fight wasn’t providing any new information, just showing him what he already knew, which was annoying. He’d been studying Spider-Man for some time, trying and failing to discern any weak points he could exploit. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any, none that he or his men could pull off at least. They weren’t super-humans or mutants.
Frustrated, he paused the video and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to pull this job off, but the spider was too big a threat. He was no Avenger, but the Avengers didn’t bother themselves with stopping pettier crimes like bank and ATM robberies. Spider-Man, on the other hand, seemed almost certain to show up. It was almost strange how often the spider-themed hero stopped petty robberies, hence why he’d tried to find a weakness. Even that team of his didn’t show up nearly as often as he did. Based on the research he’d done, they hardly seemed to stop robberies unless they were accompanying the web slinger, and they appeared alongside him less during the night. Well, unless a larger threat sprung up.
The crook’s frown steadily grew as he fixed his gaze on the paused image of Spider-Man. There had to be something that would get him out of their way. At this point, he didn’t even care if the chink in his armor would leave the spider alive. As long as it got him out of their way long enough for them to escape with the cash, he didn’t care. Guns? No, he was too quick, and even a surprise bullet wouldn’t land thanks to that sixth sense of his. A knife? Also a no-go. The vigilante’s pain tolerance was through the roof, so that likely wouldn’t stop him. The man growled and bared his teeth, so frustrated with his predicament that he felt like giving up. That was when his eyes landed on the spider symbol decorating the hero’s chest and he had an epiphany.
It was so obvious! He was Spider-Man! He shared strengths with spiders so surely he shared weaknesses with them, too. Finally feeling as if he was getting somewhere, he quickly opened up a new tab and typed in a very simple question: How do I get rid of spiders? The criminal’s face lit up when the top result was a list of spider-removing remedies. Most weren’t useful since they applied to actual spiders, but one or two looked promising to work on the web slinger.
“Everyone ready?” the head crook asked, now hidden away in an alley wearing a typical ski mask and trench coat. He was accompanied by three others, who nodded.
“There’s no way this is gonna work,” one of them complained, glaring at the miniature spray bottle in his hand. “He’s still human!”
“Shut up,” the leader snapped, knowing all too well that this could fail. Spider-Man didn’t have every ability of a spider, so he didn’t have every one of their weaknesses either. Still, this was worth a shot. “If he shows, just spray him in the face and we’ll see what happens.”
The one who complained scoffed at his leader, replacing the bottle back into his trench coat pocket. “And if it doesn’t work, we’re all going to jail,” he muttered bitterly.
“Let’s go,” their leader urged them as he turned and led them out of the alley into the darkened and virtually deserted street. They all moved quickly and silently down the block, ignoring the few bystanders they passed. They came to stop at the street corner, where an ATM was placed outside a convenience store. “Bruce, you’re up.”
The burliest of the group stepped forward, a crowbar in hand. He fit the end of it into one of the crevices of the machine and began to pull, grunting with the effort. The other three took to watching the surrounding area for any sign of the police or the spider. A minute or so passed with the panel still on the machine, just loosened up.
Suddenly, there was the signature thwip of Spider-Man’s webbing being fired followed by a grunt. Whirling around, the leader found the crowbar, as well as Bruce’s arm, webbed to the machine. “Y’know there’s an easier way to get money, right?” came the arachnid’s voice as he gracefully landed in front of them. “It’s called a nine-to-five.”
“It’s the spider! Get him!” the boss ordered before turning his attention to his trapped comrade.
The other two pulled out their knives and charged at the web slinger only for him to jump upwards and avoid their attacks entirely. He stuck to the wall, turned, and fired webbing at the two men, catching the blades and yanking them away with ease. He shook his head, tutting. “Kids shouldn’t be playing with knives.”
Spider-Man kicked off the wall, landed behind one of the crooks, and swept the robber’s legs out of from under him. The other man was already charging at the web slinger with a fist. He easily sidestepped the attack and then delivered a punch of his own, successfully knocking him out. Or dazing the man too much for him to get back up. Either worked, really.
The leader of the group looked over his shoulder after hearing the groaning and found the arachnid staring him down. He dropped the web he’d been trying to rip off of Bruce and turned around fully to face him, baring his teeth at the hero. “Sorry about this, but I can’t just let you take other people’s money,” Spider-Man said before rearing back to sock the criminal in the jaw.
