American Comics: The Matrix

Chapter 4 Take the initiative
Dennis Carradine[Note 1] woke up from a burst of severe pain.

He felt as if his head was split open by an axe, his wrists were aching from the ropes, his feet were hanging in the air, and his body was swaying like a ship in the waves.

"where am I?"

He tried to open his eyes, but the dim light fell on his cornea, and his vision became blurred, with double images and he couldn't see anything clearly.

As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was full of wails of pain.

He didn't know where he was, but at least he was sure that he was not at sea, because what greeted him was not the wet and salty smell of the sea, but instead was filled with dust, rust, and a faint smell of gunpowder, just like every abandoned factory in Hell's Kitchen.

I was kidnapped.

He quickly figured this out; this kind of thing happens all the time in New York.

But he couldn't understand who would go to the trouble of kidnapping him, when he was just a small-time gangster.
He couldn't see at all yet, but that didn't stop him from feeling fear and regret.

Damn it!

If I had known this would happen, I should have robbed some money, robbed a car, and left this damn place, New York!
"Dennis Carradine."

A strange voice came to his ears, a little sharp, with a double tone. The voice echoed in this space, as if countless people were talking to him, and the layers of sound waves pressed on his chest, making him breathless.

Dennis Carradine showed a look of fear on his face and pleaded:
"gentlemen……"

"Dennis Carradine," the voice said again, "do you know why I brought you here?"

Dennis Carradine's vision began to become clearer, and he found himself hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned factory. Not far away were fences and aisles made of iron sheets, but there was nothing under him.

His heart immediately jumped up in his chest and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, shaking more and more violently.

"I don't know, sir..." Dennis Carradine's voice was trembling and crying, "You, I can give you whatever you want, I will tell you whatever you want to know, please..."

A low-level person like him who couldn't make it in Hell's Kitchen didn't have much courage, and now he was completely scared. But he thought, since he wasn't killed immediately, he should be of some use, right?
He just hoped that the man got what he wanted and would let him go.

But the other party's next words made him fall into complete despair.

"I just want your life!"

"No, sir, please..." He was crying and looking at the ground with fear on his face - he was at least fifty feet (about fifteen meters) above the ground. If he fell from here, his brains would definitely be scattered all over the ground.

So he tried desperately to find the person who kidnapped him, wanting to see clearly who the other person was. He wanted to know how he had offended that person. No matter what happened, he would kneel down and admit his mistake as long as the other person spared his life.

Soon, he spotted a strange, thin figure standing in the darkness.

“Sir…” Dennis Carradine seemed to have seen a savior. He cried, “Don’t kill me sir, please… I can do anything for you, anything…” He couldn’t say any more when he came here. The words were stuck in his throat like fish bones. His eyes were wide open, but his pupils had shrunk several times.

Because the strange shadow walked out of the darkness and appeared in front of Dennis. It was simply a monster!

The thing looked like a velociraptor, with most of its body covered in black, its arms and feet were blue, and its long tail also had circles of blue stripes - a flash star!
The kidnapper was, of course, Bant.

Originally, Bant planned to keep an eye on Uncle Ben during the period after Peter was bitten by the spider to prevent Uncle Ben from getting into danger. But after becoming a little warrior yesterday, he changed his mind - why should he wait until tragedy happens before trying to stop it?
Evil should be nipped in the bud!

So he immediately began looking for clues.

He didn't know who was the criminal who killed Uncle Ben in this world, but he had seen two versions of Spider-Man movies and had two clues in his mind -

In Toby's version of the movie, it was the Sandman, William Baker, who killed Uncle Ben; in the Amazing version of the movie series, there is a star mark on the wrist of the murderer. And the world he lives in is a bit like a combination of the three generations of Spider-Man world.

"I hacked into the NYPD's system and found your file, Dennis Carradine."

Bant's tone was a little impatient at the moment. He paced on the platform made of iron sheets, and his feet, like roller skates, made a clattering sound on the ground.

"There aren't many criminals in New York with star tattoos on their wrists. You're the only one!"

Of course, Bant also investigated the Sand Man William Baker, but no such person existed.

"If I have offended you before, I am willing to apologize..." Dennis begged humbly. He obviously realized that Bant had captured him for a purpose, not an indiscriminate attack by a crazy monster, but he also knew that he had no value at all, and no one would buy his worthless life.

So, the only possibility was that he accidentally provoked someone, or - he secretly glanced at Bant's appearance - or accidentally stepped on a lizard in the sewer?
"When I kill you, I will apologize to you."

Bant sneered and walked to Dennis' side. Now he only needed to stretch out his black, scissor-like hands to cut the rope hanging Dennis.

He knew this was not a just act.

Perhaps he is not worthy of Spider-Man's abilities, nor of the Omnitrix.

But it doesn't matter, he is not a hero and he doesn't intend to be a hero.

What's important is that he can use this power to protect the people he cherishes!

"No! No! No!"

Dennis screamed. He saw the rope being slowly cut by Bant's sharp claws. The fear of death almost made him wet his pants. He had no time to think about what kind of creature this thing in front of him was. He just wanted to live!

"I don't know, sir, I don't know how I have offended you," he cried, speaking very quickly, "but please, forgive me, please..."

"You don't know? It doesn't matter. I can tell you." Bant said, "Because you will kill a kind and good person, this is what you deserve!"

"I didn't," he whimpered, shaking his head frantically, "I didn't kill anyone."

"Not now," Bant said, "but in a few days that will be different."

After a few days?

Dennis thought this monster must be crazy!

Dennis is regretting very much now. He should have left this damn place, Hell's Kitchen, earlier!
Those gang members are fighting all the time. Joining a gang is just seeking death.

He should have gone to Brooklyn, Queens or somewhere, robbed some money, and then stole a car and left New York!

Anywhere, San Francisco, Washington...

Don't let this monster find you.

But it's too late to say this now.

What could he do?

He could only try to reason with a monster, and beg for mercy from a madman:
"I won't, I promise!"

But Bant had no intention of continuing.

After becoming a flash star, his personality became a little impatient, and the fact that he could talk so much to Dennis was a sign of his patience.

Now his claws cut the rope, and Dennis lost his last support in an instant, and he screamed and fell down. Bant didn't look down, he knew that Dennis's head would hit the hard concrete and then become a pulp like a watermelon.

"Boom!"

A loud bang!
But it was not the sound of Dennis hitting the ground, but a flaming figure bursting through the ceiling of the abandoned factory and rushing in.

The shadow quickly passed by Bant's eyes, and the scorching heat wave hit Bant's face!
He swooped down and caught Dennis just before he hit the ground. Then, he let go of his hand and placed Dennis steadily on the ground, his hands spurting fire and slowly floating up until he was eye-level with Bant.

"Tony, Stark!"

Bant's voice was unusually angry.

Note 1: Dennis Carradine is actually the fake murderer caught by Toby in the first season of Toby's Spider-Man. Because he couldn't find the name of the person who killed Uncle Ben in the Amazing, he borrowed this name.
If you like the new book, you can add it to your bookshelf.

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(End of this chapter)