The marvellous spider-man

Chapter 26

Peter found himself in a dark room, the only thing visible being a light bulb above him. He was lying spread eagle on a concrete floor, and he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried. By looking at his outstretched arm he found that he was still in his costume, but his mask was off. He didn't like that one bit, but being unable to move left him unable to do anything about it. All he could do was make a small, throaty noise that sounded vaguely like human speech.

"Is somebody there?" he asked hoarsely.

Dmitri appeared over him, his white face uncovered.

"You," said Spiderman. "The...(cough)...doppelganger...."

"Doppelganger?" asked Dmitri, amused. "A fitting name I suppose, but I prefer to be called The Chameleon. Doppelganger just sounds so unprofessional for a spy. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

Spiderman struggled to speak with whatever this Chameleon had injected him with.

"How...did you get on...on the..."

"On the shuttle?" asked Dmitri, surprised, and then he started to laugh, slowly at first, and then more intensely. "Me? On the shuttle? Hidden with the astronauts? I'm flattered that you could think that, but I'm not like you and Kraven. I deal in subtlety and subterfuge, not strength and agility. No, I could never have gotten onto that shuttle the way you did."

"Then how..."

"Simple," said Chameleon. "I had men working on the shuttle's flight plan from the beginning. Originally its orbit would only bring it near the Empire State building a single time, but after your boarded that changed. You were to pass that building three times now. Considering this, and the fact that this particular building was instrumental in getting aboard the shuttle in the first place, it was simply logical to assume that you would use the building when you got back down...and I was right. All I had to do was wait for you there, and when the crowd scattered to escape the falling pod cluster, no one noticed one more astronaut make his way to the scene and lie down with the others. A simple plan, but effective...no?"

Peter felt his heart sink. It was simple. Less simple that Peter's plan had been anyway, and yet this Chameleon's plan had gone off without a hitch, while Peter's had just barely succeeded. Peter knew he still had a lot to learn about this whole superhero business...but he had to wonder if he would ever have the chance to learn it now.

"So..." said Peter, a little less hoarsely than before. "What now? Use me to make an army of spider soldiers?"

"Something like that," said Dmitri. "But not by me anyway. I'm just a mask for hire really. All I have to do is deliver you to my employer so he can run his experiments on you and...yes...probably make an army of neogenic soldiers. At least, that was what I was going to do...for reasons I cannot fathom my employer has decided that a sample of your blood will be sufficient for his work."

Dmitri pulled a vial filled with blood out of his suit.

"You should count yourself lucky. Men in his world often have their business in mind more than anything else, and it is rare that they should put anything ahead of that."

The Chameleon put the vial back into his suit and began to walk away.

"As for your identity, don't worry, I won't reveal it to anyone else. I, of all people, know how to respect a man who wears a mask. Farewell for now, Spider. I have a feeling we shall meet again."

A moment later the lights went out, and Peter found himself in darkness before falling unconscious again.

....

Norman Osborn watched the laboratory from the sterile safety room high above. Below him, behind five inch safety glass, the scientists worked on his latest product. He had a stern expression, which he felt appropriate. After all, the scientists were now working on what was probably the most important scientific field in the modern world.