In one swift movement, the crook pulled the miniature spray bottle from his trench coach pocket, aimed it, and sprayed it. The mist hit the vigilante’s face just before he performed a backflip to put space between him and the thief. “Dude, I’m not a-” he paused when a sharp odor hit his senses. His expression twisted under the mask and his hand instinctually reached up to protect the lower half of his face from the offensive aroma. “Augh! What was that stuff?!” he exclaimed, nearly doubling over. Whatever the mist was, it was making his head spin and his stomach churn. Spider-Man reached out for the nearby wall to steady himself when he suddenly swayed, groaning as he did so.
The boss stared wide-eyed at the sight before him, astounded that it had actually worked. A more logical part of him had doubted that this would have any effect on the wallcrawler, but it seemed that the very out-there solution had actually worked. With the vigilante out of commission, he turned back to his trapped comrade, who seemed just as shocked as he was, and went back to trying to free him from the web. Unfortunately for the pair, the web slinger wasn’t the only hero nearby.
“One side, Web Head!” Nova yelled as he flew past his teammate and plowed into the criminal’s side, sending him rolling and forcing him to drop the bottle. The teen floated above the unconscious criminal, looking rather proud as the last three members of their team joined them. “Don’t worry. The situation is under control thanks to moi,” the teen boasted, laying a hand on his chest in reference to himself.
White Tiger scoffed and rolled her eyes at his antics. “Yeah, ‘cause you’re so well known for your ability to shoot webs,” she snarked, pointing to the one conscious man webbed to the ATM.
“Oh, whatever,” he replied dismissively. “It’s not like that’s a huge deal anyway. These guys are bottom-feeders! They’re lower on the list than Batroc.” That earned a growl from Bruce, but none of the heroes paid attention to his anger. He had no way of breaking out, so the worst he could do was snarl at them.
“Doesn’t matter. They still need to be locked up,” Power Man grunted as he lifted the two that had been lying dazed in the street.
“Power Man is right,” Iron Fist agreed. “Spider, could you-” The martial artist cut himself short when he saw his teammate. Spider-Man was leaning his back on the bricks, one hand covering his mouth and the other arm was wrapped around his stomach. Concerned, Danny rushed to his side, drawing the attention of the rest of the team. “Spider-Man, what’s wrong?”
“Yo, Webs. You alright?” Luke chimed in as he neared, equally worried for his friend.
“No,” he answered in an uneasy tone, stifling a groan. “They sprayed me with something. Dunno what, but it reeks.” He’d been able to recognize the scent as peppermint, but there was no way that was all it was. It had to be some concoction that just happened to have a minty smell. Why else would it be affecting him this much?
“Hey, is this what they used?” Tiger held up the small spray bottle for the others to see. The web slinger nodded, afraid that speaking would result in him hurling. Curiously, she brought the bottle closer to her face to inspect the liquid inside. It was clearish-yellow in color and watery in nature. Unfortunately, that didn’t give her much to go on. Tentatively, she unscrewed the top and brought it close to her nose. She had braced herself for a putrid smell that would have her gagging like her teammate, but to her surprise, she was greeted with the strong but pleasant scent of peppermint. For a second, she was confused before the realization struck her. “Peppermint oil,” she grumbled, facepalming.
“It’s just peppermint oil?” Nova asked incredulously as he landed beside White Tiger. The others sent her their own looks of disbelief, even Peter.
“Yes,” Tiger confirmed, screwing the cap back on tight. “No wonder it’s doing that to him,” she gestured to Spider-Man with her hand.
“I don’t think I’m following,” Power Man spoke up, looking equally confused as the other three boys. “Mind explaining?”
“Spiders hate peppermint,” she informed them. “I’m surprised the guy with the spider powers doesn’t know that.” That earned her a half-hearted glare from the spider in question, and she was sure he would’ve made a snappy retort if he wasn’t sick to his stomach at the moment.
“If the problem is the scent, then we need only to get it away from him,” Iron Fist supplied in his sagely manner.
“Right,” Ava nodded before directing her attention to Sam. “Nova, fly to the Helicarrier and get his spare mask. The oil’s probably soaked to the one he’s wearing.”
As soon as she finished giving him the order, a smirk formed on his face. “Sure, sure. I’ll bail Web Head out of trouble… Again.” With that, he took off into the sky, leaving a streak of light blue energy in his wake.
Spider-Man groaned but this time it was caused by annoyance and dread, not by nausea. He had seen the look in his eye before he took off. Nova was never gonna let this one go. And knowing his teammate, he just might use this newfound weakness against him for a prank. He’d have to start regularly checking his spare masks just to be sure Sam hadn’t doused them in peppermint.