In The Web Of Gotham

The Ghostly Spider

Somewhere in Singapore, a vigilante cloaked in white moves through claps of thunder and flashes of lightning of a raging rainstorm. Criminal liasons for a mob family cowering in fear as they rapidly try to board a ship to send their goods overseas. The Ghost-Maker perched on a rooftop, swords at the ready to cut them like the animals they are...before he's cut off by the built-in communicator inside of his helmet ringing with a number he thought wouldn't ever be calling again. Deciding to multi-task, Ghost-Maker leapt from the rooftop to start making examples of these drug runners.

"Bruce! Didn't think you'd call!" Ghost-Maker said as he began slashing away at the criminals.

"I told you to not say my name, Khoa. Not while you're working," Bruce replied over the phone.

"And I keep telling you it doesn't matter who hears. No one ends up alive to tell about it!" Khoa rebutted as he stabbed two guys through the stomach with his swords.

"Anyways, what do you need?" Khoa asked as he threw a receiver layered with C4 that stuck to the crate of drugs. Pushing a button on his wrist console that detonated the C4, destroying the drugs and igniting the ship into flames.

"Burning narcotics is a good smell. Alright, what's up?" Khoa asked as he returned his full attention to his old friend.

"I'm trying to train a younger vigilante in what I know. The only problem is-"

"Let me guess. He's leaning a bit towards the killing side," Khoa replied.

"No. Not quite. I'm having trouble trying to convey the skills that we learned over years of training and trial and error in about a month. Think you can weigh in?" Bruce asked. Khoa simply laughed in haughty joy.

"Of course! I always wanted my own ward, my answer to your Robins!" Khoa declares.

"No no. No wards. Just teach him what we learned. Try to make him think," Bruce said as he hung up. Ghost-Maker got excited for this as he called his jet, the Ghost-Stream to his location. Firing his own grapnel line to the Ghost-Stream's grapnel anchor and rapidly ascended to the jet.

Meanwhile in Gotham City, Peter Parker had fallen asleep in the shower. Slumped over in the tub, letting the water wash over him. The new Spider-Man suit hung on the door. In reality though, Peter had fallen asleep on the tub 3 days ago. Crashing from the lack of sleep after cleaning himself up from practically a month of nonstop designing and construction on so many small scales. Even his Spider-Sense was dampened from the lack of energy, so he didn't hear the thudding of boots landing on the roof of the apartment building. Meanwhile, the white clad vigilante too a running start and leaping off the roof the building. Firing a grapnel anchor hook into the building, going into a brief freefall.

"Third floor, 4th window on the left!" Ghost-Maker called out as he pulled a trigger on his grapnel device, the line going taut and swinging down through the window. Smashing through it entirely, and rolling into a tactical position with swords drawn. Prepared for resistance if encountered. Only to find a woman petting a cat while watching TV with a glass of wine in her hand.

"You're replacing the damn window," She said as she sipped her wine.

"Where is the Spider-Man?" Ghost-Maker asked her.

"You mean Pete? Probably the bathroom. He's been collapsed in there for three days," She replied.

"Thank you," Ghost-Maker said as he ran over to the bathroom door and kicked it open.

"SPIDER....Man?" Ghost-Maker trailed off as he saw the...frankly disappointing display of a young man snoring lightly in the shower. Even the noise he had just made didn't wake up Peter. Walking up to the sleeping detective, Ghost-Maker activated an electrical element in his glove and stuck it into the water discharging the volts. The flash of sparking electricity startled Peter Parker awake.

Peter Parker leapt up and swung a haymaker towards Ghost-Maker, that the specter based vigilante simply backed up to avoid the rabbit punch. Perched into Spider-Man, poised to lunge.

"Who the hell are you?!" Peter asked.

"I am the Ghost-Maker. The spirit of vengeance and rectifier of justice. And you are the Spider-Man," He replied as he stared dead on towards Peter.

"I assume...by your outfit and the way you handle yourself in dodging that punch. You're a friend of Batman?" Peter asked.

"Indeed. We are two sides of the same coin. Now get dressed. You have slept long enough. We are going to sharpen your skills as a crime fighter. As a detective," Ghost-Maker explained, tossing the Spider-Man suit to Peter.

"Plus, you are not wearing clothes and that posture is leaving something very revealed to me. Which I don't mind, I am always down for a good time," Ghost-Maker added. Peter caught his suit, and looked at Ghost-Maker.

"Wait in the living room with my sister. I'll be with you shortly," Peter said as he shoo-ed Ghost-Maker to the living room. Ghost-Maker obliged and waited patiently, petting one of the cats that approached him.

"I've heard of you, you know. Some of my connections in Singapore call you the white death," Selina said to Ghost-Maker.

"I see my reputation proceeds me," Ghost-Maker said with a semi cocky tone.

"You hurt my brother, Singapore will have you sent to them in Ziploc bags," Selina threatened plainly.

"Understood. Family matters. Always has, always will," Ghost-Maker confirmed. After a few minutes, Spider-Man walked out of the bathroom. Pulling his mask down over his head and calibrating his mask's lenses once more.

"I like you even more already," Ghost-Maker said as he climbed to the window and grapneled to the Ghost-Stream. While Spider-Man leapt from the window and swung up the building to the jet. Hanging onto the side of it. A brief bit of static is heard in Spider-Man's mask earpiece, as suddenly Ghost-Maker's voice is coming through it.

"Batman told me to put you through a difficult investigation. To heighten your detective instincts and your intuitive tracking and information gathering," Ghost-Maker said to Spider-Man.

"Right, so what are we doing for that sort of training?" Spider-Man asked.

"You're going to be following a trail the GCPD has been catching on to. Scarecrow's gang and his adrenaline rush inducing drugs. You know, that fear gas that he turned into a non-lethal street drug," Ghost-Maker introduced.

"Yeah I know about Crane's drug trade. Something hasn't been sitting right about their recent movements though," Spider-Man said.

"Hold that thought. We'll get to hypothesis building, first we need to land and go over what we do know about the case," Ghost-Maker interrupted as the jet flew to a larger rooftop.